Hellobee Boards

I lied... I voted... daycare center... after I realized they have a great outdoor space. Ours takes our kids outdoors to the playground twice a day and it's AWESOME.

I chose daycare centre. The one we're sending LO to is wonderful and absolutely is everything I would have hoped for.

That's a tough decision (I couldn't vote because I'm torn on which is the best option.

DD (2yo) is currently in a center based daycare which we love but with LO#2 arriving in September are looking to move both to a home-based primarily for financial reasons and splitting them up wouldn't work for our schedules. Our center sounds similar to the one you are looking at in that they have a developmentally focused curriculum that includes outside time twice a day; however we provide breakfast/lunch as they only provide snacks. They also charge for being late but not quiet as much as yours. The home-based I am looking at would most likely only be my two children and the owner's daughter (1yo) as the most kids she would ever watch was 4 (including her own); she does not have a set curriculum but has an education background and would teach DD basic skills like colors/numbers/letters/etc. Because of the limited number of children she is able to take field trips to places like the library, zoo, and playgrounds so outside time would happen, in addition she limits TV to very little which DH and I do at home.

@MamaMoose: I agree that the ratio 1:8 ratio seems high, even for older kids. My LO is 2 and the ratio is still 1:5.

@banana: I also prefer daycare centers but it sounds like you really like the home center. Do they go outside at all? I think going outside is really good for them!

The homebased seems like it's one of the best home-based I've ever heard of! I'd do that unless you have a strong gut feeling towards the center

Edited to add that the interaction with the other kids is going to be the best language stimulation and he'll get that either way. If he's learning two languages, I wouldn't necessarily call him delayed... btw!

listen to your gut feeling. our daycare only has 6-11 kids total (on various days) with 2 teachers and 1 assistant so it has a home-based feel, but i suppose it is more like a center.

my friends are sending their kids to montessori and preschools like that, but we just decided to keep charlie in daycare. his daycare is probably not as academic focused, but we love the family feel of the daycare. we trust the teachers, they know each child so well, and charlie loves it there.

i don't know if daycare will really make a big difference in whether a child has a competitive edge in the long run. we'll just force them to do supplemental workbooks at home anyway.

@banana: yeah, when I hear about everyone doing Montessori that makes me feel like maybe we should, too, but we are happy with our more play based daycare center. She learns a ton anyway and it is good for now. Anyway, it sounds like you really like the home based day care so go with your gut!

I think if you really trust the in home provider and they have good references (please, be sure to check with as many people as you can), then I think you should go for it.

I personally have never found one that I trusted completely with my children so we have sent them to a daycare center. I always figure if one teacher is getting burnt out or is having a bad day then there is another teacher there to help. I always have hung around and played with my kids when I drop off and pick up and they are really good about their numbers and sticking ot the rules.

The most important thing is finding whatever you are comfortable with and fits with your parenting style.

@banana: That's awesome then that you found someone great. Our daycare center does really thorough summaries too, it's nice to know how their day was and funny things they said or did. We have been so lucky to find a great place, we looked for such a long time and I wasn't sure we were going to find a place we would be happy with.

@banana: That are pretty good. We get lesson plans each week with what they will learn, they go on field trips, they play outside twice a day (unless there is bad weather, and then they go to the gym that has slide and bikes.). It makes going back to work a lot easier knowing they are in a good place.

If we had found an in home center as good as yours we definately would have considered it, but we had just moved here and didn't know anybody so going with recommendations from people we didn't know didn't feel right.