Hellobee Boards

I’m having the best experience right now using Care to find childcare, and it’s changed my mind about nannies and in home care a bit. The one thing I have always liked about daycare though is the academic part of the curriculum. LO reviews concepts like yesterday/ today/ tomorrow everyday with his class when they go over the day of the week and weather. Man, I tell you if he asks for something that we just cannot fit into the evening and I tell we will do it tomorrow when we get home he understands and is satisfied. I’d also want to how what outdoor time would be like- field, playground, toy cars etc? How will you handle naps? How will you handle discipline?

Ten hours wouldn’t be long enough for me. Our daycare opens at 6 am and closes at 6:30 pm. When I’m not running late I drop off LO before 6:30 am, and I pick up no earlier than 5:30 pm.

Yes, just the same way parents tour and even can test out daycare (mine gave you two freebie days) you could suggest a trial run. Or ask to be interviewed in the parents home and observe. Set up a code of behavior that parents acknowledge that gives you flexibility to part ways if a child is not good fit for you.

I would want to see menus and more examples of what you planned to do with kids - saying you’d have the other children join in if they were old enough concerns me. What if they weren’t old enough? A lot of kids that old are in kindergarten so odds are that your kids will be younger, I would think.

I guess based purely on what you’ve said here I would be concerned that you don’t really want to do this, you just want some extra money, and having some other kids around while you keep your son entertained seems like a good way to make some cash.

I ultimately decided against in-home care vs center, but a lot of it is just that I really value policies/structure/protocols, etc.

So personally, I was the most interested in like sick policies, safety (access to areas in the house), what happens if you're sick or your own kid is sick, what schedule do you follow (public school schedule, etc).

When I was younger, my mom ran a licensed in-home daycare. I have amazing memories from her running it, and would honestly love to do it myself some day. She started it for the same reason you are: she wanted to stay home but still earn some money. It ended up being a huge passion of hers that she did for almost a decade, well after we were in school.

So, from that perspective: there were 5 kids, age range was 6 weeks to 4 years old. Craft time was never about daycare kids joining us; it was about us joining the daycare kids. She usually had the same craft for all ages, modified for ability. She made healthy/organic meals and snacks, and the parents got the next week's menu on the Wednesday before. Each child had a worksheet that explained their day left in their cubby for parents at the end of every day. Discipline was a time out chair, time out for as many minutes as their ages (clock started after they stopped yelling/fussing after they were old enough to understand that restriction). No TV time allowed except for the bigger kids during nap time with parental permission (1 hour maximum). She had a strict sick policy, including for us (we were relegated to our bedrooms if we were sick... no living room or TV time, as it was the 90s and we only had 1 TV). She was usually open during snow days, and had very flexible hours (we were in Northern New Jersey at the time, almost all of the parents worked in NYC so this was an important thing).

We have always done in-home daycare...
Structure/a daily schedule is key... the kids play/nap/eat/etc. at the same time everyday.
Safety... No pool. Door locks. Fenced-in backyard.
A monthly schedule with any dr. appointments, early closes, etc. noted well in advance. My biggest complaint about our in-home is her frequent early-closures for dance classes or football practice for her kiddos. It is one of the things we put up with for in-home though.
Price - should be cheaper than a center or licensed daycare.

I'd also be concerned with how long you're going to run the daycare? If your son is 4 and your home-schooling how long will you do daycare? I wouldn't want to put a 1 year old in only to have you close a year later.

ETA. For you have a clear set of rules... if a LO isn't going to be there you need to know by x time. Will you charge for absent days? Vacation days for yourself (how many a year, any paid). If parents are late to pick up charging $X/minute. Minimum amount of hours / week?
Our 1st daycare did get paid holidays (Christmas, Easter, 4th of July). Current one does not. We pay $1/minute for being late. Minimum of 15 hrs /week / child. Paid every Friday.

I have had other children in my home on a weekly, scheduled basis. I also have brought my son to another person's house and was paid to watch those children as well. I liked both for different reasons. I do have an extensive childcare background as well as a Bachelors in Elementary Education, which I think is a huge advantage for finding families. I have used local FB groups and playgroups, rather than Care.com to find families. Everyone has to pay on Care.com now and it just seems it is far less used.

Because you are looking at having only a small # of children, you need to ask what that family/families are expecting. My families have never expected a super rigid routine. I do crafts, projects, sensory stuff on my own will, but I've never had a specific routine. You need to decide what kind of expectations you are willing to work with. Do you want to have a strict schedule? Look for families who want that and will appreciate it. Do you want a more relaxed, "home-like" experience? Find someone who prefers that. Personally, I like a more relaxed vibe, but not everyone agrees. This does not mean we sit in front of the TV all day, however. My advice: if you don't get a great vibe from the parents, it's probably not worth pursuing.