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Date: 8/1/2007 10:39:00 AM
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Author:
Addie
(sapphire_concierge@yahoo.com)
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Subject:drop in play center vs. family child care- which one to open?
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I'm a SAH homeschooling mom. I've decided to do childcare to supplement our lost income. I have an early childhood background- preschool teacher, majored in elementary ed (didn't get to finish tho) in college, nannied, etc. My home is rather small- around 850 sq. feet, no garage to renovate. So I'm trying to decide whether to do a small family child care out of my home or rent a space and open a drop in child care center. Any advice or thoughts out there would sure be appreciated! ;o)
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Date: 8/2/2007 7:49:00 AM
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Author:
Barbara
(cocalicocare@dejazzd.com)
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Subject:Drop in child care is very unpredictable...
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Drop in child care is very unpredictable. You never know how many children to prepare for, their ages or how many staff you will need to stay within your state's ratio. And if no one is there, and you have hired staff, they will expect to be paid whether you have any income coming in or not. At least with a family home center, you will know how many children (and ages) to expect each day and how much income will be coming in.
This is just my opinion.
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Date: 8/2/2007 10:02:00 AM
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Author:
Addie
(sapphire_concierge@yahoo.com)
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Subject:how much room do you need for a family child care?
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Right now this is my biggest concern- I live in a small house and there's no garage or anything to renovate. I'd like to hear from other people who started out with extremely limited space. TIA
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Date: 9/14/2007 11:36:00 AM
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Author:
Candice
(wiselearninghcc@yahoo.com)
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Subject:how much room do you need for a family child care
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I have visited lots of home child care's because of one of my jobs. Home child care providers can get pretty creative. Some have converted the entire house, others use only a small bedroom and there outside space.
My advice is to
1. Assess your home
2. Be prepared to rearrange furniture or possibly get rid
3. Maybe only watch a few children at a time on shifts *but you may find yourself providing care for most of the day, but if you are a mom it may not be that challenging to care for 1 or 2 on a second shift
4. Talk to your family and take their input into consideration especially spouse and older children
5. If you can try to designate one room for child care if possible because this room will need to be child proof
hope this helps
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Date: 9/17/2007 10:33:00 AM
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Author:
Linda Arocho
(HappyHands12302@aol.com)
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Subject:I started small
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Hi! I am a NYS registered child care provider. When I started, I was operating out of a small ranch. It was a 2 bedroom that we converted half the attic as a bedroom for our oldest - there were 5 of us living in that house. So believe me, I understand.
The comment about drop in care being unpredictable is dead on. But in home-based child daycare, it's not about what you have, but what you do with it. In my kitchen, the fridge served double duty and was the "bulletin board" for the families with postings of important information. The front closet, I hung hooks on the inside of the door and voila, space for every child to hang their coat and backpack. Every child regardless of age brought a back pack with a change of clothing and whatever else I needed, ie. diapers, wipes, etc. The dining room, every day after lunch, the children helped clear the table, they pushed their chairs into the hall, and voila - nap room. Behind the couch wasn't that large, but I could store the flannel board I made and I used ziploc bags for the flannel characters, etc. I had a couple of small shelves I put on wheels, so I could easily bring the toys from different rooms and then store them away at night so I didn't have to look at my "daycare mess". I learned very quickly to be creative and think outside of the box for a while. Before I made my flannel board, I was using the side of the couch instead because the flannel pieces stuck to that easily!
But there are other advantages - almost everything you own will become a tax write off - the fridge, the furniture, etc. Your time/space percentage will be great once you get that far, because you'll be using almost every inch of your house! Your regular expenses, utilities, cable, etc. will be able to be partial write offs.
If you're in NY State, the Office of Children and Family Services even has some grant money to get you fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, first aid kits, and some traingings you need right away. I love family child care and couldn't be happier with my choice. I've entered my 5th year.
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