Toronto Home Daycare

Happy Monday Everyone! :)

I run my home daycare in Cambridge (border line Kitchener) currently and started off in Ottawa. In both places I have had great success but now I am wanting to move to Toronto to be closer to family and my parents need some help financially.

I am terrified to move to Toronto because I am worried I won't find any kids and end up homeless! Lol I know this may sound a little dramatic but it's honestly how I feel. Also living expenses are much higher in Toronto than Cambridge so I am scared as to how I will keep afloat until I find children.

My program is Waldorf/Reggio based and that is my niche and is what has made me successful in the areas that I have lived in. Toronto is big and scary and I don't even know where in the world I would live let alone how I would find clients. Currently all I use is facebook and post openings in my areas buy and sell groups and people just respond. I don't know how hard or easy it will be in Toronto. I have also looked into a Montessori program and thought about incorporating that into my curriculum as well but is that something that is in trend in Toronto? So in the end is it worth it.

I guess after all that my question is if Montessori is in trend in Toronto? What areas are in need of home daycare (higher end ($55-75 per day)? What the going rate is and how in the world does one find clients?!

As little bonus is anyone who would know of any areas in Toronto that have amazing parks. I love incorporating as much nature into our programs and if I was near by some great parks it would be awesome!

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I really look forward to all your wonderful advice and replies! :):)

Personally I think adding Montessori to your current Reggio/Waldorf blend makes it less of a niche. I would think focusing on one and possibly 2 means you would appeal to the families that are seeking that but once you starts trying to advertise that you do all 3 you seem like you are just throwing out key words to draw people in and aren't actually focused on any of them. If i am looking for a Montessori daycare I am not looking at Waldorf/Reggio/Montessori daycares.

I also wouldn't suggest changing your current way of doing things (if it has been so successful) at the same time as a big move. Stick with what you know and specialize in and keep the added stress down.

Thank you Lee-Bee :)

Well what I was thinking is swapping waldorf and adding Montessori because I found a lot of similarities between Reggio and Montessori so it would be easier to incorporate. I also found that no one really knows too much about waldorf it's all about Reggio in my area but it is was something in trend in Toronto I definitely would considered and implement here before I were to move. Now the issue is, is it worth it and where the heck to go with it

I know you messaged me but I figured I would answer here in case someone else could use the info. I am not sure what is "on trend" in Toronto but I know that families have moved toward a diet of natural and whole foods (not necessarily organic but definitely unprocessed). Even the companies that cater to some centres are all unprocessed "real food."

Toronto is a big place so I don't know where to recommend you set up shop. Very few daycares can get the $75 per day. Those daycares are usually set up with 2 staff to justify the fee. They also tend to have a higher turn over as parents move on to Centre by the time they are old enough. Parents in Toronto expect a lot and you would get a lower daily fee and find it hard to get clients if you live in an apartment. You need a house and an outdoor space is a must. I would suggest you put your parent's postal code into the search engine on here and see what daycare's get per day in their area.

Areas that I know that are well off and have lot's of young families would be "The Junction," "Corso Italia," "Bloor West Village" and "Hillcrest Village." There are more well off areas in the city like "Leaside" and "Forest Hill" but I would assume a lot of those families choose to go with a nanny as you see tons at parks in those areas. When you pick an area you like, look into how many daycare's are currently in the area and have space. We have some areas that are super saturated and some that are in desperate need. I can't tell you which areas have a need as this changes based on what spaces are available currently. I am in the west end of Toronto so can really only speak to it.