What is your daycare area like? Do you use your regular living area or have a specifically designated area? Is there any portion of the room that you are particularly pleased with?
Perhaps we might post pictures too, to give each other fresh ideas?
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What is your daycare area like? Do you use your regular living area or have a specifically designated area? Is there any portion of the room that you are particularly pleased with?
Perhaps we might post pictures too, to give each other fresh ideas?
I have a dedicated daycare space with a separate entrance and washroom on the lower level. We do eat in the kitchen "family style" I also have another small playroom (11x13) just off of the kitchen for when I am preparing meals.
I have a basement daycare :) It has 3 daycare rooms: a gross motor room, fine motor room, and a learning room. I also have a separate entrance for daycare families. We do share the powder room and kitchen with family on the main level.
Currently, we spend most of our time in the family room/living room of our family home, the kitchen, and there's a space of almost 400 sq ft in the basement. I have two rooms for their sleep rooms. Eventually the daycare will all be in the basement equiped with a kitchenette, and full bathroom. I have a separate entrance to the basement. Then we're outside lots as I have an acre for the kids to run around and have fun!
I'm envious of the basement daycares!! My own is on the main floor of my home. We have dedicated the diningroom to the daycare, and use the livingroom as well, as it's one big space. This is the room with the family piano and a small TV. It's smack in the middle of my home, but there are benefits too...access to the kitchen, and the mainfloor powder room. I'm not one for portable potties and prefer to train on the real thing, so that makes it easier than my basement.
It would be nice to use the basement though, and be able to use the side door! We have 3 rooms down there and the basic plumbing for a bathroom yet-to-be-put-in. But, it's the only place I would allow DH's big TV, and I hate how it takes over the room.
ETA: They nap in the spare bedroom. We have a toddler bed and a number of pack-n-plays. I'm thinking about getting some cots for when the toddlers turn into preschoolers.
I haven't opened yet. My husband and I designed our basement for the daycare. It should be finished by April. It will have a nap room, full bathroom, and a large main area with centres. The hallway down there is 5 1/2 feet and will have magnetic boards attached to them in spots. We're building built-in bookcases in the main room and a wall of cupboards in the nap room for my resources and toys in storage. I also have a den on the main floor which will be the main area for the morning while everyone arrives and up until we drop kinders off at school. We'll eat in the main floor kitchen and we have a fenced in backyard off the kitchen. I can't wait until the construction is finished and I can paint and make it the way i want it!!
Because my children make up half of the kids in my daycare, i use my entire house. I use the bedrooms for nap time so each child gets their own space to sleep in. I use my upper living room for my little toddlers. My kitchen is where i prepare all meals and then when the older kids come home from school they play in my basement where i have most of the toys put into separate rubber maid containers. They can only take out one container at a time, like dinosaurs or my little pony's. I wish i had the space for a separate complete area just for day care. Granted i don't plan on running my day care for very long. Just until my kids are in grade 1 and will be at school all day. I love children and being at home. I don't like having to deal with some parents.
My daycare is my basement.We have 1 huge room thats our playroom,wall to wall rubber foam mats the colourful ones,for furniture we have a couch a lazy boy and rocking chair,there is a small TV and Vcr in the entertainment unit but all the shelves and cupoards in the unit are used for toy storage.I have a smaller room off the playroom for a sleep area and the bathroom is just around the corner from the playroom.For meal time we head just up the stairs into our kitchen and eat there. At times i have used our bedrooms and put up a pack and play if i have a little one napping before any one else that needs quiet.When we purchased our home we were looking for a basement suitable for daycare.It works but i have seen even bigger basements that make me think wow what I could do in them lol.We also have a large fenced in yard and a side entrance directly to the basement
I have a playroom in the basement which is our main playspace. We also converted our diningroom into an upstairs playroom which works well for beginning and end of the day and while I do lunch. Our bathroom is also on main floor - what I wouldn't give for one in the basement. The daycare eating table is in the kitchen and our family table is in the family room just off the kitchen which works well since we like to watch the news. Also we have a bad habit of hubby and I just fixing up a plate and sitting on the couch - very nice to sit and relax at he end of the day and watch the news and eat. There is a door off the kitchen to our back yard. Parents come to the main front door to enter and exit.
I have the same set up and it works great. I like that the kids come upstairs (and so do they) rather than doing everything in the basement
I use my whole house :o
I have a designated space in the lower level of the house with all the typical 'centres' .... dramatic play, block, book and puppet, floor toys, creative art and sensory table and so forth.
However on my main floor I also have a cupboard and a few baskets that tuck under our coffee table out of site with quiet time activities and a few sit and explore activities and some role play basket with dolls, Dr kit, baby props and so forth for arrival and departure time and quiet time to keep them engaged.
We do nap time upstairs on the top floor.
I have a dedicated daycare space too but share our family kitchen and upper bathroom with the daycare. My room is organized into areas. My space is at the front of my house so it's the first thing parents see when they come in.
I live in an apartment so the kids have run of the whole house. our living room and dining room is completely separate so we've set up the dining room as the main play area where all the toys are kept and bulletin boards are. We are lucky in that we scored a place where these areas, as well as the kitchen, are as large as a normal home or the daycare would very cramped.
I highly doubt I will have this much room when we decide to take the plunge and buy a home.
The only negative about this is that half our home really 'looks' like a daycare. When I started we both agreed that we didn't want it taking over our 'home'. needless to say the front hall now has stick on coat hooks, huge bright name tags and the dining room looks like kindergarten LOL
I live in an apartment and our city zoning law says that you can only use 25% of your square footage for a business in your home, so I use most of the main floor, dining room, living room and 1/2 bath and I'm definitely pushing the 25% law.
I have the same set-up...I use my kitchen and we all sit at the dining room table to eat together. Main floor powder room is the "potty room" LOL and I have a laundry room right off it that I change diapers ontop of the dryer - saves my back! My daughter has her own room and pack n plays in guest room + 1 in my room....if I get another older child they will share the guest room..the "good sleeper"'s room LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by Inspired by Reggio
I have a commercial building for our daycare centre. We have a front entrance with two washrooms, coat hooks, shoe rack. Then we have a preschool area (apprx. 500 sq ft) this is seperated by a small wall into the toddler area (another 400 sq. ft) and then we have an infant area (500 sq. ft) that is a complete seperate area (as they sleep more). We also have a 3600 sq. ft outdoor play area. Total of 36 children and each "room" has two caregivers.
The caregivers have an admin area as well, but it's only about 200 sq. ft.
Wow, you can do that in Alberta? That's quite an endeavour and makes me feel guilty because I only have 4 children on Mondays & Fridays and it feels like so much work Tuesday to Thursday when I have 5 children! :o
My playroom is upstairs with big bright wondows but we also use our downstairs living room for play.
Nap time happens in 1 of our 4 bedrooms - usually 1 child per room
Our basement is unfinished. I could technically make it into a daycare space when we finish it but I am still thinking I am getting out of daycare in the next few years.
I am tempted to redo my upstairs playroom from the mish mash it is now to this --> http://pinterest.com/pin/131519251588141660/ It looks so warm and coordinated and it looks about the same dimensions as my playroom. It is tempting :):)