Hats off to you all!

[gcj]

Hats off to you all who do this job with little vacation time. I run my daycare on a school schedule...2 weeks at Christmas, March Break and summers off. With 2 1/2 days until March Break I wonder how the rest of you do it. I'm not sure I'd survive this business with any other schedule!

[Inspired by Reggio]

Green with envy over here ... I remember when I worked my first job in a centre I was there just over 10 years and had earned 6 weeks of paid vacation plus we were closed almost two weeks at Christmas - it was HEAVEN and very hard to give up!

Working from home is way less stressful for me though so I do not feel that 'need' for as much vacation and do not get any where NEAR as sick as I did in that environment either - although I do get 10 days of vacation and 10 personal days off each year one day I would love to work up to the summers off!

[jec]

I had worked myself up to 4 weeks vacation at my last job so that was super hard to give up!! The pros outweigh the cons for me and I figure when you start a new job you get 2 weeks ~ and I've slowly worked myself up to 2.5 weeks now
OMG I would love your vacation time!! I had to close my daycare in my last town and open up again here so I'd be afraid to give myself that much vacation. I'm the new kid in town here

[gcj]

My husband's a teacher and all the kids I have or have ever had are either teacher's kids, teachers aid's kids or school nurse kids! Of course it's a little rough on the wallet, but if there's a will there's a way...and there IS will!
Beyond the fact that I love my schedule, I just couldn't imagine doing daycare with him around the house! No way! He gets in my way and makes the kids really hyper!

[Sandbox Sally]

summers off with hubby....that'd be AWESOME.

[fruitloop]

I take 3 weeks off a year and usually have a fair amount of teacher families in care so I have lighter loads during break times and a lot of the time I get 1/2 the summers off. Like you said though, it's tight on the wallet but worth it in the end.

[Crayola kiddies]

I would love my summers off with my kids .... Buutttt .... Not with hubby .... He drives me to drink when he's not working .... Two weeks with him in the summer is plenty ; )

[little rascals]

I wish to have all that vacation time. I only get two weeks a year and they are unpaid and no sick days either. I just started my dayhome in may 2011 so only going to be a year. I am hoping with more years in the business ( if I can manage to fill my spots) I will be able to take some paid vacation.

[Momof4]

I didn't take any vacation time in my first two years running the daycare so the last two years I've developed a system where I take a week in the spring, one in the summer and one in the fall. Then just this past year I added in vacation days in the Christmas week. So every 3 months I have a week off to recharge.

I had 4 weeks per year at my last job so I guess I was missing that break time. You have to let your daycare families know in advance to be fair though in my opinion, so I choose my vacation weeks for the next year before year end and give it to the parents in writing. Most of the parents have that much vacation coming to them, more if they split it amongs the two of them.

[gcj]

I would love my summers off with my kids .... Buutttt .... Not with hubby .... He drives me to drink when he's not working .... Two weeks with him in the summer is plenty ; )

omg. I'm killing myself laughing! Maybe that's why I drink more in the summer.... Too funny!
We enjoy our summers together....so far....