Hmmm - if my open date was not until September because I wanted to the summer off I would not charge a holding fee over the summer cause IMO a holding fee is to make up for the lost income of holding that space for a client verses taking someone who could start earlier - so I would just have them sign their contract and charge a deposit to secure that September space as per normal - for me I do two weeks of fees for my deposit that is NON REFUNDABLE if they change their mind and do not enroll however it is applied to the LAST two weeks of care provide account is in good standing and they provide proper notice ... this gives me a security buffer should i have payment problems with a client during the relationship - aka a cheque bounces or they attempt to bolt without notice and so forth.

Personally I would plan to try to 'wean' my crew in slowly - I would not want several children starting on the same day cause that is stressful specially depending on the age they will be? So offering start dates before parents have to return to work might help with that ... plus not sure about Alberta but here in Ontario most teachers end up going back to work the week before the students do to prepare their classrooms and lessons for that first week so they might actually need care ... every teacher I have worked with anyway has needed care that last week in August.

Filler up vibes!