New here as well, opening September 1st. I joined the forum yesterday, and already received wonderful encouragement from Momof4. I am a grandma, semi-retired business professor, and licensed Kindermusik educator. I have looked after my 3 1/2 year old granddaughter since my daughter's mat leave ended 2 1/2 years ago, and have loved every minute. I decided that rather than go back into the corporate/academic world full-time (which would probably mean a 4 hour daily commute) that I wanted to be able to stay with my granddaughter and bring in some extra income by opening a daycare. I have always loved children, and now that my hubby and I are empty nesters (all three children bought their own homes, so they aren't coming back anytime too soon to stay) that I would enjoy the busy-ness of having a house full of children during the day, and appreciate my peace and quiet in the evenings. I loved teaching kindermusik to both infants and toddlers, but it is not a business that is doing well financially in this area, and the studio owner simply could not give me enough classes to make it worth my while. I'm excited to be part of this group, because I can already see that there is a wealth of information and support.
Diane