New Here!

[GymMom]

Hi everyone! I am new here - I'll be opening a registered dayhome in September and just found this site. It looks like it will be a wonderful resource!

My own 3 kids are all in school full time - ages 15, 12 and 8. Anyone else here provide childcare while your own kids are gone all day? I provided some part-time childcare when my kids were younger. I'm guessing it will be a bit different when none of the kids in my care are my own!

Any tips or advice for a newbie?

Thanks so much!
Kerri

[Dreamalittledream]

Welcome Kerri! I embarked on the same journey a year ago and wow have the kids taught me so much. This is a wonderful forum for sure; to be able to vent, have questions, celebrate, share ideas... in a judgement free arena is so wonderful! tips and advice...where to start . Don't go crazy buying toys; invest in a good contract/handbook or guidelines & a good base of activities. Wishing you much luck and see you on here

[BlueRose]

Welcome. I am also just getting started. I will be opening my daycare in October. I have already gotten so much advice from this site. Its great.

[Momof4]

Welcome to our site and I hope we can help you as you learn to run your dayhome. My children are all grown and I have the benefit of quiet evenings with no children at all and a social life, haha! You should use the fact that your own children are in school when you interview to tell parents that you can give full attention to their children all day long.

[treeholm]

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

[Inspired by Reggio]

Welcome