You are all wonderful, thanks for the input. My daughter and I are planning to run this venture together once she is finished her mat leave in the fall of 2013 (she is expecting her second child in early December this year). We'll both be drawing income. It's a way for her to stay home with her children until her youngest is in school. We realize we can still only have a maximum of 5 children plus her own, so the income will not be very high for either of us, but it's a way to do this together as a win/win. I get to be with my own grandchildren this way, and we both have some income from the other children. We love children, and felt that doing it this way would eliminate the potential downside of not having any adult contact during the day. It's also a win/win for parents, because if either of us is sick, the other person can cover for the day by themselves.

I guess Christine will just have to bill me as a sub-contractor rather than be an employee. It's certainly not going to be enough income for two people if this were our only income, that is so true. I have a scrapbooking studio that runs weekend retreats, and I still teach one course per semester at the local university, where I am a semi-retired professor. My daughter is an environmental engineer, who may do some one-off projects after her maternity leave, and is doing a certificate in small business bookkeeping/accounting. Between our variety of businesses/professions, we hope to make a decent living LOL. Yes, it would be easier just to have one full-time job, but they do not exist in my community. I would have to commute 4 hours a day to the GTA. My daughter could return to full-time work here, but doesn't want to do that while she has small children.

And, the thought of not being there for my grandchildren would make me very sad. To be honest, I do not like being an empty nester at all, and the idea of filling my nest during the day with lively children is very appealing. Knowing that my evenings are very quiet will get me through the chaos during the day LOL I have such admiration for those of you who do this during the day and then still have your own children at night. I loved raising my own children, and I feel that helping other families raise their children is the most important work there is. I don't even want to go back into corporate work where making a profit is the only thing that matters. I have a personal philosophical problem with it. Not criticizing anyone else for doing that work, it's just a very personal thing. Children are our future, and most families cannot afford to have only one income, so providing quality care for the children of working parents/single parents is the kind of work that has life meaning for me. I should post that on my kitchen wall for those days when I'm pulling my hair out, as I'm sure there will be those days.

Thank you again for the feedback. I'll go ahead and get the rider on my home insurance.
Diane