Wording on hour change letter

[BlueRose]

You could always word it one way for this specific family and another way for the rest. LOL I've done that before. I've sent out a memo and made it look like everyone got it, but really, it was only given to one person as it was only one person that it effected.

good idea. but i will still reword it.

[Crayola kiddies]

Oh yes I have done that before too... I raised my fees but only for one family cause I wanted them to move on. I found all the different time changes confusing and i agree to take out the personal stuff and make it a little kinder.

[Inspired by Reggio]

I am a little wordy myself but agree with the ladies that I would likely take a softer approach myself ... I'd be more inclined to not be so rigid if you are not hear by X you cannot come at all but still have to pay because well as a client as much as I try to be on time and respectful when you have children into the equation it is hard ~ I was late returning from playgroup today because a child decided to poop right as it was time to leave to come home as a parent I would be PISSED it that resulted in my child not being able to attend daycare but I still had to pay

I would likely opt with an approach like this ... a shorter 'practice' because two months is a long time to have to rush to be out of the house by 7:40 if I did not have to be so I would be delaying that as soon as possible

Re: My hours are changing

Dear Wonderful Clients;

After reflecting on upcoming changes that our going to be needed to our routine with the introduction of 'school age' children to the program this fall I am having to amend my hours of operation to 7:00am to 5:00pm. In an effort to help prepare both clients and children for the changes our new hours of operation will take effective as of August, 1 2013 giving us the summer to get use to the new hours and routines before full implementation is required.
In addition to the new hours a few changes to drop off and pick up policies are going to need to go into effect as well to help ensure that the program runs smoothly for the younger children while incorporating the newly required transition of walks to and from school for the school age children.

Since consistency is key for smooth transitions it is strongly recommended that effective August 1st all children be dropped off to the program prior 7:40 am to ensure time to settle into program before preparing for the transition of school walks occurs. If you cannot arrive before this time there are two options depending on what works best for your child. You are free to either text/call us so you can come find us on our walk in case we choose to carry on to the park or if we are en route back already due to inclement weather or other program plans that require us to be home promptly you are welcome to wait for us in the foyer. Please note there is no guarantee as to how long it will take us to return from the walk as so many things can affect this such as children’s desire to stay and play at the playground or just the doodling speed of walking toddlers this is why it is strongly recommended you arrive prior to 7:40 am as this will ensure no one is left feeling pressured by the time!

As the program is going to also engage in a second school walk at 2:20 both lunch time and sleep routines are going to be adjusted slightly as well with lunch being served a littler earlier to accommodate a quiet time of 12-2 to ensure that the children get adequate rest. For all the same reasons as mentioned above effective August 1st it is required that any pickups of the children occur either before nap time by 11:45 so as not to disrupt the quiet time of the other children or after the return from the school walk at approximately 3:00 ~ once again if we are running late parents are feel free to wait in the lobby we are coming back as fast as we can for snack time.

Also at this time I also wanted to take a moment to remind clients that my family has evening activities and commitments that are often time sensitive therefore if you are arriving near closing time please make sure you are here in time to have any discussions, dress your child for the trip home and exit the program BEFORE our close time of 5:00 . Unfortunately any clients having an issue with being consistently being late will not only have late fees applied to the time they are still in program past 5pm but they risk termination of their service contract entirely. Please not that the hours of operation are based on the clock in the programs kitchen so it is strongly encouraged that you sync your watch or vehicle clock with the programs clock to avoid any issues with missing us at drop off in morning or incurring late fees at the end of the day!

I apologize in advance as to the inconvenience these changes might cause to some of you as I am aware requesting an early drop of may result in you having ‘free time’ between drop off and your arrival to work ... wonderful time to run some errands or grab a nice hot cup of coffee and book uninterrupted by little ones and I firmly believe will truly make the difference in a nice smooth transition into program for your wee one!

This amendment to our current contracts is required to be returned to the program signed prior to February X, 2013. Please remember that if you are not able to accommodate the changes to the contract that X weeks of written notice is required in order to supply your security deposit to your last weeks of care.

[gramma]

No offense intended but seems very harsh to me as well. I have been lucky to have great families over the years but if I put out a letter like that with so many restrictions i think that everyone will walk away. Its really long and i bet most of them wont fully understand what you need. If you have a family or families who are dropping off whenever they want, you should address them one on one to discuss it. I get that your schedule has to chnge because of school dropp offs. Maybe just a letter saying, dear parents, as of xxxxx, I will be doing drop off and pick ups at school. we need to leave the house at XXXX in order to arrive on time. Therefore your child must be dropped off prior to this time. if you cannot make it on time, you are welcome to wait for us to return. Please note that weather permitting we may not arrive home directly. In such instances, you are welcome to contact me on my cell and arrange to meet us.
Then just add the same thing for pick up.

Just to play devils advocate, if for some reason you had to leave a few minutes early for school drop off for some reason and the parent arrived after you left but before your schedule time to leave. By your rules that parent could deduct your pay for that day because you weren't there when you were supposed to be.

I also think the last bit about putting the kids needs above the parents may not sit well with your clients. Good luck

[Momof4]

I'm a true believer in keeping letters and contracts short and sweet. If you want your clients to remember things, make it simple. A college professor gave our class a good tip once and said if a sentence makes sense without a lot of the words then take them out!

Blue Rose, I'm good with grammar and spelling and I'd be happy to help you any time. I've helped lots of people with that little issue.

[kidlove]

good thought apples, I have actually gone so far as to type up a reminder on certain issues before and had the stack at the door (for show ) and only given it to the "trouble" family to sign. Just made it look like a all around note to all, that way the one family didn't feel too singled out, but I still got the point across.

[apples and bananas]

good thought apples, I have actually gone so far as to type up a reminder on certain issues before and had the stack at the door (for show ) and only given it to the "trouble" family to sign. Just made it look like a all around note to all, that way the one family didn't feel too singled out, but I still got the point across.

HAHAHA, I've done that! I have cubbies for all parents. I've put memos in all cubbies before one specific parent came so it looked liked everyone was getting it. LOL Then I'd take them out and throw them the min they left. Tooooo funny.