Hi! Welcome. No, you don't need a licence and you can care for up to 5 children from your home. You might want to look into registering your daycare as a small business with the Ontario government though. The advantage to this is that they will issue you a business number that you can use on receipts for your clients instead of giving out your SIN. Insurance is a good idea. Shop around. Ask your company if they can cover you- some won't. I ran into this problem and so I went to an insurance broker who found me a good deal. I changed insurance companies and now my daycare is covered. It's tied into my home insurance and costs me $41 per child for the year. The amount that you charge will depend on your area. Look into what day cares around you charge and be comparable. You mentioned doing daycare from your basement. This can work- many people do it. It really depends on your set up. Is is roomy enough? Bright enough? Is there a washroom down there? I use my basement for part of the day. I'm a teacher too and that's where I have my classroom. We're downstairs for part of the day but I use a space on my main floor for a play room. I like the natural light which I don't get down there! I hope that this helps. Best wishes!