Question about older children

[bright sparks]

Oh man, the extended hours care offered through the school is INSANELY expensive! Plus, when I enquired about it, I was told that at our school, which is a decent size, they only had FIVE kindergarten spots, for JK and SK. Priority goes to returning kids, so you also don't find out until right before school starts if you get a spot or not, since they have to wait to see if kids that were in JK in the program last year are going to come back. I now have my own kids in JK and SK and they both brought home a "survey" a few weeks ago, asking if there was any interest in the program for next year. The cost has gone down a bit - last year when my daughter brought home the survey, it was a total of $32/day for b/a school, and $40/day for PA days. Now I believe it is $25/day for b/a school and still $40/day for PA days. Also, the hours on PA days are shorter, instead of being 7am-6pm on either side of the school day, PA day care is 8am-5pm, which would potentially screw parents who need those regular hours. I was just blown away - out of the whole school, 3 full kindergarten classes, they only have five kindergarten spots. It was ridiculous.

I had to terminate a JK boy the beginning of this year for extreme aggression issues, and the parents somehow got him a spot in the program after a few weeks, so I guess there wasn't a huge waiting list, but apparently all they do is run around in the gym the whole time. Which works very well for this boy, who's energy level is off the charts, and I'm sure every program is different, but I don't really like the sound of it. Frankly, though, I could never afford it, especially for 2 kids. For b/a school, I charge $17/day, just raised it from $15/day. The way I look at it, that's still major savings for parents looking at the school program, and as I'm right next door to the school and can pick up on snow days and PA days, it works out well.

This dollar amount is shocking and I don't understand it. My kids were in before and after school care onsite run by the YMCA about 5 years ago and it cost $11 a day per child for both before and after. Their employees all had to have an ECE diploma too. Since this was a while ago, and wasn't kindergarten, I just checked in with one of my daycare families who have a daughter in JK and who attends before and after school program every day onsite that is run by ECE's. She pays just over $18 per day so why is it that different schools can charge whatever they want??? In my area onsite b/a childcare is always the cheapest option. home daycares charge $20-$25 a day and obviously have the expense of transporting the kids too, but from a parents perspective, they don't have to worry about someone else driving their child around and the child stays on school premises that they are familiar with so IMO that is the better option.

For an 11 year old they could attend a "Home Alone" course and save mom a bunch of money in b/a school care fees, but it is an individual decision a parent makes as to whether they want to leave their child alone at that age or if the child is in fact mature enough to be left at home safely. It's also one thing a child letting themselves in after school, but very different to have to rely on them to get themselves up and ready and out the door on time for school.