Starting a home daycare - need tips

[Lee-Bee]

Lee-Bee, your ideas are so great and your insight is very helpful. And I will definitely be looking into the Chairies! Have you found a place that sells them for a reasonable price in Canada? I've seen these on American sites, and they're so much cheaper. And nice tip about the treats! I've got some ice-cream waiting for me in the freezer. Thank you so much.

They run about $100 each :-( without the tray and buckle. Occasionally they go on sale through Scholar's choice and you can snag them for a bit less.

I did not get any trays, I'd have liked them at first but they run about $80 extra (insane). My kids make due at the table...a bit more clean up but they enjoy being there with their friends. I made my own harness straps as they were near impossible to find and when I did find them it was about $25 including shipping, each which again is insane. I just bought backpack strap from the fabric store and some buckles and made them (made 5 for under $20).

They cost a lot but are well worth it in the long run. I got the 9" chairs which are a tad big for my kiddos now but they are comfortable and can get in and our on their own. They should still fit comfortably for 3-4 years olds, a bit small but still the right size.

I got my table through scholars choice as well. I managed to get a great sale but it was still about $400 with shipping (would have been over $600). Very expensive but so worth it in the long run. I wanted it big enough that they can do art projects with elbow room and so they aren't picking food off each others plates!

What I did before buying this table was get a solid wood table off kijiji and I had my husband chop the wooden legs down to size. It was perfect...the only catch was it had the leaf's to make it bigger and the food would collect in the cracks and annoyed me...I used a table cloth but it too annoyed me after a while. But, it is a still a really great way to get a good, solid, large table for cheap!!