Out of schoolers

[daycaremom9]

I'm considering accepting out of schoolers in September since I have mostly older preschoolers now. I've had out of schoolers before and know how challenging it is so I know what to expect. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Rachael]

Can you explain what you mean by 'out of schoolers', please. It's not a term I've heard before. Do you mean before and after school + school closure days?

[Secondtimearound]

I liked having the older kids ! I found snacks and the park we're the biggest highlights but my crowd was 7 ish . I had to drive them to school and I disliked that especially when it was so cold !!
I think I would do only either group , younger or older . That way the activities would be easier to plan . I found juggling the ages difficult but that could be just me !

[Rachael]

I found juggling the ages difficult but that could be just me !

No, it's not just you.

I've always focussed on the all day children - sheer financial reasons really. In NS we can have 6 pre-schoolers OR 8 school-age but if even one is too young for school, the lower limit of 6 applies.

Very occasionally, I will take the older sibling of one of my day care children, and if I'm not at my max on that day. On Monday for instance, we had quite the wind storm locally and 50,000 of us woke up to no power meaning many of the school were closed. Two of my day care babies decided to stay home with no power vs come to day care with no power, so I was able to take her for the day. But I did struggle. Even the nap time routine was thrown off, as I use that time to prep for afternoon crafts, clean/mop the floors around the lunch table etc.

[Secondtimearound]

Yes that's what I found too !

[daycaremom9]

Can you explain what you mean by 'out of schoolers', please. It's not a term I've heard before. Do you mean before and after school + school closure days?

Yes that's exactly what I meant and I actually decided against it. I had a bad experience with the last out of schoolers I had and doing drop offs & pick ups from the local school was quite a chore. I think it's for the best that I not do it again.