Welcome to the in home daycare blog.  I hope you find the information here useful for your home daycare business.  Enjoy!

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Just about all of us ask this question, “How am I going to leave my job to open a daycare?”  We wonder how are going to have our slots filled so that we can walk out of one job and into our new career.  I was in the same boat about 10 years ago when  I left my corporate job to open a home daycare.  The advice I give is the plan I used and it worked for me, so it should work for you also.

First I picked a date when I wanted to start my new career.  This gave me an exact date that I needed to have all my slots filled.  I was sure to give myself plenty of time do accomplish this; one month.  I first told all my neighbors and friends about my new career change and what my plans were.  I offered my services to them first, and I filled several of my slots this way.  Friends and neighbors were excited to use my services as they knew me and it was going to be extremely convenient for them.

Second, I ran a simple ad in my local paper.  My ad read something like, “New home daycare opening in the xxxxx area on (date), full-time positions available. Call now to reserve your slot (phone number).”  I then made fliers with the little pull-off tabs and hung them in the business that I frequently did business with… my hair dresser, vet, mechanic, and so on.  I then made postcard-type fliers and placed them in the elementary schools that were close to my home. 

 By using these simple techniques, I had all my slots filled by the date I wanted to open, and I left my corporate job with a nice peace of mind.

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I came across a good question today, and I wanted to touch on it a little bit.  A lady asked, “What kind of a recorded message should you leave on your answering machine for your home daycare business?  Should it be professional or should it be more playful and fun since we are in a business dealing with children?”  The example that was used was something similar to this:  Hello and thank you for calling, but I can’t come to the phone right now because I’m changing diapers, wiping noses, and playing with children.  Please leave your name and number and I’ll call you back when all the children have done home.”  Ok, this might have some cuteness to it, but I personally don’t think it is a good way to go.

I feel that if a parent is having to call different providers in search of care for their child, they would probably want to hear a message that is short, to the point, and professional but recorded in a happy and upbeat tone.  Parents who are looking for care have probably called several providers, and they will most likely get tired of the cute, fun messages very quickly.  I prefer to record a message similar to this:  “Hello, and thank you for calling (daycare name).  I’m unable to answer your call at this time, but if you would please leave your name, phone number, and your childcare needs; I will be more than happy to return your call as soon as time permits.  Thank you and have a wonderful day.”  

Now, this may not be the perfect message for everyone, but I think that if we want parents to take us seriously, we should be profession at every given opportunity when we deal with parents directly.

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A few years back I took in a child who was 4 years old and didn’t speak.  During the initial interview, his parents told me they had spoiled him, and felt he wasn’t speaking because they babied him and he really had no need to speak.  The child was very busy during the interview, but not unruly. 

The child started with me the next Monday, and boy was I unprepared.  Not only did the child not speak, but he didn’t listen to anything that anyone said to him.  He bit, he pulled hair, he screamed, he tried to carry food and drinks all over the house; he had no boundries nor did he have any communication skills whatsoever.

I spoke with his parents later that evening when they arrived, and they told me that they were in the process of getting approval from their insurance to have him tested and evaluated for autism, but that it would be some time before they would have any information.  I told them that I wished they would have told me this during the interview, and that I wasn’t trained to care for a child with autism, but that I would do what I could for them in the mean time.

There was no doubt about it, I needed to find a way to communicate with this child.  After some research, I found a wonderful sign language program called, “Signing Time - The best baby sign language videos!“  This program opened up an entire new world for this child.  With the bright, vibrant colors, bouncy music, and hand motions, he was completely intrigued and found a wonderful way to communicate with others.  He caught onto the signs very, very quickly and began using them immediately.  It was amazing to watch the temper tantrums disappear and see a happy child emerge.

Now, I don’t suggest that sign language is the key to communicating with all autistic children, but it certainly was for this child.  He is no longer in my care as he did need special help that I couldn’t give, but the sign language still plays a huge part of his life.  I’m thankful that I had the privilege to be a part of that.

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Once you start thinking about opening a home daycare facility, you may be asking yourself which will be better for you and your family, a small daycare home or a large daycare home.  If you are new to home daycare, I always recommend that you start small, make sure this is really what you want to do, and then add on later.  By starting small you can practice your policies and procedures, work with a smaller number of parent and children, test your rates, and so many other things.  Once you are comfortable with your new business and how you want to run it, then add on.

Another thing to keep in mind is that in most states there are several different licensing requirements between the two.  In the state that I live in, a small daycare home isn’t required to hire a helper; with a large daycare home you are.  That can be a headache in itself.  Is your helper going to be reliable and in attendance everyday?  How will you pay them?  Will the cost of having to pay someone a full-time wage really increase your profit margin or will it turn out to be about the same in the long run as having a small daycare home?  What changes will you need to make to your home?  In the state that I live in, we have to provide our clients with on-site,  paved parking with 5 parking slots in addition to parking for staff.  This can be very expensive, plus how many people really have the extra room on their property for a parking lot?  I know I didn’t.

If you are really wanting to take your small daycare home to a large daycare home or start out with a large daycare home, I highly recommend that you study your states requirements to make sure that this is something that you really want to do.  Then be sure and research how much it will initially cost you as well as what it is going to cost you in the long run.  Will it really be worth it for you?  If you come to the conclusion that going larger is for you, I think that is wonderful!  It wasn’t something that was going to work for me.

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Here is a really fun summer daycare activity involving colored ice cubes, the hot sun, and a sidewalk.  Kids love to learn, especially if they are learning while having a lot of fun.  One fun activity that we do in my daycare is we freeze ice cubes with washable paint in them.  We freeze all different colors.

 On a really warm afternoon, we will get our frozen, colored ice cubes and go out to the sidewalk and draw really cool pictures with them.  Of course, the ice cubes melt on the warm sidewalk, so our pictures are all watery at first, but as the sun warms the side walk, the water evaporates and leaves the color behind.  This is a really fun way to have a science discussion about evaporation while having a lot of fun.  The kids love this.

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I hear people say to me all the time, “Boy, I would really like to work at home like you do, but I have no idea how to run a daycare.”  Or, I know people who thought they knew how to run a daycare, opened one, and came running to me for help because they didn’t think things through.

Opening a daycare isn’t easy at all.  It isn’t something that you can just say today, “Oh, I’m going to open a daycare, ” and have a house full of kids the next.  People who have this mentality open their doors for business, only to close their doors a few months to one year later.  Daycare is HARD work, and if you aren’t prepared for it, you will FAIL!

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