I Am Starting My Own In-home Daycare/homeschool Program

where do you live? I am wondering because I am going to stop doing in home daycare and want to find spots for the children I take care of.
Please let me know
Thanks,
C.

Hi S.,

I'm gonna add a few of my own also. I have been doing home child care for 4 years now.

1st thing a good routine, you don't have to be strict about it but just a guidline to follow.
Here is mine to give you an idea:
7:30 am - 8:00 am Breakfast
8:00 am - 9:00 cleaned up from breakfast, morning free time
9:00 am - 10:00 am circle time, added learning time for the older ones. Small snack.
10:00 am - 11:00 am outside playtime
11:00 am - 11:30 am freetime
11:30 am - 12:00 noon lunchtime
12:00 noon - 12:30 getting ready for nap, cleaned up from lunch
12:30 pm - 2:30 naptime (sometimes they sleep late so it's whatever time they wake up)
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm snack time
4:00 pm - 5:00 outside time and going home.

2nd Make sure you have their time occupied, plenty of things for them to do and play with.
Here are some websites I like to get on and have the kids do worksheets and things.
www.first-school.ws
this one is free, it has alot of things to offer.
www.enchantedlearning.com
This one there is a $20 membership fee but I find it well worth it.
www.abcteach.com
This one also has a membership fee of $35 but it has different things then the other 2. Alot of the things from this site I have made into file folder games for my kids. I also print off the books and laminate them and incorporate them in our circle time. There is one I printed off that are crayons, I colored them my self and then laminated them, I now have them hanging on the wall where we do circle time. The kids love the books I have made so far, I make enough for everyone.
The one thing I learned is that the sillier (I think thats a word) you are and the more fun you have with learning things, the more they retain.

3rd, Your policy, make sure you have one in place before you start. Make your rules clear to the parents and the children you care for.
You need to have things in there about sick care, potty training, late arrivals, meal times, proper clothes and shoes for the season, late fees, late payment fee/when payment is due, things like this.
I have a menu posted on the wall by the door so my parents can see what the kids have eaten at all meals.

The one major thing is communication, it's the foundation of every relationship.

Hope this helps, W.

First of all congratulations on starting a in home day care and being interested in homeschooling your 3 year old. Do you plan to home school beyond preschool? I too have a three year old and have been researching what to do with her for this coming fall(She's almost 4). A friend of mine let me borrow her "Hands on Homeschooling" curriculum. If you go to www.handsonhomeschooling.com you can learn more. But basically this lady who used to be a preschool teacher organized lesson plans for preschools in one big binder. I borrowed the 3 year old curriculum and it was awesome. It was all laid out by year, then by month, then by week, and by day. So, you knew exactly what you need to do each day. Or you could combine things or go at a pace that best suits your child's needs.

I just started watching an almost 3 year old in June and a 16month old. My only advice is if possible watch children close in age to yours so that working with them is easier. My daughter and the other older girl I watch are fine, but the 16 month old wants to do everything that the other girls are doing so it is really, really hard to work with the older girls and give them the attention they need. I also have a 5 month old, but she is easy to work around because she takes a morning nap so I can work with the girls during that time.

Anyway, I hope this is some what helpful. Preschool-kindergarten learning is pretty straight forward so really you could come up with fun things all on your own with out really having to spend a lot of money on a "Curriculum." There are tons of resources on line and the library is always a great place to get books for kids on any subject. Kids this age are really hands on and soak up so much so even little activities can cause so much learning.
Good luck!!

If your preschooler is good with a mouse and can get around a computer program, please try these 2 sites. They will provide you with everything you need for the first 2 years. The only thing you need to add is some arts/crafts/writing practice.

www.starfall.com FREE
www.time4learning.com 20.00 per month and worth FAR MORE.

As far as daycare goes...

1) Use your common sense and treat the kids like you do your own.

2) Communicate with parents and just be honest. You can't control how well they listen or communicate back. You also can't control how honest they are with you. So be prepared to cut ties if you must.

3) Supervise those kids as much as is humanly possible. Accidents are blown way out of portion by some parents, even the tiniest of scratches. You can NOT prevent most of the little bumps and scrapes they get. But the more vigilent you are the longer you will stay in business without a serious one. I've never had to send a child to the hospital because of any accident and I've never had a totally preventable accident that was due to neglect. It's been 21 years and counting so far.

4) Keep your house clean and anything you think is clean is probably not clean enough. No matter how much you hear from some parents that your house is wonderful and clean and they don't know how you do it, someone else will leave you because they came in one time when it was a mess and they'll run around town bad mouthing you. I know this because of 2 reasons. One, I've had so many people, hundreds really, tell me that about previous providers. And two, I've had people complain about me. I'd say cleanliness is EXTREMELY important.

Suzi

Abeka is the curriculum we go with. The children usually end up about a grade ahead of public school children, but it doesn't work them too hard to get to that point. I love their curriculum! I bought the K4 curriculum and ended up not using it. I used it more as a guide and I did my own thing, which I think helped her be more prepared for K5 curriculum, which I definately recommend, if you go with them. But I think as young as 3 and 4, you can get workbooks from WalMart and some wide lined paper and you'll be good to go.
If you have any other questions about Kansas laws about homeschooling, I'd be happy to help in anyway I can, just drop me a line :)
C.

Your chilren need there own space (away from daycare). When I had my daycare I made sure that my daycare kids did not go into my son's room. He could go to his room & play with his special toys that he did not have to share. It gave him his own space to relax even when daycare kids were around.
God Bless!

S.,
Thought I would bring this up, since no one else had. I would hate to see your wonderful environment get closed down, by the DA, for not having a License or Registration. It is against the law to do daycare in your home for more than 20 hours a week; so don't forget to go to the Health Department meeting, the first Friday of every month. With all of your background and experience you would do great out there. There are also great places in town to get home daycare information to help you. Day Care Connection, and Family Conservancy. Good luck!!

Hi, I am with Usborne books. I was homeschooled as a kid and this is what my mom used with us. The books had a lasting affect b/c I am selling them now:o)

Let me know if you are in need of free books!

For the months of Aug and Sept, I can offer Double free books to hostesses! Also, everytime a friend books a show off of yours, you can get $20 worth of books for $5 at her party!

Let me know if I can help you further!

S.
###-###-####
www.ubah.com/w2474