Think long and hard before you begin this step. What type of cliental do you want? Every day millions of people drop their children off at daycare just so they don’t have to spend the day with them. Is that really the type of people that you want in your home? Since you are probably just getting your feet wet you don’t want to be to selective. However, that does not mean that you have to have just any Joe from off the street dropping their child off at your home. Remember, this is still your home. If you have your own children in the house as well you want to make sure you select parents, children, and/or families that will honor your schedule and policies. You may even want to consider children close in age to your own. Talk to friends, people at church, your children’s teachers or local centers. You may have to do very little advertising outside of your social circle. If you don’t generate enough leads or business through the people you already know than you may want to consider placing an ad in the local paper. Regardless of your method of advertising you want to establish a screening process. This is your out if you come across a child that you do not want to care for.
Establish a schedule
This can be the key to making or breaking your daycare program. It is a known fact that children behave better when their lives are scheduled. If you think about it, adults usually behave better when they follow the same philosophy. The type of environment you want to create will in-part dictate your schedule. If you are just providing a fun and safe place for children to play while their parents are at work your schedule will be less structured.
It could look something like this:
8:00 Arrival of children
8:00 – 10:00 Playtime
10:00 – 10:30 Bathroom and Snack
10:30 - -11:30 Outside Play
11:30 Lunchtime
12:00 – 12:30 Clean-up and Story Time
12:30 – 2:00 Rest
2:00 - 2:30 Wake-up and Snack Time
2:30 – 3:30 Outside Play
3:30 – 4:30 Inside Activity
4:30 – 5:00 Clean-up, Pack-up, and Pick-up
If you are looking to establish a more educational environment you may want to break your time into smaller time slots. Take a look at a local kindergarten classroom and try to model your day after that.
A typical educational schedule may look something like this:
8:00 – 8:30 Arrival of Children, Free play
8:30 – 8:45 Clean-up
8:45 – 9:15 Circle Time & Calendar
9:15 – 10:00 Learning Centers
10:00 – 10:30 Writing and Fine Motor Skills
10:30 – 11:00 Outside Play
11:00 – 11:30 Group Activity
11:30 – 11:45 Bathroom, Set up for Rest Time, Wash-up for lunch