If You Are Open M-Th And Closed Fridays
 

I am currently open M-F from 7:30a - 5p but am considering closing on Fridays beginning in the summer. I have school age children of my own and it would not only give them a day to get out of the house during the summer but also a day to get normal things done such as doctors appointments, trips to post office, etc.

I'm also strongly considering continuing it permanently into the Fall and beyond. It would add some balance to my life and I would have a day where I could volunteer at my kids' school or get things done that can only be handled M-F during office hours.

For those that were open full time and then changed to being closed on Fridays did you lose a lot of families and did you adjust your rate? I just don't know if I should discount the weekly rate once I move to 4 days or just remain the same. Any advice from those that have moved to M-Th would be awesome!!

I'd love to do this as well, but would probably lose everyone :(

I know another provider with these hours but I'm pretty sure she started that way from the beginning

Being closed on Fridays would be wonderful in the summer, we like to do weekend camping trips

I work Mon-Thurs, but that kind of just happened.

One client I had wanted DCG to go to Grandma's house on Friday. The one family I had all week left for kindergarten, and the following client only needed Monday & Tuesday, and the other DCB comes Monday-Wednesday.

Most parents work Monday-Friday, so I have never told families I won't do Fridays.

I know a provider in my area who does it, but she has been doing it over 20 years and has plenty of "Friday providers" to cover her. She recommends and has other options for people who need Fridays and I think that would be the only way it could work.

I am pretty sure once these kids outgrow my care, that I will have to do Fridays again :(

I had a provider do this, I was able to find someone for just Fridays. I also interviewed with a family 2wks ago who's provider was closing Fridays and wanted to make sure I wasn't planning on doing that. Haha. I understand why and such but all my DCKs come Friday and their parents work Fridays. Just wouldn't jive here.

On the flip side, I have had several children come here on Fridays only, because their main daycare was closed on Friday. This never worked out well. I was considered the secondary daycare and was often not informed and kept up to date because I wasn't the main daycare. Ended up putting my foot down and made sure I was not just pushed to side and used when I was needed. One ended up coming here full time, another left when I stopped letting myself be used, another didn't realize I felt this way

I have a provider friend we call her the DC princess.

she works m-th from 9am to 12:45.

she only teaches preschool out of her home. she is always full and has been doing it for 15 years.

NONE of my families would be able to adjust to fridays off, but one can dream...:rolleyes:

I am working towards this also, especially since dh has Fridays off. My current families could make it work right now because they all have family or friends that can take Fridays if necessary. But I want to get at least one more M-Th child before I cut back.

I have only been doing in home DC for almost 2 yrs but I did start out being open Mon-Fri. In JAN 2013 I decided for my own sanity and to give special time to my own daughter that I changed my schedule to Mon-Th.
I did not lose any families nor have I had trouble getting new families.
I'm in NJ and it seems most families I have encountered has at least one parent that works from home 1-2 days a week or has a family member to help.
I did not change my rate at all.

Good luck! I'm so happy on Fridays when I can breathe! :lol:

I switched from M-F to M-Th two years ago. I announced in January that I'd be making the switch in September, so gave them plenty of notice. I had one child leaving for kindergarten at that point, and everyone else was part time, so I was able to re-arrange everyone's schedules so they'd have the same number of days/week, though some had to switch days. I charge by the day, not the week, so I made no adjustments to my rate. I didn't lose any families, though I have had to turn away a few prospective families since then who needed full time. Well worth it for my sanity and my family life and my daughter's homeschooling!

I also work Monday - Thursday 7:30 - 5:00. In the beginning I worked 5 days a week 10 hours a day and I quickly became burned out. I did that I think for 5 years. Then slowly my Friday kids didn't need Fridays anymore or they went to kindergarten. I had only 1 remaining and he went from full day to 1/2 day on Friday. He was almost school age, so from that point on, I only had him and didn't take anyone else knowing that once he hit kindergarten, I was done with Fridays. I've also had to turn a couple of people away, but only a couple. Most of my families if they do need Friday has a grandparent that wants 1 day a week and they dont' care what day it is, so it works out. I charge per day also, so no need to alter rates. I highly recommend it. Sitting here right now (Wednesday) knowing that I have only to work tomorrow and then get 3 days off is heaven!!

I'm open on fridays but hired an assistant to cover me every friday.I haven't worked a friday for years and it's the best choice ever!
Maybe that's another route you could go?

Originally Posted by daycare:
I have a provider friend we call her the DC princess.

she works m-th from 9am to 12:45.

she only teaches preschool out of her home. she is always full and has been doing it for 15 years.

NONE of my families would be able to adjust to fridays off, but one can dream...:rolleyes:

that is different though because those hours are, in general, common for preschools.

I don't personally know of any full day daycares that are open only four days a week.

Originally Posted by cheerfuldom:
that is different though because those hours are, in general, common for preschools.

I don't personally know of any full day daycares that are open only four days a week.

very true. I could never do it because there is a preschool on every corner here. I decided to do all day care with preschool in the morning because no one around me is doing that. It has worked out well so far.