Alright! Everyone, thanks for your replies!
Let's get to it.
First of all, it may seem like i'm getting defensive, or trying to give advice in my own interest, though coming from somebody who knows nothing about what you do. I want to assure you- that's not the case. Simply trying to understand how everything works to offer best possible product.
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
These are interesting and look kind of fun but I have preschool and younger kids and I wouldn't personally buy something like that for them.
Do you mean the carton models or electric kits? In any case, I'll be looking into more basic ones today, and will post the results here. Though, as a 5-6 year old, I loved to take apart my electric toys. Putting them back together was the problem
. But I can see how it could be a liability issue.
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
First is the issue of space. Who has room for something that big? lol! I know I don't and I have a completely separate house used just for child care.
If you are talking about kits- i guess that's something kids could take home with them.
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Second is cost. $50-70+ per month.... is that PER CHILD or for a group?
That's per 10 items.
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Either way. $50-70+ a month is a lot for in-home child care providers. (that's why we are so skilled in Pinerest use...it's free 
)
Many providers teach academics and STEM is a very important part of education these last few years....even our grants were tied to STEM as a priority but to be completely honest, it's easy to meet that requirement using products and materials found around the classroom.
Got it. May be parents could throw extra $5/month for a new toy every month, that kid would be proud to show around- "I made that". IMO not that much (price of a coffee cup), but kids would probably love it.
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
I used to get a monthly curriculum for I think about $30 a month that provided most the basic supplies to meet all the developmental areas of learning for 6-8 kids and I cancelled that after a bit as the cost was more than I wanted to invest. I was just saving time buying it pre-packaged. I teach the same thing now just for a lot less and sometimes free.
Could you please share- what prepackaged items are you buying? How much are they costing you. May be we come up with something cheaper.
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
I hate to rain on the parade but that's my 2 cents as far as subscription services.
No problem at all. I'd rather have somebody rain on certain parts of our parade here, than spend thousands on advertisement with no result
Thank you!
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Paper products!!
Wet wipes, paper towels, plates/cups, construction paper, printer paper, other paper supplies used for crafts.
I'm constantly searching for, saving (well hoarding really) small containers, trays and cups. ALL things used to sort, separate items, hold paint, glue, etc.....
Could you please tell me, approximately what size containers, trays, and cups are working best? Are you spending much on glue and paint?
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
4) This one I’m the most interested in. If you could create custom subscription plan that would include majority of your supplies (or anything else) cheaper than major retail stores, what would it look like? What kind of items? What kind of prices would sign you up instead of going to let’s say a walmart?
I would like a custom subscription plan kind of like how Schwann's does it... I don't know if you have that in your area but basically they sell food, ice cream and other frozen and refrigerated products. They leave you a catalog (1,000's of items) and every month you choose which items you want from their catalog and then they show up with their big truck at your door and drop off the items you ordered. Sometimes if you forget or suddenly decide you want something else you just let them know when they come and they go right out to the truck and get it.
I would love something like that. I could pick and choose which items I want each month. Some months I might be looking for disposable paint trays and masking tape while the next month I might need white and blue lunch bags and a dozen plastic jars for bug collecting.
That is just me rambling on while thinking out loud but again, that is my 2 cents. Hope it's helpful
That part makes perfect sense. I think that's something we could do. Gonna need to add extra functionality to the site, but if there is interest in something like that- we can def. come up with something. The biggest question is- what kind of items are people in your business looking for?
Originally Posted by :
disposable paint trays and masking tape while the next month I might need white and blue lunch bags and a dozen plastic jars for bug collecting.
That's 4. We need a few hundred more to go
