I agree that you should first get comfortable with kids and your new company. Don't force yourself to do things you aren't comfortable with or that don't come naturally to you especially when first starting out. We own our own businesses so we can run our business the way we want to - not to be dictated to on what to do or how to do it. If you are trying to force yourself to do things you are not ready to do, don't want to do, or aren't comfortable doing yet, it will show. You will be frustrated and your kids and parents will be able to tell. Do what you are comfortable doing.

I would not over do it at first with a lot of different information papers for the parents. Yeah, it's cute, looks more professional, etc. However, I have done that off and on and my parents really could care less about them! I did the menu, weekly "what your child will learn this week" papers, a monthly newsletter, which included that month's projected curriculum, little bits of medical/educational/news I had found online and thought the parents might be interested in, cute info about a couple of the kids (cute things they said or did the previous month), etc. I put a lot of work into those newsletters! My parents really didn't care at all when I stopped producing them - no one even asked for them when I stopped handing them out!

If you want to teach the children and let the parents know that you are teaching them and doing more than just a babysitter would, but aren'then while you are playing with the children, discuss the colors of the toys, count the blocks they stack up, if the blocks have letters on them, tell them the letters on the blocks they have and sounds of the letters sometimes, when out on a walk or in your yard, discuss the different types of trees you see, or the squirel, birds, simply talk with them about their homelife - ask what they ate for dinner last night, what they did over the weekend, what they like to do,etc. Basically add education in a natural way through play and conversation. Then when your parents pick the children up, you can mention a couple of things that you discussed with the children during the day. Or if you really want to hand them a paper about their day, you can sit down at nap time and write a note to each parent about what their child ate, something that their child did that was cute, and something that you taught them during playtime.

In time, you will notice that your children have certain interests, needs, etc. that you will naturally want to help them with. You will probably start working on numbers, letters, colors, shapes, animals, their bodies, weather, the seasons, personal grooming skills, self-help skills, and other concepts naturally and that will lead to you creating or purchasing a curiculum. After working with your children for a while, you will probably naturally develop a routine that you might not even realize you've developed because it developed so naturally!

Give yourself some time - maybe a year or so just to get to know kids and your new company. You will tinker with different things before you really get your business organized. You might change hours, days, routines, ages of kids, etc. Just realize that you need to give yourself time to figure out what you want to do with your new business.

Also, keep in mind that as you get different daycare kids (different ages, abilities, etc.), things change in your family (if you have young children yourself - as they go to school, sports, etc.) you might make changes to your daycare routine at different times throughout the years. I have had a couple of special needs kids at different times which required me to tweak my routine a bit. For a few years, I had to load up all my daycare kids at 4:30 to take my daughter to sports practices. I was back in time for parents to pick up. We had been going outside for freeplay at that time. But I adjusted lunch/nap time so I could get outdoor freeplay in before we had to leave for sports practices. After seperating from my husband, to get more income without having to go out to work, I began running my daycare 24/7 - that definately required some changes in routine both daycare and personal! Most of us have changed our routine a couple of times. Remember that you own your own business so you can make your day work for you.

So, start out simple - just play with the kids, add some eduction naturally through play, tell the parents what you've taught the kids through play, and in time, you will naturally develop a "program" and routine. As things change in your daycare or personal life that affects the daycare, be realistic and make changes in your daycare routine to allow your day so smoothly.

You own your own company so you can do what you want! Make your day enjoyable!

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