Many Questions...

[Sharonkay]

I have many questions. I am looking into eventually starting up an in home daycare.

Anyone have a large yard, and only have a portion of it fenced for daycare? and its a portion away from the house?

Can one have around 3 children without having to be licensed? If one just wanted to see what it will be like taking care of children in the home?

What do you all do about discipline?

How do you choose an area or room for the daycare in the home?

What happens when their are children who go to school? Who picks them up from school? And if you have your own children that you have to pick up from school, but have the daycare to run?

Any other great sites for daycare supplies/ideas etc? blogs?

Thanks

[GretasLittleFriends]

Originally Posted by Sharonkay

I have many questions. I am looking into eventually starting up an in home daycare.

Anyone have a large yard, and only have a portion of it fenced for daycare? and its a portion away from the house?

I have a very large yard. We have 20 acres, and about 5 of it is accessible to daycare children. None of it is fenced, and as of now, since it's far enough from the road, it's fine. The only requirement the state has is that an adult must supervise the children during outside play time.

Can one have around 3 children without having to be licensed? If one just wanted to see what it will be like taking care of children in the home?

That depends on your state. Some states allow up to 5 children without a license, others, such as Minnesota say only a certain number of families. In MN we're only allowed 1 family without a license. That family could have any number of children from what I read. I checked Iowa's DHS website and couldn't quickly find that answer for you... http://www.dhs.state.ia.us/policyana...er/comm143.pdf

What do you all do about discipline?

For my daycare it's 1 minute time out for each year of the child's age. Sometimes the toys need a time out too, if they are being bickered for. It's really all I can do. And of course, explain to the child/ren what the problem is and why it's wrong.

How do you choose an area or room for the daycare in the home?

The way my house is set up, I didn't have much of a choice. The entry room (12x16) is used for coats (snow gear in winter), shoes, diaper bags & backpacks. My kitchen and living room are the two main rooms for the house and the floor plan is very open between these two rooms. I also use my son's room (the toy room). Of course if he needs his space, that is his room, and the other children must let him be in there alone.

What happens when their are children who go to school? Who picks them up from school? And if you have your own children that you have to pick up from school, but have the daycare to run?

For me, the school bus picks the children up and drops them off. Our school district also provides bus service for the ECFE preschool program. Sometimes I need to run errands with a daycare kid or two, so I ensure I have either a carseat that will suit them, or the one from their parents, and just take the kids with me. I have written permission from each of the parents to transport their children. I also have daycare license which covers both the house, and the car while I'm transporting children.

Any other great sites for daycare supplies/ideas etc? blogs?

Thanks

I personally haven't found any other blog sites, though honestly, I haven't looked for any. As far as supplies and ideas go, there are some depending on what you're looking for. Oriental Trading Co has some fun crafts and craft ideas. Some of the parenting websites for example http://www.parents.com/ has some ideas for boredom busters. I'm not quite sure what you're looking for as far as supplies go. Ebay always seems to have stuff, as does craigslist.

Hope this helps.

[Sharonkay]

Here's what I found about being licensed for Iowa,

"Licensed Child Care Center and Preschool:
Iowa law limits the number of children a center may provide child care for without a license or registration as a child development home. A provider caring for six or more children must be registered and when a center cares for seven or more children it must be licensed.

Under licensing a provider applies for a license and the facility is visited and evaluated by a professional staff person who determines if the minimum regulatory requirements are meet or if there is an acceptable plan to meet all the standards before a license is issued. In issuing a license, the Department of Human Service is stating that the provider meets the necessary requirements."

So, looks like I could have up to 6 children without license.

Thanks for the feedback and answers. Glad to hear I may not need a fenced area. Am wondering if anyone has used a large room or two upstairs for daycare. We have two bathrooms upstairs, and 4 bedrooms. Two bedrooms, one large and one smaller could be used for daycare.

[tymaboy]

This is for IA http://www.neiowachildcare.org/docs/...les441-110.pdf

[tinytotzdaycare]

you can have 5 without being licensed...6 makes you need a license =)