I have been running a licensed home daycare for 23 years and was thinking about switching to a licensed home Preschool where i do 2 half day programs a day for 4 days ... My state lady brought it up that you work less hours make more money and i was wondering if anyone has a home preschool based out of there home. I do not know what i want to do and would like any advice you guys have Pros and cons so far the pro is i will make a lot more, work 6-7 hours instead of 12 and off on Fridays but the con is i will not have my babies anymore and i have to say goodbye to 4 kids which i think is the hardest thing to do ;0( TIA

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Hi there!
I ran a preschool out of my home for 5 years, though I worked full time hours. I worked in daycare centers and as a nanny for 15 years before that.

My advice would be to offer a niche preschool. Think of your strengths and what sets you apart as a provider and as a teacher and then build the preschool around that. For instance my preschool was nature/Science/Art specific so I drew a lot on Waldorf and Reggio philosophies. I offered things that other preschools did not like a huge back yard where we spent a lot of time playing and regular field trips to explore the creek we lived by.

As long as you can find a niche and market yourself in a way that sets you apart from daycares and preschools in your area then I think it will be easier to fill spots.

Good luck in your new endeavor!

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This lady started out just doing 1/2 day preschool (4 classes 2 T/Th and 2 M/W/F with morning and afternoon classes each day) in her home and eventually opened a preschool center with a private kindergarten program.

I don't buy any of her products but I do enjoy the videos.

There are free 8 videos. You have to go to the top of the page where it says "week 1; week 2...." are buttons to different videos. For some reason each page you go to it erases the following weeks so bookmark the video 8 page so you can go back to see the other videos.

First video (talks about her original program and how she got started):
http://www.startapreschool.com/training/decorating.html

Last video (setting up a preschool graduation ceremony):
http://www.startapreschool.com/training/graduation.html

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I run a morning preschool from my home. I opened up in 2010 and I LOVE it! In my area, I'm able to make a good amount of money, but would make more if I did full time childcare. Right now, the amount that I charge ends up being about $17/ day for a 3-hour program per child. The program runs from 9am-noon.

I definitely agree with previous poster to find your niche market. I do a very hands on play-based program that also prepares children very well for kindergarten, socially and academically. Parents love that my program is small (can have 6 children at a time) and that it's very hands on and we spend a lot of time outside.

Some years, I run a Prekinder program for the MWF class. It runs from 9-2pm and is still play-based and with my philosophy but does allow us a little extra time for more free play/outside time and special game times and journaling time. I charge about $22/day for this.

Most of my families have a stay-at-home parent, however, as the last few years have gone on, I've had some working parents ask for extended care hours. Right now on TTH, I have two children stay until 5pm. It works for me, it's extra money and it saves the parents from having to leave work to pick up their child and take them to childcare. But you may want to think about how you'll handle that if you have parents that want/need extended care or earlier drop off.

Also, when I first opened, it helped that I accepted children that were not yet potty trained. It doesn't really bother me to change a few diapers and they typically train in a few months after they see all of their friends using the potty. It does help a little bit when enrollment is low because all other area preschools the children have to be potty trained.

Hopefully that helps!

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I've thought about this also because the schools here don't offer k4 . Well the public school just started his year but they only offer TWENTY total slots .. So basically just one classroom. In 2018 they are supposed to have enough funding to open two.. But there are a lot more k4 kids around here than twenty... So I know I could hit the market EASY here.

Still thinking about it. It will be six months at least before our separate daycare two rooms are available but it would make things much easier that way for me.

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I have toyed with the idea. The thought of so much free time and not having to jump through licensing hoops sounds wonderful.

However, one thing we have to keep in mind is that daycare is a necessity to most parents.

Just pre-school is a luxury, and the first thing parents give up on if times get tough financially, they want to save for a new car, repairs on their home....etc etc. This makes the market a little more unstable.

If my husband had an outside job that paid well.....I would not hesitate to do pre-school only. It wouldn't matter if I lost kids as our income wouldn't be dependent on enrollment. But this is our only source of income. We do quite well and stay full all the time, but we feel that's because we are providing a NECESSARY service and not a luxury one.

I am jealous of those who can make pre-school work! So if you can....go for it!

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When I opened back up my home day care, this is exactly what I wanted to do. But, we have too many elementary schools in this area that offers PreK starting at 3-years-old.

Parents pull their children out of home day care when their child turns 3, just to put them in a preschool or PreK program.

But here in IL, they have Preschool for All set up in the day care centers, and we (home providers) can send our children 3-5(not yet in kindergarten) to these preschools and not lose any money. The parents can still drop their children off before work and pick them up after work. The tuition to us won't change.

We have a choice of sending them from 9am -11:30am or from 1pm - 3:30pm.

Now, if we send any children who are on CCAP, we providers get an incentive (more money).

So, now, I don't have to concentrate so much on a preschool curriculum here, even though they still get extra from here. I send them more so for them to learn how to socially connect with group of kids their age and so that they can be prepared to do a classroom environment.

Also, they get transportation from my home to the center and back.

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