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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Necessary Items to Open a Daycare
Abigail 09:09 PM 11-10-2010
I'm thinking about all the things I need to start up my home daycare. I have a kidney-shaped short table and 10"-12" chairs. I will have 1-2 toy shelves built and a 4-layered 1-sided book shelf built for me...thanks dad in advance! LOL

I also have some things for the wall including Abc's, colors, shapes, and numbers and a medium-sized cork board for the "parent's board". I have a few totes of toys and books. I have a mental list of toys I want to buy brand-new once I open (lincoln logs, wooden/cardboard blocks, waffle blocks, and duplos). Whenever I come across good sales at thrift shops I always purchase, but I can't wait to open so I shop good deals. Last week I purchased a commerical grade baby changing pad that sells online for $45+S/H and I paid $3.60 for it! It looks brand new!

When we move, I have quotes for installing a kitchen area so I can keep my basement living for exclusive use for the daycare. The cabinets will be where I store the food....wouldn't it be great if the house has a bar, I could just convert it! If I take on infants right away though, I need to purchase EVERYTHING, so what are your recommendations?

If you can picture it, in one large room there will be a 6-foot area of counter space with drawers (flatware, junk drawer, etc), cabinets (food in one, craft supplies/activies in another, games/puzzles in another, etc), a huge kidney-shaped table with chairs, two toy shelves, and one book shelf against the wall (screwed into the wall so it doesn't tip over!). I will have enough toys and books displayed so it looks nice for the first interviews until I can get families enrolled. Then I can purchase more. What would you recommend I do? I will also have two more rooms available for exclusive daycare use...one for infants (I might create a half-wall in the main room though depending on the size) and one for dramatic play with larger items like the houses or food markets, etc. Thanks for any ideas for a good start.
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boysx5 02:52 AM 11-11-2010
pack n plays, highchairs, nap mats, swing, infant seat, bins to store diapers and wipes and extra clothes, and lots of patience
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sahm1225 09:40 AM 11-11-2010
I wouldn't purchase too much until you have an infant actually enrolled. It could turn out that the area you end up in only has a demand for toddler care. Then I would purchase at least a swing. Some daycares require that parents bring their own pack n plays, so you dont have to lots of extra ones. You can always use a blanket or a comforter for tummy time...

Good luck!
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SimpleMom 09:51 AM 11-11-2010
The above list, plus I would add to it some 3-ring binders, a business plan (Tom Coplin has some good books--Red Leaf Press), you can use the nap mats for the babies to sit to play on while they are young.

Good luck!!
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laundrymom 10:00 AM 11-11-2010
I would get a pack and play or two and a highchair. Will you have carpet or tile? if carpet,.. I say a good simplicity vacuum,.. if tile I say a nice steamer.
Also if tile I would go to goodwill and get 2 or 3 nice thick quilts, come home bleach and wash them,... use them for the babies to explore their world on. just get the sizes that will fit in your washer. I cant think of anything else I have for babies. I dont use swings, saucers , jumpers or bouncers.



Originally Posted by Abigail:
I'm thinking about all the things I need to start up my home daycare. I have a kidney-shaped short table and 10"-12" chairs. I will have 1-2 toy shelves built and a 4-layered 1-sided book shelf built for me...thanks dad in advance! LOL

I also have some things for the wall including Abc's, colors, shapes, and numbers and a medium-sized cork board for the "parent's board". I have a few totes of toys and books. I have a mental list of toys I want to buy brand-new once I open (lincoln logs, wooden/cardboard blocks, waffle blocks, and duplos). Whenever I come across good sales at thrift shops I always purchase, but I can't wait to open so I shop good deals. Last week I purchased a commerical grade baby changing pad that sells online for $45+S/H and I paid $3.60 for it! It looks brand new!

When we move, I have quotes for installing a kitchen area so I can keep my basement living for exclusive use for the daycare. The cabinets will be where I store the food....wouldn't it be great if the house has a bar, I could just convert it! If I take on infants right away though, I need to purchase EVERYTHING, so what are your recommendations?

If you can picture it, in one large room there will be a 6-foot area of counter space with drawers (flatware, junk drawer, etc), cabinets (food in one, craft supplies/activies in another, games/puzzles in another, etc), a huge kidney-shaped table with chairs, two toy shelves, and one book shelf against the wall (screwed into the wall so it doesn't tip over!). I will have enough toys and books displayed so it looks nice for the first interviews until I can get families enrolled. Then I can purchase more. What would you recommend I do? I will also have two more rooms available for exclusive daycare use...one for infants (I might create a half-wall in the main room though depending on the size) and one for dramatic play with larger items like the houses or food markets, etc. Thanks for any ideas for a good start.

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boysx5 10:25 AM 11-11-2010
in my state when they come to license you you have to have the items so that they can license you for the # of children so we had to have every item before hand so it costs a bit to get started up
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MommyMuffin 10:49 AM 11-11-2010
I opened 2 weeks ago and my BIGGEST mistake was buying too many toys. I would say, keep it simple and while your planning it, make sure you have lots of storage space.
If you are looking at infants I would have a swing for sure... I have a 2 month old coming next week and I do not have a swing! My daughter was such a big baby she broke the swing that we had!!
Also I have found that is it soooo much easier to have a changing table than the floor.
If you plan on having infants and toddlers together my advice is to get a play pen gate thing..not sure what exactly to call it!
I am getting nervous about my toddlers stepping on my infants so I just sent my hubby out to buy me the XL play gate...you know when you have to go to the bathroom..etc!!! Anyways my gf has one and said not only does it form into a play pen circle but it has breaks so you can block an area. Its 60 bucks but I decided it is one of those things that I just have to have.
Once you open you will quickly find out what you HAVE to have!
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Lilbutterflie 12:03 PM 11-11-2010
Outdoor toys? Depending on the space you have outside... an outdoor playhouse, slide, table and chairs, playdough, bubbles, tricycles if you have a cemented area, hoola hoops. Don't buy all at once before you open. I agree with everyone else here, start with the basics and add as you need!!
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kidkair 03:59 PM 11-11-2010
Keep to simple toys. Even older kids like playing with the blocks. Kids also tend to enjoy the boxes more than elaborate toys so keep the boxes from your move and the larger items. Today my kids got a larger kick out of playing with pinto beans and seashells than anything else available to them. I keep toys to a minimum and change most of them once a month to keep the interest up. The pinto beans and boxes usually win any day Outside balls are great and sidewalk chalk. I keep a plastic kitchen outside year round as well as a slide, riding toys, sand box, and tettertotter that also goes in circles.
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Live and Learn 06:33 PM 11-11-2010
I have a 3,2,1,1 year olds. They play with the fisher price little people day in day out. we have tons of the animals and people, the barn, the house, the jungle, the castle....they love it. they love the big liltykes kitchen I have with toy food. duplos!!!! Baby dolls!!!! A large basket of dinosaurs and animals. Books! I like the cardboard only in reach of my lil ankle biters otherwise they tear the pages. we have lots of other thing to play with too but if you took everything else away I could probably make it with just the above items!
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QualiTcare 07:51 PM 11-11-2010
i would buy used toys from someone on craigslist or at a thrift store - it's kind of late for garage sales here, but i guess if it's warm wherever you live - you could find some there.

i've always bought toys for my own children brand new - and that was a mistake really. of course i had enough toys when i did daycare that i didn't have to buy a thing, but still it was a lot of wasted money. i spent $250 on a play kitchen and they played with it maybe twice. bought a $75 elmo and i should've just put 75 bucks in the garbage.

i'm finally getting smarter. my son wants this toy called "spike the dinosaur" that's about 140-150 for christmas and i found a lady on craigslist who has one with the original packaging for 50 bucks and i'm getting hers! she said she got it for her son and he played with it once. i told her that's probably what mine will do which is why i'm not buying a new one. i'll tie a bow around his neck and put it under a box that can be lifted up - he won't know or care where it came from! i'd be RICH if i had all the money back i've spent on new toys that can be found used for a couple bucks.
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Abigail 11:52 PM 11-14-2010
Originally Posted by laundrymom:
I would get a pack and play or two and a highchair. Will you have carpet or tile? if carpet,.. I say a good simplicity vacuum,.. if tile I say a nice steamer.
Also if tile I would go to goodwill and get 2 or 3 nice thick quilts, come home bleach and wash them,... use them for the babies to explore their world on. just get the sizes that will fit in your washer. I cant think of anything else I have for babies. I dont use swings, saucers , jumpers or bouncers.
The majority will be carpeting, but I want to remove the carpeting and put in tile flooring under the table area and around the counter space and fridge area so it's like a kitchen. This kidney shaped table is also where we will do crafts and other activities so it's not just for lunch. I have two vacuums right now (1 bad and 1 good, LOL) so I will just leave a vacuum in the basement for fast cleanup.

Originally Posted by MommyMuffin:
I opened 2 weeks ago and my BIGGEST mistake was buying too many toys. I would say, keep it simple and while your planning it, make sure you have lots of storage space.
If you are looking at infants I would have a swing for sure... I have a 2 month old coming next week and I do not have a swing! My daughter was such a big baby she broke the swing that we had!!
Also I have found that is it soooo much easier to have a changing table than the floor.
If you plan on having infants and toddlers together my advice is to get a play pen gate thing..not sure what exactly to call it!
I am getting nervous about my toddlers stepping on my infants so I just sent my hubby out to buy me the XL play gate...you know when you have to go to the bathroom..etc!!! Anyways my gf has one and said not only does it form into a play pen circle but it has breaks so you can block an area. Its 60 bucks but I decided it is one of those things that I just have to have.
Once you open you will quickly find out what you HAVE to have!
Once upon a child and Craigslist is where they sell those discounted too. I will definitely want one, good for outside too! If the space is big enough, I want to put up a half-wall....so I can section off the "infant zone" OR if I can, I will tear down part of a wall from a room off the main daycare room to create an infant safe zone. The gate will be a cheap fix to start out though, thanks for the idea.
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Abigail 11:56 PM 11-14-2010
Someone mentioned about having a changing table. I want to buy a three-drawer dresser that has top-edges for a changing pad. This way, I can store 2 children's items in each drawer and it's all locked and hidden away. (I can have 7 children, so I can easily fit the three youngest in a drawer for when I'm at full capacity--two more school age kids too, but they can have their stuff somewhere else). I can keep it in the main room this way and not worry about what the other kids are doing while I'm changing diapers.
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