I currently run an in-home preschool in my small community. It has no doors and leads one room right into the next. Front room (cubbies and bathroom), next room (Circle Time carpet, bulletin boards, toy shelf), next room (Center Time room with designated centers), and the last room (small tables and chairs, manipulatives shelving, changing table). You can see directly from the back of it into the front of it and I think it gives a good impression to all that send their children here to attend.

However, I DO NOT enjoy having to walk through preschool every single time I go to the kitchen outside of business hours. The master bedroom is right in the front room of the preschool as well (that they never enter) and the children's bedrooms and our living room (that I have used twice in over 2 years due to it not having doors and me needing that security when relaxing...) is upstairs.

Toured a WONDERFUL spacious house yesterday with a backyard three times bigger and located in front of a pond. It is one street over. It felt like a home to me because all bedrooms were upstairs and two living rooms were as well...nothing downstairs except kitchen/laundry room/garage for our regular usage. However, the layout is different downstairs. The "front room" would not be the entryway and it would be difficult to gate it off (I would need a really wide gate, maybe?). The room with tables and chairs would be to the left of that room and everything else to the right. The "flow" just wouldn't be there anymore and while it wouldn't bother me at all, and actually might be a little easier for me to see into the Circle Time room when kids are playing in there and I am in the Center Time room, I wonder if it would turn off potential clients due to not being so preschooly. We would have the same matching child-sized furniture and set-up but it just wouldn't lead one room into the next like it does here. The current home is PERFECT for this business but I am just not loving it as a home home.

I need help processing this. Do you think anyone considering an in-home preschool might not choose use to do a set-up like the one I described above??? That really concerns me.

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I don't think it would affect your enrollment at all. They tour at interview and know what's where. What else is offered in your area as far as space?

I think the after hours layout IS affecting you, and that needs to be altered.

I have my former living room for my classroom, and it's plenty. I block it off from my dining and hallway with my changing table/storage units, but I am changing it to a corner locker set up soon so that kids/parent are limited to my entry and can't even SEE into my living area.

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What else is offered in my current home or at this new one I am interested in? I am trying not to be super revealing, since we're on the regular forum area.

The new place would have the little tables in a room to the left (a sunroom), the circle time room immediately next to the entryway (the dining room) and then the center time room right by that (living room). It would make kind of an L shape where as my current layout is just straight back and my kitchen isn't involved (the kitchen is in the back off to the side totally gated off).
It would still be by the kitchen but I guess at least it would look a little different and bedrooms and such are the way I like them.

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We recently got pre-approved for a home loan and hopefully will be moving this summer or early fall. Other than how I set-up the business-side of my home, it will still take up the same amount of space. We are looking for a bigger house, so it will be a smaller percentage of the home.

I would say you do what is best for you and your family. We are under the impression that this next house will be with us longer than the child care business, so what we like is most important.

Now onto dealing with filling a vacancy (or more), finding a new house and moving, and having our third baby.....all within the next 3-4 months . When it rains, it pours!

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I think you could do equally well as a preschool with the new house set up

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Do think about the pond, though. You will need to have that fenced off (if it isn't already), or an area to fence the kids in, away from the pond.

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It is already fenced off from the yard (see through gate) and we visit it often to feed the ducks in addition to playing next to another one that has a couple of our neighborhood parks right up next to it.

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I didn't word that very well...

What does your competition have/offer in your area?

For me to even have dedicated space and kid sized furniture sets me apart from other home daycares here.

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Then it sounds great! We moved into a house with a pond and just had to install a $3000 fence. Didn't want you to have to pay the stupid tax like we did.

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Any "in-home preschools" are one dedicated room in addition to an eating area and they still don't look like any of my rooms. Mine is 2 dedicated rooms, a dedicated entryway (10 cubbies), and an eating area. There is really no competition as far as in-home preschools go ONLY daycares. The in-home daycares aren't nearly as nice but, of course, they are open from 6:30-6:30 at CLOSE to the same rate that I am open from 7:00-5:00 for.

Mine would still only have child-sized furniture and I believe you have seen pictures so you know what I am talking about. I just guess I worried about it looking more "homey."

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I think it could still look like a preschool. You would still have a Circle Time room and a Center Time room and could set- up/decorate each room accordingly.

I do have to say though, that you probably will miss having an entryway area. I use my living room at the front of my house as my main dc room and that's all we use it for (well ds plays in there). My front door is the entrance and I have a little tiled spot when you walk in, then it's carpet and the cubbies are right there against the wall. Most of the time the parents don't come at the same time, but when they do, there isn't much room and they have to move out of the way of the door. I can't stand it! I would love to have a separate entrance with cubbies!

It sounds like you like the potential house!

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Maybe you should keep looking? If you're planning to do this for the long haul, don't settle for something you're not positive about.

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I do not want to do this for the long haul any longer. I will make it until I no longer have to (5-10 years or less?).

My entryway is my front door and it does get auite crammed when multiple families come in. I just like that it is gated off so they can shut the gate if their child is having a difficult morning. I would have to install one. Hmmm now that I am thinking about it I could build a little halfwall by using some of those ikea shelves if needed.

This house would just be a great house for my family instead of the other way around. I thought I could "deal" with my current house because it is PERFECT for this business (as perfect as it can get around here) but I just would prefer a wonderful aet up for my own family MORE instead.

It would still have the same amount of space and way more backyard space so that would be a non-issue. The layout would just be different.

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