Do you provide summer care as well?

I need to change something about my program if I am going to continue. I am burned out and have a couple of options.
1. I can pay off all my debt and quit in a couple of years (but what is the guarantee on that??).
2. I can eliminate all my SA kids and just focus on preschool age.
3. I can eliminate all my little ones and focus on before and after school care.

Right now I am leaning toward the last one in case the first one doesn't happen. So, my question is this: do you think it would work to only offer before and after care, plus the days there is no school but not summer care. I would only like to keep my current kids that I have in the summer. As it is that would leave me w/ 4 daycare kids in the summer. They are all GREAT kids, but one would be aging out in a couple of years.

The main reason I am looking at #3 is that this would allow me most of the day to just be with my own little one. I feel like I miss so much even though I am here. And my biggest complaint, other than not having my house, is that I am just tired of being STUCK here all day. I would like to have a little more freedom to do playdates, take ECFE classes, etc.

I thought I could advertise at the schools, maybe it would appeal to teachers. I just have no idea how difficult it would be to find teacher's kids or people who don't need summer.

I know there is at least one person on here who takes summers off, but I can't remember who that is... I'm wondering if they just take teacher's kids or any kids.

Thanks!

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I have a mixed group. I have kids from three months old to 13 years old. My "schoolies" are aged 13, 12, 10, and 8 (siblings of younger children also in my care)

They are MUCH harder to entertain (well the boys are!) So be prepared for plenty of "I'm bored!" even though you may lay on oodles of activities for them. I have a no guns/weapons policy and even though these boys have been with me for YEARS......they still find it almost impossible to play anything that doesn't include "killing" each other. At home they are allowed to play adult video games and watch violent movies and are used to be totally over-stimulated.

This is true with many school age kids who get a steady diet of electronic beeps instead of imaginative play.

So tending school age would mean a whole lot more time to yourself during the day when school is in. But it could (depending on the kids) mean a boatload of work when they are at your home.

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Yep, I am aware of this and that is why I don't want them in the summer!
The ones I have now know my rules and tend to follow them for the most part. It would be an hour in the morning, an hour after school and then on the rare days that there is no school. I would probably schedule my vacation over spring break anyway because we tend to go somewhere.

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HOw many summer camp program are in your area. If there are aalot then it might work.

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I do afterschool care and only take kids for a maximum of 4 weeks during the summer (The weeks are predetermined by me). I do fun themes on those weeks and take the rest of the summer off to be with my kids.
Parents love this because they can send their kiddo to grandma or Auntie for free during the summer. A lot of parents also rave about the fact that they don't need to pay me which allows their children to go to all sorts of different camps during the summer (Much more fun than being at someone's house all summer!) When they are required to pay for full time summer care in order to have a place for the fall they don't have that option. I have kids here going to gymnastics camp, drama camp, zoo camp, swimming camp, overnight one week long camps....they are very excited about it and I feel good about them being able to have these great experiences because I give their parents the summer off and guarantee them a place in my care the following fall. (I ask a deposit for the first week of afterschool care though).
Parents will likely see this as a bonus. I know I would

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I definitely do NOT do summer care! I love the summer because I get to spend it with my own kids. I don't charge for the summer or to hold spots, so I predetermine a weekly budget for the summer to come up with a savings goal for the school year. Then I save X amount per week from September to June. It works out really well for me.

I've done things this way the entire time that I've been doing child care. I also take off for the entirety of my kids' Christmas and Spring breaks, and don't charge for those either. It's totally worth it, in my opinion, for the family time and for the time to rest and rejuvinate.

Not to mention, it's decent money for less than half the hours!

Downsides:

With no spots held, I'm never guaranteed to be full in the fall. This last school year, for example, I was forced to switch to littles because I didn't get enough SA interest. However, I did care for teachers' littles, so I still have the summer off.

Parents of SA's are generally more of a pain than parents of littles. I think it's because they've been out of the daily daycare routine for long enough to forget how things should go. Just be firm with your expectations up front, though, and make sure they read and understand the contract.

If you have a problem family, it's harder to replace them mid-year.

I really do think the pros outweigh the cons though. Good luck with whatever you decide.

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Thanks for your response! When I think of doing this I feel a weight lifted off of me. I LOVE my little ones and it would be really hard to see them go, but I just think this would work for me so much better. I am *pretty sure* I am going to try this route, but not for another year or so. We still want the extra income in order to try to catch up a bit and then hopefully some of the stress will be relieved and any kids I get will just be savings $$.

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