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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>What Is Your Niche?
Leanna 03:50 PM 11-15-2012
I recently heard that there is a French family child care program in my area. The provider speaks French and speaks to the children in French, reads stories in French, etc. I am also aware of a nearby 24-hour daycare and it got me thinking about specialties in child care. Do you have a specialty or a niche? Is there something about your program, either in the curriculum or structure, that makes parents choose you and sets you apart from other programs? I would love to hear...
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Michael 03:52 PM 11-15-2012
Very relevent in today's world. Here are some threads on Daycare Niche Markets: https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.php?tag=niche+market
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daycare 03:55 PM 11-15-2012
Originally Posted by Leanna:
I recently heard that there is a French family child care program in my area. The provider speaks French and speaks to the children in French, reads stories in French, etc. I am also aware of a nearby 24-hour daycare and it got me thinking about specialties in child care. Do you have a specialty or a niche? Is there something about your program, either in the curriculum or structure, that makes parents choose you and sets you apart from other programs? I would love to hear...
Community in the classroom....we are use it as our classroom

Field trips everywhere we can go in our community and learn...

I have people who love that I offer this and then there are others who see it as a deal breaker.

the field trips is what sets me apart form the rest....
We have two to three each week.

This week we have one everyday....
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Country Kids 04:16 PM 11-15-2012
Originally Posted by daycare:
Community in the classroom....we are use it as our classroom

Field trips everywhere we can go in our community and learn...

I have people who love that I offer this and then there are others who see it as a deal breaker.

the field trips is what sets me apart form the rest....
We have two to three each week.

This week we have one everyday....
Is there anyway you can really explain your program and how you teach it? I understand the whole community thing but do you just pick someplace and go to it?

I also know you do preschool so how do you incorrporate into a program that you are gone on field trips alot. Also, how do you go to so many places?

You can pm me if you want-
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Leanna 04:21 PM 11-15-2012
Originally Posted by daycare:
Community in the classroom....we are use it as our classroom

Field trips everywhere we can go in our community and learn...

I have people who love that I offer this and then there are others who see it as a deal breaker.

the field trips is what sets me apart form the rest....
We have two to three each week.

This week we have one everyday....
Wow! Would you mind sharing some of the places you go? With so many trips I can imagine that they are not just your run of the mill preschool hot spots. What are some of the more unusual or unique ones? Also, how do you go about setting these up? Do you just call and say I'd like to bring a group of kids to visit? Do you go scout the location first?Approximately how much time would you say you spend setting up each trip? So many questions for you lol!
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daycare 04:23 PM 11-15-2012
Originally Posted by Leanna:
Wow! Would you mind sharing some of the places you go? With so many trips I can imagine that they are not just your run of the mill preschool hot spots. What are some of the more unusual or unique ones? Also, how do you go about setting these up? Do you just call and say I'd like to bring a group of kids to visit? Do you go scout the location first?Approximately how much time would you say you spend setting up each trip? So many questions for you lol!
I will PM you my email address and ask all you want....
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Country Kids 04:28 PM 11-15-2012
Originally Posted by Leanna:
Wow! Would you mind sharing some of the places you go? With so many trips I can imagine that they are not just your run of the mill preschool hot spots. What are some of the more unusual or unique ones? Also, how do you go about setting these up? Do you just call and say I'd like to bring a group of kids to visit? Do you go scout the location first?Approximately how much time would you say you spend setting up each trip? So many questions for you lol!
You worded it so much better then me! Thats probably why she will send you her email address but not I-

Actually I was wondering so many of the same things.

I just took a class last night on field trips but we have no where to go here. This was in the big city and there is so much more to do there.
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daycare 04:30 PM 11-15-2012
Originally Posted by Country Kids:
You worded it so much better then me! Thats probably why she will send you her email address but not I-

Actually I was wondering so many of the same things.

I just took a class last night on field trips but we have no where to go here. This was in the big city and there is so much more to do there.
CK you have my email address silly?????

OMG do you?? You do, I know you do..
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sharlan 04:36 PM 11-15-2012
We go on frequent outings. Today we went on a hot air balloon ride - ok, so it was tethered and only went up 400ft, but it was still a hot air balloon ride.
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daycare 04:47 PM 11-15-2012
heres a few things I can share with you that I do....

I live in a small town, next to big cities, yet I find that I hardly ever leave my own city..

Examples..... Things that are round...

last week we went to a pizza place and we learned to make pizza. Once cooked we ate there.

We learned at this lesson,

math, shapes, cooking
patience, teamwork, skill building,
table manners
respecting members of our community
how to pay a bill, using real money

we cleaned the tables and swept the floors.

We then went to the park where we played circle games
ring around the rosies
hula-hoops
duck-duck-goose

Next day we went to our farm......

we picked tons of veggies/fruits....

then we came home and cut all of the veggies we picked into circles.
cucumbers, apples and tomatoes into circles...I had to throw in some from the store to complete the lesson on circles with food.....

I always google things...like did you know that this month is national aviation month?

We have gone to........the airport, sat from afar and watched the planes take off while eating a pick nic lunch

We went to the air museum and climbed in and out of old war planes.

We went to the air park where they fly mini RC air planes and had a blast. One of the kids even got the assist in helping to fly the RC plane..

Still to come....we will go to UPS flight grounds and get to put empty boxes on a black belt to watch them ride up to the planes..

How do I do it??

Well first off, INSURANCE I have a 3.5million dollar policy that a lot of these companies require me to have in order to stop foot on their property..

I always have to go through a lot of phone calls and find the right people to talk to.

It also helps to know people. Every where we go I am talking about what we do. In fact, my connection to UPS was from someone I met at the nail salon. We started talking and she told me what she did for work. In the end, we now have a field trip there next week.
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Former Teacher 05:36 PM 11-15-2012
Originally Posted by daycare:
heres a few things I can share with you that I do....

I live in a small town, next to big cities, yet I find that I hardly ever leave my own city..

Examples..... Things that are round...

last week we went to a pizza place and we learned to make pizza. Once cooked we ate there.

We learned at this lesson,

math, shapes, cooking
patience, teamwork, skill building,
table manners
respecting members of our community
how to pay a bill, using real money

we cleaned the tables and swept the floors.

We then went to the park where we played circle games
ring around the rosies
hula-hoops
duck-duck-goose

Next day we went to our farm......

we picked tons of veggies/fruits....

then we came home and cut all of the veggies we picked into circles.
cucumbers, apples and tomatoes into circles...I had to throw in some from the store to complete the lesson on circles with food.....

I always google things...like did you know that this month is national aviation month?

We have gone to........the airport, sat from afar and watched the planes take off while eating a pick nic lunch

We went to the air museum and climbed in and out of old war planes.

We went to the air park where they fly mini RC air planes and had a blast. One of the kids even got the assist in helping to fly the RC plane..

Still to come....we will go to UPS flight grounds and get to put empty boxes on a black belt to watch them ride up to the planes..

How do I do it??

Well first off, INSURANCE I have a 3.5million dollar policy that a lot of these companies require me to have in order to stop foot on their property..

I always have to go through a lot of phone calls and find the right people to talk to.

It also helps to know people. Every where we go I am talking about what we do. In fact, my connection to UPS was from someone I met at the nail salon. We started talking and she told me what she did for work. In the end, we now have a field trip there next week.
I want to go to your daycare Daycare
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daycare 05:41 PM 11-15-2012
Originally Posted by Former Teacher:
I want to go to your daycare Daycare
awe...that means a lot....

I love what I do and I have fun doing it...... It helps that I am a huge kid myself and just love seeing what is out there to teach us..... I learn a lot during these field trips too....
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satcook 03:10 PM 11-16-2012
Our niche is being a Christian daycare. We do Bible stories each day, pray before eating, go to chapel, and just generally keep Christ first in everything we do.
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Heidi 03:18 PM 11-16-2012
I think my Niche' is primarily infant and toddler care. My favorite age is probably 7 or 8 months (sitting up, crawling), to 3. If they've been with me all along, I can usually tolerate them for another year, but otherwise, those pesky preschoolers sort of drive me bonkers.

JK-but while I can teach and plan a curriculum, it's really not my favorite thing in the world. I prefer the days when theres some order to the day, some activities to liven things up, but not this huge expectation that we just have to learn x,y, and z today. It feels more natural to me that way.
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Holiday Park 06:24 AM 11-18-2012
Infant care & providing low ratio child/adult care. There is usually only 1-2 here ,besides my own toddler,and school age children (when they are out of school) .

I love having them all on a schedule (on becoming babywise with a mix of baby whisperer thrown in) . I won't take babies any more that have no routine at home and parents do everything only on a whim/on demand. For example, I have a 7 month old who has to eat on demand , but its still every 3-4 hours so there is still predictability . As I can always "know" when he will need to eat based on his last feeding. . I have my 13 month son and three others under the age of 13 months different days/times so never all here at once or every day. My son and two of them nap,play, as eat all at the same times (generally)... Which makes my day go so much smoother and chaos free. Its the one erratic/non schedule baby that messes everything up. Her parents seem to be trying and say they want to do what I suggest (told me to let her know any suggestions) but its like what I tell them anything they just don't seem to get it yet. Its a two steps back one step forward process with them so I'm hoping there will be some improvement soon if they keep bringing her at the same times.
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Angelsj 10:20 AM 11-18-2012
I do individualized care. We have a general schedule, but I am not tied to it. On one day last week, I fed lunch to a sleepy toddler at 10:30, to another two when they got hungry at 11 and to the 3 yo when she got off the bus at 12.

If I have a couple kids at the same place educationally, I will do a curriculum, but often I do not. I teach each child at their own pace/ability. I am comfortable with tiny infants up through age 10 (though I honestly don't care much for SA kids), babies eat and sleep on demand. I accept kids who have been tossed out of other care, or have special needs, particularly autistic/aspergers or kids with sensory issues.

I also allow pay as you need and charge mostly hourly. If you use 25 hours, you pay for 25 hours.
Oh, and we are multilingual. We regularly speak English, Spanish and French, and occasionally throw in Latin, Greek, German, Italian and a touch of Mandarin.
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Cat Herder 08:06 AM 11-19-2012
I am full care to include specialty medical care, curriculum and special need inclusion.

All meals are hot, home cooked, complete meals.

All toys and linens are washed daily.

I have a small group with little to no turn-over in kids.
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Willow 08:21 AM 11-19-2012
I offer back to basics and Montessori inspired activities.

I believe life for kids today is too stimulating, too pressure filled, too structured. I keep my group small, I refuse to accommodate a group any larger than the size of a regular large family. Limited technology, no insanely brightly colored rooms or toys, very rarely do I serve processed foods and we spend a lot of time outside. We garden, run, get dirty, do all of our learning through exploring in play, and kids help with household chores just as they would in their own families. I emphasize teaching kindness and compassion in a quiet and controlled regular home.

My motto is "Your Child's Home Away From Home." I spent many summers as a child staying weeks at a time with aunts and grandparents, those experiences are what I strive to replicate.

I am of the belief that kids thrive best if they have a stay at home parent the first several years of their life. It's absolutely why I stayed home with my own. I realize that's not always possible though for every family to make work so I offer parents an option to replicate that down home model as closely as possible.

Blood relation aside my group is family in every other regard.
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Angelsj 04:10 PM 11-19-2012
Originally Posted by Willow:
I offer back to basics and Montessori inspired activities.

I believe life for kids today is too stimulating, too pressure filled, too structured. I keep my group small, I refuse to accommodate a group any larger than the size of a regular large family. Limited technology, no insanely brightly colored rooms or toys, very rarely do I serve processed foods and we spend a lot of time outside. We garden, run, get dirty, do all of our learning through exploring in play, and kids help with household chores just as they would in their own families. I emphasize teaching kindness and compassion in a quiet and controlled regular home.

My motto is "Your Child's Home Away From Home." I spent many summers as a child staying weeks at a time with aunts and grandparents, those experiences are what I strive to replicate.

I am of the belief that kids thrive best if they have a stay at home parent the first several years of their life. It's absolutely why I stayed home with my own. I realize that's not always possible though for every family to make work so I offer parents an option to replicate that down home model as closely as possible.

Blood relation aside my group is family in every other regard.
I absolutely agree with this on all counts! Nice
We are close to this as well, though I haven't been able to garden for a couple of years. I miss it.
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Greenplasticwateringcans 06:36 PM 11-19-2012
Originally Posted by Willow:
I offer back to basics and Montessori inspired activities.

I believe life for kids today is too stimulating, too pressure filled, too structured. I keep my group small, I refuse to accommodate a group any larger than the size of a regular large family. Limited technology, no insanely brightly colored rooms or toys, very rarely do I serve processed foods and we spend a lot of time outside. We garden, run, get dirty, do all of our learning through exploring in play, and kids help with household chores just as they would in their own families. I emphasize teaching kindness and compassion in a quiet and controlled regular home.

My motto is "Your Child's Home Away From Home." I spent many summers as a child staying weeks at a time with aunts and grandparents, those experiences are what I strive to replicate.

I am of the belief that kids thrive best if they have a stay at home parent the first several years of their life. It's absolutely why I stayed home with my own. I realize that's not always possible though for every family to make work so I offer parents an option to replicate that down home model as closely as possible.

Blood relation aside my group is family in every other regard.
That is exactly how I run my daycare as well.
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Countrygal 05:30 AM 11-20-2012
I don't think I have a "niche", although I am seriously thinking about before/after and summer school age care. My favorite activity is teaching and I bring learning into EVERYTHING we do. The daycare motto is "Reach for the Sun", because the sky is the limit and learning is everywhere! I also keep a fairly rigid basic schedule (meals, naps), because I feel every child needs schedules. In between we might be found anywhere doing anything. So far since school started we've studied Fall, Apples, Pumpkins, Johnny Appleseed, Knights, Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims, and we also have what would be the equivalent of a "circle time" which is all Christian material, in which we have covered the whole week of creation.

We take 1 to 2 field trips a week, and we have gotten "into" geocaching. The kids love it! So we do that probably a couple of times a month.

They still get plenty of play time, but my preference for play time is outdoor play, dancing, crafting, building, or even things like leappads, so most of this is available to the kids during free play. I have greatly reduced the number of "toys". They seem to only be things to be abused and broken to most kids.

Some day I will become even more organized, and my curriculum will be planned well ahead so I can remember to include all of those neat things I think of two weeks AFTER the unit!
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Heidi 06:03 AM 11-20-2012
Originally Posted by Heidi:
I think my Niche' is primarily infant and toddler care. My favorite age is probably 7 or 8 months (sitting up, crawling), to 3. If they've been with me all along, I can usually tolerate them for another year, but otherwise, those pesky preschoolers sort of drive me bonkers.

JK-but while I can teach and plan a curriculum, it's really not my favorite thing in the world. I prefer the days when theres some order to the day, some activities to liven things up, but not this huge expectation that we just have to learn x,y, and z today. It feels more natural to me that way.
So, this morning it occurred to me what my "style" is. I teach under the "If you give a mouse a cookie" principle... AKA, expanding the children's interests.

This morning, dcb (2 1/2) was the first to arrive. Just then, I found some play money that had fallen on the floor. I said "here..have a dollar". He took it and seemed interested. So, I found more in my "money" in my coat pocket. Then he tried to find a pocket to put it in, so naturally, I found a purse for him (had to dig in the overflow closet).

He brought me the money once he had it all packed up, and took out dollars. We counted, we talked about the guy on the front...George Washington. If I had one that worked (on my list) it would have been a great time to get out my cash register. If he stays interested, I will find other ways to expand that play.

That, to me, is a natural way to teach infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers, even older children, if one's ready to be creative!
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