New to Before and After Care

[squareone]

I have my first dck going to kindy this fall and will also be taking in another child for before and after care. I am revising my contract for this reason and want to know if there are any "must haves" for me to add regarding school agers. What are the main issues that I am likely to face with school kids that don't apply to preschoolers? Do you allow cell phones and other handheld devices and what are the rules? Any help is appreciated.

[familyschoolcare]

As far a cell phones I would not allow them to be in use at my house, no reason the child is safe the parent knows where the child is and in the event of an emergency I will handle it. As far as bringing them to the house they fall under the same rules as anything else children may bring things to help make their day more comfortable. Please label everything and beware that I am not responsible for anything that is lost, stolen or broken. Therefore, I recommend that you do not bring electronics, expensive toys, or anything that is a favorite.

[Christina72684]

Do you know how much you are charging yet? I'm trying to figure that out right now.

[AfterSchoolMom]

Make sure you figure out your rate, and charge more for days that school is out due to snow, teacher work days, etc. Don't rely on the families to tell you when these will be - the school calendar is usually on each city/county school website.

I personally allow cell phones and handheld games, but I make sure to make it VERY clear to the parents (and it's in my contract) that I am not responsible, either personally or financially, for lost, stolen, or broken toys, phones, or other electronics brought from home.

Homework is an important factor. Decide whether or not you'll give them time to do it at your house. If you will, make sure that they know that:
1. You're not a teacher and can't be expected to re-teach them each day.
2. You can't help them with school projects - that's a parent's responsibility.
3. You won't dig through their backpacks or police them. If they tell you they did all of their homework, then you believe them. It's also a parent's responsibillity to check over homework nightly. You can't guarantee that it will always be entirely completed.
4. You won't enforce "extra" homework that a parent decides they want their child to do - so no extra reading while others are playing, no flash cards, no practice spelling tests, etc. If they want a tutor, they need to pay a regular tutor rate!

Transportation to and from school is also a big one. Does the bus stop by your house? Will they expect you to walk them to the bus stop or drive them to school? Can you accomodate either of those things, or are they ok with the kids walking from the bus to your house alone? Get it in writing and signed.

Sick days. If they're too sick to go to school, can they come to your house? What if they get sick while at school?

[nannyde]

I wouldn't allow a child to have a cell phone here. It's a recording device, picture taker, and a direct line to a higher authority when things don't go your way.

[squareone]

Thanks. After reading the replies, I am thinking of either not allowing cell phones or having a requirement that they have to be turned off and left in their backpack while at my house. I remember a provider on here saying that they followed their school districts policy for cell phones. I have to check to see what ours says.

Christina72684 I am going to charge $85 a week which will include two hour delays and early dismissals. Any time that school is out or their child is in my care for more than 4 hours in any given day they will pay my day rate of $40. I plan to have a separate agreement/addendum for Christmas break, Spring break, and summer.

Afterschoolmom I was hoping that you would chime in

Great homework tips...especially this If they tell you they did all of their homework, then you believe them. It's also a parent's responsibillity to check over homework nightly. You can't guarantee that it will always be entirely completed.

I have decided that I will allow time to do homework but I will not assist, check it over, etc. I was thinking of 4:30-5:30 for homework, reading, computer time or other quiet activity.

The bus stops near my house but not at my house. It's about 2 blocks away. It's in my contract I have that I do not offer transportation to and from the bus stop and they must be comfortable with their child walking alone (a group of kids from our neighborhood walk together in the morning so they really wouldn't be alone.) In all honesty though, I will probably walk them to/from the bus stop when the weather is nice and then have them walk on their own with the rest of the neighborhood kids when the weather is not favorable.

Sick days. If they're too sick to go to school, can they come to your house? What if they get sick while at school?
Nope. I have in my contract if if they are too sick to attend to school they are too sick to attend daycare. If they get sick at school then the school is to call the parent to come pick up the child.

I am debating about whether I should change my meal schedule to accomodate SA's. Right now, breakfast is scheduled after the SA's get on the bus. If I serve it any sooner, then I would have to add a morning snack to the lineup which would cause the little ones to eat less at lunch time. I will probably have to end up doing split shift breakfast