After years of my livingroom being my daycare room, I finally have an empty room that I can use solely for Daycare use. The problem is it is only 10' x 12'. Do you think the room is too small? Also, any suggestions on set-up? Quiet time will still be in the livingroom if that helps. Thank you in advance.

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I think it depends on how many kids you plan on having.

My state requires 35 sq feet of indoor space PER child.

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My state does too with a max of 6 plus 2 SAC, and outdoor space needs to be at least 75 sq feet per child. You may need to also get it checked by the fire department to see what the room capacity is in general. I would probably put all the toys in that room but still say that the living room space is still part of the daycare for nap time, circle time, and some other activities. I think it sould be fine as long as that is not the ONLY room you have daycare in.

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Don't forget that licensing will look at it as EXTRA space for the kids on top of what you use now. So it may be small...but it's space! Enjoy!

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whether or not it is "correct" or, we were once short by a few square feet - our licensing monitor told us that if we just stuck a child size table & some chairs in our living room, that space would count also - because the kids played in it sometimes (in theory).

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I was planning on using the room for centers. The livingroom will be used for circle time, quiet time and such. We also eat in my kitchen so that space is counted also if I am not mistaken. So the square footage of all three areas would be used. Is that correct?

Also do you think a separate room for centers would be ok? Right now I have no official center areas at all...everything is just put where it fits in the livingroom.

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I would LOVE to have a separate room just for centers. I think that's a fantastic idea! If you keep more toddler and younger stuff out in the living room, and let the bigger kids into the extra room for cetner time, I think that would work extremely well.

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That would be great to have a separate room for centers! In my state you can count every room with exception of hallways and bathrooms as square feet required for the children. As long as the room(s) are approved by licensing to use for daycare.

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It is going to be so nice to have everything spaced out better in my home ( we only have 1500 sq feet total). I also think the older DCKs will behave better with a little more room. Thank you so much for all of your help :-) I will post photos once the room is set up ( we still need new flooring of some type & have to save up for it).

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My main playroom is about that size. I have it on our main floor. It's actually a formal dining room with only daycare toys in it. The kids spend the majority of the time there. They also play in the adjoining kitchen/dining area. We do have another area in teh basement that is similar in size that we use on occasion, but the majority of our playtime is on the main floor. It's small, but there is no running!! They nap in the adjoining formal living room.

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I have the same set up, small basement playroom but the kids have access to the entire first floor, so a ton of space overall. The only thing I would caution is that it makes having a larger group of kids difficult. I'm licensed for 6, but with any more than 4, things start getting a little too cozy in the playroom, block towers get knocked over, any kind of mess is unbearable. I often let the kids play in the living room for a change of scene, but I have fewer toys up here and I'm more strict about what they have access to.

Just keep it in mind when you are planning your numbers of kids!

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Thanks for the advice. I am licensed for 5 children so I hope if isn't too tight. The DCKs and I are having so much fun "shopping" for ideas for the room. My 4 yr old DCB said that he wants a climbing wall so he can climb like Spider Man.....yeah...no! Lol.

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