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AcornMama 08:31 AM 06-12-2013
Hi, I'm new here. Actually, I've been lurking for several days. I've learned a lot, and been quite entertained, by what I've read here. I told dh that the daycare forum ladies are my new best friends who haven't met me yet.

Anyway, I do have a specific question. Is it better to post it here, in the new members area, or in the provider's forum?
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Blackcat31 08:56 AM 06-12-2013
Welcome to the forum!!

Go ahead and either post your question here or start a new thread with a title the allows others to search for the topic later.

Either way is fine
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AcornMama 09:10 AM 06-12-2013
Thanks, Blackcat! I've been in forums enough to know that I don't want to be the newbie doing it wrong and looking stupid.

Anyway, I'm in the process of establishing a new business. It will either be a licensed family child care home OR a mornings only preschool complete with curriculum and typical preschool/pre-K learning/activities/stuff. The morning preschool would not require licensing based on my state's rules. But I would still comply by most licensing rules just because it makes sense (like CPR cert., fire extinguishers, etc.). The big difference is how many kids can be in my home for how long.

So, my question is, do any of you have feedback regarding the possibility of success with an in-home preschool? Are these generally successful? I know that so much of that depends on the location/community, the teacher, and the individual aspects of the preschool. I like the idea of morning preschool, as it would leave my afternoons free with my own kids. But I'm wondering if there would be more demand for full-time child care. We are a bit rural, not way out in the country or anything, but I'm wondering if that would be a negative for morning preschool. Would moms drive out to my house for just a few hours?

Hope I didn't ramble too much. I've been thinking about this for some time now, and see pros and cons for each option, and would just appreciate any other feedback that might help me in my decision making. Thanks!

P.S. Nice touch, forum powers that be, with the acorn pic!
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momofsix 10:21 AM 06-12-2013
Welcome!
I know that where I live the preschool thing wouldn't work because pretty much everyone can now get FREE preschool through the public schools. I don't see people being willing to pay for something that they could get for free KWIM?
Best wishes for your upcoming business adventure!
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AcornMama 10:45 AM 06-12-2013
Thanks, that's a good point. As I've homeschooled my own, I guess I'm not completely aware of what's offered at the schools. I do know that many of the churches in my area offer weekday preschool. I'll take a look at the status of free preschool in my area. Thanks!
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AcornMama 11:06 AM 06-12-2013
Well, according to the Head Start locator, the nearest Head Start is about 9 miles away from me, more rural than I am. There is no Head Start listed in my community, or in the neighboring suburban community, which would likely be where my potential clients would live (I think).

There are MANY church-based preschools in said neighboring suburban community. My preschool would emphasize our more rural location, emphasizing time in nature, homestead animals, gardening, eco-living and such.

Are there free preschool programs beyond Head Start?
ETA: Did some more online poking around, there is one subsidized (don't know if it's completely free, but probably) pre-K program in my community serving families that meet criteria identifying their children as "at risk." So I guess if I did preschool only I'd be targeting a different market. Guess I'm just thinking out loud here. Sorry.
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momofsix 11:31 AM 06-12-2013
Originally Posted by AcornMama:
Well, according to the Head Start locator, the nearest Head Start is about 9 miles away from me, more rural than I am. There is no Head Start listed in my community, or in the neighboring suburban community, which would likely be where my potential clients would live (I think).

There are MANY church-based preschools in said neighboring suburban community. My preschool would emphasize our more rural location, emphasizing time in nature, homestead animals, gardening, eco-living and such.

Are there free preschool programs beyond Head Start?
ETA: Did some more online poking around, there is one subsidized (don't know if it's completely free, but probably) pre-K program in my community serving families that meet criteria identifying their children as "at risk." So I guess if I did preschool only I'd be targeting a different market. Guess I'm just thinking out loud here. Sorry.

What you're wanting to do sounds really unique and I think people would be willing to pay for that type of program. It would be so different than what the public schools/head start and churches offer!
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MarinaVanessa 11:55 AM 06-12-2013
Originally Posted by momofsix:
What you're wanting to do sounds really unique and I think people would be willing to pay for that type of program. It would be so different than what the public schools/head start and churches offer!
I agree with momofsix. Sounds like a great program to me.

As far as offering pre-school program child care I know that in my area this is one thing that parents are looking for or at least kinder/preschool readiness programs. Something for the under 5 age group that is more process based and open-ended and with minimal scholastic activities like worksheets etc.

Around here in my area free preschool is only offered to certain families that meet certain criteria. The only free preschool programs that we have in our county are Head Start and Jump Start which is for families that are low-income. There is another daycare called Easter Seals in my city which takes any private pay client and the program integrates special needs children with children without special needs and they get their own governments grant for scholarships but those grants are also given only to low-income families. If preschool daycare works the same for your area and doesn't provide free preschool to all families then you can have a better chance of attracting clients vs being in an area that provides free daycare however I have a feeling that unless you offer very low rates compared to the other preschool programs you may find many families that would still prefer to take their kids to a more established preschool program. Also many families are looking for full day child care whether they are full or part time kids KWIM? I have PT clients that come either two or three days a week but they come for a full day, if I offered only half day child care I wouldn't be able to fill many slots, for sure I wouldn't have any of the families that I have enrolled now. Just some things for you to think about
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AcornMama 12:08 PM 06-12-2013
Thank you both for the feedback. I really appreciate it.

MarinaVanessa, I understand what you mean about the PT care. If I go with the morning preschool idea (as opposed to full day licensed care), it would be more like a mini school, as in we have a first day of school and a last day of school and Christmas holidays and summer break. This is in line with the church preschools at my area, so it's not really comparable with offering PT care in the mornings only.

Of course I understand that some parents may not care about the fine line that distinguishes morning preschool from part time morning daycare, and that it really does come down to what parents want for their kids and what they are willing to pay for.
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MarinaVanessa 01:17 PM 06-12-2013
Originally Posted by AcornMama:
Thank you both for the feedback. I really appreciate it.

MarinaVanessa, I understand what you mean about the PT care. If I go with the morning preschool idea (as opposed to full day licensed care), it would be more like a mini school, as in we have a first day of school and a last day of school and Christmas holidays and summer break. This is in line with the church preschools at my area, so it's not really comparable with offering PT care in the mornings only.

Of course I understand that some parents may not care about the fine line that distinguishes morning preschool from part time morning daycare, and that it really does come down to what parents want for their kids and what they are willing to pay for.
I understand what you were trying to say, I don't think I made myself clear in my previous post.

What I was trying to say was that although there are many preschool programs in my area which provide half day preschool programs most families in my area look for programs that offer a half day preschool program followed by child care for the rest of the day or they look for a full-day daycare that provides an educational approach because parent's (the majority of them) work full days and aren't able to pick up their kids in the middle of the day either to take them home or to take them to a different afternoon child care. Does that make sense? I'm not sure if I'm making myself clear.

I was getting a lot of interest in my DC because I was offering to pick pre-school kids up from a Jump Start preschool program (half days) that my nephew was enrolled in BECAUSE the parents of those kids wouldn't be able to pick up their kids. Now those kids that I enrolled from the preschool program are with me full days due to summer break and I have decided not to provide transportation. Two of those three kids will be staying with me and will not be re-enrolled into the preschool program next year because the parents have no way of having them picked up.

Of course you can always start as a half day preschool program and if you don't get as much interest then you can always decide to do extended day care after your preschool program ends. Either way I think your nature-based program sounds wonderful and that the children will love and benefit from learning about animals and nature and that's it's a wonderful experience for them to have.
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AmyKidsCo 01:24 PM 06-12-2013
Welcome! Back to your original question - don't be afraid of looking stupid, everyone here has been really nice for the most part.

And personally I rarely go into the specific forums, I click New Posts above and see everything new from everywhere.
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AcornMama 01:28 PM 06-12-2013
Originally Posted by AmyKidsCo:
Welcome! Back to your original question - don't be afraid of looking stupid, everyone here has been really nice for the most part.
Thanks! This seems like a great forum, and I appreciate that I've already gotten feedback. Glad to be here!
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AcornMama 01:31 PM 06-12-2013
Originally Posted by MarinaVanessa:
What I was trying to say was that although there are many preschool programs in my area which provide half day preschool programs most families in my area look for programs that offer a half day preschool program followed by child care for the rest of the day or they look for a full-day daycare that provides an educational approach because parent's (the majority of them) work full days and aren't able to pick up their kids in the middle of the day either to take them home or to take them to a different afternoon child care. Does that make sense? I'm not sure if I'm making myself clear.
Okay, this makes a lot of sense. Don't know why I didn't get it the first time around.

I kept looking at my options as either/or. Either morning preschool OR full time licensed care. I didn't consider a hybrid. If I do preschool in the morning with care in the afternoon, I'd still need a license. That would then limit the number of kids I could have, but might be more desirable for family schedules. I'll have to play around with figures and a schedule for that. Interesting idea, though. Thanks!
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