Any of You Have a B/A School And School Age Summer Program Exclusively?

[Countrygal]

OK, I am SERIOUSLY thinking of doing a before/after school program exclusively. A friend suggested I start this summer advertising early that I would do a summer program for school agers. I can take three under 7 and up to three over. I am even thinking of dropping certification, since I could take the same number if I were not certified!

So..... I would like to know if any of you do this and how you work it, how you like it, etc, etc, etc. I'd love to pm you and pick your brains a little if you'd be willing to share! I want as much info as I can gather on this!

I live a little ways out in the country (2miles) but am convenient to the interstate and a small rural town. I have six acres of play area including grass and field and sand. I think it would be perfect for school agers. Maybe we could even have a project like raising a pig or two! I already have some chickens!

I have all sorts of ideas for programs - homemaking skills, computer skills, animal husbandry, gardening, plant identification, etc, etc, etc. Ideas are never a problem for me! (OH! my smilie worked!!!)

But I have no idea how to go about setting the program up. Please tell me all about yours!happyface

[TheMonkeyFam]

I do not currently run a center like this but my mom has for years. She advertises in the school yearbooks, school newsletters, built an boards at school, and Craigslist. The biggest issue she has had is busses not dropping off to her house. She now picks up all of the kids from school and takes them out for a fun thing around town. Parents pick up at her house. I would start advertising now it can take a little bit to get a program like this going really good. Good luck!

[Country Kids]

Does the town you live close to have anything available? The reason I ask is because here we have a boys/girls program that charges $25 or $50 for the year for care. There is no way for me to compete with that.

I think doing a program like you are saying would be awesome if and only if you had great SA in the program.

[Heidi]

As your friend, I have to tell you...

I think this would be an AWESOME fit for you!

For those of you that haven't gotten to meet CountryGal in person-she is a natural teacher. She has a BA in forestry, and a wonderful manner with the children that I think would be awesome for SA's. They're not everyone's cup of tea, as we know, but I think they are a great match for CG's personality. lovethis

CG-if you could manage to buy a van, then you could do all sorts of cool field trips, and even offer a pick-up service, if you wanted.

We can have 6 without a license here, as long as no more than 3 are under age 7. A mini-van usually seats 6, so that would be perfect!

The ONLY drawback I could see is that half the people in our area leave their SA's alone at home during the summer, using the community pool as free "babysitting" in the afternoon. There have to be some kids whose parents don't do that, though..

[Countrygal]

As your friend, I have to tell you...

I think this would be an AWESOME fit for you!

For those of you that haven't gotten to meet CountryGal in person-she is a natural teacher. She has a BA in forestry, and a wonderful manner with the children that I think would be awesome for SA's. They're not everyone's cup of tea, as we know, but I think they are a great match for CG's personality. lovethis

CG-if you could manage to buy a van, then you could do all sorts of cool field trips, and even offer a pick-up service, if you wanted.

We can have 6 without a license here, as long as no more than 3 are under age 7. A mini-van usually seats 6, so that would be perfect!

The ONLY drawback I could see is that half the people in our area leave their SA's alone at home during the summer, using the community pool as free "babysitting" in the afternoon. There have to be some kids whose parents don't do that, though..

Well, thank you for the nice things you said, and for the great idea! Actually, I already have a ton of ideas of what I'd do with them!

Countrykids, there is very little for afterschool care in this area. There is a boys/girls club, but they are about 20 miles away and always full. Very few of the daycares do it, at least to my knowledge. Rates are something I'd have to figure out. Obviously I'd have to charge more than 50 for the summer or school year!!! Those programs are heavily funded through the gov't. or something else. You couldn't even afford to feed them snack for that amount! Conversely, there is a HUGE overrun of regular daycares right now. I know at least one in my town that has opened and closed again since I started a year ago. Most people are not running at capacity and there is HUGE competition. My one and only really reliable dck goes to K in the fall....

I plan on calling the schools early this week to find out just what IS available and seeing what/where they would allow me to advertize.

Monkeyfam - thanks for the ideas! Sound great!

[familyschoolcare]

I do. I set my program up as school aged on purpose. I love it. PM me any specific questions and I will answer as my time allows, my own children have been really busy lately making me really busy.

[Countrygal]

I do. I set my program up as school aged on purpose. I love it. PM me any specific questions and I will answer as my time allows, my own children have been really busy lately making me really busy.

You are gonna be sorry because I have approximately 500 questions, but I really appreciate the offer!!! pm'd you!

[mom2many]

I did it for awhile when my own kids were younger. It worked out great being able to tailor activities to one age group, so we could do park days, trips to the beach and other field trips that I couldn't do with younger ones too.

I had to take a cut in pay, but I was really glad I made the change and it was a huge benefit for my own kids at the time.

I'd be happy to answer any questions you have too.

[Countrygal]

I did it for awhile when my own kids were younger. It worked out great being able to tailor activities to one age group, so we could do park days, trips to the beach and other field trips that I couldn't do with younger ones too.

I had to take a cut in pay, but I was really glad I made the change and it was a huge benefit for my own kids at the time.

I'd be happy to answer any questions you have too.

Thank you, mom2many! I'll send you my questions as well, as the more information I can gather, the better off I am!

I can't afford a cut in pay because right now I only have one full timer and one part timer, but I'm hoping I could make at LEAST that much doing the b/a school care. I'll keep the two I have - one goes to K in the fall. And the other one (FT) there are some problems we are attempting to work out, so we'll see how it goes over the next three months.... (extended probationary period)