What Scheduled Days Are You Taking Off For 2013?

[daycarediva]

Give me some ideas. I only get 10 days, and I try to leave 1-2 for emergency/sick days.

[MarinaVanessa]

These are the Holidays that I take off PAID:

 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY – Monday January 21st , 2013
 PRESIDENT’S DAY – Monday February 18th, 2013
 MEMORIAL DAY – Monday May 27th, 2013
 INDEPENDENCE DAY – Thursday July 4th, 2013
 LABOR DAY – Monday September 2nd, 2013
 THANKSGIVING DAY – Thursday November 28th, 2013
 DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING – Friday November 29th, 2013
 CHRISTMAS EVE – Tuesday December 23rd, 2013
 CHRISTMAS DAY – Wednesday December 25th, 2013
 NEW YEAR’S EVE – Tuesday December 31st, 2013
 NEW YEAR’S DAY – Wednesday January 1st, 2014

There are 11 total. Last year I also included 5 PAID sick/personal days and 5 PAID days for vacation. I only used the holidays (ended up not closing for some) and my one week paid vacation.

This year I'm taking the listed holidays off and decided to charge clients when they don't come for any reason (not give them a week free or half off for vacation) and not charge when I close for any reason (including vacation).

[Willow]

New Year’s Day
Memorial Day
July 4th
Labor Day as well as the Friday before
Thanksgiving Day as well as the Friday after
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve.
If a holiday falls on a Saturday, I close the previous Friday,
If a holiday falls on a Sunday, I close the following Monday.


I am flirting with taking December 21st-January 1st off again as that's what I did this year and LOVED it. The holidays were so much less stressful and I was happy to have that time off when my kids were out of school. They appreciated being able to be home in peace and quiet too.

[MNMum]

This year I'm taking the listed holidays off and decided to charge clients when they don't come for any reason (not give them a week free or half off for vacation) and not charge when I close for any reason (including vacation).

I'll probably move to this in 2014. I'm tired of people questioning how I do it. ("Oh you have sick days?", "Oh, I have to pay if I keep my kid home?" "Oh, you get paid for Xmas, even though you don't have any kids there?" Haven't worked up the backbone yet, but I'm pretty sure I will be saying the following to her with the next question - "Oh, your boss pays you when you are at home sick?" "Oh, your boss pays you for Xmas?")

I'll make it real easy for them. You sign up, you pay every week of the year - regardless of attendance.

I take President's Day, Memorial Day, Independance Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Xmas Eve and Day, New Years Eve and Day. I'm not open on Fridays so I don't need to take Friday after Thanksgiving off - otherwise I would. Right now I can take two weeks UNPAID VACA, and parents can choose 1 week UNPAID VACA. I feel there free week going away, too, in 2014. I will probably not make them pay for my VACA.

[momofboys]

MLK Day, President's Day, 3 vacation days over our school's spring break (April 1-3), Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving & day after, December 24-27. I am closed over the majority of the summer (teacher's families) otherwise I would claim July 4th too.happyface

[Unregistered]

Holiday Schedule...

President’s Day – Monday, February 18
Memorial Day – Monday, May 27
4th of July – Thursday, July 4
Labor Day – Monday, September 2
Thanksgiving – Thursday/Friday, November 28 & 29
Christmas – Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday, December 24, 25 & 26

I'm thinking about taking December 27th off too this year. Does this sound reasonable?

I do not close down any other time during the year. If I want to take vacation I just use my backup assistants to run the daycare.

All my holidays are paid which are only a total of 10 days.

What do you think of my plan?

L

[LaLa1923]

These are the Holidays that I take off PAID:

 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY – Monday January 21st , 2013
 PRESIDENT’S DAY – Monday February 18th, 2013
 MEMORIAL DAY – Monday May 27th, 2013
 INDEPENDENCE DAY – Thursday July 4th, 2013
 LABOR DAY – Monday September 2nd, 2013
 THANKSGIVING DAY – Thursday November 28th, 2013
 DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING – Friday November 29th, 2013
 CHRISTMAS EVE – Tuesday December 23rd, 2013
 CHRISTMAS DAY – Wednesday December 25th, 2013
 NEW YEAR’S EVE – Tuesday December 31st, 2013
 NEW YEAR’S DAY – Wednesday January 1st, 2014

There are 11 total. Last year I also included 5 PAID sick/personal days and 5 PAID days for vacation. I only used the holidays (ended up not closing for some) and my one week paid vacation.

This year I'm taking the listed holidays off and decided to charge clients when they don't come for any reason (not give them a week free or half off for vacation) and not charge when I close for any reason (including vacation).

Just curious, why aren't you charging for your time off?

[Country Kids]

These are the Holidays that I take off PAID:

 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY – Monday January 21st , 2013
 PRESIDENT’S DAY – Monday February 18th, 2013
 MEMORIAL DAY – Monday May 27th, 2013
 INDEPENDENCE DAY – Thursday July 4th, 2013
 LABOR DAY – Monday September 2nd, 2013
 THANKSGIVING DAY – Thursday November 28th, 2013
 DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING – Friday November 29th, 2013
 CHRISTMAS EVE – Tuesday December 23rd, 2013
 CHRISTMAS DAY – Wednesday December 25th, 2013
 NEW YEAR’S EVE – Tuesday December 31st, 2013
 NEW YEAR’S DAY – Wednesday January 1st, 2014

There are 11 total. Last year I also included 5 PAID sick/personal days and 5 PAID days for vacation. I only used the holidays (ended up not closing for some) and my one week paid vacation.

This year I'm taking the listed holidays off and decided to charge clients when they don't come for any reason (not give them a week free or half off for vacation) and not charge when I close for any reason (including vacation).

Up above you said you are taking those days off paid but at the end you say you aren't going to charge when you close for any reason. I guess I'm confused how you get paid holidays but not when you take other time off. What was the reaction from your parents with this? Also, what made you decide to do this?

If I close for anything-holidays, sickness, vacation, etc. I don't charge. I feel it would be confusing for parents if I charged for some things and not others. Also, do you consider the day after Thanksgiving holiday pay or just paid.

[TBird]

Up above you said you are taking those days off paid but at the end you say you aren't going to charge when you close for any reason. I guess I'm confused how you get paid holidays but not when you take other time off. What was the reaction from your parents with this? Also, what made you decide to do this?

If I close for anything-holidays, sickness, vacation, etc. I don't charge. I feel it would be confusing for parents if I charged for some things and not others. Also, do you consider the day after Thanksgiving holiday pay or just paid.

If this helps....I'm taking...
- Good Friday (Paid)
- Easter Monday (Paid)
- Memorial Day (Paid)
- One Week Summer Break in July (Unpaid)
- Labor Day (Paid)
- Thanksgiving (Paid)
- Day After Thanksgiving (Paid)
- One Week Winter Break (Unpaid)
- 3 Sick Days & 3 Paid Personal Days (Paid)

Parents pay me for their vacations (to reserve their spots in care) but I don't charge for my own 2 to 3 week vacations because I believe in the fact that they will have to pay for alternate care. They also pay when their kids are sick & can't attend. That's just the way I do things and no parent has EVER questioned my policies. This is MY BUSINESS & I make the rules as I see fit. Unless it's something new, if there are any serious questions Lord knows they should have asked me before signing my contract.

[MarinaVanessa]

In response to both Lala and CountryKids:

I am not charging for taking them off because I rarely take additional time off other than 5 days in July for vacation and the holidays that I close with pay. Years before I gave one week "free" to my clients which the majority of them would use when I was on vacation anyway (which I allowed) and so in a way I wasn't getting "paid" for that week anyway. Any other time that my clients would take off they paid full price anyway.

Even though I reserved 5 extra sick/personal days off I never used them because I never needed to. I am lucky enough to hardly ever get sick and when I or my children get sick my DH has the awesome liberty of taking time off of work to help care for them upstairs (he is salary) and it does not affect us. He does however work TONS of extra hours and has worked holidays like Christmas and overnight's etc so his bosses never give him a tough time (he works as an IT supervisor for the DA's office).

I also have a friend, my sister and my mom that enjoy helping me out so it allows me a lot of flexibility. I prefer not to close if I can help it.

As for the paid Holidays, most of my clients get these holidays off anyway and never bring their kids to DC even when I am open so it's no big deal for them. I wasn't celebrating New Year's Eve so I chose to stay open Mon & Tues but none of my clients brought their kids either day.

My policies say that there are holidays that I close with pay and any additional days that the daycare is closed are not charged and my attendance section says that their rates are based on enrollment not on attendance so therefore any days that a child is absent (due to illness, Dr appointments, vacations etc.) are not discounted so it's not confusing at all.

I just handed out my new switch in mid December and none of my families questioned it. I gave them until January 1st to sign the new contracts and I had them all within 3 days of handing them out. I just recently signed 2 new clients (infants) that are due to start next week because I have 2 clients that phased out and they both really liked that other than for the paid Holidays I don't charge when I close ... it's appealing to them because the norm around here is to charge for Holidays, sick days and vacations BUT they don't realize yet that I hardly ever close ::.

Oh and The day after Thanksgiving AND Christmas Eve are both paid. I also observe holidays so if they fall on a weekend I take them off on the Friday before or Monday after but i have been known to choose not to close after all (with advance notice) so In a way it's a good perk for clients and it's really not a big deal to me BUT I get along very well with my current clients and I'm EXTREMELY flexible as long as I'm not taken advantage of so I don't mind going an extra mile.

[Country Kids]

I charge if they are gone for any reason. Learned that years ago when I was loosing money on college students and teachers.

I don't charge though if I take time off including holidays. Most of my parents have that time off also and I figure its a bonus perk to them. Overall I take about 1 month off through the entire year (10 holidays/10 vacation days/5 personal/sick days).

They all appreciate the fact I don't charge them for my time off and totally understand why I charge when they aren't here. From time to time there may be a slight issue with something but overall I have the best parents ever!!!

[jenn]

Memorial Day – Monday, May 27
4th of July – Thursday, July 4 & Friday, July 5 (I normally would not take the
5th but since it is on a Friday, it makes a 4 day weekend!)
Labor Day – Monday, September 2
Thanksgiving – Thursday, November 28 & Friday, November 29
Christmas – Tuesday-Friday, December 24-27


I do not charge for the days listed above. I have a family member and another friend that sub for me if I need to be gone for any reason or if I or my child is sick.

I also give each family 12 free days to use for the first 12 days they are absent due to sickness, vacation, or whatever. I do this because I am really, really picky about sick kids not coming. I feel like they are more likely to keep them home if they don't have to pay and I don't feel guilty making them stay home for minor things.

[Unregistered]

Paid Holidays

New Years Eve (Dec 31, 2013)
New Years Day (Tuesday Jan 1 2013)
MLK Day (Monday Jan 21 2013)
Presidents Day (Monday Feb 18 2013)
Easter Holiday (Monday April 1 2013)
Memorial Day (Monday May 27 2013)
Independence Day (Thursday July 4 and Friday July 5 2013)
Labor Day (Monday Sept 2 2013)
Columbus Day (Monday Oct 14 2013)
Veterans Day (Monday Nov 11 2013)
Thanksgiving Holiday (Wednesday thru Friday Nov 27,28 and 29 2013)
Christmas Holiday (Dec 23-Dec 27)



I will take two weeks (10 working days) of paid vacation during the year in which I will provide at least one months notice of the scheduled vacation dates. You will be responsible for full payments during this time.

5 days of paid continuing education (to participate in educational conferences, classes etc.).

Illness is a part of any workplace, I will do my best to stay healthy, however, if I am too ill to care for the children (or should any of my own children become ill) I will reserve the right to use one of five (5) paid sick days per year (any sick days in excess of 5 will not need to be paid).


Parent Vacations
I require at least 2 weeks’ notice in advance when you plan to take vacations. During parent vacations you are still required to pay all of your tuition for all days and hours your child is normally scheduled to be here. Payment is due prior to your vacation. Even while you are on vacation I am still holding your child’s space.
Parent Vacation Forms are available upon request. I ask all families please fill out the form as soon as they know they will be going on vacation.



I took only 3 sick days in 2012 and have yet to take any continuing Ed days (as most classes I attend are offered on the weekends)

[Angelsj]

I'll probably move to this in 2014. I'm tired of people questioning how I do it. ("Oh you have sick days?", "Oh, I have to pay if I keep my kid home?" "Oh, you get paid for Xmas, even though you don't have any kids there?" Haven't worked up the backbone yet, but I'm pretty sure I will be saying the following to her with the next question - "Oh, your boss pays you when you are at home sick?" "Oh, your boss pays you for Xmas?")

I'll make it real easy for them. You sign up, you pay every week of the year - regardless of attendance.

I take President's Day, Memorial Day, Independance Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Xmas Eve and Day, New Years Eve and Day. I'm not open on Fridays so I don't need to take Friday after Thanksgiving off - otherwise I would. Right now I can take two weeks UNPAID VACA, and parents can choose 1 week UNPAID VACA. I feel there free week going away, too, in 2014. I will probably not make them pay for my VACA.

The thing is you are running your own business. They are NOT your boss.
I honestly don't understand how everyone believes this is fair. I cannot imagine any other business (self employment) that does this.
Can you imagine a restaurant that says, "We are closed on Christmas, but if you WOULD have eaten here that day, you need to pay us the regular price of our meals. Of course, you need to eat elsewhere."
Or a self employed car repair. "You need to pay us the regular price for your oil change, but we are closed today, so you will also need to get someone else to change your oil and pay them, or do it yourself."
I can only think that people are so desperate for child care, they agree to things that may not really be acceptable to them. More power to you all I suppose that you can pull this off, but I just can't do it with a clear conscience.

[LaLa1923]

The thing is you are running your own business. They are NOT your boss.
I honestly don't understand how everyone believes this is fair. I cannot imagine any other business (self employment) that does this.
Can you imagine a restaurant that says, "We are closed on Christmas, but if you WOULD have eaten here that day, you need to pay us the regular price of our meals. Of course, you need to eat elsewhere."
Or a self employed car repair. "You need to pay us the regular price for your oil change, but we are closed today, so you will also need to get someone else to change your oil and pay them, or do it yourself."
I can only think that people are so desperate for child care, they agree to things that may not really be acceptable to them. More power to you all I suppose that you can pull this off, but I just can't do it with a clear conscience.

Which days are you closed? I'm sorry but you are comparing apples to oranges. The families are paying for a membership so to speak, like at a gym or Costco. You still pay even if you don't shop that day or work out. If they are closed you still have to pay. Same for banks, Bank of America now charges to use the teller. Your fee is the same very month, even if they are closed for holidays.....l am the boss of my business, just like everyone else. We get to choose ......