My Child Care Ad

[JeepGirl6]

Please tell me what you think, what I could change, what I could ad, any ideas of how I could organize centers,etc...I will take any advice I need to enroll children as soon as possible...Since we moved here in May and with me having my baby 6 weeks ago I havent picked up many children at all and its really starting to hurt financially.We are in the process of painting the rooms as you can see from the one Mickey Picture...in that area we plan on also getting giant individual Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters and putting them in that area with Disney quotes above them...I need an idea of the large daycare area...We also have two rooms that are connected to this room but we are redoing them with carpet and paint(those rooms are not in the pictures)

Thanks a bunch!!

http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/kid/4027143710.html

[butterfly]

The only thing that really stuck out to me is the germ x. It looks like it's accessible to children. I'd put it up on a shelf or something?

Nice open space, looks like lots of room to play and have fun.

I like your outdoor space. Can I ask how your landscape timbers are mounted around your play area? I want to switch my mulch barrier to landscape timbers, but I don't know how to mount/secure them to keep them from sliding around...

[JeepGirl6]

The only thing that really stuck out to me is the germ x. It looks like it's accessible to children. I'd put it up on a shelf or something?

Nice open space, looks like lots of room to play and have fun.

I like your outdoor space. Can I ask how your landscape timbers are mounted around your play area? I want to switch my mulch barrier to landscape timbers, but I don't know how to mount/secure them to keep them from sliding around...

Thank you

Right now I just have them placed around the playground. They do move a little bit but not very much in the grass. At our old house we had our playground on concrete instead of grass...We still had the landscape timbers to keep the mulch in but I worried about the children tripping and falling over them. We had the landscape timbers 2 high at the old house( we plan on doing this at our new house also but haven't had the extra $ to do so)My husband bought large nails ( I would say 7-9 inches long) and hammered them through both of the timbers to keep them together and then on the ends where their would be a corner he put a large nail going through at an angle. The nails made it so they didn't move at all. Hope this helps

I think he cut some pieces of re-bar too and used that as well.

[MotherNature]

looks good- jealous of your 6 acres & your green grass! My yard is covered by a mulberry tree, so it's very shady & gets a bit marshy. Mosquitoes abound. Can't wait to buy a house.

[JoseyJo]

A couple of suggestions:

maybe post how many openings you have and for what age groups- that way it will weed out some that don't fit.

I would mention if you do or do not take state assistance

Link to your website if you have one!

[Unregistered]

I think you need more color or something in that big livingroom. Maybe move the toys around and get a good angle for your pictures. Just needs a little more toy attraction or something. The backyard looks very cool.

[spinnymarie]

I agree with PP, maybe it looks unused? I would put some toys inthe middle to create 'center' areas, with like toys together. You have a great art center already.
Otherwise just some grammar, a space missing in the ad, and you put your rates if you wanted - or how far you are from town?

[Unregistered]

wow!

I love it!
I think your set up is awesome and if you compare your set up with the others in your area you should have no problem filling your spaces
I actually looked at the other ads on cr in your area and your is a lot better plus you have a degree, so don't worry

[butterfly]

Thank you

Right now I just have them placed around the playground. They do move a little bit but not very much in the grass. At our old house we had our playground on concrete instead of grass...We still had the landscape timbers to keep the mulch in but I worried about the children tripping and falling over them. We had the landscape timbers 2 high at the old house( we plan on doing this at our new house also but haven't had the extra $ to do so)My husband bought large nails ( I would say 7-9 inches long) and hammered them through both of the timbers to keep them together and then on the ends where their would be a corner he put a large nail going through at an angle. The nails made it so they didn't move at all. Hope this helps

I think he cut some pieces of re-bar too and used that as well.

Thanks! That was helpful.

[momofboys]

I love how your play area is so big & open - that's awesome. But I agree with a pp, maybe move some toys into that area to make it more welcoming (?). Your outdoor area is great. I went to college in Canton so I lovethis your location!

[itlw8]

I know you have not started yet buy you need to move the playground equipment. anything they would climb needs to be minimum 6 feet from the timbers and any other equipment. the houses are fine lined up on the edge but the climbers need to be moved towards the center. Except for mowing the houses do not even need to be in the mulch if you have too many things for the room.

[preschoolteacher]

Check your capitalization. A lot of words are capitalized in your ad that should not be. For example: Email, Daily, and Medical Experience all show up in the middle of the sentence and are not proper nouns so they shouldn't be capitalized.

You have a great yard and lots of space for the kids! Looks fun.

[cheerfuldom]

I definitely think the living room needs work. Is there a reason why all the furniture is pushed up against the walls? It just doesnt look very cozy at all. The backyard is set up in a similar way....to me it doesnt look like anyone has every played in either area but maybe other parents would not notice that. Something that could help is to google daycare playrooms and get ideas for cozier spaces, I think it will make a big difference.

the "after" pics in this playroom show low shelves to break up a large space. http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com...om-before.html

definitely some more play options in the center of the room, perhaps some tables and chairs http://www.roomzaar.com/rate-my-spac...i?oid=24432526

or a train table (and cool wall art!) https://www.google.com/search?q=dayc...%3B1600%3B1067

some cozy areas https://www.google.com/search?q=dayc...F%3B1280%3B960

https://www.google.com/search?q=daycare+playrooms&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.53217764,d.aWM,pv.xjs.s.en_US.Es3CeXuAQeM.O&biw=1777&bih=887&dpr=1&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=Fr9EUpbpNYSHqwHw74CoBg#hl=en&q=playroom+reading+nook&tbm=isch&um=1&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=fw-HufeXnQ-TLM%3A%3BvKPmpRM1BzlPCM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F4.bp.blogspot.com%252F_49ajmL65Elo%252FTBGOzX43LJI%252FAAAAAAAADKg%252FmLMMPFuCcaU%252Fs1600%252FDSC06232-1.JPG%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.perfectlyimperfectblog.com%252F2010%252F06%252Fplayroom-reading-nook-reveal.html%3B1600%3B1065

or

https://www.google.com/search?q=daycare+playrooms&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.53217764,d.aWM,pv.xjs.s.en_US.Es3CeXuAQeM.O&biw=1777&bih=887&dpr=1&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=Fr9EUpbpNYSHqwHw74CoBg#hl=en&q=playroom+reading+nook&tbm=isch&um=1&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=hA4631QNeEKTnM%3A%3BGDaDpPRkngbw8M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F3.bp.blogspot.com%252F-R2IQU5EsHog%252FTi2gB1bjSqI%252FAAAAAAAAPeA%252FVujhZ4QsEGg%252Fs1600%252Fbaement-wall.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fnikinikinine.blogspot.com%252F2011%252F07%252Fstory-books.html%3B400%3B320

you need somethings that give your playroom visual interest and that show what your program is all about. something cozy and warm and fun that shows you know kids and you know what will keep them safe and happy! the room currently just looks like an empty room with toys brought in.....like someone is just opening up shop and thats definitely NOT what you want your first impression to be.

I also did notice all the random capitalizing in the ad.

I would also suggest expressing how many of each age you can accommodate and perhaps trying to streamline age a bit. If you are open to taking babies, a lot of parents will not want their babies in a place with school agers.....the age range could be turning some interest off.

[JeepGirl6]

Thank you!

Thank you all who gave me advice/opinions on my child care ad, I really appreciate it!