Need Some Help Deciding If I Can Make School Aged Work

[GKJNIGMN]

I terminated a 1st grader a few weeks ago who basically was able to get a whole group of kids who are normally well behaved to bounce off the wall as soon as he walked into the house. Swore I would stop taking school aged all together after him.

Fast forward to yesterday, I got a call for a half day Kindergarten student who would be M-F and picked up by 4:45 at the latest. He only needs before school 2 days a week for a matter of minutes and since he is here for 5 hours my state considers it full time and as he is state paid they will pay full time rates. I am trying to move towards regular daytime hours so the timing is perfect but I am apprehensive for a few reasons.

#1 - He would be the only child here that age. I care for one other Kindergartner but overnight and before school only and my own daughter is that age but attends a different school with all day Kindergarten. This would mean that from 11:30AM- 3:45PM the other kids would be ages 2, 2, 3, and sometimes my ds who is 3.5 but he goes to preschool 4 afternoons a week.

#2 - The younger kids nap from a little after 12:30pm-2:30pm and I can only assume this child probably doesn't nap although I did not specifically ask the mother yet.

#3 - 99% of the toys we have are geared towards 3 and under. I am old school when it comes to my own kids who are the only older ones. My kids play outside and use their imagination. We do go to the park often but due to the way pickup times fall, it would often not be while he is here.

I am looking for suggestions on how to screen this child to see if he would be a good fit. Should I just meet him and if he isn't bouncing off the wall agree to a 2 week trial? What stipulations should I put on the trial? Previously I have always just accepted the kids if their schedules fit but I have learned that is not the way I should be doing this.

[kelsey's kids]

I have 3 am kindergarteners and they are required to have quite time along with my other kids. My state requires that any child here for more than 4 hour must have a mandatory 2 hour rest period. They describe that as laying down and resting. So honestly as long as he is not disruptive during nape timr I see no problem with it.

[TwinKristi]

I had a similar situation last year and my babies were younger and not on the same nap schedule like now but if he was still here now I would have mandatory quiet/nap time. Have books available for him to quietly look at, but that's it. It's made a big difference here. That's the same time my kids sleep and it's right when the big kids get home on early release days and they know to be quiet when coming home.

[providerandmomof4]

I've taken part time SA in the past, (and full time in the summer) but truthfully I wouldn't again. The older kids I've had were bored with the toddlers and since I do very little tv, and no electronics; video games, etc. they expected me to entertain them. It was exhausting...or there would be turmoil with the littles because they would follow them around. "So and so is bugging me, they won't leave me alone." Whine, whine...nope. No more. I'd rather have a whole slew of little's.

[Crazy8]

we had half day kindergarten up until this year and I would only take kids who had the afternoon kindergarten class. This way I was putting them on the bus before putting everyone else down for nap. They played just fine with the younger kids all morning and enjoyed doing our crafts, etc.

I don't take kids who don't nap so that would be the deal breaker for me.

[KIDZRMYBIZ]

I've taken part time SA in the past, (and full time in the summer) but truthfully I wouldn't again. The older kids I've had were bored with the toddlers and since I do very little tv, and no electronics; video games, etc. they expected me to entertain them. It was exhausting...or there would be turmoil with the littles because they would follow them around. "So and so is bugging me, they won't leave me alone." Whine, whine...nope. No more. I'd rather have a whole slew of little's.

This! And this! SA's also were so rough on the toys and furniture meant for preschoolers and under. Not intentionally, just their bodies are so much bigger.

And while they were all very sweet, they were ALWAYS IN MY FACE. I think that was because I listened to them, and they were starved for that because at home there's usually unlimited screen time.

And lastly, the parents of these children wanted to pay little more than beans for their care. They think they pretty much take care of themselves, without thinking of all the groceries and supplies they use, or the fact that we still have to cook and clean up after them.

[GKJNIGMN]

Thanks for the help. I think I will pass on this one and stick with not taking kids that old. I really don't need the money which is why I even have spots left as it is but money is always tempting .

[Blackcat31]

Yeah even if the rate was 3x the regular rate I would never ever take a SA child again.

There is NOTHING wrong with SA kids...just their developmental levels are not on par with what I have going on here at my daycare so it just wouldn't work.

[PaulisPlayschool]

I only take school age children as a courtsoy to clients with younger children here. But, I have it stated in my parent handbook that the first two weeks of care are a trial period for both of use and that care can be terminated at anytime during that two week period without notice. I would use that initial two weeks to determine if the child is a good fit with the other children in my care. I love having a wide variety of ages in my program and currently I have a 1st grader who is amazing with the younger children. They all love it when she gets here after school and she loves playing with them. I let her be more of a "helper" then one of the students and give her little jobs or things to do with the younger kids. I have had other school agers in the past that were not a good fit and needed to have an environment geared toward older children though.

[Soccermom]

I enjoy that age group because they are a lot of fun and you can plan a lot of really great activities with them which they really enjoy.

However, I would never take just one SA child. I always make sure to have at least 2 the same age otherwise it just doesn't work. I am very picky when it comes to the age and gender of the SA. If you have 3 SA boys, chances are a SA girl will feel out of place and tend to cling to her child care provider all day.

Also, I saw you mentioned that they said they would always pick up before
4h45...but you shouldn't count on it. My experience has been that every parent who tells me they will pick up at a certain time tend to *forget* the agreed upon time once their child has been here a few weeks.

My advice is to pass on this one unless you can find another child their age to take in as well. Otherwise you will end up entertaining this child constantly or end up sounding like a tape recorded saying repeatedly - Go play please.