Early Hours

[nanglgrl]

I close at 3:45. My clients are usually college students, families where one parent works from home or John Deere families so dad might work 3rd and mom works first so they need daycare so dad can sleep. A lot of times clients will think they need longer hours but then realize they can make it work. I'm not going to lie, sometimes it gets hard when enrollment is low and I know I could be full if I extended my hours but it always works out. Up until the start of June I thought I'd only have 2 kids this summer and was freaking out trying to decide if I should stay open later or be broke.i finally decided I'd rather be broke then crazy and suddenly got a ton of calls, started 6 new kids and added 8 to my waiting list...all families that could work with my hours.

[SignMeUp]

Good for you. happyface
I will be raising my rates at the end of the summer.

Many years ago, I had a fantastic group of supportive daycare parents. All of them congratulated me whenever I took a day off And one of them gave me the advice to raise my rates every year, even if by a small amount. People come to expect the annual increase, and most years costs do go up. If costs don't go up, there is always something you've been wanting to add to your program
I know that times are different now, but I am still raising annually, and I would encourage providers to do so. I have never found myself out of line with other providers, though I may be a bit to the high side for some age groups.
There are a few things that I think we childcare providers should change the 'standard' on. Pricing is one. The two-week-notice is another -- it is no longer reasonable. And I have been so happy to find on this board that the variable rate is happening other places than my daycare. Really?! I thought I invented it :: :: No one else does that here
I considered it an experiment when I began, but it works both for parents and providers.

[SignMeUp]

That's how I answer the rate question, too. Would you mind sharing your intake form?

I'm going to try the attachment again

[SignMeUp]

That's how I answer the rate question, too. Would you mind sharing your intake form?

Okay, CraftyMissBeth Two things I have never done before ::
1. Attached anything here
2. Shared my forms

But here ya go - change whatever you can't use and make it your own
If you have questions about what anything means, FFTA (feel free to ask - did I make that up?) ::

(I hope this works!)

[SignMeUp]

Ugh. How does it work? Tried to attach the file, thought I did. But I don't see it

[Blackcat31]

Ugh. How does it work? Tried to attach the file, thought I did. But I don't see it

https://www.daycare.com/forum/faq.php?s=&do=search&q=Attachments+and+Images&match=all&titlesonly=0

See if that helps. If not, let me know and I will walk you through it.

[SignMeUp]

Okay. One more time. FYI, my pop-up opened in a small window, where the "upload" button wasn't visible. Duh, I enlarged the window and saw it ::

So the form will be anti-climactic after this :: It's nothing fancy.

[craftymissbeth]

Thank you, SignMeUp!!

ETA: It's exactly what I needed!

[SignMeUp]

Thank you, SignMeUp!!

ETA: It's exactly what I needed!

Aw good I'm so happy to be of some help.
That bottom row of boxes - they are check-off boxes for things that I typically hand out to prospective parents. I tend to hand out things that came up in discussion first, so that way I can keep track of what I've given them.

And my own personal touch I always call the forms I've made myself "MYFORMS072113" with my initials before the revision date. Feel free to use your own and make it yours :: (Like anyone cares, but I like my business-like touches)
I even tweaked it a bit, so that it (hopefully) fits better on a clipboard. The upper right box used to be a bit obscured and it bugged me :: So I changed it for you (Though I wasn't that business-like because I didn't change the revision date)

[craftymissbeth]

:: I shall call this form Parent Interview Form. Not very creative or business-like

I was going to ask about the checkboxes at the bottom. I really like that. I'm horrible at interviews so this will help a TON. Thanks again!

[Baby lady]

I am right now changing my hours from 7-6 to 7:30-5:30 happyface after almost 30 years

it reflects the schedule of most of my current kids, and it want to make it official going forward

[SignMeUp]

:: I shall call this form Parent Interview Form. Not very creative or business-like

I was going to ask about the checkboxes at the bottom. I really like that. I'm horrible at interviews so this will help a TON. Thanks again!

It helps me if I keep every single thing that I know about a prospective family on one paper, until they enroll.

So the bottom boxes are:
My brochure (a trifold that I basically scrapbooked and had printed at FedEx)
2 inserts for the brochure with rates, and a list of info to bring to enrollment
(Sometimes I mail the above three items after a phone interview. Sometimes we've already set up an evening meeting and I give them out then.)
Sleep Safety for infants (I want pregnant parents to set them up correctly
from birth, so that they will be ready to come to child care)
Developmental Info (a birth-age 5 wheel that an organization here gives out
free of charge. I supplement it with one-page handouts as the child grows)
References (another trifold that I made, with stuff parents have said about
my place. I have the originals in a folder in case parents
want to see the real deal)
Policy Book (not given out until after enrollment, registration fee and deposit)

Prospective parents seem to love the tri-folds :: I highly recommend making one for your childcare if you haven't
I try to give them something each time we meet, but nothing overwhelming. I save overwhelming for the enrollment meeting ::

[midaycare]

I'm not going to lie, sometimes it gets hard when enrollment is low and I know I could be full if I extended my hours but it always works out. Up until the start of June I thought I'd only have 2 kids this summer and was freaking out trying to decide if I should stay open later or be broke.i finally decided I'd rather be broke then crazy and suddenly got a ton of calls, started 6 new kids and added 8 to my waiting list...all families that could work with my hours.

This is my concern - I haven't been open that long - just a few months, really. So far everyone really likes my program but I don't have a lot of referrals coming in yet. I was pretty full until I had a sibling set that had to leave. Parents were going to move to the area, but the new job fell through. My others are part-time, except two, but they are SA. I definitely need replacements, and I'm a little concerned if I don't have extended hours, I won't get business. Hmmm ...

[midaycare]

Okay. One more time. FYI, my pop-up opened in a small window, where the "upload" button wasn't visible. Duh, I enlarged the window and saw it ::

So the form will be anti-climactic after this :: It's nothing fancy.

Wow - that's great, thanks! So far I have been using a notepad and a pen ::

[midaycare]

It helps me if I keep every single thing that I know about a prospective family on one paper, until they enroll.

So the bottom boxes are:
My brochure (a trifold that I basically scrapbooked and had printed at FedEx)
2 inserts for the brochure with rates, and a list of info to bring to enrollment
(Sometimes I mail the above three items after a phone interview. Sometimes we've already set up an evening meeting and I give them out then.)
Sleep Safety for infants (I want pregnant parents to set them up correctly
from birth, so that they will be ready to come to child care)
Developmental Info (a birth-age 5 wheel that an organization here gives out
free of charge. I supplement it with one-page handouts as the child grows)
References (another trifold that I made, with stuff parents have said about
my place. I have the originals in a folder in case parents
want to see the real deal)
Policy Book (not given out until after enrollment, registration fee and deposit)

Prospective parents seem to love the tri-folds :: I highly recommend making one for your childcare if you haven't
I try to give them something each time we meet, but nothing overwhelming. I save overwhelming for the enrollment meeting ::

Great ideas! I love this forum lovethislovethis