Following School Calendar

[Unregistered]

Hi everyone,
Just wondering how many of you follow a school calendar for closures and charge for the time you are closed?
I am planning to be closed for 2 weeks for winter break and 2 weeks for spring break but am still charging for those times. Most of my clients are teachers and I do not plan to charge them for summer, but will hold their spot. I care for 2 kids over the summer because their parents work and for them I do not charge for the 2 weeks I go out of town. (I am thinking of offering a sub for my summer vacation this year.)
So essentially I get 4 weeks of paid vacation per year. I also allow for 5 sick/personal days in my contract but never take them.
Does this seem fair?
Thanks! Amy

[AmyKidsCo]

Fair, shmair. It's your business to run as you please.

I don't follow any school calendar because my DH teaches in public school (not the one we live in), my DD commutes to college, my older DS goes to parochial HS, and my youngest 2 DS go to parochial elementary school. The 4 school calendars only line up for Thanksgiving and 1 week over Christmas. :roll eyes: So I just look at who's off when and choose my time off depending on what I want to do and who I want to do it with.

[midaycare]

Around here that would be excessive. I have 2 weeks off but offer a sub. Any time the daycare is closed, I don't charge. Inclement weather, etc. But like PP said, it's your business!

[Annalee]

Hi everyone,
Just wondering how many of you follow a school calendar for closures and charge for the time you are closed?
I am planning to be closed for 2 weeks for winter break and 2 weeks for spring break but am still charging for those times. Most of my clients are teachers and I do not plan to charge them for summer, but will hold their spot. I care for 2 kids over the summer because their parents work and for them I do not charge for the 2 weeks I go out of town. (I am thinking of offering a sub for my summer vacation this year.)
So essentially I get 4 weeks of paid vacation per year. I also allow for 5 sick/personal days in my contract but never take them.
Does this seem fair?
Thanks! Amy

I follow school calendar with every holiday, and take thurs and fri of fall/spring breaks....This is in addition to my 2 weeks vacations and personal/professional/emergency days and I get paid for 52 weeks a year....I started this about 12 years ago....Like others have said, this is YOUR business.....I tell my clients upon interviewing that I understand if they have a problem with my guidelines, however this is how my child care will run upon enrollment.

[lovingthekids35]

I agree it is your business and your run it the way you want.. But I probably would not charge for the 2 weeks of your vacation, unless it is in a contract like you stated. If parents agree with it, then go for it!
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Fair, shmair. It's your business to run as you please.

I don't follow any school calendar because my DH teaches in public school (not the one we live in), my DD commutes to college, my older DS goes to parochial HS, and my youngest 2 DS go to parochial elementary school. The 4 school calendars only line up for Thanksgiving and 1 week over Christmas. :roll eyes: So I just look at who's off when and choose my time off depending on what I want to do and who I want to do it with.

[Thriftylady]

It is your business to run how you please. I however would not likely keep many if I closed that often and even less if I charged for it when I did.

[Crazy8]

It is your business to run how you please. I however would not likely keep many if I closed that often and even less if I charged for it when I did.

same here.

[spinnymarie]

We do, but we don't charge for days closed. We just have a higher than average daily rate. Seems to go over better than way.

[Play Care]

If I had all teachers this is exactly how I'd do it - charge for the school year but allow summers off without paying. In my mind paying me for those short vacations/ holidays is a drop in the bucket compared to holding their spots 8+ week of summer vacation. I do have a special teacher policy that has them paying for days they don't (and can't) use but having summer off and they always pick that option.

[hsdcmama]

Maybe it depends on location? I charge 1/2-rate for 2 wks vacation each year (1 week around Christmas and another week in the summer), and require parents to pay for their contracted days whether or not their child comes to care on a particular day. But I don't charge for personal days/sick days, and I don't follow the school calendar since we homeschool. I plan to be open on snow days, as long as it's not a really heavy snowfall & I can't get the driveway shoveled. But I'm thinking about changing that bc I just can't see going out at 5 am to clear the driveway and then worrying about kids & parents slipping bc it's still slick... Anyway, I know around here 4 wks full-paid vacation would be too much.

[butterfly]

I'm a little late to this party, but I do a school year only so I thought I'd share what I do.

I take the summers off without pay, but I collect the same weekly rate throughout the school year - even when there are holidays or breaks. The only exception to this is Christmas break. I present it to the parents as their "gift" from me. I need to make sure I plan ahead and budget for those 2 weeks I won't be receiving any income, but often the parents will "gift" those 2 weeks back to me in gift cards or payment. (certainly don't count on receiving this gift, but it's so nice when it happens! ) If I need to close additional days than the school district due to sickness or other unexpected things, I do NOT charge for those days.

I typically do not offer a sub. My husband is my sub and I will use him when I can, but he works full time too and I don't expect him to take a whole day off to cover a whole day for me. We've done it in the past, but I will just usually close if I need a whole day off. He has covered for an end of the day appointment or things of that nature. I just make sure I notify all the parents that my husband will be here instead of me and the payment remains the same for the time that he is here instead of me.

As far as holding a spot for the summer, I charge an enrollment fee equal to one week's rate. This is applied to their last week of care or is forfeited if they choose not to return in the fall. This way I get a little something for holding their spot and they aren't out anything if they return the following school year. It has worked well for me.

[daycare_jen]

I also do school year only. I do not charge for summer break. I also do not charge for fall, winter, or spring breaks. We have what is called a "balanced" school calendar. So our summer break is shorter, and there is two weeks off for each of the school year breaks in fall, winter, and spring. I do take paid holidays off that occur during the school year (Labor, MLK, Jr., Presidents', and Memorial days) and do not offer refunds on snow or sick days (I have parents prepay the Friday before the week of care.) MLK, Jr and President's days can be used as snow make up days, which means instead of the holiday off, I may be working. For Thanksgiving break, I take both days off with pay, too. Before the end of the school year, I present the parents with the handbook and contract for next year and require it to be turned in by the last day of our current year. I also require a deposit equal to two weeks of care, which is forfeited if they do not return the next year, but is applied to last two weeks of care in the event one of us decides to terminate or it can roll over from year to year as their deposit.