Preschool ~ How Many Days and How Much?

[Nisaryn]

Hello everyone, I have had a few people ask me recently if I have ever considered offering preschool since I used to teach. Currently I cannot because I am doing infants only and am maxed out on ratio however, one of my families will be moving this fall and so I would be under ratio and able to take on children 2+. Currently I care for children every day of the week but I hear of some people only doing preschool for a few days out of the week.

For those of you that offer preschool, how many days do you run your program and what do you charge? You don't have to give me your actual rates but, like what is your percentage I guess? Right now I charge for infant care which is much more than 2+ care so I'm not sure what a fair rate would be for preschool care especially if its just for a few days. When I tried to divide my infant rate by days for preschool care it still seemed like so much to ask for!

[Unregistered]

I too also used to teach preschool. I run my entire program as a play based preschool program with a little more structured academic activities for my preK kids (I have ages 17 months - 4 yrs old). I charge about the same as some preschool centers in my area ($625 for full time).

[midaycare]

I teach preschool every day, and kids who are here are automatically enrolled. I start teaching them as soon as they are ready. I even have activities for the babies.

My rates are less than a center (I'm a home daycare/preschool), but more than a home daycare. My usual clientele are people who like centers, but want some thing smaller. Or they had a bad experience with a center, but want a structured/learning environment.

[Febby]

I've never worked in a home daycare, but I did used to teach a mixed age group (ages 1-4) in a small center, back when regulations allowed mix age groups. I used have two sets of circle times, one for the olders (3-4) and one for the youngers (1-2). One group played while the other had their circle. I did both an AM and a PM circle. My AM circle was usually math/science focused and my afternoon was usually literacy focused, but elements of both could/were brought into each. The younger circle was usually about 10 minutes each and the older circles were usually about 15-20 minutes each.

Otherwise, I would just adjust the difficulty of group activities to meet each child's abilities.

That was a center, but, partially due to having mixed groups, the rates were lower.

[NoMoreJuice!]

I teach 6 preschool kiddos in the mornings while my assistant has 6 toddlers in the basement (or in the backyard, seasonal). I charge an extra $25 a week on top of my weekly rate for this service to pay for supplies. I purchase the Mother Goose Time curriculum, and it's about $150 a month with the optional extra workbooks for six kids.

[mamamanda]

I offer both a preschool and kindergarten curriculum throughout the year. I restructured everything over the summer and all but one of my families are pleased with the changes. I teach preschool 3 days a week, kindergarten 5 days a week. I create most of the curriculum myself using a variety of resources. Both groups follow the same themed units throughout the year allowing me to overlap some of the activities & just work more in depth with the kindergarteners. I charge a set daily rate & tuition is included in the cost of childcare. I charge on the high side of normal for my area b/c of my curriculum. I'm probably more on par with what you would pay for a center in our area, I actually have had to start a waiting list b/c parents are pleased with what their children are learning throughout the day. All of my curriculum is experiential in nature so we have many projects and experiments taking place throughout the year, and of course we play a lot. My preschool program is designed for 3-5 year olds, but I include younger toddlers as soon as they show an interest if the activity is developmentally appropriate.

[Nisaryn]

See I was thinking of either doing a 5 day a week program doing on half day preschool or doing a 3 day program were the full day is preschool. I'm just not sure what would be best or how/what I would charge for that. I wanted to use the Mother Goose Time curriculum but, I'm a small family daycare of only up to 8 kids and since I have infants I can only have 3 preschool aged kids after my 4th infants moves. I simply cannot afford their curriculum on just that many kids :/ I'm thinking I am going to create my own curriculum using the state standards as a guide for Kindergarten prep. I don't know what the laws are in California about running a Kindergarten...I didn't even think you COULD offer K unless you worked with a school! Interesting idea.

[TwinKristi]

I'm going to start incorporating a preschool curriculum in the Fall with my 2+ kids. My son is 3.5 and I have another almost 4yr old and a just over 3yr old plus an almost 2yr old. I have 2/3 babies depending on the day but I wanted to do something 2-3 days a week and for 2-3hrs total but broken up due to naps and baby schedules.
I'm not asking anything extra at this point but am considering asking for a materials fee in Sept. of $100/yr.

[mamamanda]

See I was thinking of either doing a 5 day a week program doing on half day preschool or doing a 3 day program were the full day is preschool. I'm just not sure what would be best or how/what I would charge for that. I wanted to use the Mother Goose Time curriculum but, I'm a small family daycare of only up to 8 kids and since I have infants I can only have 3 preschool aged kids after my 4th infants moves. I simply cannot afford their curriculum on just that many kids :/ I'm thinking I am going to create my own curriculum using the state standards as a guide for Kindergarten prep. I don't know what the laws are in California about running a Kindergarten...I didn't even think you COULD offer K unless you worked with a school! Interesting idea.

I have no idea what the laws are in California. In my state I can"home school" someone else's child. I can also function under the laws of a "private" school as long as i am meeting the requirements set forth. (Ie; Proof of 180 days of attendance, teaching to the state mandated standards, Curriculum handbook available to the superintendent of my public school system, etc.) My background is in education. I was one semester away from my bachelor's degree when my Ds was 6mo. We tried everything and could not get him to take a bottle. After weeks of trying he & I were so stressed out I decided to put the degree on hold. So this route just makes sense for us. I get to do both things that I love. I get to teach while still being at him with each of my babies. I hope you find what works for you soon. Some days I get stressed out in the moment, but I can honestly say I love my job. I wish the same for you!

[mamamanda]

I'm going to start incorporating a preschool curriculum in the Fall with my 2+ kids. My son is 3.5 and I have another almost 4yr old and a just over 3yr old plus an almost 2yr old. I have 2/3 babies depending on the day but I wanted to do something 2-3 days a week and for 2-3hrs total but broken up due to naps and baby schedules.
I'm not asking anything extra at this point but am considering asking for a materials fee in Sept. of $100/yr.

Something you might consider in lieu of charging a yearly fee is giving each family a list of supplies needed. Have them bring enough to last their child for the year. I send home a supply list and have the parents label everything. For example, I ask for 4 boxes of 16ct crayola crayons, 8 jumbo glue sticks, etc. I store it all here, but then we have it if we need it. This gives me the opportunity to work on personal responsibility with each of the kids. If they Brea their crayons, they use broken crayons without affecting the rest of the group. Also, it seems like parents are more open to providing set supplies they know their chip will need. I think b/c they can't see where the money goes they are more hesitant to just pay a materials fee. Just a thought. If you do that, make sure you think through the curriculum & make a thorough list of what they need to bring. I'd be happy to share my list if you're interested.

[mamamanda]

Also, breaking up the day works wonderfully for preschoolers. We do circle time in the morning. It is light & fun and even the babies are a part of it, but it gives me the opportunity to introduce any new topics for the week. Then we go play. Later we do "preschool" activities which the kindergarteners are included in (sometimes at a higher level of thinking.) We do "special" activities like music, crafts, bookmobile, group games, all part of the school experience, but still fun. Again babies are included if they're awake. In the afternoon during nap time the kindergarteners get my undivided attention. We could never sit for a 3 hour preschool session, but this allows us to fit everything in while still having plenty of play time in between.

[Play Care]

I'm wondering if your families would pay an additional fee for preschool?

I get the feeling that many families think learning/preschool activities should be included in what they already pay.

[bklsmum]

Something you might consider in lieu of charging a yearly fee is giving each family a list of supplies needed. Have them bring enough to last their child for the year. I send home a supply list and have the parents label everything. For example, I ask for 4 boxes of 16ct crayola crayons, 8 jumbo glue sticks, etc. I store it all here, but then we have it if we need it. This gives me the opportunity to work on personal responsibility with each of the kids. If they Brea their crayons, they use broken crayons without affecting the rest of the group. Also, it seems like parents are more open to providing set supplies they know their chip will need. I think b/c they can't see where the money goes they are more hesitant to just pay a materials fee. Just a thought. If you do that, make sure you think through the curriculum & make a thorough list of what they need to bring. I'd be happy to share my list if you're interested.

I would LOVE a copy of your supply list if you don't mind. Thanks!

[mamamanda]

I would LOVE a copy of your supply list if you don't mind. Thanks!

I'm on my phone right now but I will PM you a copy in the morning