Kinda Like Preschool but A Bit Older

[Mom2Two]

I've had thoughts of offering "Class and Care" for homeschool moms, but I can think of a lot more "cons" than pros. I was thinking to have six week units and the families would sign up for one morning block each week. I'd allow make up slots for illness exclusion, and I would have a deposit for rule violation fees. Also I would have a contract and most of the same policies.

Pros would be that I love teaching and that it would provide more peer play as my daughter gets older (she's six right now).

Cons...homeschool moms are usually sahms and have no money. Also I'm wondering how well they'd get used to my rules. Homeschool families and kids are also usually really well behaved (in my experienced) but often don't like rules.

Any thoughts? I was thinking age 4-7 but I would take 3 and 8 year olds too.

[midaycare]

In my area, homeschooling moms have money.

I like the idea, but the con for our area is that the homeschooling support group here is amaze-balls. Probably better than what you could offer, and it's free. Just find out what your area is lacking

[finsup]

I've had thoughts of offering "Class and Care" for homeschool moms, but I can think of a lot more "cons" than pros. I was thinking to have six week units and the families would sign up for one morning block each week. I'd allow make up slots for illness exclusion, and I would have a deposit for rule violation fees. Also I would have a contract and most of the same policies.

Pros would be that I love teaching and that it would provide more peer play as my daughter gets older (she's six right now).

Cons...homeschool moms are usually sahms and have no money. Also I'm wondering how well they'd get used to my rules. Homeschool families and kids are also usually really well behaved (in my experienced) but often don't like rules.

Any thoughts? I was thinking age 4-7 but I would take 3 and 8 year olds too.

I homeschool too! And love the idea, but I don't know how well I could pull it off. A local church down the road does a co-op that has fees, and a few other groups/co-ops that meet during the week. So trying to do another one, that wasn't free, would be tough. Stinks too because I'd love to be able to do it. I hate that we miss out on those things because of the daycare. But if there aren't a lot in your area, it could definitely be worth looking into! Rule wise, I would get it but im on the other side of things .

[Mom2Two]

I homeschool too! And love the idea, but I don't know how well I could pull it off. A local church down the road does a co-op that has fees, and a few other groups/co-ops that meet during the week. So trying to do another one, that wasn't free, would be tough. Stinks too because I'd love to be able to do it. I hate that we miss out on those things because of the daycare. But if there aren't a lot in your area, it could definitely be worth looking into! Rule wise, I would get it but im on the other side of things .

Yay for homeschooling! We do participate in a co-op by not allowing one of my families to come here on Tuesday mornings. I pack the other four daycare kids to two hours of classes on Tuesday morning along with my daughter. I couldn't take all the kids, because my car only holds six children (it's an eight-seater van). The daycare parents pay the fee for their children to go to the classes.

I was thinking that if I did "Class and Care" and didn't charge too much (but had a few kids coming to make it worth it) that it might be appealing to homeschool moms, because they never get a break.

[nothingwithoutjoy]

I have children ages 3-8. Half are preschoolers, half are homeschoolers. Like you say, I wanted my daughter (7) to have peers during the day.

I found it very difficult to find homeschool families, because, like you say, none of them can afford it. Also, most homeschool families I've come across have wanted only one day, or even just 2 hours, but my minimum is two full days per week. But I persevered, figuring there must be some other homeschool mamas out there who needed to work (like I do!).

I wasn't successful recruiting homeschoolers in my daughter's kindergarten year, so I continued on with preschoolers and her. Then for her first grade year, I added one kindergartener twice a week. Now, in her second grade year, I have another second grader 4 days a week, a first grader twice a week, and have a 2-day opening I'm hoping to fill with another homeschooler. It's getting easier to find people as the word gets out, and as we're seen out and about (it's obvious now that they're homeschooled, and that leads to conversation with people in the library, for example).

My homeschool families have had to adjust a bit to understanding child care rules, since it's new to them. However, they have been respectful of them.

Good luck! I think it's a pretty sweet arrangement.

[CityGarden]

In my area, homeschooling moms have money.

I like the idea, but the con for our area is that the homeschooling support group here is amaze-balls. Probably better than what you could offer, and it's free. Just find out what your area is lacking

This is my experience as well!

[Pestle]

I was homeschooled through the '80s and '90s. Here's what people paid for:

The same things that public school families paid for. We paid for sports, we paid for music lessons, we paid for one-off special events and field trips, we paid for fine arts instruction, we paid for science labs, we paid for sewing classes and dance classes and swimming classes and foreign language classes. Anything that takes a specialized professional instructor and/or uses expensive equipment and/or isn't part of the core. So if that's what you're offering, you might find a demand for it. And I never heard anybody in my family quibble about following the policies for a given class.

Here's what people didn't pay for:
The same things that public school families don't pay for (on top of the taxes we all pay). English, Social Studies, Math, etc. All the core stuff that a parent with a B.A. and money for some textbooks can provide. We had a co-op with low fees that provided some of that--particularly for high schoolers, when the varied material gets challenging for one set of parents to have the expertise in--but for the core subjects, I can't see a demand unless it's for private tutoring of learning-challenged students. Most parents wouldn't leave the workplace to educate at home and then find themselves with the desire and money to pay somebody else to do the basic education.