Money Saving Strategies for Daycare Providers

[Michael]

Money Saving Tips for Daycare

We had an article that has some good tips: https://www.daycare.com/story/money_saving_tips/

[Crystal]

liquid soap saver: put a rubberband around the pump, it will prevent the kids from getting more than one small squirt of soap.

use coffee filters for dry snacks

make your own fingerpaint: boil 4 cups of water, add 1/2 cup cornstarch and stir rapidly. add food coloring or a bit of tempura...save in empty playdough containers.

collect items found in nature and use for : collage art, natural collections for the science area, add to the block area with toy animals and insects, etc. (pine cones, small an large rocks, small and large pieces of bark, driftwood, pine branches, etc.)

Collect larger pieces of driftwood to use as a border for a sandbox or rock pit

Save large pieces of styrofoam and cardboard that come in packages for children's collage and painting activities, these are great for group projects.

save and ask parents to give you their junk mail and "stamps" that come in mail for charity requests: use for the writing/mail center.

make your own beanbags: cut pantyhose or use clean socks, fill with beans/rice/popcorn and tie the ends

use scraps of construction paper for collage: cut into various shapes and sizes

save water/soda bottles and make discovery bottles: fill with water and various objects - beads, glitter, seashells, etc.

save empty water/soda or even larger juice bottles: fill halfway with sand or rice, etc. Collect a variety of small objects, lay out on paper, take a picture, add items to bottle, hang picture near bottle and let kids play I Spy.

[thatgagirl]

My money savers

First and foremost, coupons. I get tons free like that including dish soap, toilet paper, paper plates, etc

I use washcloths for the kids wiping faces, hands, during crafts. They have packs at a local discount store for a couple bucks for like 10, i buy 3 or four packs every few months.

We grow our own veggies (tomatoes, squash, zucchini, etc)

The local discount store mentioned above has pillowcases 2/$1 they are fabric ends but most of the time they are cute, and I buy pillows at school time when they put out the college stuff.

I buy ALL my crayons, markers, etc at the end of school starting when they mark it all down. 20 pks of crayons, 10 pks of markers, a few scissors and some hiliters

I have family that works at the schools so I get bulletin board paper (butcher paper) and scrap paper to use for crafts.

Ask families for paper towel/gift wrap rolls for crafts

Buy your bubbles at the end of summer and all your sand toys etc. 50% off

If you know someone handy knockoffwood has plans for making wood furniture (kids tables, bookshelves, etc) at about 1/3 of retail cost

cook in bulk and invest in a deep freeze and a good crock pot.