At Almost Home Daycare, my main focus is the children.   I pride myself on providing the best possible care for your child but also building lasting relationships with your family.   I feel like families with like minded ideals are the best fit for our daycare family.  We are a family childcare and not a commercial daycare.   I extend my care on a family level and ask you to be part of my extended family when enrolling your child in my care.   Family Childcare is very different from Commercial Daycare.

 

It is important to me that you understand that I am not "just a babysitter".   I am a childcare provider and successful business woman with over 21 years of hands on, real life experience and deserve to be treated as such.    I have several more years beyond that of childcare experience.    Some of my current clients were likely young children themselves when I first started my childcare journey.   So please understand that I have the experience to be able to offer my expertise

   

To start our relationship off with the right tone, I believe in setting clear expectations and boundaries,  so that we can successfully foster a mutually respectful relationship that can thrive and grow.

 

Please familiarize yourself with these expectations.    If any of the following expectations are things you may have difficulty with being a part of our daycare family,  then my daycare is not be the best fit for your family and your needs.

 

RESPECT:  I ask you to please be respectful of my home, my family and my time.  Especially my time.  While caring for your child is very important to me, so is my family, the home we have built together and the time we spend together.   There may be times when I have to put my family's needs ahead of yours and I need you to be understanding and supportive of that.    

The majority of my time is spent with your children and all the pre and post childcare responsibilities as well as business end responsibilities that go along with caring for them.  So when I request a personal day or notify you of an early closing or vacation, I expect you to be accepting of my need for that time without explanation.   I am entitled to a day off when I need it just as you are when you need it.   Almost all days such as these are usually pre planned and plenty of notice is provided unless its an emergency or a sick day.

I also ask that you please respect the boundaries I set for the kids too.   

I also ask that you respect the other families and kids in my care and their time.

 

CONSISTENCY:   You are expected to stick to the scheduled drop off and pick up times you request on your contract at the time of enrollment.   Children thrive on routine and we do our best to keep things consistent here at daycare for them throughout the day.   You are required to drop your child off and pick them up at the same time every day.   Exceptions for things like doctors appointments etc are ok but should be communicated well ahead of time.  Last minute schedule changes are disruptive to our schedule and throw off our day.   Please be considerate.

I also rely on your consistent pick up time in order to schedule my own evenings and plans with my family.   Please be respectful of my time.

Furthermore, pick ups are not allowed during our wind down and nap period between 12noon and 3pm.    If you schedule appointments for during that time period, you must pick your child up by 11.45am so that we can continue our nap routine without interruption.

 

 

COMMUNICATION:   I expect the lines of communication to be open as possible.   I keep our website updated regularly with important info that is useful to you and expect you to log in frequently so that you don't miss anything.     

I expect any unexpected changes in schedule to be communicated ahead of time and not after the fact.   I appreciate advanced notice if your child will not be present at daycare so I know not to prepare meals, crafts and activities for your child for that day.   I do most of my prep ahead of time so it can be wasteful when I am told at the last minute.

Please also make me aware if anyone other than a parent will be picking your child up from daycare.  If I do not receive prior notification, I cannot let your child leave with them.

 I also hope that you can feel that you can talk to me about any concerns you may have, or if there is anything I can help with.  I am also here to help with any child related questions.   I have raised 4 kids of my own and have cared for 86 (and counting)children throughout my career.  I have experienced a lot of different situations, children and concerns.   I am happy to share my experience with you.

   Kids are really sensitive to change and will often act out when they don't know how else to express their emotions, so if there is every anything big happening in your home or lives, it is important to let me know.   Of course I respect your privacy, so a simple "we have some things going on " is enough to make me aware in case.

I also love to chat so look forward to getting to know you better during our drop off and pick up conversations.

 

HONESTY:    We are all human and I understand that unexpected stuff happens occasionally.   However, please be honest with me.   In 21 years of being in the childcare business, I have been around the block a time or two and there isn't much I haven't heard.   Please offer me some respect and just be honest with me if the need arises.   

 

I really appreciate you letting me care for your child.   I really love doing what I do.   I hope my expectations seem reasonable enough that we can build a great relationship going forward.