When My Daycare Grows Up, This Is What It Wants To Be!!

[Mary Poppins]

I was looking for loft ideas and came across this dc website. If it happens to be yours, I hope you don't mind me sharing and... OH MY GOSH I AM SOOOO JEALOUS!!!

http://www.earlybeginningschildcare.com/photos.html

I this!!!

Now I have to talk the hubs into building a shop and giving up the garage so I can expand my dc NOW, darnit!!

[Lucy]

Wow.... it's gorgeous!! She has really put a lot of time, money, and effort into her daycare! I'm jealous.

[Blackcat31]

Her setup does look fabulous!!

.....but did anyone notice that in her experience/qualifications section she hasn't taken a single course since 2006!!

Hoping she just hasn't updated her site since then, otherwise that would worry me.

Her set-up looks like a page from the Lakeshore or Kaplan catalogs. Definitely looks fun from a kid's viewpoint!

When I worked at Head Start, we weren't allowed to have a cool loft like that because it wasn't accessible to all children (kids with physical disabilities) so it was not considered appropiate for the program.

I would love to have one but was while I was checking out her pictures, all I could think of was all the ways a kid could get hurt on it... It is so sad that liability fears take the fun out of everything!

[MyAngels]

Originally Posted by Blackcat31

Her setup does look fabulous!!

.....but did anyone notice that in her experience/qualifications section she hasn't taken a single course since 2006!!

Didn't her policies also have a date of 2006? I was thinking she may not be in business anymore.

I also agree about the liability issues - especially the loft.

Sure is pretty, though .

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

Beautiful! I wonder how large her space is?

[Countrygal]

Really wonderful! I love all of the storage she has that goes UP!! I wonder how much she has invested in all of that? It'd be interesting to know if she found ways to cut corners, has a carpenter husband, or how she accomplished it all!

[CheekyChick]

I have to say I like the look of my DC center a lot more. I like color.

BUT, I so badly want the loft and her toy storage area is AWESOME.

[Kaddidle Care]

That's a LOT of stuff in a small space but it does look awesome. Can't fit too many Kadiddles in there though.

I want that bathroom! Tee Hee! It's great!

[nannyde]

Just off the hook beautiful.

I'd be a nervous wreck with the stairs on the loft though. I also wonder how she does the pack n plays in california. I thought they weren't allowed to use them but maybe the new crib regs aren't in force yet.

The light matching wood is so stunning and she did a fabulous job with the artwork. It is really gorgeous.

[cheerfuldom]

The murals, the fish tank, the block collection, the amazing furniture.....is this heaven??

[Mary Poppins]

I only have six kids at a time so her set up would be PERFECT for us. The loft thing would scare me more if I had 10 or 12 kids.

I love the whole Montessori feel of it and can't even begin to imagine how much $ she put into her set up. I hope she is still in business after putting so much work into it!

[Michelle]

Originally Posted by nannyde

Just off the hook beautiful.

I'd be a nervous wreck with the stairs on the loft though. I also wonder how she does the pack n plays in california. I thought they weren't allowed to use them but maybe the new crib regs aren't in force yet.

The light matching wood is so stunning and she did a fabulous job with the artwork. It is really gorgeous.

I think she has the drop side cribs and yes, we are not allowed to have them.
I haven't heard of pac n plays being disallowed in Calif.

[nannyde]

Originally Posted by Michelle

I think she has the drop side cribs and yes, we are not allowed to have them.
I haven't heard of pac n plays being disallowed in Calif.

Look at the pic titled "Preschool Room" on the right of the pic in the middle.

[Crystal]

Originally Posted by Blackcat31

Her setup does look fabulous!!

.....but did anyone notice that in her experience/qualifications section she hasn't taken a single course since 2006!!

Hoping she just hasn't updated her site since then, otherwise that would worry me.

Her set-up looks like a page from the Lakeshore or Kaplan catalogs. Definitely looks fun from a kid's viewpoint!

When I worked at Head Start, we weren't allowed to have a cool loft like that because it wasn't accessible to all children (kids with physical disabilities) so it was not considered appropiate for the program.

I would love to have one but was while I was checking out her pictures, all I could think of was all the ways a kid could get hurt on it... It is so sad that liability fears take the fun out of everything!

A lot of providers do not take ANY classes or attend workshops. It is surprisingly common. In Cali. it isn't a requirement at all. It is unfortunate, but true.

[nannyde]

Originally Posted by Blackcat31

I would love to have one but was while I was checking out her pictures, all I could think of was all the ways a kid could get hurt on it... It is so sad that liability fears take the fun out of everything!

Yup yup

I think this is an important conversation to have because parents and the government need to understand that providers have a crushing responsibility to have every day go by without an injury.

Some providers take the risk but as time is marching on we are seeing less and less equipment on the ground of homes and centers because the liability of having a kid have their feet off the ground is so high. I've even seen providers do knee pads, elbow pads, and helmets JUST for kids to play the little tykes flinstone cars.

The Canadians seem to have a better gig by having universal health care. I think that would change my mind about having an outdoor play area. If I knew that the medical would be covered and my liability would be specifically whether or not I could have prevented it rather than it happened on my property so I'm responsible. You still have the high risk of loosing a client with an injury so that would be weighted in it too. I don't think the average parent has much tolerance for any injury that would require anything beyond first aid and a couple of days of healing to disapear.

[Country Kids]

I'm must be the rarety because I keep aquiring toys over the years (outdoor toys) and actually hoping for a play structure this year-.

In all the years I have done child care, I have never had a serious injury to a child during childcare hours. All the injuries have happened off my watch. Surprisingly none of them were on play structures, toys, etc. I had one that actually fell off their back porch and get really banged up meeting the sidewalk that surronded it.

My outdoor toys actually attract my customers because they see that we have things to do outside (when we can go out if the weather isn't yucky). Presently I have a couple kids that don't have an access to yards at their house so what they get here the parents love.

My own kids though have all been hurt under others watch. I wasn't upset that it happened because things happen to kids and life goes on. Thats what totally upsets me about parents that go to the extreme on providers when their children get hurt.

[nannyde]

Originally Posted by Crystal

A lot of providers do not take ANY classes or attend workshops. It is surprisingly common. In Cali. it isn't a requirement at all. It is unfortunate, but true.

I'm torn about it.

My first thought is to think of all the providers here that serve state funded kids at 2.20 an hour and now with this poor economy.. many serving private pay for less than that.. and think we can't really expect such a low waged worker to have much education or skill set beyond first aid, mandatory reporter, and cpr. There HAS to be a market for the educated provider (whether that be degreed or by taking classes toward a registration) and HERE there really isn't. Some.. but not so much.

Our regs require the base certifications and twelve hours per year of training with six of them being in a public setting. Most of the offerings are about early child hood education. There's precious little about care and basic safety training. I "think" that is because no one training source wants the liability that goes along with safety training. Educating to educate kids is no liability at all. Zip zero.

Iowa allows the CARE courses for online training and when I went thru the list .. every single one of the CARE courses on safety were removed as classes endorsed by the state to count toward the continuing ed hours they require.

So there's little here for basic care and safety training in single classes. They do have the PITC (think that's it) that does do some health and safety but the one I attended was really awful. It was more geared to one to one care scenarios and not group care. The companion DVD had footage of the theory but they couldn't even film it with a second much less sixth kid in the video. I don't think it would be terribly helpful to the newbie provider.

Then the other side of me thinks about the providers that attend the classes I have to take each year. I usually take food program classes which are the best we have. Our food program ladies are sweet as pie and REALLY try hard to jazz up their jazz.

But when I hear the audience participation questions I'm profoundly sad after each and every class. The level of even fundamental care knowledge seems to be extremely low across the board in every class. Even the basic understanding of the state regs and the food program regs is very very low for many of the participants.

So I go back and forth on what we should expect and usually land somewhere in the middle. I think Iowa is pretty reasonable for the most part and there has to be some acceptance along the way that if we are going to devalue the hard work of good care to 2.20 per hour then we have to take what comes with that. If we want higher quality care we have to start at the State level and compensate the worker for the education and experience. Parents have to jump on board too and make sure their provider is well paid. Without the money it's just not going to happen.

[Country Kids]

Originally Posted by nannyde

I'm torn about it.

My first thought is to think of all the providers here that serve state funded kids at 2.20 an hour and now with this poor economy.. many serving private pay for less than that.. and think we can't really expect such a low waged worker to have much education or skill set beyond first aid, mandatory reporter, and cpr. There HAS to be a market for the educated provider (whether that be degreed or by taking classes toward a registration) and HERE there really isn't. Some.. but not so much.

Our regs require the base certifications and twelve hours per year of training with six of them being in a public setting. Most of the offerings are about early child hood education. There's precious little about care and basic safety training. I "think" that is because no one training source wants the liability that goes along with safety training. Educating to educate kids is no liability at all. Zip zero.

Iowa allows the CARE courses for online training and when I went thru the list .. every single one of the CARE courses on safety were removed as classes endorsed by the state to count toward the continuing ed hours they require.

So there's little here for basic care and safety training in single classes. They do have the PITC (think that's it) that does do some health and safety but the one I attended was really awful. It was more geared to one to one care scenarios and not group care. The companion DVD had footage of the theory but they couldn't even film it with a second much less sixth kid in the video. I don't think it would be terribly helpful to the newbie provider.

Then the other side of me thinks about the providers that attend the classes I have to take each year. I usually take food program classes which are the best we have. Our food program ladies are sweet as pie and REALLY try hard to jazz up their jazz.

But when I hear the audience participation questions I'm profoundly sad after each and every class. The level of even fundamental care knowledge seems to be extremely low across the board in every class. Even the basic understanding of the state regs and the food program regs is very very low for many of the participants.

So I go back and forth on what we should expect and usually land somewhere in the middle. I think Iowa is pretty reasonable for the most part and there has to be some acceptance along the way that if we are going to devalue the hard work of good care to 2.20 per hour then we have to take what comes with that. If we want higher quality care we have to start at the State level and compensate the worker for the education and experience. Parents have to jump on board too and make sure their provider is well paid. Without the money it's just not going to happen.

Remember though, Nan, parents really only have so much money they can dedicate to childcare. We are another bill and yes, alot of them want the best provider they can find for their child but the bottom line is that they still can only put out so much money for a "bill". Just like cable, cell phones, etc., if it gets to be something that they are starting not to be able to afford, they will start shopping around for a "better" price.

[Mary Poppins]

Originally Posted by Country Kids

I'm must be the rarety because I keep aquiring toys over the years (outdoor toys) and actually hoping for a play structure this year-.

In all the years I have done child care, I have never had a serious injury to a child during childcare hours. All the injuries have happened off my watch. Surprisingly none of them were on play structures, toys, etc. I had one that actually fell off their back porch and get really banged up meeting the sidewalk that surronded it.

My outdoor toys actually attract my customers because they see that we have things to do outside (when we can go out if the weather isn't yucky). Presently I have a couple kids that don't have an access to yards at their house so what they get here the parents love.

My own kids though have all been hurt under others watch. I wasn't upset that it happened because things happen to kids and life goes on. Thats what totally upsets me about parents that go to the extreme on providers when their children get hurt.

After going back and forth and back again on this issue, I decided that for the kid's sake, the liability risk is worth taking at my house, too.

I bought insurance, so I'm covered if something did happen. I have release forms parents sign. I have two helpers and at most six kids at a time, two of which are too young to do anything anyway, so the chances of something bad happening are very, very slim anyway.

Yes, there is risk involved, but there is risk of them walking up my steps to my door!

So... I not only want a loft inside, preferably one with a slide, but we are also adding a playset with swings and a slide AND a bouncy-house water park this summer.

[Country Kids]

Would love to have the bouncy house water park thingy but we can't have anytype of "pooling water". Not even slip in slides are allowed because of the water that pools in them-.

This is one reason my own children have a really hard time in the summer with childcare. We can do no water stuff and thats what summer is about-being in the water.

[Mary Poppins]

Originally Posted by Country Kids

Would love to have the bouncy house water park thingy but we can't have anytype of "pooling water". Not even slip in slides are allowed because of the water that pools in them-.

This is one reason my own children have a really hard time in the summer with childcare. We can do no water stuff and thats what summer is about-being in the water.

Really???

I am legally unlicensed but even our licensed ones can let the kids have a pool and swim with a parent release form. If I remember correctly, bodies of water less than 24" deep don't even require a fence around them.

Our yard is fenced with locking gates, either way, and the inflatable thingys don't stay up unless they are in use. This is the one we're getting and it can be used wet or dry:



I love the little ballpit area. It fills with a few inches of water when it's used as a waterslide.

[nannyde]

Originally Posted by Country Kids

Remember though, Nan, parents really only have so much money they can dedicate to childcare. We are another bill and yes, alot of them want the best provider they can find for their child but the bottom line is that they still can only put out so much money for a "bill". Just like cable, cell phones, etc., if it gets to be something that they are starting not to be able to afford, they will start shopping around for a "better" price.

YES and part of the parent education needs to be the cold hard realization that if they can't afford the price of quality care they will have a much harder time finding it. This needs to be a public service announcement for both men and women BEFORE they conceive a child.

Learn about the cost of really good care BEFORE you have the need for it.

[Michelle]

Originally Posted by nannyde

Look at the pic titled "Preschool Room" on the right of the pic in the middle.

I just saw this response
o.k. I see the pac n plays...
quite honestly, in California the licensers are so relaxed most of the time as long as the house is clean,safe and their first impression is good, they will just say.."take that down", "put that away" , "next time I come make sure this is done or that" I have always had good visits and that daycare is so amazing that if licensing came they would just look for cabinet locks, outlet covers, and the paperwork is done.
I have heard of some states testing the temp in the fridge, and faucet water, etc. and being there for hours... not like that here!
We are pretty spoiled here....