New Natural Daycare in Fairfax now open
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Anonymous
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Hello everyone! I am happy and excited to share that our new in home daycare is now open for enrollment.
We are licensed in Fairfax County for 5 children and have part-time as well as full-time spaces available. Little Gnome Home is a natural daycare and, as I am rather proud to say, very different from anything else out there in the area. Please visit our website at www.littlegnomehome.com for pictures and information. Also feel free to reply here or email us at littlegnomehome@gmail.com if you have any questions. We are looking forward to meeting you and your little one/s! "Nurturing natural growth and development." |
Anonymous
| Hello, I am reviewing your website from my IPad and can't pull up the answers in the FAQs section. Just thought I'd mention that to you. I'll probably try to access your site from a desktop, but you might want to consider IPad users. Or maybe I'm the only one having a problem? |
Anonymous
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Hey there, OP here.
Thank you for letting me know - the website should be set up for different devices, but I will definitely look into that! It would be a shame if visitors can't read our FAQs, especially since that's likely the section most people's questions can be answered in! |
Anonymous
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Hello everyone! OP here.
I have a question for all the parents in the community: How long are you willing to commute for a great daycare? I am wondering, because I get the feeling that most parents only look for daycare in their own city? Or close to where they work. Would you take a longer commute if you really love the daycare, even if you could find something closer to home that's just not AS great? |
Anonymous
It's not just about willingness to commute, but ability to commute the extra distance. A lot of daycares close between 5 and 6pm and with traffic around here, going just a little further out of your way may make it impossible to pick up your child on time. Or it may result in a great deal of stress since traffic is so unpredictable and you don't want to be the last one to pick up your kid everyday. Location was a big consideration in where we chose to place our kid. |
Anonymous
| Your daycare looks great. I'm not in the market for one, but I bet you would get business if you advertise in places where the crunchy type moms go--maybe a flier up at some birthing centers, MOMs or whole foods, online natural parenting or natural birth type yahoo groups, etc. |
Anonymous
This is SO true. It's actually quite sad how much traffic dictates what we can or can't do for our children 
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Anonymous
| It looks like a cute waldorf-like home daycare. I hope you are successful. Do you have your own children in addition to the 5 that you're willing to take on? 5 is a small number for ages 2-6. More than likely no more than two children of the same age. We have a preschool near us that takes children ages 3-5 and they take up to 8 with typically half in a first year pre-k program and the other half in a second year pre-k program so there were always three to four children of a similar age and ability. Discovery Woods used to be like this daycare and probably still is under their new name, but it was a little bigger as well and they also watched their own kids. What kind of transportation do you use for all the outdoor activities? |
Anonymous
OP here 
First of all, thanks! We really do work hard every day to create the space here and can not wait for little ones to come in! It's an ongoing project and if you pour your heart and soul into it, I don't think you are ever 'done'! We are in Fairfax County and currently working with a permit - that means we can only take a maximum of 5 children. We don't have any children of our own yet. We are hoping to find 5 children in the younger age range (2-3 years) that stay with us until they turn 7! We want to form lasting bonds with the kids and really make a difference in their lives, so the longer they stay, the better. We have two spaces for under 2 year olds within our maximum 5 spaces. The 2-6 year age range is meant to let parents know how long their child will be able to stay with us, rather than trying to fill our group with 5 children all different ages. Should I clarify that on the website? Little Gnome Home is just starting out so the small group size is actually very important to me. We wouldn't be able to go on our regular field trips if we had any more children! We might think about taking the step into upgrading from permit to license in a year or so. |
Anonymous
OP here again - I forgot to answer the transportation question! We have a van that we use for our regular field trips. But more than 5 children definitely don't fit in there 
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Anonymous
| I wish you were in Bethesda. I would sign up in a heartbeat for my son. Good luck! |
Anonymous
I wish you were in Fairfax. I would enroll your son in a heartbeat. Good luck finding a beautiful daycare in your area (if you are looking right now)!
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Anonymous
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I like the setup and the materials but I think your inexperience with group care of toddler and preschool age kids shows. Cutesy little dolls? Perfect when it's just your child but they will be destroyed and aren't really washable. The tons of little pieces? That will be a treat to clean up. You don't need a full big basket of shells (that are spiky and will inevitable end up hurting some child) or a cash register of 20+ coins. 2 or 3 shells and maybe 10 coins at most are good. Also realize that the majority of parents are not going to be drawn in by your set up. Also, I can't imagine those wood blocks dropping on your wood floor day in and day out. The loud sound will upset some kids and your floor will eventually take a beating. And while I appreciate the aesthetic, I can't say that I think young kids will be immediately draw to the area. It's kind of dark and boring. Natural doesn't mean just brown. Nature has lots of colors. There is nothing wrong with adding in some colors to attract attention and provide a boundary to the kids play areas. Color silks for the canopy for example, natural dyed baskets, a comfortable spot to land on the floor - bean bag or equivalent, soft child size furniture, a fuzzy rug.
How come you have no books on any of the shelves? No pictures of kids or other general pictures? Tons of great waldorf inspired art that you can place low on the bookshelves sides and in other areas. Where will you display things the kids create? |
Anonymous
| It's possible you'll have kids who want to stay through kindergarten, but more likely just preschool or up to age 5. |
Anonymous
| I'm sure she'll adjust what the kids need once she gets them. There are plenty of kids who would be happy to play in that area. |