I'm a teacher too, and I'm wondering the same thing. I'll be using a nearby daycare starting in November, but they don't allow parents to withdraw their child in the summer. I'm wondering if any teacher-parents in Alexandria (Old Town) have found a solution to this.

I just opened a small home child care nearby. This might be a good option for you. I am a former MCPS kindergarten teacher with an 11 month old son. I would be more than willing to work with the MCPS calendar. I would love for our children to grow up together.

I put my information in a recent post. You can read about it here.
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/314378.page

I hope to hear from you soon. - Stephanie

Our preschool starts at 18 months and runs on an academic calendar (plus summer camp). I think these programs are less common, but they are out there.

You might want to switch to a center August 2015 anyway since it will be more stimulating.

Many academic year schools/daycares I know start at age 2. Is your husband with MCPS? If so there is a day care provider that works with infants/toddlers at several locations and runs, I believe, only during the academic year.

The home daycare we used with #1 didn't charge us a dime over the summer. With #2, our new provider is charging us one week per summer month to keep open the spot. If you love the provider and don't mind paying, then it might be worth it to just pay. However, there are providers (especially with school age kids) that will work with teachers to not have then pay the full summer.

We ended up just paying for the summer. During that first summer, it was a lot of money we didn't need to spend. However, every summer after that (once she turned 2), it was an added expense, but it was helpful not to pull our daughter out of her routine. Her preschool turns into a "camp" over the summer. We have a nice breakfast at home, she goes a little later and I usually pick her up right after lunch. It gives me time to get things done and allows her time with her friends. I actually picked up a few tutoring jobs over the summer to help balance the cost a bit.

There are actually lots of home day care providers that will work on this schedule. I bet if your DH asks around at his school he might be able to get some recommendations.

You can find that at larger centers around age 3. Kindercare does it.

I have a five-month old DS, and my maternity leave is up next month. MY DH is a teacher, so he'll care for our son until school starts, and then (at about 8.5 months), DS will go to an in home day care near our home. I'm thrilled that the timing worked out so well this year, but I'm wondering about next summer. DS will be 17-18 months, and DH will want to stay home with him again. But our day care won't let us just pull DS for two months without paying for the spot (which I understand - her bills don't change just because it's summer).

What do other teacher families do if the teacher is available for FT child care in the summers? I think DS is so lucky to have DH home with him in the summers, but I would obviously rather not pay for a day care spot we're not using for two months. When do day care centers switch to an "academic" calendar, with a school year program different from a summer one?

TIA!