We have a sitter from 3.30 to 6.30
It was not easy to find someone for these hours, so we ended up paying a lot - 20/hour.
the plus is that she can drive them to after school activities, make their dinner etc. so things are not so rushed when we get home - we can help with dinner, read with them etc.

The aftercare options are also good - wonders etc, and would be cheaper.

Try hiring an local college student who can meet the kids at the bus and bring them to their afterschool activities.

Anonymous wrote:If your hours are flexible this is what we do. One parent goes in very very (at work at 6 am). 2nd parent brings kids to before care at about 7:30. First parent is home for the bus and/or pick up from after school activities. Second parent can work late to cover other times when more hours are needed. Before care is much cheaper than aftercare..

This is what we do and if it is possible for you, it's the least expensive option.

If your hours are flexible this is what we do. One parent goes in very very (at work at 6 am). 2nd parent brings kids to before care at about 7:30. First parent is home for the bus and/or pick up from after school activities. Second parent can work late to cover other times when more hours are needed. Before care is much cheaper than aftercare..

I'm a single parent who works. The elementary school has aftercare. I can barely make it to the school by 6pm when that ends, so there's no time for any after-school activities.

Call your assigned school. They just may have a list of area after school care providers. Ours does.

If you need an after school help other than what's available onsite at the school, check out www.care.com. I had success finding good childcare options to take my DD to her after school activities (she swims and does ballet so they are not on site) and start with homework till I get home. I also go in early (my husband gets her to school) so I can get home earlier. We only need coverage for a few hours and our nanny will do laundry, light housework, and meal preparation if I need it.

Some of my friends use the after school care at the school. Their kids can do the sponsored PTA activities then join After Care after the sport/class is finished. School staff walks the children to the PTA activity and a After Care staff member meets the children at the end of the PTA activity so the child is supervised and accounted for at all times.

PP here, our aftercare lady is retired, drives and helps with homework. She is highly qualified. The amount that I pay includes driving. For a teenager who doesn't drive, I would probably pay $8-$10 per hour.

I think aftercare is great for kids who are K/1st grade but as the kids get older, at least in our situation, the kids need to get home right after school so that homework gets done before they are too tired. My kids weren't self-motivated to get it done at aftercare (too much going on). If you live in a community, maybe find a teenager/old lady who could meet your DC at your house. Long term this is definitely the best arrangement in my opinion. We have had success but we have to pay quite a bit think ~$15/$20 per hour.

Anonymous wrote:One other thing. Don't forget to get coverage for school days off and early dismissal. There are about 20 per year.

The two downsides to going the sitter/nanny after school route is your kids can miss out on socializing with friends because there really is little socializing time at school And you have to figure out coverage for the teacher training days, half days, school breaks etc.

If your school has onsite aftercare and you send your child there, between teachers at the school, activity staff, and aftercare staff, someone will make sure your child gets to and from the activities. You just notify the needed people and of course if something changes you also let people know so the can account for your child.

If your school does not offer on-site aftercare, your options are limited. The teachers at school will make sure your child gets to the activity. You send the office and teachers emails and/handwritten notes to let them know your kid isn't walking home or taking the bus that day and is participating in XYZ at the school. You have to have someone there likely 4:30/4:40 (our school lets out 3:05 so this is roughly when the activities end). My DH goes in early and if he leaves exactly on time and no catastrophic traffic, he can make it on time and we have a neighbor as backup. I work from home one day a week. So we have had the kids do after school activities but it is a luxury (though they may not appreciate it) and we have to limit them to one activity.

If you have an aftercare option (busses to your school) at the YMCA or someplace where they offer activities at their site, your child can take advantage of that. We selected the Y aftercare our first year because of the activities advantage of drop off and pickup by the staff so our kids could do more.

There are multiple options depending on your school. Our school has Kids After Hours and my son loves it. We use that a few days a week and they also allow drop in. The other days we fill with either a science afterschool activity, chess, sport or whatever is the interest at the time and one of us gets in early/leaves work early once a week to get the kids.

Many parents just use KAH (they will also pay extra to do the other activities and KAH will pick them up from the other activity). All of the onsite activities organized through the PTA take the children right from the classroom (you tell the teacher so they know where to send your child) so then you just need to coordinate pickup afterwards.

It does get a bit hectic compared to preschool but the options can be fun and enriching. Typically, the school website or PTA website will have a list of what is usually offered. However, most of the PTA programs (other than a KAH or an offsite place) won't start until October. Good luck!

Our kids loved aftercare. When kids are in school there is little to no time for kids to play with their friends. They loved aftercare so much that SAHM would use aftercare too because it was fun and sometimes it is not so easy to get to school or home by 3 if you have a doctors appointment at 2 or something like that.

Our aftercare does 1/2 hour free time, 1 hour of homework, playtime until pick up. Of course K does not have an hour but believe me - this is a god send. Fights during hw are the worst. Since HW was 3:30-4:30 my kids hated if I got there before 5 because they only had 1/2 hour to play and since you pay by the hour on the hour I never got there before 5 even though I could get there at 4.

We had soccer at school too and the aftercare person just needed a note saying the coach could pick up. The coach went to aftercare with a list of kids, picked them up and went to the field.

Anonymous wrote:Does your school have an aftercare provider on site? If not, they may be able to take a bus to an aftercare provider. Or your child could take the bus to your house, if you have a babysitter to greet them.

With the in-school afterschool activities, the school staff should escort kids to where they need to be.

Agree. Would just add that with PTA sponsored events there isn't an activities bus so you're on your own for transportation. I was always happy with aftercare - used offsite.

One other thing. Don't forget to get coverage for school days off and early dismissal. There are about 20 per year.

Does your school have an aftercare provider on site? If not, they may be able to take a bus to an aftercare provider. Or your child could take the bus to your house, if you have a babysitter to greet them.

With the in-school afterschool activities, the school staff should escort kids to where they need to be.

Our DC will be starting K in the fall and we're a bit lost about what to about aftercare as both DH and I work full time. In some ways thing seem easier with preschool as our preschool had both beforecare and aftercare options on site.

If both of you work, how do you handle this??

For kids who are 5-6 do parents/nannies/babysitters need to escort them to after school activities that are at the school? For instance, our school has soccer classes once a week and it's something organized by the PTA. If they can get to these activities on their own would it make sense to hire a nanny to pick DC up after this activity?

How likely is it that we'll be able to find a nanny to work 5 days a week from, say, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.? How common are nanny shares for this type of ater school care?

What do kids do in aftercare at this age? Assuming they don't have much or any homework at this age. Are you happy with your aftercare provider?