Congrats!

Hey everybody, OP here!

We have enrolled our first children and are now looking to fill 2 more full time spots and 2 spots for part time, 2 days a week (Thursday & Friday).
This is a very exciting journey already and we are looking forward to getting to know more wonderful families!

I know many daycares provide transportation for their children, picking them up at preschool or at home, bringing them back etc. I also wouldn't have a problem with field trips as long as both providers would go and they know what they are doing. I'd probably have you describe how a typical field trip looks, before deciding if I'd be okay with it. If you only go to set locations for example, that you know well, where the drive isn't too long and you know the route, where you know where to go with the kids and where they can't get lost I'd be totally excited to have such enthusiastic providers. Kids love nature, love running freely and exploring. I think well managed field trips to regular locations are a GREAT thing to offer as long as done right. Shows to me that the providers are willing to go the extra mile.

As a parent, I don't want my child care provider transporting my child. And as a business owner, I think you are taking on too much risk. Especially since you are just starting out. You probably have many other things to be focused on.

Re: Field trips, many people in the DC area drive extremely aggressively, erratically and/or poorly. I don't like to take my baby on long drives in the car for this reason- I have to watch other cars like a hawk and it makes me nervous. I would not allow someone else to pile 5 little ones in a van for a field trip, not only because of their driving skill and the distraction of a car full of toddlers, but because of all the other drivers who are texting/tired/lost/angry/etc.

Anonymous wrote:Hello everyone, OP here. I'd just like to give a quick update. We have worked on our space some more and have added a reading area with a cozy bean bag to snuggle into and lots of books for little ones to explore. We are also already starting to plan our own outdoor play area as that is one thing very dear to my heart - so we have hopes of adding a large sandbox very soon as well as fencing in the yard.

We have had our first parent visits and are hoping to enroll two wonderful kids shortly. We still have open slots for children ages 1-5 so I want to invite interested parents to schedule a visit with us. I am very excited that things are getting started here and I can not wait to have our play room filled with little ones! Please contact us via www.littlegnomehome.com or just give us a call at 703-209-8799

You should update your site with the pictures of the reading area.

Sand boxes - as a parent, I tend to not like them much but kids do. The one thing i would definitely want to see on a sandbox would be a well constructed cover that is routinely used.

Anonymous wrote:OP,

I would have parents supply and install their own seats. I would also ask a parent to leave a seat there at all times (you can get a cheap one for $50) in case of emergency. I would not be ok with you not having a car seat at all times. I would also prefer to install as everyone's standards are different.

I love your space but again, I would not be ok with the small things around. I would also prefer at some put you get a frame for the beds as I prefer my child not on the floor (but you have clearly spent a lot of money so it would not be a priority now). I love your style and choices.

I am not sure I'd be ok with field trips. It would depend on where, how many adults, etc.

The parents we talked to so far would leave their car seat here to make sure we have one in case of emergency. We have decided to not do any field trips until we have been open for a while and everyone is comfortable with it.

The children we are currently hoping to enroll are younger so we have already adjusted our space and taken out everything that could pose a choking hazard - adjusting is really very easy, just a matter of going around the room and packing the little things up for now, until the children are older. There are still plenty of toys for them to play with.

OP,

I would have parents supply and install their own seats. I would also ask a parent to leave a seat there at all times (you can get a cheap one for $50) in case of emergency. I would not be ok with you not having a car seat at all times. I would also prefer to install as everyone's standards are different.

I love your space but again, I would not be ok with the small things around. I would also prefer at some put you get a frame for the beds as I prefer my child not on the floor (but you have clearly spent a lot of money so it would not be a priority now). I love your style and choices.

I am not sure I'd be ok with field trips. It would depend on where, how many adults, etc.

Hello everyone, OP here. I'd just like to give a quick update. We have worked on our space some more and have added a reading area with a cozy bean bag to snuggle into and lots of books for little ones to explore. We are also already starting to plan our own outdoor play area as that is one thing very dear to my heart - so we have hopes of adding a large sandbox very soon as well as fencing in the yard.

We have had our first parent visits and are hoping to enroll two wonderful kids shortly. We still have open slots for children ages 1-5 so I want to invite interested parents to schedule a visit with us. I am very excited that things are getting started here and I can not wait to have our play room filled with little ones! Please contact us via www.littlegnomehome.com or just give us a call at 703-209-8799

I would not be comfortable with field trips that I was not attending, at least none that required travel by car. My daughter's daycare center used to do some walking field trips when they were old enough, or large strollers sometimes for the younger ones. They did an annual pumpkin-patch trip, and almost all the parents attended (in 3s and up, about 20 kids). There were maybe 2 or 3 kids that didn't have parents with them, but there were enough staff to cover, and parents made arrangements with other parents for travel back and forth.

Good morning! OP here.

Thank you for the list of questions - those are great and I will make sure we can answer all of them to our parents satisfaction, once we decide to offer field trips. I think we already could, with the exception of the car seat part - so that will get figured out first, before actually including regular field trips.

I have also looked into the car seat tech certification and think that's a great idea as well. We prefer getting certified for the things we offer as much as we can, so that is definitely going to happen - thank you for the hint!

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We have also decided to offer a trial period for interested parents. We understand we are a very new daycare and even though we are very confident, that your child will be thriving here, we understand parent's need for security as well. So if you'd like to set up a trial period, before committing to a regular contract - please feel free to contact us!

You could always get your car seat tech certification. It's a week course and you will Learn so much

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you prepared to deal with carseats?

Yes. Parents would be required to leave their car seats at the daycare on field trip days. Eventually we might purchase our own car seats, but right now buying 5 is a bit much - we don't want to buy used.

I wouldn't be opposed to it necessarily but I would ask a lot of questions.

Here are questions I would ask:
Would two adults always go on a field trip and would they have first aid training and cpr training?
Would you take an emergency kit - cell phone, list of medical info for each child, extra epi-pen, etc?
Does each adult have a working cell phone?
Is your van in good working condition and is it relatively clean?
Where are you traveling - more than 10 miles, less than 10 miles?
What kind of car seats are being used? Have they been installed and/or checked by a professional to ensure the correct install?
What guidelines do you follow for car seat use? Do you go by weight or age when choosing to face a child forward or backward?
When you arrive at your destination, how will you move the kids from one place to another -walking rope, stroller, hand holding, etc? What is your plan if a child becomes separated from the group?
What is your plan for a head count - how often and by whom? How familiar are you with the destination you are going to - been there a few times, been there once, etc?
How will you handle potty breaks and/or diapering on the go and at the destination?

For car seats, try http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cosco-Scenera-Convertible-Car-Seat-Renaissance/16932760. It's a well rated, safe, and inexpensive seat for kids up to 40lbs and up to 35lbs rear facing.

Anonymous wrote:I don't know that I would be comfortable with that. I wouldn't want to have to take out DC's carseat and then put it back in at pickup time. And I don't know that I would feel comfortable with a teacher installing my child's seat. Will your van fit five carseats safely? Will you do a dry run in the presence of the parents to make sure you know how to install each seat correctly?

It seems you are not the only one - we are getting the general impression people would prefer no field trips. At least that's the feedback we have gotten so far, so for now we have decided not to offer regular field trips and to wait until the parents are comfortable with us.

If we offer field trips we would certainly ask each parent to show us how to install their car seat. Safety comes first so that would be something WE would want as well. But maybe it would be better to just wait until we have our own set up with van AND car seats always ready to go. That would certainly make things easier, as the seats would always be installed!

I don't know that I would be comfortable with that. I wouldn't want to have to take out DC's carseat and then put it back in at pickup time. And I don't know that I would feel comfortable with a teacher installing my child's seat. Will your van fit five carseats safely? Will you do a dry run in the presence of the parents to make sure you know how to install each seat correctly?