Frugality and childcare options: advice needed - Page 2

[readytobedone]

i would ignore credentials and all that and just go on instinct. the NAEYC accreditation, the details of the "curriculum," and the degrees wouldn't really matter to me at all.

i would look at things like whether the caregivers seem to LOVE the kids, and vice versa, and how gentle they seem, and how comfortable the kids seem in the environment. maybe also watch how they deal with "problem" kids.

[SiValleySteph]

It's an interesting choice.

We went through the same thing when my older son was about 2. He had been in a center for almost 1-1/2 years. It had the same thing with moving up every 6 months. That was very negative for him. The move to the 2 year room went very badly due to teacher turnover (not the fault of the center necessarily, high risk pregnancy in one of the teachers, the secondary teacher didn't want to be the main teacher, the two new teachers didn't get along, etc.).

We then switched him to a home daycare where he has been since, almost 3 years now. The change also saved us more than $300/month, but was not a factor in the move.

I think this last year (year before K) he would have done better with more kids his own age, more structured activities, but we kept him there as we also had a baby and 2 kids in one spot was just so much easier. We love the loving care they get. I think my younger son will stay at this daycare until 1-2 years before he starts K and then we'll go to a more structured program.

[Ellien C]

I really liked my humble child-care facility. It was close to my house. The Director had been in place for 15-20 years. She had a lot of experience but wasn't "attached" to any particular philosophy. She knew all about Waldorf and Montessori, Bev Bos, etc, but used what fit each situation. We could have spent a lot more money on care, but I felt we had good care. I'm the same with public school. I have an adequate public school, that I really like. It isn't the best money can buy and we could probably afford private school for our 1 kid, but it's not where we choose to spend our money right now.