About a year ago we moved from a very large city to a very small town (pop 800) in a pretty rural area. We LOVE it here - and we love that we also found a fabulous preschool/daycare that could take our son right up until he starts kindergarten (which will be this fall). FT daycare is a must for us, as I have a FT job that requires frequent travel, and though DH freelances from home and has a flexible schedule, summer is his busiest time of year, and we really count on the income he is able to bring in during the summer months.
All was going swimmingly until we found out (last week) that DS's daycare program will not be conducting a summer session, because they don't have enough kids to make it worth their while. (Many of the parents are teachers and don't need summer care.) We were devastated, and are approaching frantic. Many other parents we have spoken to are cobbling together care arrangements through relatives (not an option for us as we have none nearby), cutting back to PT or taking leave over the summer (also not an option for either of us), or driving anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour each way to drop their kids at day camp. (i can't see spending 4 hours a day in the car commuting my kid to camp!!! there are some local day camps here, but none that will take a 5-year-old.)
We've talked about it and thought we'd try to find a summer nanny/babysitter. The problem is, how to find someone? I've tried searching Craigslist and Care.com over the past week, but couldn't find anyone nearby, or anyone willing to drive to us for just a summer gig.
Ideas? Anyone else out there ever been in the same boat? We have approximately one month to come up with a solution.
TIA,
All was going swimmingly until we found out (last week) that DS's daycare program will not be conducting a summer session, because they don't have enough kids to make it worth their while. (Many of the parents are teachers and don't need summer care.) We were devastated, and are approaching frantic. Many other parents we have spoken to are cobbling together care arrangements through relatives (not an option for us as we have none nearby), cutting back to PT or taking leave over the summer (also not an option for either of us), or driving anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour each way to drop their kids at day camp. (i can't see spending 4 hours a day in the car commuting my kid to camp!!! there are some local day camps here, but none that will take a 5-year-old.)
We've talked about it and thought we'd try to find a summer nanny/babysitter. The problem is, how to find someone? I've tried searching Craigslist and Care.com over the past week, but couldn't find anyone nearby, or anyone willing to drive to us for just a summer gig.
Ideas? Anyone else out there ever been in the same boat? We have approximately one month to come up with a solution.
TIA,
