Any teachers?? Summer day care question

[Gretchen_PDX]

I have a 17 month old who is in a Montessori day care program that I love! It is however quite expensive. I am trying to decide to pay for care over the summer or pull him out and risk losing the spot. I also think it would be good for him to go at least a couple days a week so that his routine isn't too disturbed although we will be taking at least one extended vacation so for a few weeks he won't be there at all.

Are there any teachers who have done either - kept kid in day care over summer or pulled him/her out for summer? Which is the better way to go?? I just wish it wasn't so dang expensive or that I could switch to a couple day a week $$ plan!!

[CatsCradle]

Hey Gretchen:  I see no one has replied thus far.  I'm not a teacher but  I have a DD in a Montessori school.  Our school has a summer camp which is good for us given that we work, but DD still has over a month off.

Have you looked into summer camps?  I see that you're in Oregon.  On the east coast, summer camps are extremely common and there are a lot options.  I guess, though, that this doesn't solve your problem of losing your space in the Montessori daycare.  Is there any way that you can make a special arrangement with them?   I mean, I've never met a place who exhibited some sort of flexibility regarding coming back and reserving for later times.  It is common here for kids to other things during breaks and then recommence during the regular "school" year.  Did you talk to your center about this?  I would imagine that they would have some flexibility regarding this. 

[Gretchen_PDX]

Thank you for the response... you are right. I do need to start discussions with our school about some flexibility over the summer. How do the summer camps work? Are there summer camps for kiddos under two? I do think maybe they are more common on the East Coast than out west, but I should look into this more! Thanks for the advice!!

[nextcommercial]

I have no idea how your son's school handles it.   But, many daycare centers or preschools will allow you to pay 1/2 rate, to hold the spot, or cut back to two days a week until the end of summer.  

It's possible that they can fill the spots with summer only kids, and they don't mind letting you take the summer off and holding his spot open.

[One_Girl]

Before this year I always pulled my dd out of daycare in the summer and put her back in for the school year except one summer when I was in class full time for almost the entire summer.  It has always worked fine.  The daycare centers around here often have lower enrollment during the summer for various reasons so getting a spot in the one I like isn't hard once I go back to it.  You should ask the director how likely you are to get your spot back there though.  The ratios for infants and toddlers tend to be smaller and if the center is expensive because it can be they probably have a waiting list (the list at the daycare I work at is 40 families long for the infant room alone with many part time families waiting to go full time once a spot opens).  If it is a similar situation they may or may not have a spot when school starts again so you may have to balance the cost of daycare you don't really need with losing a spot at a place you feel comfortable sending your child.

[mamatowill]

My youngest DS is in Montesorri and we are only paying for the school year- his summer is off. With my oldest I always just paid for the spot and kept him out. I would put him in periodically when I had appointments and such.

[beebalmmama]

My dh is a teacher and we ended up keeping our ds in during one summer at his daycare. We were able to pay for 3 days a week. Sometimes looking back I think it was such a waste of money......but then we had few options in our town for quality care and this was the best we could find and we didn't want to chance losing his spot. We ended up taking him a couple of times a week to stay familiar with his teacher and friends. I feel like I would be less inclined to do this with our second ds once I go back to work. I think I'll make sure to find a spot that will let us take a break or an in home provider which prefers to take summers off......it's rare but they do exist.

I guess it depends on how well you like the school and whether you want to risk losing the spot or not. Were you on a wait list to get in the first time around?