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Preschool Teachers Chatboard

Schedule of Activities

by Mo

Oct 7, 2012

Hello, I'm a retired elementary teacher who is considering starting up a preschool in my home. The floor plan of my house lends itself well to the kind of set-up I would need. I have a pretty good idea of the centers and activities which would be necessary but can anyone give me an idea of a typical daily schedule? Also, I assume that parents want a full day; what would the hours be? Thanks so much. This is a big decision! Thanks in advance.

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maureen On 10/07/12, Mo wrote: > Hello, I'm a retired elementary teacher who is considering > starting up a preschool in my home. The floor plan of my > house lends itself well to the kind of set-up I would need. > I have a pretty good idea of the centers and activities > which would be necessary but can anyone give me an idea of > a typi...See MoreOn 10/07/12, Mo wrote: > Hello, I'm a retired elementary teacher who is considering > starting up a preschool in my home. The floor plan of my > house lends itself well to the kind of set-up I would need. > I have a pretty good idea of the centers and activities > which would be necessary but can anyone give me an idea of > a typical daily schedule? Also, I assume that parents > want a full day; what would the hours be? Thanks so > much. This is a big decision! Thanks in advance.

I moved my preschool to my home several years ago before I retired. I kept the same hours. Since I was limited to 10 children according to our state's licensing laws, I did not offer part time enrollment. The 10 children I had came Monday through Friday from 9AM til 3PM. I prepared the lunch with the children instead of having them bring their lunch which I had to do when I was operating in a center. (didn't have a commercial kitchen and the laws were different then running the same program in my home) I liked having control over the nutrition the children were getting and parents loved not having to pack those lunches and snacks anymore.

We did not require naps either and the children were between the ages of 3 through K. (K is not required in our state).

The children would arrive and come to the outside environment first, even in winter. The only exception would be if the temps were below 10 degrees and there was a wind and when there was thunder and lightning. We played outdoors the first half hour to hour depending on the weather and time of year. I had an outdoor environment set up so the children could have free play, garden, paint, rake or sweep, look for insects, etc. Then we went in for a three hour uninterrrupted classroom period. That was always free choice as the children moved about the rooms making choices of activities that they wanted to do. They could read books in the reading corner, do art, or do activities in the various curriculum areas which had shelves set up with hands on materials and equipment. I served as guide and gave individual or small group lessons. Right before lunch, we would sit together and sing, play rhythm instruments or do creative movement.

We would eat together and they would clean up after lunch. Then again, they had free choice of what they would like to do. About 2, I would open a storage area that had board games, manipulatives, blocks, 100 piece jigsaw puzzles, etc. The last half hour, we would clean the classroom and then go outside again and the parents would pick them up outside.

By only offering full time and regular attendance, it was easy to keep track of tuition which parents signed up for 9 equal payments and the same amount each month. The tuition was based on being there the entire school year and broken down into nine payments. That took care of the closings like for holidays and winter and spring breaks when the months were shorter.

It was a pain to have to go through licensing because I had to attend all these rinky dink classes that were directed more to people with little to no early childhood education. For people like myself who was very experienced and was highly trained in ece, it was just busy work that took up some of my evenings. However I agree that ece in our state needs to be upgraded as much as possible and it was necessary to require these classes every year. It did help for parents to know that I was following the laws.

Good luck. I enjoyed having it in my home and if my circumstances were different I would still be doing it. I was able to support a family of five with just the 10 children so the money IS good. Plus you can write off some of your household expenses on taxes which was very nice.

Oct 7, 2012

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Mo Maureen, (actually my name is also Maureen) thanks so much for all the information. I hope you don't mind if I pick yor brain some more. Would you mind giving me a ballpark number on what you charged per student? You said you broke payments into 9 months. I'm not sure I understand. Did you have the children 9 months out of the year? No summers? Did...See MoreMaureen, (actually my name is also Maureen) thanks so much for all the information. I hope you don't mind if I pick yor brain some more. Would you mind giving me a ballpark number on what you charged per student? You said you broke payments into 9 months. I'm not sure I understand. Did you have the children 9 months out of the year? No summers? Did the parents have to pay if the child was absent? What about holidays...I'm not sure I understood what you said. I think I would be more comfortable with parents providing lunch and snacks because of possible allergies. I'm nervous about that sort of thing. Did you have anyone else in the room to help or could you manage on your own? Finally, how did your business affect your taxes? Thanks again...hope I'm not being a pest.

On 10/07/12, maureen wrote: > On 10/07/12, Mo wrote: >> Hello, I'm a retired elementary teacher who is considering >> starting up a preschool in my home. The floor plan of my >> house lends itself well to the kind of set-up I would need. >> I have a pretty good idea of the centers and activities >> which would be necessary but can anyone give me an idea of >> a typical daily schedule? Also, I assume that parents >> want a full day; what would the hours be? Thanks so >> much. This is a big decision! Thanks in advance. > > > I moved my preschool to my home several years ago before I > retired. I kept the same hours. Since I was limited to 10 > children according to our state's licensing laws, I did not > offer part time enrollment. The 10 children I had came Monday > through Friday from 9AM til 3PM. I prepared the lunch with the > children instead of having them bring their lunch which I had > to do when I was operating in a center. (didn't have a > commercial kitchen and the laws were different then running > the same program in my home) I liked having control over the > nutrition the children were getting and parents loved not > having to pack those lunches and snacks anymore. > > We did not require naps either and the children were between > the ages of 3 through K. (K is not required in our state). > > The children would arrive and come to the outside environment > first, even in winter. The only exception would be if the > temps were below 10 degrees and there was a wind and when > there was thunder and lightning. We played outdoors the first > half hour to hour depending on the weather and time of year. I > had an outdoor environment set up so the children could have > free play, garden, paint, rake or sweep, look for insects, > etc. Then we went in for a three hour uninterrrupted classroom > period. That was always free choice as the children moved > about the rooms making choices of activities that they wanted > to do. They could read books in the reading corner, do art, or > do activities in the various curriculum areas which had > shelves set up with hands on materials and equipment. I served > as guide and gave individual or small group lessons. Right > before lunch, we would sit together and sing, play rhythm > instruments or do creative movement. > > We would eat together and they would clean up after lunch. > Then again, they had free choice of what they would like to > do. About 2, I would open a storage area that had board games, > manipulatives, blocks, 100 piece jigsaw puzzles, etc. The last > half hour, we would clean the classroom and then go outside > again and the parents would pick them up outside. > > By only offering full time and regular attendance, it was easy > to keep track of tuition which parents signed up for 9 equal > payments and the same amount each month. The tuition was based > on being there the entire school year and broken down into > nine payments. That took care of the closings like for > holidays and winter and spring breaks when the months were > shorter. > > It was a pain to have to go through licensing because I had to > attend all these rinky dink classes that were directed more to > people with little to no early childhood education. For people > like myself who was very experienced and was highly trained in > ece, it was just busy work that took up some of my evenings. > However I agree that ece in our state needs to be upgraded as > much as possible and it was necessary to require these classes > every year. It did help for parents to know that I was > following the laws. > > Good luck. I enjoyed having it in my home and if my > circumstances were different I would still be doing it. I was > able to support a family of five with just the 10 children so > the money IS good. Plus you can write off some of your > household expenses on taxes which was very nice.

Oct 8, 2012

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maureen, who is also a Mo, lol On 10/08/12, Mo wrote: > Maureen, (actually my name is also Maureen) thanks so much for > all the information. I hope you don't mind if I pick yor brain > some more. Would you mind giving me a ballpark number on what you > charged per student?

Parents signed a contract and the tuition for the 9 month school year was $4500. The...See MoreOn 10/08/12, Mo wrote: > Maureen, (actually my name is also Maureen) thanks so much for > all the information. I hope you don't mind if I pick yor brain > some more. Would you mind giving me a ballpark number on what you > charged per student?

Parents signed a contract and the tuition for the 9 month school year was $4500. They paid nine equal payments each month of $500. I also ran a summer camp where people could sign up for just a week at a time and I took off the weeks I wanted like the week of the fourth of July. The only options were by the week, one month or the entire 10 week option. THere were no discounts. During the year I also tried doing 10 equal payments of the $4500 but some parents had difficulty understanding that concept. We often started school the last two weeks of August and were done the Friday before Memorial Day. I took off the days that my own grandchildren were off school so I had the same vacations. Some of my friends only take in the children of teachers and they too have the same holidays and breaks, including summers.

You said you broke payments into 9 months. > I'm not sure I understand. Did you have the children 9 months > out of the year? No summers? Did the parents have to pay if the > child was absent? What about holidays...I'm not sure I > understood what you said.

When I came up with the tuition total I took into account all the holidays and breaks when I figured that up. So, those "days off" were already part of the final total cost. If a child was absent, he was absent but no $ taken off. Whether that child was there or not, I still had to open the school, etc with all the accompanying costs. Again, I had an optional summer program. I had some regulars that came here when their schools were closed as well as the ones I might have had during the school year. The summer program was paid for up front when enrolled. If I had an opening one week which happened due to vacations, I might enroll a child from the waiting list for that week.

I think I would be more comfortable > with parents providing lunch and snacks because of possible > allergies. I'm nervous about that sort of thing. Did you have > anyone else in the room to help or could you manage on your own? > Finally, how did your business affect your taxes? Thanks > again...hope I'm not being a pest.

Since I was licensed I was eligible to participate in the federal food program. They reimbursed me for part of the snack and lunch costs. I had to follow strict guidelines and there was accountability. I had children with allergies but it was never an issue. If anything I had more control over what foods were being offered then should a child sneak something to a friend from his own lunchbox. I resisted participating at first but it made no sense not to as I was already providing the snacks and I was within the guidelines. That brought in more income each month, too. I did not add to the tuition cost when I began offering the hot lunch and snacks on my dime. I am not kidding, parents LOVED this. I am a fantastic cook who is really into nutrition for brain food, so the children were being exposed to a lot of real (not lip service) healthy food. Many of the students were very picky eaters and I transformed them into good eaters over the course of the year. What I consider healthy is unfortuneately not the same idea many parents have. They loved that their children were expanding their taste buds.

I ran the school by myself but I always had another adult present somewhere in the house (usually my dh), but I ran the whole thing. It was just 10 children and I was used to 24-30 preschool multiage children 2 through 6 years with just one assistant. This was a piece of cake. The children assisted in the upkeep of the classroom so it really wasn't necessary to have a second adult present in the classroom. It was nice to have that second person to slip into the bathroom when needed types of situations.

Since I was the sole breadwinner during that time, it really didn't affect our taxes much more then any other job. We had the same accountant do our taxes each year (we were not non profit) and he figured out the percentages credited on utilities, mortgage, etc. >

I hope my replies help. Like I said I enjoyed doing it at home. I could just wake up, get dressed and do the few things needed to get ready before the students arrived. The hours worked for our family and the ones who had older siblings in school could get picked up before the older sibling. There were a lot of people who inquired who wanted me to adjust my schedule to meet theirs, but I stuck to my schedule. When school was over, I wanted to do other things.

Oct 8, 2012

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pktchr On 10/07/12, Mo wrote: > Hello, I'm a retired elementary teacher who is considering > starting up a preschool in my home. The floor plan of my > house lends itself well to the kind of set-up I would need. > I have a pretty good idea of the centers and activities > which would be necessary but can anyone give me an idea of > a typi...See More

Oct 8, 2012

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