Anyone having their first born going to Kindergarten Sept 2010?

[jasta]

My first born will be starting Kindergarten come the fall. Well I can not get over how many vacations days I will need to take throughout the year! I honestly do not think I can go away as much as I had planned. With daycare it isn't bad because they are open on all holidays, but schools are closed. And I don't have immediate family near me. Don't know what to do!!

 

[java]

Check to see if your daycare has pick up days- like will he be going there after school? If so I am sure they would let you add days- particularly if you gave them early notice.
I am assuming he is going someplace after school though.

 

[Bren's Mom]

I feel your pain mama! Our little guy is starting Kindergarten in September. We're working on a plan, I'll outline some of our solutions below:

Home daycare for afterschool. Dh goes to work later, so he will get him on the bus. But afterschool ds will get off the bus at the corner near the home daycare we chose, which is right on our street. She's open year round except for Christmas week and the major holidays that we're off work anyway. So school breaks we'll have the option of having him there for full days (we'll pay a full week rate for all week full day or that rate/5 and pay just for the days he'll be there). Same with snow days. And for half days he'll just go to her home earlier. (This is a licensed daycare, we verified her credentials and complaint history...there was none...with our licensing bureau. We love her and her setup is great, she's got other after school kids coming on the same bus as well.)

Sick days we generally split our days. Dh will go to work super early, and be home around noon. I'll go in at noon and stay late. Thankfully we're able to do this on occasion without a problem. Sometimes because of work commitments (like Mondays are near impossible for me to be off because of payroll, so he does full days those days...if he has a meeting or conf call I'll stay home all day).

Summer will mostly be covered by a camp in our town.

I have an uncle who's retired and will back us up on some days to help out.

My mom is out of state but will take ds for a school break and/or a week in the summer. And she'll come for a long weekend when he has a Mon or Fri off but we don't.

My MIL is local and on occasion she'll take a day off to spare us some vacation time. Same with taking time off to spend with ds in the summer.

If you can get to know any SAHMs who might be interested in earning some money for school half days or snow days, etc...that would be a good solution since you don't have the family nearby that we do. Or start looking for a HS student in the same town who might be willing to come over for snow days. That would help.

Good luck!

 

[sunlover13]

When my DD was in Kindergarten last year, my SIL watched her. This year, she's in 1st grade, and I was able to find another Mom in the school to watch her before & after school, including holidays, etc. I paid her more for full days of watching her vs. school days vs. 1/2 days of school.

Maybe you could find another parent in her class that would be interested in watching her on school holidays????

As a full-time working Mom, I feel your pain........ My DD's school does not even offer before or after school care so I have to rely on finding my own daycare.

 

[LisaNJ25]

My youngest and last child will start K full time in September.

Since I now have 4 I have become the neighborhood babysitter the past few years.

When my oldest started it was half day.. I would have to leave at lunch from work, pick him up from the babysitter to drop him off than hubby was home in time to get him. We keep the same babysitter that he had since he waa 3 weeks old.

I would look for an in home provider that would take him during the days school is off.

 

[bumbershoot]

I don't know how my mom did it, honestly. And I don't know how I would do it, if DS was going to school (we're homeschooling) and if I worked outside the home... I do know that by the time I was 9, my mom had given up on finding reliable babysitters, and I was in charge of myself and my younger brother. So I guess that's how she did it.


Hope you can work it out! I don't think it's legal anymore for 9 year olds to be in charge.

 

[golfgal]

Most daycares take kids on days when school is not in session. Have you checked with your daycare about this?