Daycare

With Kelsey starting a new job and me filling my weeks with some 1:1 SEN work and training for September, we've now got the kids into daycare (though part of my brain still insists on calling it nursery from time to time!). At the very basics, there's a lot of similarities between here and the UK as it's a service designed for small children ranging from babies up till school age, so the focus still remains on social skills, following rules and routines and (for Jake at least) a gentle introduction to letters, words and numbers. However, there are some differences with our daycare that I want to look at (NB: some of these will be particular to the experiences we had with our particular daycare in Leeds, some may be more widespread)

Outside space

This one I know is particular to our nursery in Leeds, which was in an industrial area of the city, and whilst there was a little muddy patch outback, there was only a small space to play outside. This used to be tarmac, but got covered by outside carpet, and whilst it did the trick, the combination of small space and poor weather meant it didn't get used that much. At our new daycare, they spend most of the time outside, even if when it's poor weather (no such thing as poor weather, just poor preparation!). There's lots of little sections, including a little forest of trees perfect for climbing, a massive sandy area (which Sophie loves) and a small obstacle course. The effect is that whenever I pick up Jake, he's running around playing some of creative game with his friends, and this for me ticks one of the boxes for why we moved over here (to give the kids an outside lifestyle).

Cost

This is one aspect that has made us gasp a little. We looked at 4 places, and chose one that best matched our needs for location, quality of provision and cost. Now, I think we got lucky in the UK as we had a teacher's contract, so we only paid 75% of the fees as Jake was only in for 75% of the time, and we had a year or so of 15 free hours, and we had pre-tax childcare vouchers to help cut costs. Even so, it felt like we were getting a good deal. However, here we have 2 kids and no discounts, so we're paying what feels like an eye-watering amount. Fortunately, we only have a year (!) till Jake goes to kindergarten and I'm pretty sure there's some sort of tax credit help out there. Watch this space.

Resources

What doesn't help with mentally dealing with the cost of the provision (or tuition as it's called) is that nothing is included with it. We have been used to diapers and wipes being provided when Jake was small, and all food and drink being cooked on site (meaning that we'd rarely pick him up before 4.30 so he could eat a proper tea there!). Here, nothing. We have to send Sophie in with food, diapers and wipes, and Jake with a packed lunch each day, and we end up playing up safe with both of them to make sure that they'll eat during the day (as well as having to remember to pack bottles for Sophie's formula...only forgot them once!). We're getting used to the routine of emptying and restocking their lunches the night before, but there's part of me that is annoyed that we're paying such a large amount of money and have to provide these resources too.

Parent contact

This is another area where I feel that we've got an improvement. Information at pick up at our old day care would very much depend on who was around and whether that person had seen Jake in action at all. It would always be "he's had a good day", but some of the stories that Jake would tell on the way home about being hit or getting in trouble would have been better coming from an adult so we could follow up from home. Here, Jake's teacher is on site at the end of the day and will take the time to talk me through what he's been up to. Fortunately, there seems to be a lot of less rough and tumble and the bruises on Jake's legs are coming from falling off things. Sophie's communication is fantastic. Around 5pm (so as I'm driving home with them), I get a detailed email about her day, including the precise timings of naps and nappy changes, and what and when she ate. This is a huge bonus as I can tell when she'll be ready to eat, how tired she'll be and what to pack her for lunch the next day. For both of them, we have given photo permission to the daycare which means that most days, I get a photo sent to my phone of my kids in action. Now, I'm not a nervous parent, and I fully trust the daycare staff to love, care for and nurture my kids, but when Sophie cries when I drop her off, something inside me breaks, and it's really tough to walk out of the door instead of scooping her up and taking her with me. I know it's good for her, and the photos I get sent of her smiling and playing make the drop off process a whole lot easier.

Overall, though, it's a positive experience! The kids are making friends and coming home tired enough to sleep all night (especially Sophie!). We've already had one birthday party invitation, and there's a party for the kids leaving the daycare next week, which will be a good opportunity to meet some other parents and start making some new friends over here.