Daycare School Online

Marketing Your Child Care 05/12/2009

Great tips for Marketing you Daycare

Make sure all your fliers, ads, brochures are as professional looking as you can make them. People will respond better to a professional looking ad.
Use the Pennysaver and Craiglist online for Marketing. They get tremendous Traffic and are cheap to use.
One provider said she'd advertised several times in a local paper using the cheap two line ad format. She got no response. Last weekend she put in a large ad with her logo and a bit more information. She received 25 replies.
Our local papers come out on Wed. and Sat. One provider mentioned how she never got any response to ads placed in the Wed. paper. She decided that on Wed. people were too busy after work to read the paper, so just went for the Sat. only edition and had more luck along with saving money.
Use colour in your fliers/brochures that you hand out. Research shows that by using 4 colours people will be 8 times more likely to stop and read it and 9 times more likely to call.
An example of what one provider did: She made up a three-fold brochure giving a general outline of her daycare. This way she could give it to any prospective clients without having to give out an entire parent pack. If she never heard from them again then she wan't out all the money and time involved in putting the parent pack together.
Make up or have someone do up business cards for you. It's important to always carry them with you and take advantage of every opportunity to sell yourself. You don't have to be pushy, but just let people know you're in business.
Have a sign made up for your front lawn or window. You don't have to leave it up all the time, but can put it out when you have vacancies and then put it away when you're full. Of course, not all areas will allow signs, so find out about what's allowed first.
Keep a list of information about yourself and your daycare by the phone. That way when you get a call from a parent you won't be caught hemming and hawing trying to remember everything you want to say. This will give them a good impression of your professionalism. This phone call is extremely important. You must make a good impression or they're not going to bother with setting up an interview.
If it's not convenient to speak with them when they call, be sure to explain you are just too busy with the children and get their name and number to call back later. Again, this should impress the parent with your professionalism and devotion to your job!
If they decide to come for an interview have a list of things you want to discuss all ready. That way you won't forget to discuss a few things. It's really easy to get off-topic during the interview.
When someone's coming for an interview make sure the outside of your house is neat and tidy. While you're cleaning up inside get your spouse outside to mow the lawn and generally tidy up. The first impression is so important. If your house is untidy outside they may make up their minds then and there not to choose you.
(Even the staff at my Child Care Support program made a big issue of this. They say that they can almost always tell what the potential provider is going to be like by the outside appearance of the home. If the outside's a mess, the inside usually isn't much better. By the time they walk through the home, they have a huge list of things that need to be addressed and they don't often hear back from that person.)
Always get the person's first and last name and phone number!!!!!
When you are out with your day care children on a field trip, be as visible as possible. Shop around at different t-shirt shops to see who will give you a good deal on printing up t-shirts with your daycare name on them. (This can also be done using an inkjet printer and special transfer paper). Pick a nice bright eye-catching colour.
You could do the same with hats, if t-shirts are just too pricey. Or even buy a large, plain canvas carry-all and have your name and number printed on it.
Have a magnetic sign made-up for your car. That way you can take it off when you aren't on official day care business. Research shows that about 600 people a week will see it.
Contact local realtors. They love to have a complete package for prospective clients. If they can inform them of daycares in the area, so much the better for everyone involved.
Network with other providers in your area. Get to know each other and what you all have to offer such as programs and ages cared for. That way you if you can't help a family out, you may be able to refer them to another provider who can and vice versa.
Don't get discouraged when you are first starting out. There's no doubt about how difficult it can be to get those first clients. Just keep on plugging away and it will come.

The benefits of Sign Language 04/28/2009

Teaching American Sign Language signs to infants and toddlers between the ages of 6 months to 36 months assists in the progress of communication between the parent/caregiver and child.

My son began learning sign language from his cousin Kim who worked in a daycare at the time. Kimi is brilliant with children! It really is a sight to see. She speaks and acts and they respond. At the time I had not heard of teaching children sign language but it sounded like something I could try. So after she taught my son a few words I started watching videos. At first I started with free videos from Youtube. I feature the exact videos I used to learn sign language on my website, Teaching Sign Language by Daycare School. After my son and I had picked up the basics I began purchasing DVD's from Signing Time and we started watching those a couple of time a day. Repetition is very important. I can't express that to people enough. Every time you give "more" you need to sign it too. When you say "please" and "thank you," remember to sign it too. This helps children and yourself learn quickly and effortlessly. It has to be routine, just make it part of your everyday flow. It sounds harder than it really is. It's actually really fun learning all these new words and pretty soon you'll realize that you know a lot of sign language.

I really recommend just taking time each day and watching the same sign language DVD, pick a good one like Signing Time or Baby Einstein. Just repeat it for a week and "be involved." Don't just sit your child in front of the TV and walk away and expect them to know sign language in a week. You need to "be involved" too. Children learn better in general when their caregiver is involved in what they do and always giving positive encouragement.

If you are at home with your children or an a home daycare provider like me this should be music to your ears. Imagine no frustration from trying to figure out what's wrong with baby? Everything from diaper change, milk and sleep is all signed and taken care of. Make a Signing Time DVD part of your everyday routine, or watch the same video on YouTube every day with your child (I have some free great ones!) will greatly increase your chances of learning sign language. If you want to learn more and I mean a lot more about the benefits of sign language for infants and toddlers visit my website! Happy Communicating!

Ask yourself if you have what it takes FIRST! 04/18/2009

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I want to clear up the thought that some might think this is just an easy stay at home job. Raising kids is never an easy job so perish the thought. What I love most about this job is the fact that I get to raise my kids, care for my home and family and at the same time give a loving, nurturing, educational and social environment to other children. Children to me are a blessing from God and I genuinely love being able to raise my children and care for other children. I teach the children I care for the same way I teach my own. I am always finding fun crafts to do and simple projects to keep their little minds going. I teach simple sign language to all my kids starting at 6 mos just to further their communication development. To me this is an easy job because I am truly doing something I love and I am in control it.

Activities, educational development, nutritional guidelines and sign language are ALL things I learned from the internet and childrens DVD's. Seriously! I find all the crafts, activities, and sign language materials I need right here online. It's not brain surgery it's pretty easy if you can get yourself around on the internet. It's better than working 8-5 with a bunch of "personalities" that I can't control as far as I'm concerned. Never again! To me kids are simple, fun and eager to learn. I truly enjoy what I do. I wanted to be the one caring for my kids and why not care for a few more while I'm at it I figured? It pays really well. Don't you want your kids to have the best? Well I treat all the children in my care as if they were my own. I enjoy it. Kids love me because I'm fun, animated and I get down to their level.

You can't just do this job because you think it's easy. I can't understand it when people think that I'm just trying to sell my product to anyone because I'm not. You should only buy this Daycare School product because you're # 1 "good with kids" meaning, you have to genuinely like kids, not everyone can handle it. Ask yourself if you can handle it first and if you can, HOW MUCH can you handle? These are important questions.

I don't just want to sell you a product here that you're going to have the wrong idea about? You're not signing up to make millions overnight folks! That wastes everyone's time. That's not what Daycare School Online is about. You have to have a firm grasp of what you want and WHY? That brings me to # 2, "you have to have a desire to start a daycare?" Whatever the reason, the desire has to be there. If you haven't read my introduction I suggest you do. It just explains how I knew starting a daycare was right for me.

This isn't an easy job but it's the greatest job I have ever had in my life! Where else was I going to learn how to sign the colors of the rainbow? I'm telling you, this is an amazing, rewarding job and I love it. It's made me a better mother.

Author

I am Christian Wife and Mother who enjoys being with her family. I have my own daycare in California where I currently have four children. I genuinely love being able to stay home for my family and still earn an income through my daycare. I am a wonderful teacher and I'm always researching the latest craft activities to try. I have learned a lot of American sign language through children's dvd's and many free videos online and it's been an absolute lifesaver as a daycare provider. All my kids from the time they are 6 mos learn simple sign language to communicate their needs and emotions and I've found it really builds a foundation for their educational development. Please feel free to visit my Squidoo website where you view some of these free videos and purchase DVD's.
I truly believe children are a blessing from the Lord and I fully enjoy all the time spent with my kids and the children I care for.

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