Friday, July 03, 2009

09-10 School Year

For the 09-10 School year, I will only have availability for before/after schoolers. This is for Montgomery ISD students between the ages of 5 years and 12 years that can ride the bus to/from my home. My hours are now 6AM-6PM.

If you are needing this type of childcare, please contact me at your earliest convenience to insure availability. Thanks and I hope you all are having a GREAT summer break!!!!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

No availability until 09/10 school year!

Due to the birth of our child at the end of June, I am no longer accepting new children for childcare this summer. Any openings will be listed in August to begin in time for the new school year - August 24th.

Please still feel free to email me if you'd like to be contacted towards the end of the summer and put on the list of interested families for the new school year. They will fill quickly again - probably well before school even begins on August 24th!

Thanks and hope you all have a GREAT summer!

Friday, January 02, 2009

Welcome! :-)

About Myself & My Family:
Hi! My name is Jennifer and I am a stay at home mom. I live in Montgomery off of 105 on Lake Conroe with my husband Jason and my son, Coby. Coby is 7 yrs. old and attending Stewart Creek Elementary. Jason has been a state licensed paramedic for 10+ yrs. He works for Texas A&M University in developing a medic program for the college and as a Licensed Paramedic. Some days we will have a paramedic on hand just in case! Many of my parents find this VERY comforting!

I have two adorable step-daughters! Alyssa is 9 (Attends Lone Star) and Kamri is 5. The older 2 are active in sports and other extracurricular activities at all times. The youngest , Kamri, is experimenting with some gymnastics/tumbling classes and now is in Ballet!!

We are now expecting our 4th and final (lol!) child on July 1st, 2009. Please see below calendar for available dates of care surrounding this. This is the only time I have been or will be closed during the summer months when school is out. For any doctor's appointments, we have several options - depending on the wishes of the parents.

1. The child(ren) may come with me (and/or Jason) to my appointment (usually heartbeat and weight checks is all)
2. The child(ren) could stay home with Jason (about an hour)
3. I can attempt to schedule a late/early appointment if the parent has the ability to drop off late or pickup early occasionally
3. The parent can choose to not bring their child that day.

Qualifications:
I have taken care of children for over 12 yrs. in a variety of settings - everything from babysitting beginning when I was in Jr. High/High School, working in a Christian daycare upon the birth of my son, to now staying at home with my son and watching a few other children as I am needed. I am CPR/First Aide Certified in Infants through adults. ( I received the training/certification that all healthcare providers are required to have!) I am not a healthcare professional of any kind - just attended the same specialized CPR class they receive . Common misunderstanding I wanted to clarify. :-)

Services:
I provide scheduled part-time & full-time care for children of ALL AGES during the school year as well as before/after school care to MISD bus riders. I also occasionally do evening care/babysitting in my home. Considering hosting a scheduled monthly "Parents Night Out" if anyone may be interested. If so, please let me know your possible interest and I will get going on dates/times/rates.

I only take in a VERY small number of children at a time. My included hours are 7AM - 5:30 PM Monday thru Friday in my pricing. Times may be negotiable as well. My rates are below and include a light breakfast (over by 9:00 AM), a hot lunch, & afternoon snacks for full-time children. We primarily drink water and whole milk during the day. RARELY will they have anything other than these except on special occasion or by parent request.

Any children with special diets (infants/toddlers/Milk Allergies/etc.) need to have those items provided however in addition to personal bottles, diapers, & wipes. Especially with young children, I ask that you provide a change of clothes, pillow/blanket/nap mat, and a comfort object for nap time that will help transition the child to a new sleeping environment. If you would like your young child to use his/her playpen exclusively for naptime - you are more than welcome to also provide your own or I can provide one I have already purchased - if one is still available. Full time children who are too old for a play pen can use one of the nap mats I have purchased like with some childcares.

Breakfast:
For Schoolers, a light breakfast should be brought if they are to eat here in the mornings. Things such as pop tart/go tart, cereal bar, or toast. They will not have time to eat if not here by 7:15, so please feed them prior to bringing them.
** Note the restriction on breakfast is due to the fact that they would need time to eat prior to leaving on time (7:25 AM) for the bus run in the mornings. If they will not be here by 7:15AM, please feed them prior to dropping them off. :-)

Homework:
All before/after school children begin working on any homework they inform me that they have that day upon getting off of the bus. At this time they enjoy their snacks while I oversee and offer help with any questions they may have. (Due to a letter from MISD suggesting we should not check and/or correct their homework, I will now leave that up to the parents to decide & do.) After that is all done, they can go play and have fun until their parents arrive. If you would prefer your child wait and do their homework with you, that can be done as well. :-)

Illness:
As with any other Childcare, due to the health of the other children and myself - Any child with a fever at/over 100.4 or shows signs of a contagious illness (such as vomiting, diarrhea, excessive green mucus, etc.) MUST be immediately picked up and not return until free of fever/symptoms for 24 hours and/or a release from a physician stating the child is not contagious and free to return to participate in a childcare setting. Please also keep in mind that your child needs to be at home in a quiet environment with their parents when they are sick. I will not give medication every 4 hours to keep a fever down thus having an often cranky medicated child throughout the day(s) - this does not benefit the child nor is it effective in their rapid recovery or prevent the spread of illness - they are still contagious until Antibiotics are given and the fever breaks for AT LEAST 24 hours in most cases. A sick child requires more care and would take away from the care I provide to the other children.
I follow the CDC on all recommendations regarding contagious illness in any childcare/school setting. Please check their website or call them to check prior to returning to childcare.
I also MUST have a current shot record on file with ALL CDC suggested immunizations up to date.

Behavior:
I have the same guidelines and restrictions regarding any excessive behavioral problems as most childcares. (Ie: Biting, hitting, foul language, etc.)

Friday, November 03, 2006

Rates & Information! :-)

RATES and Programs Available:
Hours: 6:30 AM - 5:30 PM M-F unless otherwise noted or agreed upon.

Full-Time Child: - $100.00/wk for 1 child OR $190/wk for 2 children
Part-Time Child: - $75.00/wk for 1 child (no more than 3 set days SCHEDULED in advance) Additional days charged at the daily rate.
Before and/or After School - $50.00/wk. for 1 child OR $90/wk for 2 children
Daily Rate: $25/day regardless of actual times attended - Drop-in availability will depend on how many children are here that day and their ages and the events already planned. Please try to allow AT LEAST 24-48 hr. notice!
Summer Care or Spring Break Care for Schoolers: $95.00/wk (occasionally may require additional small amount for events provided here/elsewhere for entertainment - Notice will be given prior to and a waiver and permission slip will need to be signed to participate PRIOR to those dates) This is a flat weekly rate regardless of actual attendance. Typically we will do our off premises events 2 days a week - subject to change. Pool/Park/Movies/etc. Typically in the morning hours when it is cooler if at all possible. Of course the days and times may change depending on our schedules.
Childcare PAYMENT: CASH Payment is due each Monday morning at drop off for that current week's services. Your child cannot attend unless payment is made. Each day late is charged at $10/day. If your child will not be attending for whatever reason, payment should be made the Friday prior or the morning they return if absence was unexpected.

Reserving spots: (ie: expectant mothers, those relocating, etc.) - I require a deposit equal to 2 week's care per child. The deposit will be credited once those 2 weeks start on the scheduled date.

Extended time off, Holidays, Vacations, etc.: The only exceptions for credit for a child not attending are if I am personally ill or if I have scheduled a personal day off in advance(excluding Holidays previously informed about). Otherwise, the rates are a flat rate and will not be prorated if you do not bring your child one or two days for ANY reason. I also will take off some occasional public holidays but provide care the surrounding days unless otherwise noted in the calendar notice. You will always be given plenty of advance notice on these holidays off whenever possible. You will be responsible for finding alternate care those days if needed and the weekly rate is not prorated for the advance notice Public holidays off.

Summers: (****Beginning June - See below notation regarding Summer 2009)
Summers are a little different. In order to hold your child's FULL TIME spot, you must bring your child and/or pay for at least a 3 day week each week ($75). Otherwise your spot will become open for a family that is seeking full time care. I as a parent who has previously sought childcare for my own child, understand the desire to save money by not bringing them during the summers or for a few days during the week - however, in order to secure my own finances in such a small setting, I cannot go weeks/months without pay and hold your spot open when I have many others who contact me looking for dependable care year round.
Calendar:
We will be closed the below listed dates. On those dates off, full tuition is still due for that week - unless noted. Please remember that tuition is DUE on Mondays. So, if a holiday falls on that Monday, payment arrangements should be made the week prior.
***This year ONLY (2009)- I will not be providing care in the summer months due to the birth of our child. The last day of care will be June 5th and care will resume on September 7th - at the latest!

Close/Early Release Dates:
SPRING BREAK - March 16-20 - NO CHARGE
Good Friday - April 10th
Last day of care - June 5th
Return to care - 09/10 School year (September 7th)

Please feel free to e-mail or call with any questions, concerns, suggestions, etc. :-) I look forward to speaking with you and hopefully meeting & caring for your beautiful children! :-)

Sincerely,

Mrs. Jennifer