For the most positive daycare experience for your child, partner with your childcare center and make a personal investment beyond the monthly tuition. You can build your partnership with your daycare by volunteering your time, contributing goods or services, or donating money.
If your child is in daycare full-time, he is spending 40 ? 60 hours at your daycare facility with his childcare providers. You owe it to your child to help make the center the best it can be for him.
Beautification Day. Schedule a few hours on a Saturday morning for a group of parents to come into the center and give it a really thorough spring cleaning where you tackle involved chores like painting walls, repairing bookcases, decorating classrooms, scrubbing cubbies.
Fundraising. You can support your center's fundraising efforts by asking for goods, services or monetary donations. Ask friends and family to partake in fundraising auction events with you ? spirited bidding in a live auction is a lively way to spend a Saturday evening with friends while benefiting a good cause.
Participation. Spending an hour or two in the classroom a week reading stories, engaging in dramatic play or just lending a helping hand are all time well spent and greatly appreciated by the daycare center.
If your schedule is too tight to accommodate volunteering at school, think creatively about other ways you can contribute ? do you have a skill, talent or connection that can potential benefit the school in some way. It may be an activity that seems inconsequential in your normal course of business but would be invaluable to your daycare center.
Here are some examples to get you started:
Investment Banking. Most centers have an emergency fund they must keep for unexpected facility maintenance or other unplanned expenses. Suggest the best short term investment vehicles for them.
Tax Accountant. Offer to review their current tax preparation forms or evaluate their tax planning process.
Medical Expertise. Conduct a 30 minute seminar or write a column in the newsletter about common childhood ailments, healthy eating or sleeping practices.
Educational Background. Suggest weekend learning activities or offer to conduct a 30 minute special event for one of the older classrooms.
Music. Entertain the kids with an impromptu concert or offer to entertain at the center's annual fundraising event.
Legal. Offer to review contracts or agreements the school is considering. Offer to review the current application portfolio and identify policies or additional waivers or agreements that should be included.
Sales. Create a bonus plan for the teaching staff that takes into account length of employment and special recognitions.
Marketing. Review the centers brochures, ads and marketing plans. Make recommendations for how to best sell the centers services, help develop creative materials and negotiate print rates with vendors.
Facilities. Offer to inspect the daycare facilities and make maintenance repairs or negotiate with preferred vendors for discounted rates.
About the Author
For more great information about expecting and parenting, visit momrecommended.com, a site for moms by moms. Annie Valle is a freelance writer, web designer and a mom. You'll find product reviews, recipes, baby names, free projects and more, when you visit momrecommended.com.
Whether children attend public or private schools, they benefit when... Read More
I am writing this from the beautiful mountains of Western... Read More
Are you worried about your child's reading habits? Perhaps you... Read More
Does this sound familiar? Have your kids not listened to... Read More
Sometimes a change of perspective can make a huge difference... Read More
Some people can concentrate on an assignment, to the exclusion... Read More
Is your baby approaching his or her first birthday and... Read More
Mealtimes together deserve an important place in any family. Around... Read More
Today the little red school house is not what it... Read More
(Excerpted from Jim Rohn's 2004 Weekend Leadership Event)You have to... Read More
My son recently had his third birthday party and it... Read More
Parental Alienation Syndrome was probably first identified and codified by... Read More
Public-school teaching is structured in such a way that it... Read More
Angie was brought up by rigid, authoritarian parents who kept... Read More
More and more kids these days are diagnosed ADD, ADHD,... Read More
Identity and Your Fraternal TwinFor the most part, throughout this... Read More
While on a recent trip to the grocery store, I... Read More
In the first premise, some films and video tapes which... Read More
It's the first day of the summer holiday. Five year-old... Read More
Q. "What do you want to be when you grow... Read More
Isn't it ironic that a country whose constitution allows for... Read More
Over a number of years there have been issues raised... Read More
Diapers..Changing a dirty diaper is not the best part of... Read More
Have you heard the song; "I Hope You Dance"? It... Read More
Do you really want your child to enjoy playing with... Read More
efficient cleaning crew Highland Park ..Article based on a friend's experienceI just wanted to share... Read More
Did you know that the number of twin births have... Read More
Parents, when you help your children learn to read, you... Read More
What a dreamer I am when thinking about parenthood. Most... Read More
Software for parental control is a useful tool, if applied... Read More
You can learn a lot from children.The best part of... Read More
Plus size children and overweight children need patterns and clothing... Read More
Part of the responsibility of being a father is to... Read More
Hints from Ruowen Wang? Keep a small basket filled with... Read More
Nail biting in all its various forms is problematic... Read More
This is one of the most common questions asked of... Read More
Home-schooling removes children from public school. That alone makes home-schooling... Read More
Adderall is a stimulant medication used in the treatment of... Read More
According to researchers, most children enter school with a good... Read More
Did you know that the school system is only able... Read More
I was reading "A Modern Infant Armada", a humor column... Read More
For any of you Moms out there that are doing... Read More
Does your child pout, blame and brood? Does he gripe,... Read More
To every thing there is a season, and a time... Read More
During the assessment process it is of great importance for... Read More
The debate in many towns continues throughout this country about... Read More
For every season, check, check, check, There is a chart,... Read More
Family decision-making is an intriguing phenomenon. Many factors become part... Read More
Sometimes dreams really can come true! May 8th - 11th,... Read More
Those of you that have children know what an excursion... Read More
Parenting |