Creating A Home Within Your Daycare

When I first started daycare many years ago I operated out of my living room. Although I had a basement it was too dark and only had one small window. I worried that in the case of fire I would never be able to get the children out the window. So, that meant the only option left in my 1200 square foot home was to share my living space with daycare space. There were toys in my living room, playpens in every bedroom and booster seats and a small picnic table in my kitchen. I am a neat freak by nature and the constant state of stuff in my home made me crazy. I felt surrounded every minute of the day. At night I also found it incredibly hard to settle my mind because my work was always right there staring me in the face.

One day, while cleaning out our very small garage I had a thought. Wouldn't it be so nice to have a dedicated daycare space that had a door that I could just close and walk away from at the end of the day. This is how it became that my hubby was thrust into the garage renovation project. He took a space that was too small to park our van and transformed it into a cozy, warm space that I could then call my work space. It was one step off of the main floor of our home. It had a newly installed large window, venting, commercial grade easy to clean carpet and bright lights. It was delightful. This space housed all the toys, the daycare television, the learning materials, the craft area and even doubled as the dining room and nap room at other times of the day.

Once I had the experience of having a dedicated space for daycare it made a very big difference in my attitude. No longer did I have toys strewn throughout my house. I never had finger smudges on my appliances or kiss marks on my windows. It was like reclaiming my home. I was earning a living in my home but not sharing it with the world.

Late last year we moved to a larger home as my own family needed more space. As we viewed possible homes I always kept in mind that I needed a space that was ready for daycare or could, with little money and mediocre skill be converted into a dedicated space. When we found the home we purchased it was perfect in that it afforded my family a home and me a business. My daycare is now housed in my finished, half-walk-out basement. The windows are large and bright and the general feel of the basement is that of any other level of the house. It is truly a bright, inviting space. And, best of all, I can close the door and walk away from it each day at 4:30pm. The children do not use any other area of my home with the exception of the yard. My own family doesn't feel like they are at work nine hours a day while trying to enjoy their down time.

Not everyone has the opportunity or the space to renovate an area strictly for daycare. But, there are many things you can do in the space you do have to make it more manageable during your non-working hours. Look around your home and find those areas that you don't really use. The garage was our area. It housed many things but realistically it was just a dumping ground for things we should have purged long ago. We built a shed to house those items that were actually needed and tossed those that were not. Perhaps you have a junk area like this in your home.

I can not tell you the difference it makes to no longer share your house with the children you care for. It helps you to calm down at the end of the day and maintain a state of order while you are working. The best compliment I ever had about my home was from a family member who visited and said, "Wow, you can't even tell you run a daycare". And that's exactly what I hoped for.