Working Hours Vs. School Hours

Just about every working parent has this issue, unless they work part time. Yes, most daycares have transportation after school, but if you are in a half-day kindergarten school, it may be an issue. My daycare would not pick up at half-day kindergarten dismissal. I had to pay a children's transportation service to pick her up and take her to daycare. Once she was in first grade, the daycare picked her up. You can call the school and get the names of the daycares who come for pick-up - they will know.

Some schools have daycares in them. Some kids get bussed to the daycare. Some have an employee walk them to and from the daycare. Some do pick up in a van.

before i started my kids in the after-school daycare program they went to a local home-based daycare. they just got on the bus and it took 'em there. they knew what days they had to go there, and miss sue was outside waiting for the bus so there was no confusion.
khairete
S.

Uh...every one of the millions of parents of school-age children has this issue. Of course there are child care options for working parents, otherwise no one would have a job that goes past 2 or 3 PM.

Call the office of the school that he will attend and ask them what childcare options students at the school use. Many schools offer on-site before and/or after school care, usually run by something like a YMCA or Boys and Girls Club chapter that sets up the program right at school. In other communities, there will be after-school care centers that pick up the kids and bus them to an off-site location, where parents pick them up at the end of the work day. Some families will use a home-based daycare provider, nanny or baby-sitter to cover their afternoons. There will be plenty of options for you!

Our boys ride the school bus to daycare after school. Our school now has a partnership with the YMCA, so there are many kids who go to the gym afterschool. My nieces go to that program and are very happy.

Rather than start calling daycare centers, I would call your son's school and talk to them. When we were faced with finding aftercare, I called the school. At the time they did not have aftercare, but the secretary gave me a list of providers in our area. All of the providers were on a bus route, so transportation would be provided by the school.

Call the school and see what they know!

Find out what the Kindergarten hours are. Some parents found out the hard way that the kinder is a half day or gets out an hour before the other grades causing an issue with the school care and bus system.

Most school have an after school program and they usually fill up fast.

Check with the school. The local YMCA comes in to our local school and runs an after school program right there in the building, so no transportation is needed.

Before our elementary school had a before/after school program there, I know they did bus to the couple of facilities in our area.
Now that they have it offered AT the school--pretty sure they still do. So there are a few choices for our families.
Call the school and ask. That way you can plan for the fall. Now's the time!
Good luck!

Most after school programs offer busing, but if your not looking for a full time benefited career type position, you could always drive a school bus. That's what I do. The hours are great for working parents. You get all the same vacations and days off as your kids. Most bus companies let you bring younger kids on the bus routes with you. You may even be able to drive your own child to and from school. That will depend on the company policies and most often the size of the school district. The pay is great for a part time job, at least where I am it is, plus you don't have to pay for daycare. If your interested in doing that call your school or school district and they can give you more information.

Yes a lot of daycare offer transportation. A lot of schools also offer after school care where he could stay right at school usually in the gym doing homework, snack and activities. There are usually also some home daycare very close to the grade school.

Generally, FT employment is longer than school hours. School hours are usually 6 hrs a day, vs an 8 or 9 hour workday (some do not pay for lunch) + travel time. Find out if his school offers on-site care. We used on-site before and after care for SD and she really enjoyed it. They did HW, had a snack, and she played with her friends. On-site care was also less $$ than one that would transport her to their center. I have a first grader whose friend loves after care so much she wishes DD could be there, too. If my work hours changed, DD would be in their program. Schools generally have the information on local care programs that support their school. Call their office.

Yes.

For starters, our school system has an after care system in place starting from the end of the school day until 6pm. This program is also supported by teachers who volunteer to work late and it works like this.... K-5 meet in the gym after school, they are given a healthy snack. 1/2 the group or so will go outside (weather permitting) for outdoor play and games. The other 1/2 are grouped according to grade levels where they go meet with a teacher in their grade level and do homework, read, AR tests, etc. This is an excellent time for some small group tutoring as well. The cost of this program varies based on need but when they open enrollment, it is full within a couple of hours. Very popular program.

Another group of children meet in the far area of the gym at carpool to wait for daycare buses to pick them up. At our elementary, we have about 6 different day care buses that pick up anywhere from 1 to 6 children daily.

This is very common in our area.

Good luck finding employment. If you are a teacher or work with the school, your hours would be perfect!

Yes. Many daycare centers will transport kids before and after school. I use one for my needs. They are also open on the days that the school is not. It is a little pricey, but it allows me to work normal hours. Oftentimes, they also have aftercare at the school for pretty reasonable prices.

Many schools have before and after school care on site. So start by calling the school he will attend and find out if they have anything, and whether or not it's open year round (ours was not open during breaks, including summer.)
And yes, many daycares offer transportation to and from school, but again, you need to start calling around, some of these programs have long wait lists.

Some schools have after care programs and others allow your child to take the bus to the day care providers house instead of the normal home bus.

I have worked since I was pregnant with my last and the older two were 1 and 3. I have always gone to work early so I can home when they get home from school. We have been very lucky to have amazing morning babysitters who take care of getting them to daycare/school (now just school), but it made it so I could be home when they get off the bus.

Our local public elementary school has an after school program on site, organized by the PTA. It costs $795 to enroll your first kid for 5 days a week for each session (roughly 3 months). The program runs from 2:45-5:15, and dismissal is 5:20.

Our kid is in private school, and my parents pick him up and hold onto him until hubs or I get home from work which is usually 6:30 or later, depending on how bad our commute is. My parents, in their good graces, do this child care gratis.

Best,
F. B.

Full time work of course extends beyond school hours, so you not only have to arrange after-school care, you need a back-up plan for school vacations, sick kids, and snow days. No employer wants to think you'll be out every time one of those situations occurs.

That's why a lot of moms in your situation work in the school system somewhere - but of course those jobs are limited. There are more and more paraprofessional jobs working with special needs kids who are mainstreamed, so they, along with bus driving jobs, are aligned with the school calendar and weather delays/cancellations. Many office jobs go all summer though, and full days.

Sometimes employers looking for part time workers will advertise "mother's hours" - yes it's a little sexist, but it may meet your needs. My son was in a community center that had 2 forms of busing from school and back - it was on one of the bus routes, so kids just took that bus on their community center days. The center also obtained a bus and went to 2 elementary schools. Private (family) day care providers MAY offer transportation for a fee if they don't have young babies there or if they have a second staff person and the ability to leave the other kids with the main provider. But it can be rare - it depends on the demand in your area.

Our school system now has an early drop-off center and an after-school center. Kids play games, do homework, have snack (you provide), etc. You can also hire a college student to pick up, or have a high school student at your home when your son gets off the bus. High school kids are out sooner than elementary school kids, but usually they are not "legal" yet for driving anyone beyond their own family.

Time to start researching in your own locale - call the school to see what they offer, read the ads for day care centers, call the Y and the JCC, etc.

Our local community center runs an after school arts & enrichment program. DS takes a regular school bus from school to the center and we pick him up by 6 pm. They are also open on 1/2 days (starting when school lets out). We seem to have at least 1-2 half days each month. We have been very happy with our program. The kids are outside when the weather is good (all Fall and again in the Spring) and can use the gym with the teachers in the winter.

In my State, per public elementary school:
they have morning care (for before school starts) and after school care (for after school hours until about 5:30pm).
It is run on campus, by the local YMCA, and their Staff.
SOME kids, may go to other venues, off campus for after school care. But these are generally more expensive, and only 1 that I know of, will transport the enrolled kids from school, to their site.

Or, the other option is: be a Substitute Teacher. Don't know what the requirements are in your State. But many many Moms I know of, do this. Thus, they are at the school their child is, they have the same hours/holidays/vacations. And you can still be a SAHM.
I do this. The pay here for Subs are good, per diem.

You'll need to ask the school that your child will be attending if they know of any centers that transport to and from their school. Some centers only go to schools within a couple of miles of their building. Other centers go to the different schools in their area.

With the tragedy's several years ago where the 15 passenger vans were flipping due to blow outs a lot of centers got rid of their large vans. It wasn't required that they stop using them but some panicked and just overreacted and sold theirs.

I looked into getting a small passenger bus (15-18). They are getting more popular but they do cost a lot of money. I think that most centers realize how important it is to give those school kids a safe place to be after school BUT most schools have before and after school care.

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I'm going to share this with you so you'll understand how child care and working parents work okay? Most parents don't understand that kids in child care are away from their parents from around 7:15am to 5:45pm every working day. That's 10 1/2-11 hours every day. Even though the parents are working an "8" hour day they forget they have travel time to work, a lunch hour, and travel time to pick up.

You'll probably have to be at work by 8am. That means you'll need to drop kiddo off by 7:15am-7:30am so you can drive to work, get in the building, go to the bathroom, get your stuff put up, and get ready to work.

Kiddo will eat breakfast in child care then get taken to school.

You'll work to 5 or so then have to get in the car, get on the road, drive through rush hour traffic, get to child care by 5:45pm-6pm.

So your child will have to have care before school and after. If the school provides care during these hours that's wonderful. BUT please make sure what time they close. If that won't work for you then you'll have to go with a child care center that transports kids. They will probably close at 5:30 or 6pm too so make sure about the closing time of every provider you call.

Many schools are using the YMCA to do their after school care. The Y staff goes to that school and keeps the kids in the gym or cafeteria until parents come. This keeps school staff from having to work overtime and the Y is responsible for staffing and issues with parents paying.

Our kiddo's elementary school provides their own and the principle actually is in there every day with the kids. He enjoys this time to play with them. It's a whole afternoon of bonding. The kids at this school really respect their principle and teachers and they are great kids. This school always gets an A+ on their report card.

I know it's hard to do but you could go to work now. There isn't any reason he's not in Prd-K right? He could go enroll now if there's room and then he'll be in school already.

The Y doesn't take kids this young into their child care program but any child care center could be a good place for him too. He'll love making friends.

My son goes to a before and after program right at the school. Alot if not most have some sort of care. He loves it and really enjoys going...........there might also be a homedaycare in walking distance that does before/after care or a center. There are some local centers that do pick up and drop off at the schools.

Many daycare centers are on a bus route, but some are not. You'll need to ask each place you consider.

Elementary schools often have on-site before & aftercare programs, so ask at his school about that too.

Good luck with your job hunt!

My grandchildren had after school care at their school. In my area the YMCA and the scouts, as inGirl/boy Scouts. After school care is provided by the whole organizations main office. There was another one that I don't remember the name of. There is just one provider per school. I was on a commitee that evaluated all the programs and decided which provider we wanted in our school. The school district has an office that manages day care in all the schools. You could call your district office to learn how this is managed.

When my daughter, their mom, was in school I found an in home provider that walked to the school and walked the kids back to her home.

Your statest office of Human Resources may provide a list of providers who have been licensed. Oregon does.

In our district very few providers provide transportation. We were very pleased with the YMCA after school program as well as found it the most convenient. You can google YMCA to learn about their program. Same with the scouts. I would also ask at your school.

Know that what your school has in place this year may not be the same next year. Contracts are signed each year.

Just one additional thing to know about school-based child care, where the child is AT school after school (rather than at a private business day care): These programs are immensely popular and in our area at least, there are huge waiting lists to get into them since they do eliminate the issue of transporting the child from school to a day care. So absolutely DO look into what the school system offers, but also be prepared to hear that your son will be put on a waiting list and might not get into school-based child care the entire kindergarten year -- or even during first grade. I am not saying this to dissuade you from finding out about school-based child care! I am saying it so you will go get him on the waiting list, if there is one, while you also seek private options. I know families who had to wait a year or even two or more years to get a child into school-based care but they did have their child on the list and eventually their child got in as other kids left, moved, etc. But they did have to use private options for a long time. Just don't neglect to get him on a list.

Check with the school and see what is available. My son's school also has YMCA aftercare. Very reasonable. They make active play a part of every day - not sitting on their butts the whole time. He's been going since Kindergarten.

It is much better to see if the school has a before and after school care. At least to me there are two issues with using a daycare that transfers, first being their drivers tend not to be vetted well and you are allowing these people to take your child to the street. The other issue is they charge you more because they are transporting your child.

What most of my friends did were look at who currently has what hours, who can move their hours and in what direction. So say you can find a traditional 9 to 5 job but your husband can move to 6 to 2. You get the child on the bus, go to work, dad gets home and gets the child off the bus.

There are so many different ways to attack this issue, just think a bit outside the box

My daughter's daycare offers a before and after school program. They give the kids breakfast, take them to school, and after school they pick them up and get a snack and homework help if they want it.

Some schools have before-school and after-school care programs through elementary grades with names like Treehouse, Apple Tree, etc. and base how much you pay on your salary. You can call the school where he'll be attending kindergarten and ask about their after-school program for children whose parents have to work until blah blah blah time.

Usually the school's Family Resource Center would be the department to speak with.