more notes on child care

sylvia and i surveyed our 4th child care establishment today. i want to have 3 finalists and so far there's only one that i like and i am not entirely sure whether i am being honest with my impressions, so the search goes on. establishment #4 will not be in the finalist circle. this center has a 'temporary license' which simply means that it has been open less than 6 mos. i have found an extremely good (my god, there's no way we'll ever be able to afford this place) center with a temp license so i was willing to give this place a shot.

pros:

• low price


• good location


• equipment in good shape (of course, they've only been open 2 weeks).


• bright carpet, colorful classroom.


• drop in anytime policy for tours.

cons (some of these just reflect my own prejudices, but i'm pretty sure a lot of these should effect their certification):

• jug of milk sitting out of the fridge. all of the kids were on the playground so it had been there a while and would be there for some time before being rescued.


• the director and i went past the bottle 3 times, at one point spending about 5 minutes chatting and at no point did she appear to notice it or make any move towards putting it in the fridge.


• the infants and toddlers were on the same playground together and it was not really large enough that the teachers could keep the toddlers away from the infants. i'm mixed about this as i have seen toddlers and 2's together and think it has a lot of advantages. on the other hand, a toddler can and will whap an infant.


• the only juice served is apple juice and it is available all day long. in fact, when it's really hot they cut out the milk and feed the toddlers only juice, lovely.


• the age range of the center goes up to 12, and not just after school, during the summer the older children will be there all day.


• i wouldn't like to be one of these older kids either, as the 'temporary' classroom looked to be geared towards 5 year olds.


• the first person i spoke to on the phone was quite defensive about their temporary license. that's really sad, as i already knew why it was a temp license and didn't have a problem with it.


• as i was leaving i heard someone who sounded like one of the teachers flat out yelling at one of the kids.


• the final qualification shouldn't really count, as sylvia is variable day to day, but at every other center she has run for the kids and the toys and she was quite happy to stay in my arms most of the time.

aside from the waste of time with this joint, i am really enjoying looking at all the centers. maybe sylvia and i just don't get out enough, but it doesn't cost anything and *generally* fills me with hope and possibilities. i really am glad to have seen a 'bad' center though to rank up against the good ones. i've got another tour lined up for next week and the week after that is the 'no way we can afford it' center. ah, but the tour is free :).