Which pre-school pattern work best for you

[toddlers896]

This is my first preschool with a minded child. Mum said she will get 15 hours and she can go any time that suits me e.g 5 mornings or 2 full days and one half day.
My heart is telling me to do what's right for the child and do five mornings, it's a nice routine for her and hopefully three hours won't be too much for her.
My head is telling me to do what works best for me - do I really want to do a school drop of and pick up every day including a 3.15 pick up two days a week which would be a nightmare but only until the summer holidays or would I prefer to just drop her off at school and have the day free with just one child for two and a half days.

What's your advice guys from experience x

[loocyloo]

I prefer not to do the midday pick up, I did it last summer for one day a week for a LO and it was restricting, but do-able for a term!

I find it depends on the children you have - if you had a babe who needed an early lunch and a sleep, a midday pick up is difficult. our difficulty as a childminder is that what might suit one month, might not suit the next, if the children change!

I had a mum offer to arrange to have a child delivered to me after a midday pick up, but I still said no, as having to be home at midday is still restricting. I have several children who each only do one day a week, and so I don't want to be 'stuck' having to be somewhere specific on a particular day, as that stops me taking the children out to explore as we usually do. ( I spend at least one day a week at home, but it changes every week so all the children get the benefit )

[Simona]

This is my first preschool with a minded child. Mum said she will get 15 hours and she can go any time that suits me e.g 5 mornings or 2 full days and one half day.
My heart is telling me to do what's right for the child and do five mornings, it's a nice routine for her and hopefully three hours won't be too much for her.
My head is telling me to do what works best for me - do I really want to do a school drop of and pick up every day including a 3.15 pick up two days a week which would be a nightmare but only until the summer holidays or would I prefer to just drop her off at school and have the day free with just one child for two and a half days.

What's your advice guys from experience x

This Mum sounds incredible 'flexible' and positive on what you will offer and what the preschool will also agree to offer in terms of the pattern of flexibility.

Preschools are usually incredibly full when it comes to offering the 15 hours...will this one be so open to mum choosing?
if this was put to me I would ask to work in co-operation with all concerned...that is you, the preschool and the parent...without forgetting to put the child's needs first....discuss and get to a decision that works for all

do you offer the 15 hrs yourself? if so has mum asked you to share those hours? has this been discussed with the preschool? what happens during the holidays?

On another note...There are a lot of CMs who are very flexible while others are refusing to collect from preschools for various reasons...the main problem here is that CMs are having to be extremely flexible but also compromise on sustainability

Food for thought

[JCrakers]

I would only agree something that fitted in with my day. I've done the preschool pickups before and truthfully was a pain in the bum :D

[Mouse]

I don't do any pre-school pick ups or drop off now, but if I did I would always chose the 2 and a half days week option. I used to find it so restricting to take children to nursery for 9am, get home for 9.30, leave again at 11, home again by 12, straight onto making lunch, then out again at 2.45 for the afternoon school pick up. When that's 5 times a week it's a real pain.

[AliceK]

I've been doing pre-school pick-ups for years, I did start off doing the afternoon session and it was a nightmare, we were having to have lunch at 11.30 in order to get there. I continued to do it for that child but when he moved up to school I said I would not do that session for anyone else. Since then I have done the morning session which is a midday pick-up. It suits me better but tbh it's still a pain. I have been lucky enough to not do any nursery run since the summer hols but one of mine is starting there in Jan so I'll be back to doing it then :(. I wish I didn't have to, I hate doing them.

xxx

[Simona]

I would only agree something that fitted in with my day. I've done the preschool pickups before and truthfully was a pain in the bum :D

it can be very restrictive but many cms consider the potential of having these children full time in their holidays a bonus and a good earning.

The pain in most cases is the frustration we do all this and then get very little in return from most of the preschools/nurseries we pick up from...in other words the aggro of lack of info sharing makes many Cms avoid it