Teach Preschool

[gumdrops]

In our area daycare and preschool are two different operations. The older kids in my in-home daycare leave a few hours/day a couple times/week to attend preschool. I think most of you teach preschool as part of your daycare. Do you have a degree? What do you use as a guide to teach preschool if you don't have a degree?

[Cat Herder]

Preschool is mandatory here. It is literally on our licenses, Family Childcare Learning Homes. We can purchase curriculum (Funshine, Creative Curriculum, Abeka, etc), use the States Early Learning Standards website/templates or write our own as long as it meets their requirements.

We are required to have a CDA, TCC, TCD or ECE degree just to get and keep our licenses to keep 3-6 kids for pay. Then 40 hours directors training, 20 hours preservice training, and 10 annual hours. If you only do 10 annual continuing education hours you are shamed. They want 20-30.

There are 286 pages in our Rules & Regulations and Indicator manuals.

They want us gone.

[Coloradoprovider]

In what state are you located? Your requirements are the most comprehensive I've ever heard of. With the ridiculous amount of requirements (yes, it's ridiculous), the pool of people willing to get licensed must be small. I live in Colorado and I see the gradual adoption of similar higher standards in order to get a higher "quality" rating. Now, we are being offered "free" (taxpayer funded) ECE courses. I believe that eventually, ECE courses (perhaps degree) will be the requirement. I plan to retire in 3 years, so I'm not willing to go to the community college for ECE courses; I have a degree not directly related to ECE. After 30 plus years of caring for children and taking many courses, and having achieved the quality rating of 5 (highest one can earn in our state), I just don't need more time devoted to an already packed schedule. I love what I do and do it well, but more time away from my own family isn't good for anyone. Adding more requirements will only exacerbate the severe shortage of childcare slots, but it'll keep the government employees busy. I agree, "they want us gone."

[gumdrops]

That makes me sad for you! I am legally unlicensed if I don't have more than 6 kids. So I keep it that way to keep the State out! I was thinking about switching to only preschool age kids and doing a curriculum, so parents don't have to hassle with preschool, but my degree is in business, not education.

[Cat Herder]

My degree is in Emergency Medicine and Fire Science. They would not accept that, so after almost 20 years of working direct care (most public safety work 2 jobs), they still made me go back to school. I started my daycare so I could be home with my own kids while still earning an income.

[GirlMomma]

I’m legally unlicensed with six also! I went to school for ECE but I didn’t finish my degree.

I think regardless, even if you had a curriculum, you’d still have parents that simply want their kids in a school-like environment. I have two parents that are pulling their kids in August for preschool. But I also have one kiddo staying with me until Kindergarten. It just depends!

[ItsAllSonShineAndRainbows]

Here they call everything preschool, which is really difficult when you are a preschool only program.
I get contacted often asking if I have infant/toddler openings and have to tell them we are preschool only and do not take that age.
Daycares all over advertise as a preschool, or have preschool in the name, but take newborn and up. Some teach a curriculum for the 3-5's but not all do.

[Springvalley]

We have daycare & preschool in our name and when someone calls we ask them their child's age so that we know what room to put them in (we do six weeks up to 12 years old was 13 because of some special needs children but I think we changed it in our license when we renewed it)