KidsPark centers offer day, evening and weekend care for children ages 2-11 and is open almost each and every day of the year with parent schedule friendly hours – they’re open from 8 am to 10 pm Monday through Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. KidsPark also offers recession conscience prices (about $7.50 per hour) so most families can afford it. There’s no reservation needed – families register once and they’re in the KidsPark system.

Safety - KidsPark exceeds state licensing requirements with an average teacher-child ratio of 1:8. At all times, no matter the number of children present there are two staff on site. If a child needs one-on-one attention, another teacher is available to the group.

All KidsPark staff is:

• Certified in First Aid and CPR
• Screened by the Department of Justice
• Trained in Early Childhood Education and Recreation
• Required to attend staff development and skill building workshops

KidsPark offers lots of hands-on projects, art projects, games and a pretty slick calendar of seasonal special events. Additionally, various areas for different activities are designated at each center. Such as…

• Creation Station – for art, cooking, hands-on-science and more.
• Activity Area – where kids can play individually or in group with toys, play pretend in the playhouse or investigate the book nook.
• Mountain of Energy – an active minded structure that kids can pretend is a mountain, space ship and more.
• Theater – an areaused for story times, music, G-rated movies, games and guest performers.
• Sport Court – perfect for kids tired of being inside all winter, kids can kick goals, shoot baskets, play 4-square or just enjoy a game of catch.
• Blue Crew – a school-age area that encourages interaction with peers. Older kids can learn more detailed art projects, play age appropriate games and non-violent video games or do homework.

The only downside I see to KidsPark is that there are not nearly enough of them. Current locations include Arlington/Texas, Jacksonville/FL, Scottsdale/AZ, Olathe/Kansas and in California – Chico, Northridge, Corona, Fresno, Rocklin, Sacramento, and their pilot centers in San Jose, CA. That said there are also three additional locations opening in the first half of 2010.

If you live in one of the areas with a KidsPark you may want to check them out for holiday care this year while they’re out of school or while you need to holiday shop OR set up a date night with your partner.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Here are few ways to save on babysitting.

1)  Go on a lunch date. This is our newest way to save.  Our three oldest children are in school and our youngest is in preschool part-time.  We finally have a consistent time that we can get out together.

2)  Trade babysitting with others.  If you know of other parents that have kids, offer to trade with them.  Everyone needs some time alone and they would probably be willing to work something out.

3)  Call on friends and relatives.  We are really unfortunate that we don’t live near family.  If I did, we wouldn’t have any issue with babysitting.  Thankfully, we have a person that we call on every few months to give us a night out together.  She does this for free because she loves us.  I used to do this more often before I had kids.  There’s nothing wrong with helping people out, right?!?

4)  Join a babysitting co-op.  Some co-ops are very organized and they have systems with points where you can earn points per hour, per child, etc.  It sounds a little complicated, but these parents have found a system that works for them.

5)  Check into community babysitting services.  Some churches offer free or low cost babysitting.  Sometimes it is a fundraiser for the youth group.  Activities are planned and supervised by adults while the youth of the church play with your kids.  Some churches offer a night of free babysitting as a service to the community.

What ways do you save on babysitting?

image (c) Karen Weideman

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

This summer we are avoiding day care costs while the kids are out of school by doing some co-op babysitting with a friend in the neighborhood. Between our three kids and their two it can be quite a zoo. Here are some tips for getting the most out of co-op babystting.

Be Flexible

Co-op babysitting is particularly difficult if the parents work part or full time. Work schedules will add to the amount of babysitting schedule changes. But even if neither parent works out of the house, doctor appointments, vacations and more are going to come up. Tell the other parent as soon as you know so you have the best option of figuring out how to rework the babysitting schedules. Don’t forget that sometimes having a babysitter on a night or weekend is worth way more than on a weekday.

Also, the other parent is going to have rules that are different than yours. Remind your kids that the other parent is in charge and you fully expect them to follow their rules during their babysitting days. Make sure the other parent does the same with their kids. Don’t be afraid to use the naughty chairs and don’t be offended if it is your kid who gets sent there.

Let Them Roam

With four mobile kids and a baby, it is very important to be able to let them have some space. There is no way that many kids will survive 8 hours cramped up near each other all day without frequent bickering. We have a pretty open policy about roaming the main level and the basement. When they start getting annoyed with each other, they will naturally wander to different rooms or floors which helps bring a certain amount of peace.

Have A Plan

With all that free movement it is good to round them all up for a head count every hour or so. Morning snack, afternoon snack, and lunch provide three opportunities for everybody to be together. An art project, game, pretend school session, storytime in both the morning and afternoon provide two more easy gathering sessions. Something as simple as building block towers or painting an oversized piece of paper can entertain kids for a surprisingly long period of time. Reading stories is a great way to get a rowdy group of kids to sit still for a few minutes. I would recommend keeping the stories around 15 minutes unless you have a group of pretty calm kids, though.

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

Kids are going to yell and pout. Try to let them sort it out on their own whenever possible. It will be good for the social skills development. Try not to get involved unless they are being particularly nasty, it lasts for more than a few minutes or if one kid is always the one instigating the arguments. Also, kids are going to get paint on their clothes and lose toys at each other’s houses. Don’t hound the other parent about normal property damage. Just remember the cost of buying a new t-shirt or Thomas train is much less than the cost of paying for full time babysitting over the summer.

Get outside

If you have a fence in the backyard, put on the sunscreen when they first start to wander off. Encourage time in the backyard when the mood strikes them. Also, a picnic, trip through the sprinkler or game of soccer also make a great group activities that also get the kids outside for a while.

With a little bit of careful planning, a lot of understanding, and a lot of energy, you can avoid the high costs of day care and provide your kids with plenty of playdates that will help build friendships that will last for years to come.

Thanks so much to Mike for today’s guest post.  He is the father of 5 year old twins and a new baby.  You can find him writing about IVF, raising children, raising a child with autism, and fatherhood.  I hope you’ll visit him at Be A Good Dad!

Post from: Thrifty Mommy