What's New

End of an Era

2008-04-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

Annabel a.k.a. Mama Bear is thrilled to be back in school, for the first time in 8 years and 2 babies. She's studying magazine journalism at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, one of the world's best journalism and communications schools. She's very proud, and grateful, and loves her school!

OK, I'm going to stop talking about myself in the third person now :-)

So, Spring 2008 has been my "trial semester" to find out if this lifestyle is feasible or not, with a family and a business to run. What I've found, is that I CAN do it, but I can't do it all. So, I've decided to give up my daycare license.

All the paperwork and hoop-jumping it takes to run a successful (and legal) family daycare business is too much for me to handle at this point in time.

I still plan on providing part-time care during the school year as it fits into my schedule, and full-time care in the summer, as per the regulations regarding "informal" (unlicensed) child care in NY State.

Basically, those regulations state that it is legal to care for up to 2 children, in addition to my own OR more than 2, IF they're here for less than 3 hours, without becoming licensed/registered.

So, all in all that's not really going to change anything, as far as the amount of kids I'm caring for. Right now, I have 3 or so part-timers. I'm looking for summer kids right now, as I will be out of school. I can take one full-time, and one part-time (Monday and Wednesday afternoons, and/or any mornings.)

Within the next few weeks I should know my school schedule for the fall, at which time I will have 2 part-time openings.

So that's the story. And it has been working out great so far.

Give me a call if your child care needs fit into this puzzle :-)

The Hap-Happiest Time of the Year

2007-12-13T18:34:00.000-08:00

Alright, alright! As our wonderfullest nextdoor neighbor Tyra pointed out in her comment to my most recent post, which was almost six months ago (the comment was two months ago and I only just read it) I need to provide some new news!!

Baby Bear is rolling over and flirting like a madman. Big Brother Bear is going to Jowonio five mornings a week. Papa Bear is working full time at the Stickley Factory, and therefore not really figuring into daycare hours anymore, despite the fact he's now a bonafide "alternate provider." And, Mama Bear has been accepted to study Magazine Journalism at Newhouse starting in January 2008. So, Mama Bear's Family Daycare has slowed down quite a bit. Have a look at our openings for more information.

We now have a gorgeous cedar fence enclosing our back yard, which has made outdoor play about a zillion times more enjoyable, not to mention SAFE, for everyone. We picked up a playhouse and a sprinkler over the summer as well, good for hours of entertainment. Check out this video for an amusing demonstration of both, by Jonas (you can also hear Baby Escher squeaking in the background.)

Welcome Escher!

2007-07-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

Escher Allen was born Monday July 2, 2007 at 1:27 pm, weighed in at 9lbs. 2oz. and measured 22 inches long.

Welcome to the world little man!

Mama Bear's will reopen Monday, July 16.

Tick Tock

2007-06-22T10:01:00.001-07:00

There are a few big changes underway these days as some little bears go on their way, and others prepare to arrive.

Max, who has been with us for the last year, is moving back to Russia with his family. We have seen Max grow up a great deal since he came to us, and we are going to miss him, and his mommy and daddy, very much. Today is his last official day at Mama Bear's Family Daycare. прощание!

The Schmidt Family moved on to rural Missouri three weeks ago. Although they stopped attending our daycare officially last December, they have remained close friends and frequently stopped by to visit. We are happy for their success but miss them terribly!

Shiraz has gone back to France with her family for the summer. While only a part of our daycare family for a short time, she won all of our hearts instantly, and we miss having her around! Although it isn't likely she will be returning for daycare when her family comes back to Syracuse in the fall, we look forward to seeing her on a regular basis anyway, since she lives right across the street!

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new baby boy within the next week or so. He's getting too big for Annabel's belly and we're all psyched to meet him! We want to hug him, kiss him, give him a name, and eat his little feet! After 2 weeks off, Adrian will rejoin us and we will begin the search to fill the empty slots in our "family." In the meantime, although there will be less kids around to play, it will free us up to get out, go swimming, and enjoy the summer more!

Last but not least, AJ has finally been approved as a true "alternate" provider and is no longer stuck in "substitute" status...which doesn't really change much, but opens up opportunities in the future if Annabel needs to take a day off here or there (meaning we won't necessarily have to close if she's not here.) Although it seemed like a good idea in theory, it looks like AJ will not be coming home to work full-time as we hoped, for financial reasons. He has been with us every morning, however, and all day on Mondays and Wednesdays, which is very helpful and will continue into the forseeable future.

That's about it for now. Quite enough change for one month I think! We're looking forward to settling in with the new baby, and hopefully some new daycare kids in the next month or so, and get back into a nice, solid routine for fall. Have a great summer!

FENCE!!!

2007-06-01T06:36:00.000-07:00

After 2-years of waiting, saving, and crossed fingers, a fence for the back yard has finally been bought and paid for. As soon as the required surveying and tree-removal is completed, Atlas Fence will begin installation!

New Equipment

2007-03-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the $400 retention grant, we're able to get some great new outdoor play equipment.

Our original plan was to buy a big climber with swings. Turns out that's not possible due to liability issues (NY State's liability, if a child gets hurt on the equipment they purchased.) But, since we really need outdoor play equipment more than anything, we found a solution that gets us some cool stuff, and we can still go to the park for climbing and swinging needs.

We're exciting about the arrival of these items. Hopefully we will get all 3. If that's not possible, we will get the playhouse and the wagon. Look, the playhouse has a little gas pump for all the cars we have!

AJ has been approved...sort of

2007-03-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

Due to a communication snafu with our registrar at Child Care Solutions, we will have to wait a little longer for AJ to become an "alternate provider" in our program. He is currently approved as a "substitute provider." Below is the exact verbiage from NY State's regulations for family daycare homes explaining the difference:

417.8 Supervision of children

For short-term, non-recurring absences, a substitute or alternate provider may care for children in place of the provider. If no substitute or alternate provider is available, care may not be provided and parents must be notified that care at the family day care home will not be available. Parents must be notified when a substitute or alternate provider will be caring for the children.

For other than short-term, non-recurring absences, only an alternate provider may care for the children in place of the provider.

2007-01-27T06:19:00.000-08:00

We would like to thank everyone for your continued support, and welcome new families finding their way to this site for the first time.

Our #1 story is....
We're expecting a new baby July 4, 2007!

This news has inspired some big changes for the Hine-Smith family and Mama Bear's Daycare. As you can see in our openings, we're looking to add 4 new preschoolers to our daycare family. Once that second lucky :-) child is enrolled, AJ will give notice at his current job and come to work full-time at home. This will ensure Mama Bear's Family Daycare will stay open throughout Annabel's pregnancy, and reopen 2 weeks after the birth of our new baby this summer (we will be using our 2007 vacation time for this.) We hope you're almost as excited and relieved about this idea as we are-- we really don't know why we didn't think of it sooner!

Right now, we are working on two things, that should be wrapped up in the very near future:

Complete AJ's registration process to join Annabel as an assistant (everything's tied up on our end; just waiting for the go-ahead from NY State) and get him started with his training courses at Child Care Solutions.
Secure a waiver for the new baby (current regulations require providers to obtain special permission in order to care for any child under the age of 6 weeks, including one's own.)

In other news... Annabel is one of 12 family daycare providers in Onondaga County chosen to participate in a brand new pilot program at Child Care Solutions, designed to identify and fulfill areas providers need additional support/training. As part of this program, we will receive a $400 grant for new equipment, and 20 hours of on-site assistance from a child-care expert (that means Marta Hewitt, childcare superhero, will be coming over just to help us make our daycare better!)

So, 2007 is off to a great start. Let's keep it up!