I was recently speaking with some friends who have young children about the Kindergarten half day/ full day program. My home school will be full day by the time my daughter starts JK in 2013 (she’ll be 4 years old then), but the school day runs from 8:42am- 3:15pm. 3:15pm?!!
My husband has irregular work hours and so I will be responsible for the pickup and drop off. Even if I could somehow instantaneously transport myself to work and back so there’s no commute time, the school day is less than 7 hours. And even if my husband could do the drop-off, I’d have to be at work by 6:30am in order to work an 8 hour day and hopefully make it home in time to do the pick up!
So how do people do it?
Some schools have a third-party daycare in the school for before and after school care but sign up early or you may find yourself on a wait list. My home school’s daycare already has a wait list for the 2012/2013 school year so it’s a good thing my daughter isn’t going in until the next year.
There also seems to be some confusion regarding costs. When I asked what their rates are, the staff person told me to ask the school. After more questions she finally said maybe $19- 25 a day, which would be for 7am- 8:45am and 3pm- 6pm. When I called the school, they told me they only had a range on a survey going out to parents now, but in any case, the rates would be what the daycare sets them at. Rates on the survey are $27- 32/ day, $9- 11 for before school and $18- 21 for after school care. That’s quite a difference.
Using the $19- 32 range given to me for before and after school care, that would be approximately $399- $672 per month (using 21 days/ month). I’m hoping for the $399 price tag 
I also called the French immersion school near us to see what they have (we may decide to put my daughter in French immersion but the program doesn’t start until Senior Kindergarten so she’d have to switch schools.. which means making new friends after a year). The school told me they will be going full day in 2014/ 2015 (so far so good). When I called the daycare in the school to find out about before and after school programs, the staff person wouldn’t speak to me and told me to call back next week before 1pm. Again, doesn’t sound very organized (which is not giving me a warm and fuzzy feeling about leaving my child there).
Another option is the YMCA which has 125 child care centres offering before and after-school care across the GTA for 2.5 – 12 years (some only go up to 5 years and a few offer child care before 2.5 years). Most start at 7 or 7:30am and close at 6pm. I called one near my home school however they don’t walk or bus from the school. I called 4 more locations nearby and same thing.
FYI, their rates are approximately $21.42 for before and after school care, $12.44 for before school care only and $17.34 for after school care. That’s about $449.82/ month for both before and after care (..but not an option for me). Click here to see if there’s a YMCA near you.
Here’s more info if you haven’t begun to dig in yet and see what you’re in for..
For those schools that are still running half day JK and SK, parents usually get a choice of the morning or afternoon. In my home school the hours would be 8:42am- 11:15am or 12:42pm- 3:15pm. That’s only 2 1/2 hours!
Click here for a list of schools and when they’re turning to full day. Click here to find out if your school has a day care in it. Click here to find out what your home school is if you don’t know it already!
When your child turns 6 (grade 1), if you are lucky, your school will have an After-school Recreation Care( ARC) program (I count only 28 across Toronto) for children aged 6-12 years that are offered by Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation. They are offered Monday to Friday, from school closing to 6 p.m. Click here to see if your school offers this program. It costs $3.50 per day for the 2011/ 2012 school year. Wow! (Subsidy may be offered for those who qualify).
So far I’m seeing very few options. How is everyone handling the gap between the end of the school day and end of work? What about the drop off in the morning?
Neighbours? Family? Nanny? A before/ after-school program? Alternate work arrangements (work from home or part-time work)?
Luckily, our school offers afterschool care and the daycare Maya is in now, does pick up and drop off from the schools in the area for JK and SK. I guess we are lucky. Alternatively, I know moms who have found home daycare providers to do pick up from school and watch their child for a few hours. Another friend of mine found a mom with a child in the same JK class as her daughter who picks up both girls and takes them home and watches my friend’s daughter for a very reasonable fee.
Also, Avenue Road Arts School, which is next to Brown, our elementary school, has a program where they will pick up your child from the school office and take them next door to the art school for washroom, handwashing, snack and art/drama/music programming until 5 or 6. It’s a little pricey but a really good program. There are others in our area that will pick up your child and watch them. I know other areas of the city where daycares will pick up their child and most schools have ones nearby that service that school, if not in the building.
Toronto has a city website for daycares that gives ratings and detailed info http://www.toronto.ca/children/childcare.htm
including which schools they service.
I do understand the wait list thing. I had no idea about the long lists and actually had daycares tell me moms put their names on their list inutero.
Hi there.
I just wanted to suggest another option if the school daycares don’t have enough space. Wee Watch is a daycare agency that supervises and licenses at-home daycares throughout Ontario. They provide full time and part time care for kids from 6 months up to age 12. Through contacting the agency it might be possible to find a care provider who lives within walking distance of your child’s school. They could then walk your child to school in the morning and pick them up at the end of the day.
My son, who is only 16 months, is currently in their full time program and I am very happy with it, as is he. Staff members from the agency visit each location frequently and provide “report cards” on how your child is doing. They also have a Wee Watch curriculum that has specific outcomes set for each age group and they do structured activities with them. As well, all of the people who reside in the home have to have up-to-date vaccinations and pass a Criminal Record check.
Great suggestion- thanks for sharing Erika!
Has anyone else tried Wee Watch?
Our daughter is going into JK in the fall. The daycare she goes to right now only has kids upto when they enter school. I.e. they don’t do before/after school care. So we’re out of luck.
There are 2 daycares in our areas that do before/after school care for this school. Both have a 3-4 year waiting list. We are on both waiting lists but do not know whether we will get our turn once September comes. If we don’t – we’ve got to look for a nanny! There is no YMCA near our house, and no after-school programs at our school.
I have no idea how othe parents do it….the thought of September makes me want to hyperventilate.
3 or 4 year waiting list?! That’s ridiculous. I’d better call back the French immersion school near my house and get on their waiting list now for 2014/ 2015 (SK) just in case we go that route. I’m already on the wait list for JK for our home (English) school.
If you need to find a nanny, try http://www.helparoundthehouse.ca/ (free) or http://www.canadiannanny.ca/ (membership fee). Live-out nannies charge around $13- 15/ hour. I’ll ask around and see what other sites moms I know use to find a nanny.
Yes, a 3-4 year waiting list, can you imagine? People register their kids at birth, and get in around JK or SK!!! We moved to the area when she was 1, so we were “late” in registering her, so to speak.
Not sure where you are, but we are right in the city, in an area with a ton of kids. I’m not sure why the infrastructure isn’t there for before and after school!
Thanks so much for the nanny links, hopefully it won’t have to get to that, fingers crossed…
My daughter is going into Kindergarten in the fall – however her school only offers before/after care for JK and SK and we’re confirmed for that. However after that we are out of luck. There is no daycare that services that particular school beyond SK. I’m not sure why – there was strong interest for the before and after school care for JK/SK. This is our home school and we have no other option unless we pay for private school. This will mean getting a neighbourhood mom or someone else to care for my daughter when she is in grade 1. I wouldn’t need before school care because I could drop her off in the mornings before work and still make it in time, but I would need after school care. This might be easier to arrange for someone interested in some extra cash – but it will take some looking into. What’s the point of the YMCA programs that don’t walk or bus your kid to/from the school? Do they really imagine that a 6 year old is capable of getting themselves to/from their programs on their own? Seriously!