Are There Any In-Home Daycares with Less than 4 Kids?

Hello! Have you thought about hosting an Au Pair? I just received word that you are looking for in-home childcare. My name is G. Gebre; I am the Local Childcare Coordinator for Minneapolis and some of the Northern Suburbs. As a former Au Pair I really have a lot to share with you from my own experience with the program. I can also answer any questions you have about the regulations and logistics of the program.
I think the key differences of Cultural Care are the level of the au pairs; they take less than 30% of all those who apply to be involved in the program. They are screened through references, a 2-day all English face-to-face orientation, background checks, legal and medical checks and psychological profile. Plus they have to show they love kids and have documented hours of experience and tons of verified references. They also go through an intensive week of training when they get to New York, all in English. Also, it is nice to have me near by, I can answer any questions, facilitate discussions if there is a problem or misunderstanding through the year. I meet with the au pairs every month and do safety training 4 times a year, and meet with host families and au pairs twice a year. Please let me know if you have questions about the program, how it may fit with the lifestyle and needs of your family. The best thing in my opinion is the flexibility and cultural exchange. I think it has really broadened all of our horizons. The rules of the au pair schedule are pretty flexible. They can work up to 45 hours a week, with at least 1 1/2 days off per week, can work up to 10 hours at a stretch, and they must have a full weekend off per month. Host Family is responsible for their room and board (they need a private bedroom, but can share a bathroom) and you pay $500 toward the 6 college credits they have to take during the year. The program averages out to about $270 or so a week (as of 2006), no matter if you have one child or three. Kids also get to attend activities they might not be able to due to various work schedules such as swimming and dance, and soccer. They really are an incredible group of young ladies (male Au Pairs also available) - they pretty much convince anyone who meets them! I can also pass on the name and number of some families in the program that you may want to ask about their experiences. There is a family very near you who has been in our program for several years and could share their experience. Once you actually apply, they do one to one matching...professional 'matchers' look at your family application in detail when finding the right au pair to present to you. If the application isn't right, or the interview isn't fabulous, they will send you another candidate. It takes 8+ weeks to have one come from overseas, there are also au pairs who have stayed a second year who are available faster or ones who transitioned out of a family and have less than a year left (usually a personality issue, they can still make great au pairs). The agency takes care of visas, embassy visits, travel and training... The website is www.culturalcare.com to learn more about the program or fill out an on-line application. I can also mail you a packet of info, if you can email me back your address and information. I hope that helps.
Call with any questions at all!
G. Gebre
Cultural Care Au Pair cell ###-###-#### home ###-###-#### e-mail ____@____.com

A.,

I would recommend trying www.daycarematch.com. They have a varity of childcare places and you can find one near your house or work by using your zipcode. It is really nice, I am on there for my home preschool.

Good Luck,
J.

A., I know of an in home daycare provider in Maple Grove who was wonderful. I know that she only allows a certain number of infants. I can't tell you if she is full or not but her # is ###-###-####

My Day care lady has 3 kids, my son (11 mos), her daughtern (about 14 mos) and one other little girl (between 6 and 9 mos. I know she has some openings. She's based out of her house in Shoreview, not sure if it works with where you work. She does, however, close at 4:00. But she's a great provider. If you're interested let me know and I can get you her information.

I live in Maple Grove and am due with #2 in April. I have been contacting "area leaders" of family/home based child care. For example, Mary is the area leader of Rush Creek Elementary. She keeps up with the Rush Creek Elementary family child care providers and can tell you if one of them has an opening for Charlotte. If she doesn't, you can try the Weaver Lake Area Leader, the Fernwood Area Leader etc. We did family child care for our first son and will do it again with #2. I hope this helps. Let me know if I can provide the area leader's numbers to you. Just PM me. Thanks!

As soon as school starts back up the illnesses follow along. I currently have 7 kids enrolled in my child care home, and at least half of them have "the cough". The kids here vary in age from 6 months to 5 years.

An issue for many child care providers is to make enough money to warrant staying in business, and in order to keep enrollments small the provider would have to charge a substantially larger fee per child. Unless of course, the provider doesn't really need the income and is doing it for other reasons. I can understand your need to find a smaller daycare for your child, it's one of the reasons I myself became a child care provider.

While looking for other child care options, be sure to visit: www.asktheprovider.com

I'm sure with some luck and effort you may find one. An alternative, if you have an area you can turn into a bedroom, is an aupair.

We were surprised how affordable having an aupair is and you can dictate the hours she works. And they livin with you taking care of only your child/ren. There are pros and cons of course. But it works well for our somewhat sickly toddler. She gets all the attention and fresh air that we feel she needs - and she hasn't had one cold or ear infection sinc we switched!

A friend of our is on her 3rd one aupair and she makes sure when she interview the candidates that they understand that she has very modest means: the aupairs bedroom is in the basement and they share a bathroom. It's worked great for her too.