after school care

[flea]

After 2 weeks, much stress, many emails, a couple of phone calls, and two meetings with strangers and their children in my house, I am not really much closer to having after school care lined up for Casper for the fall.

Here are the current options:

1. Trade care with family A. Very crunchy mom, so much that I got all self-conscious about tv-watching and toys that make noise. Shy 5 year old daughter. She could pick up and keep Casper 2, possibly 3 afternoons a week; in exchange we'd keep her daughter from 6-9 one night a week (so she can do work - she does home visits for public health). She can't do Friday afternoons. I think we really need more care, plus I think she's a little overscheduled - she was 15 minutes late to meet us. Trending no.

2. Share nanny with Family B. One of the Park Mommies, but I have fallen out of touch in the last 18 months. They have the nanny lined up and she is reputed to be a marvel (though we haven't yet met.) Would do care at our house or their (alternate weeks?) Nanny wants one Friday pm a month off. Nanny also wants $15 an hour, and 20 hours worth of work out of the deal. We could hack the price for the after-school care, even paying for 10 hours when we really only need about an hour a day, but can't justify having a 5-hour date night once a week at $15 an hour. Possibility of another family we know taking that extra 5 hours is out there. Other worries: other family's house is a little bit of a hike; weeks we were at our house I'd get home at 4:30 and have a nanny and extra kid in my house for an hour; social anxiety sharing a nanny with a family much wealthier than us (again.) I'm supposed to touch base with them today. Trending: tempted but worried.

3. Preschool down the street is offering after-school care 2:30-5:30 for $100 a week. They supposedly are planning to pick up the kids, but it's unclear how this will work, legally or practically (i.e., in rain? In sun they can walk - it's 4 blocks.) Location good, haven't seen to school, but it's Montessori and promising 'enrichment' like yoga, karate. Trending: is this really going to happen? (The school just opened last year and this is a new program.)

4. Work something out with Family C (tech industry mom, son who got wacky with Casper) - possibly hire a student and share. Their schedule is different from ours, though - she works until 5 (in RTP) Tu, W, Th but not at all Mo, F. Trending: too vague right now, even though we met.

I am tempted to just go it alone - try to hire a student for $10 an hour an hour a day in our house. This would be cheapest and most convenient - but what if we can't find someone?

Argh.

Comments

[casperflea.livejournal.com]

Noise is okay if child-generated (drums, etc.) Press-a-button-and-it-beeps noise, not okay. (And I actually agree, because have you listened to the annoying singing Little People sets? Ack. But not enough to take away gifts given to my kids because they have batteries.)