Life on Tour

Yesterday after work Richard and I visited the 4th daycare center in our World Wind Tour of Baby Centers 2007.

I ‘heard’ that we should start looking early here because most daycares have waiting lists for newborns. So last week we started the daunting task of touring, questioning, drilling, interviewing, smelling and signing up at daycares. The center last night (#3 which we really liked) said they’ve had parents wait up to a year before to get a newborn in! Oh my….

Center #1 We liked. Kind of. To me it seemed a bit dirty but it might have been because it was a little older and their equipment seemed dated a bit. However, they did give us a grand tour and were very open with information and their policies and procedures. I did like how they have a daily checklist of what occurs with baby and each day they send it home so you are aware of what they ate, how much they slept and how many potties and poopies they did. We got on the list.

Center #2 GAG A MAGGOT. First of all, I hated the parking lot. If we go there, i’ll suffer from parking lot rage and be in counseling for the next 12 years trying to recover. Secondly, little Director Lady walked us in the infant room and said ‘here’s our infant room’. That’s it. No big grand tour, no explanation of daily activities or curriculum. Nothing. She offered nothing… we had to quiz her for information. Plus the place was small.. it seemed congested. Clean, but really congested. Plus they charged quite a bit more than center #1 and offered less. PLUS i didn’t like their parking lot. PLUS you had to pay $60 to even sit on their waiting list. I dont think so. They aren’t that special. I still don’t like their parking lot.

Center #3 we loved! Its actually the same daycare company as Center #1, but at a different location. It was very clean and spacious and Daycare Director Lady was very helpful and informative. They charge a truckload more for a newborn (up to 12 months), but they seemed very organized and clean and all the employees seemed clean and nice and clean. The setup was the same as Center #1 except the Infant to Teacher ratio was better. 4:1 here as compared to 6:1 at Center #1. Clean is important.

Center #4 we saw last night. It's a bit of a drive from our house - compared to the other centers, but we thought we'd check it out because if it's 'the one' then we'll drive the distance. Before we even entered the building... something was stenchy. It was either poop or vomit, or a combination of the two. I couldn't quite put my finger on it.... and Richard seemed to think it also had a bleachy smell. So they were cleaning up something. BLAH. The center seemed nice and the girl giving us the tour was really informative and helpful. However, (how do i put this nicely) the employees seemed... a little rough around the edges. Nice enough? It just wasn't my top pick. However, they had been picked by our school district to have a Pre-K program and so we knew from that, it had passed all kinds of inspections and hadn't been in any kind of trouble. I think the jury is still out on this one. It would work if we need it to, but we still prefer #3.

My very favorite childcare person is in Chickasha… I can’t drive that far… so maybe I could get her to move here!??! Can ya, Jackie!? Please!?!? Can ya, can ya.. huh!??! huh!??!!? *beggin*