Childcare Co-ops

[Tenacious_D]

Have any of you working parents ever used a co-op for childcare? Since I will be starting work in a few weeks I am thinking of the most economical childcare option and it sounds like a co-op might be the best. I am scheduled to work Mon, Tues and Wed. I had a daycare lined up (and paid for) but the woman that was supposed to take care of E's group is leaving and I am not a fan of the other daycare providers working at the facility. Ughh!

If you have used one of heard of one...any experiences, pitfalls, positives etc. to share?

[DCJenn]

Crunchy School is a co-op and I'll review the pros and cons of my experience tomorrow for you!

Jenn

[Gwendolyn]

I was also think of co-op for Emerson...I don't want the poor guy to be cooped up with me and the babe all day while james is at school. I thought it would be a great in between daycare and at home...

[Cumberland]

DD1 was in a preschool co-op and DD2 will attend the same one in the fall. I am not sure how a child care coop works vs a preschool co-op. We help in the class 2x per month plus have a 'job'- mine is health records coordinator. The other jobs are playground person, fundraising, dress up clothes organizer, president, VP, treasurer, etc, etc. Last year I lucked out and got to run the garage sale ( i love garage sales!) for my job.

The pros about it are- it is an excellent learning experience, run by passionate committed parents, and it is super inexpensive for a high high quality place. I love being in the class with my kids- they are so proud to show me off, and show off what they are learning. It is an even bigger treat when Daddy is the assist parent. The cons are-it is a big time commitment and fairly inflexible. It is a pain in the rear to find childcare for the baby when I am there although this year I will be switching out with another mom on her assist days.

[Tenacious_D]

Thanks. We are thinking of doing an informal one (especially for babysitting purposes) with the local moms group. Initially I wanted to set something up because I am working 3 days a week and wanted to find the cheapest means out there. I am hosting a little gathering here on Thursday for parents who are interested to see where it might go. I am nervous about the commitment esp. when vacation time comes around for folks. We shall see....