Another Busy Weekend

Yet another 5 kidlet weekend this week....all schoolagers this week, no wee ones.

Lots of running - not only providing childcare, but also running kids to and from hockey practices and all that fun stuff.

It's a good thing I have an assistant (aka my sister). She has also worked in a day care centre, so has her first aid and CPR and criminal record check and all that good stuff. And food handling certificate which is good because while I'm doing the hockey thing, she's handling the food.

If you're looking for a weekend off at some point, feel free to drop me an email at missjessas@gmail.com and - assuming I have space available, would be happy to accommodate you.

Once we get to five full time M - F kids, I'm likely to be less available on weekends - or at least not EVERY weekend... but for now, we're having fun.

Why Miss Jessa's Child Care Services?

So... just in case anyone is wondering why we chose to use the name Miss Jessa's even though even when I was working in day cares, I really didn't much care whether the kids remembered the Miss or not - not my rule! ... it is because that is how my little people mostly refer to me.

So...this makes it easier for them to find me if they or their parents had an inkling to do that.

So, Miss Jessa's it is :)

The logo is kind of sort of part of that as well - anyone who knows me and googles my name will know that they've come to the right place as soon as they see a zebra. I like zebras, and I started buying zebra print things long before they became so ubiquitous, actually. I have a lot of zebra stuff now...and many of my most treasured things are gifts from little people who thought of me when they saw something cool in a zebra print.

Truth be known, the zebra thing started way back when I got my cat.... his full name is actually Zebra in a Snowstorm. He's white, with just a trace of very light zebra-ish stripes on his forehead...so yeah... zebra in a snowstorm worked.

And yep, I do have cats, and chinchillas, too.

So smoke-free, yes, of course... but no, not pet-free, at least not as long as I'm operating out of my current location. But, assuming no allergies, it seems to work quite well, actually. The kids and Zebra get along just fine, and everyone that comes to the house - big peoples, little peoples, whichever, enjoy the chinchillas. Chinchillas are pretty awesome pets... dumb as can be, but that just adds to their charm.

Setting up a home day care

So, I've had a busy week or two. Once the decision to open my own home day care was made, there was a lot of work to do - in a very short time, given that as soon as I told people that I was doing it, I had bookings.

Our place was a little bit full of big people things so the first big task was to clear all that stuff out and make room for little people stuff. I had more than enough kid stuff that I have amassed over years of working in child care centres... just needed to make room for it.

So, we did.

And then it was off to Ikea for some storage solutions for toys and games, baby furniture, and so on. The plan was to stick to the necessities I would need to get started, but well... you know.

They had this way cool tool bench that was on clearance and it needed to come home with me.
And no dramatic play centre would be complete without safety vests, right? Right. Yeah, we bought those too








And I had found an awesome play kitchen that makes noise and everything for my dramatic play centre, so I HAD to buy the pretend food and stuff. And anyway it's way cool, cuz when you take the fish apart, it's got bones inside. Yes, of course I had to try it all out. Quality testing, you know.













Also found a market play centre that can double as a puppet show stage..... and maybe just a ~few~ other things.

Somehow we managed to fit everything into my car and get it home.

And then we got to work setting it all up in the very short time that was remaining before my first kids were showing up.

It was a bit of a rush, but we pulled it off and had everything ready for our first little visitors.

Who so far all seem to approve.

We're having a lot of fun at Miss Jessa's Child Care Services these days.

Come play with us, why don't you! If you are looking for high quality home day care for your wee one(s) please email me at missjessas@gmail.com.