working moms question?

[raspberry]

What do you do when your kids are out of school? Christmas vacation? Summer vacation? Spring break?
Inservice days? Basically what is your plan when your kids are out of school?

I just started back to work full time M-F 8-4:30, and wow is it a huge adjustment. At the moment my ds is 4.5 and is in a preschool/daycare 2x a week and then 3x week in VPK. I am trying to decide where to send him this summer.

[spiscariot]

Our oldest is only in Preschool (1 day a week) right now, but as he and his brother get older, they will be with my mom like they currently are when he doesn't have class.

[sunkiss]

I hear ya! I work full time and both my kids go to daycare right now, but I've been searching for a preschool for my son and most of them are such short portions of the day, and only 2 or 3 days a week. I already drive 25 miles into town each day, so finding a preschool that was reasonable for price, close by, that I won't have to leave work twice a day to drive him to and from (dh drives truck in a different town and I don't have anyone to help in the area on a regular basis), plus still pay for a full time spot at daycare...etc., etc. It was getting so frustrating! I actually found one that we're on the waiting list for. It fits everything we need and is full time and thank goodness I like the place a lot. Amazingly, it's only a few minutes from the daycare that ds2 will still be at. I'll find out in a couple weeks if he can start this fall. Who knew it was such a pain! Right now for holidays and what not, we either take vacation days and stay home with them, or sometimes my mom can help. The preschool we're on the list for offers a summer program that sounds fun, so that will work out too. I wish I didn't have to work while the kids are young, but it is worth it to live where we do and be able to afford some acreage. Hope it works out easily for you!

[i.<3.cheesysmiles]

I am a SAHM, but one of my close friends ran into this situation. What they do is get help with the grandmom and they split the days off for vacations that are a week or so, or any holidays the school is off but they work. In the summer, the school offers a "camp". There is about 2-week lapse between the end of school and the start of camp, and then again when school starts up. They take a vacation during one of those weeks, and then scramble for the other with some help.

[dunegirl]

If I'm back working when my kid(s) are in school then I will take time off work during spring break and Xmas break, in my line of work it would be very do-able and easy. For summer I'd do some kind of camp or YMCA. My niece, 12 years old, spends time with my dad during spring break and Xmas break. For the summer she normally does a mix between YMCA, my dad, going across the country with her dad to visit those grand parents.

[tapir]

We have no local family. We have one babysitter, and our old nanny for emergencies. I look at my daughter's school schedule and my husband's work schedule (he is a public employee) at the start of every year. Our sitter gets a list of all the days we need her for the following year (!) and whenever she is not available I take days off. If my kid is sick and someone has to stay home, I cancel 25-30 patients. It is a total PITA, but I don't have another option so we roll with it and plan ahead as much as possible.

[Marquette Fan]

I work part-time 3 days a week so I am either off on days Abbie is off or am able to switch my schedule around for that week. I know that won't work for you though. For the summer, she will go back to her Daycare where Natalie is also for the 3 days a week I work. In the summer, they have a lot of older kids who come back and do a lot of field trips. She does also take the van to Daycare after school 3 days a week.

I hope the new job goes ok and you figure out something for the school off days.

[MommyShannon]

When I worked our kids were in daycare. The daycare had before/after school care and full day any time local schools were out. Obviously it costs more when it was full day. The gymnastics place dd goes to has "Day Camps" whenever schools are at so you might find something like that too.

[CandiceLeigh]

This is the hardest thing for me to deal with. We have no one really that we can count on for more than a day at a time. For spring & Christmas break my DH takes off with Chris. Of course Christmas break is 2 & 1/2 weeks so I take off usually about a week as well and then we have to juggle finding sitters to cover the rest of the time. In my case, I rarely have any vacation time because it always gets spent taking Chris to appointments or if he's sick, I'm the one that has to take off with him. It really sucks and I don't get paid and it always leads to me feeling very frustrated and helpless and wanting my mommy.

Last summer was the 1st year he wasn't in daycare and it was brutal finding someone to watch him. We can't afford camp or daycare during the summer because Chris attends private school and we pay year round. It would really push us over if we had to add an extra $400 a month to that. This is actually one of the main reasons I'd love to quit work. It sucks work getting mad at me for missing a lot and honestly I won't be surprised if I get fired for it. I've worked here 7 years and they know my situation but still I know it's not ideal to have someone that misses work frequently and especially during the summer.

[missmc]

I'm lucky and have one of the most flexible jobs in the world (or so it seems). When ds has a 1/2 day or just a random day off from school, I work from home. For longer breaks, like Christmas, it was pretty well split between us and my parents (who live 2 hours away). The got to play with their older cousins and had a blast. For the summer, he will go back to the daycare he was at before we put him in school. My MIL (who lives near us) helps when she can, but turns out not to be very often so she's not someone we rely on.

[AmeriBrit]

I work in school, so I don't worry too much since most of our vacation days match up. There are odd days when his school is closed and mine is not, so either his grandparents have him or he goes to the school's vacation club (which costs a pretty penny!)

[raspberry]

I wish we had grandparents living closer,ours live thousands of miles away. The rest of our family all work, so they can't really help. So I guess my choice is a daycare center or a YMCA type place. I think at Christmas I will take time off. Don't mind me, just thinking outloud. Thanks for the replies.

[sookie4415]

my kids go to daycare all year long...same provider. the one in school takes a bus during school to and from her house.

[pumpkinseed2011]

I take it the places your ds go to close during those times? We have daycare year round, but she does close 2 weeks out of the year; spring break and a week in July before her kids go back to school. If we can't fully cover ourselves, we get grandparents to help out and this year for spring break, my sister will watch her 1-2 days.