This post is only part one since we have many more tours to attend (or at least three more to round it out) and we haven't made a decision. One of the many perks of working for Verizon is that we have a discount program available on a lot of different products and services, one of which is day care. The downside is that since Verizon is a national company, the discounts apply to larger chain day care facilities. Of course, people have offered their opinions on the matter of larger facilities vs. in-home day cares and most are not in-favor of the larger facilities. However, we are going to continue our research and make a decision on what we feel is best for the Nugget both on a care level but also on an developmental level.
So far, we've toured two facilities...Bright Horizons and Tutor Time. Bright Horizons is near both of our work facilities which would be great if we ever need a little mid-day Nugget fix. The facility is large, has two infant rooms with a 4-1 teacher ratio and somewhat structured activities including reading, art and outside time. The facility was very clean as well, which is always good. The problem with this facility is that it would cost about $1300 / month. Although, if we have my mom watch the Nugget one day, which is the plan, it would be slightly cheaper...
The second facility toured was Tutor Time. They are part of a larger family of day cares. We were originally interested in La Petite near my work, however, that center doesn't have an infant room. So instead we were directed to the Tutor Time near our house...really near our house, which is good. They only have one infant room though so space is limited to a total of twelve kiddos. The don't really have a part-time program, you pay your monthly fee of $800 (w/ my discount...much better than the first place) regardless of days enrolled. But since we were only thinking of having the Nugget out one day a week, it would work and that way if my mom for whatever reason couldn't watch him/her for a day, we'd have a spot available. The facility is admittedly smaller, but the infant room is larger than those of the other facility and was also very clean. They too work on various developmental milestones with the kiddos, including getting them ready for the toddler room as they get old enough to transition.
Now it's just a matter of looking at a few more options before making a decision. For us, we want to make sure Nugget is in a place that is both nurturing and has education at the core of care. We feel it's important to have consistent caregivers that have been background checked and drug tested as well as a place that will work on developmental skills including speaking skills and learning letters, colors, numbers and shapes when appropriate. It's definitely a lot to ask for if we want to keep the budget within reason, but we are determined to find it. More on the hunt later...
