Hi Alicia! You can find my post on interviewing tips here: https://whereimaginationgrows.com/interviewing-clients/ but feel free to ask any specific questions that you have!

Love this blog! I am starting a in-home day care super soon. Question: I never thought of doing an interview process. How did you so this?

Thank you!

Hi Melinda! When I started my home daycare we lived in a small 2 bedroom duplex. My living room functioned as both our living space and the daycare space. It’s very possible to do this but it can be a challenge at times. I used furniture to break up the space. My couch or a toys shelf sideways in the living room created a ‘divide’ between where I kept kids stuff and where I kept our things (although I did have to change my decorating style to make it more kid proof). My space wasn’t large or flashy but I had the essentials and enough toys to not seem too crowded. I also used a lot of creative storage units (like hanging storage in the closet and closetmaid cube shelves for toy storage because I didn’t have much space and honestly after a few months I got tired of looking at all the daycare stuff on the weekends. My Pros and Cons of Home Daycare post talks about issues with a small space and how it can affect others in your house too.

Many providers successfully run daycares in small homes, I’ve even known some that run them out of apartments. I did it for nearly 3 years in our small home before we moved to a larger home. Make sure you are aware of any square footage requirements per child your state has because it can change how many kids you can have. But don’t worry, it can be done in smaller spaces. Move your furniture around and do a mock set up for a daycare. See how it feels for you and your family. Good luck!

thank you in advance.

Sent you an email! 🙂