2 pre-schools?

[Tori27]

DD goes to a childminder but I won't be able to claim my free hours once DD is 3 as the childminder hasn't taken the extra qualification and doesn't want to. This year, my take home after childcare has been pathetic so I really need the free childcare to make working worthwhile. However, preschool hours are very awkward where I live.

I have a place for her at a lovely village pre-school for Tuesday and Thursday mornings (starting in January) - but to get her there I have changed my working hours and negotiated making up time from home as I start work at 8.30am but preschool is at 9am so need to start work late 2 days a week. the hours are only 9-12 (childminder will pick her up at 12). They do longer days but I feel that would be too much for DD at first.

I have a second place a a nursery for Friday mornings 8am-1.15pm as I finish work at 1pm on a Friday. This nursery is very close to my work and so very practical, but I don't love it as much as the village one and the kids at the village one tend to go to the church school I want DD to go to.

Basically, I need the nursery hours to make up the free hours butwill DD be okay going to a childminder (where she's very settled and has been with for nearly 2 years), a preschool on two mornings and a nursery for one morning? Am I going to mess DD up with the changes or does anyone else do this?

Sorry for the essay!

I have quite complicated arrangements too. These are mine, ds goes to local pre-school mon and fri, my days off. Then on tues/wed/thurs before sept he went to a CM whilst I went to work. In Sept he started going to another pre-school near the cm on tues/wed/thurs so that I could use his free entitlement and reduce my childcare costs which are a killer. Tues/Wed/Thurs I drop him to pre-school at 9 and the cm collects him at 12, I then pick him up from the CM at about 2.30/3 and then go to my dd's school and collect her!

My CM was happy with the reduced hours and doesn't make me pay anything whilst ds is at pre-school, some would want a fee as i'm using one of her under 5 spaces. But my cm only has ds during the day so i'm not really keeping her from filing the space as she has 2 other spaces free at the moment anyway.

DS is fine with the changes, although he isn't keen on talking too much about his new pre-school and seems to prefer his old one, he gets excited if it's an old pre-school day. But when he goes to the new pre-school he's fine, not even a backward glance.

I think how your dd will be really depends on her and how she gets on at the specific places you've choosen. Children are more adaptable than we think. We all put them first and try not to move them incase they don't like it etc but sometimes we have to do what's best for us aswell, in this case and mine, reduce the childcare costs. I was wary about putting ds in another setting but my other choice would've been to find another cm to take him to his existing pre-school. I figured either way he'd have a change so I decided to stick with my CM and have the new pre-school. Finding a CM in my area for pre-school/school pickups has proved impossible.

Thank you. I think she'll be okay as the village one is the one she knows from the childminder's son going there (he's now at primary) and the nursery she is getting to know as I take her to the playgroup next door on Friday afternoons. I might get confused! CM knows I'm planning on using the pre-school hours. DH's company stopped doing the childcare vouchers which is a pain!