daycare decision???

I have 3 options for my 2 year old for the school year. I cannot decide. She was in a small licensed daycare one day a week last year. she loved it but for other reasons she is not going back. here are my choices. it's only for 2 days a week.

1)at a neighbors house with a boy her age (she went to daycare with him and we know the family) and a sitter. the sitter may take them to library class.

2)small licensed daycare. big age range. nice place and recommended. (babies through age 4) flexible with days but not many learning activities. a lot or organized play($10 more a week than first place)

3) regular daycare facility. 2year old room. the room is kind of small though and has that stale milk smell but i've heard good things and know two people who work there. very structured and there will be some small learning ($10 more a week than second one...so $20 more than first)

Message edited 8/3/2012 3:03:01 PM.

daycare decision???

I use a small in home daycare and we LOVE it,so do our twins. It doesn't look like there are many learning activities, but i can't tell you how much my twins have learned! If it was a place you were comfortable with, i would choose that. I like ours because it's small and cozy and more like a little family.

daycare decision???

That's such a personal decision and everyone's response is going to vary based on their own experiences. Personally, I'm not a fan of having that large of an age range in a daycare setting. One and two year olds together - ok. But four year olds and babies? Not what I prefer. DD was in a home with babies up to one year old that was run by a center. At one we had the choice of another home setting or the center itself. We opted for the center because of the structure. It's more like school than the home setting and that's what we were looking for. DD has been there a month and LOVES playing with the other kids and has learned SO much. I'm sure if we had chosen the home environment we'd love it just as much and DD would thrive there as well. But giving here that structured environment was important to us. So of your options, if you can swing it, I personally would opt for the facility (#3).