When it comes to your daycare center, first impressions matter the most. The first impression will color the opinion and will have a lasting impact on what a parent thinks of your facilities, your program, and in short, the ability to take care of their kids.
A daycare open house is a great opportunity for daycare owners to create a wonderful first impression that cannot be made via a newsletter or website. This is a chance for daycare providers to create a personal connection with parents and answer any questions about the facilities that they may have.
Let’s take a look at some of the suggestions for an open house.
Spread the Word About Your Open House
Marketing your open house is important. Daycare owners should promote their open house through social media channels and their own websites. They can distribute flyers across the neighborhood and send newsletters to parents. A large banner placed outside the daycare will also draw attention and encourage parents to take a look.
Tell families that are already enrolled with you about the open house and encourage them to tell their friends and acquaintances about the daycare. Word-of-mouth is the most effective means of marketing and can build a level of trust in parents that other types of marketing material cannot since the parents will value the opinions of those who have actually experienced the daycare.
Have Friendly Teachers Greet Parents
Get engaging and friendly daycare teachers to stand near the entryway of the facility and greet parents. Nothing makes a parent more nervous than getting a negative vibe from the staff. The teachers in your daycare do not need to put on a show, but they need to be personable and friendly, particularly to parents.
It is important to train your staff to introduce themselves to parents, make eye contact when talking to them, and have the ability to come down to the preschooler’s level if a child is on tour.
Make Your Center Sparkle
A clean, bright, and welcoming daycare center is essential to creating a great first impression. There is no excuse for keeping a daycare center messy and unorganized. All the classrooms need to be spick-and-span, well-organized, and well-lit so that parents can have peace of mind about the child’s hygiene and safety.
Put Up a Display Table
Put up a nice display table where all the parents can see it, such as in the center of the room or near the refreshments table. Some of the items that the display table should include are the tour checklist which will ensure parents get a view of all the areas of your program. The table should also consist of materials like a parent’s handbook, development checklists, an overview of the curriculum, enrollment documents, business cards, and daycare brochures.
Include Kids’ Activities
Parents are often curious about the kind of activities that a daycare center will provide their kids. It is a good idea to set up a separate table that is filled with children’s crafts, artwork, and games in a part of the room where children can be kept busy. Do not show children using the TV or screen, which can send a negative sign to parents that your daycare is overly reliant on the use of screens to keep children entertained.
Instead, display educational toys and art supplies that children can work on independently. Set up a block center or a coloring station so that kids can have a great time while their parents look around. Find out more fun independent activities that kids can do and display them if you want.
Provide a Small Gift
When the parents are leaving, give them a small gift that will double as a reminder of your daycare center. Make sure it is not something too expensive, but something small and useful like a mug, pen, or keychain that has the name and logo of the daycare center printed on it.
Get Follow-up
To make your daycare open house a success, you need to have ongoing communication with the parents. Follow-up is of particular importance since it serves as a reminder and will keep parents posted on their status. It will ensure that parents remain interested in your program and make the enrollment process smoother.
Bottom Line
This checklist is developed to help daycare providers make a great first impression of their facilities and to help parents easily understand what the daycare has to offer them. If you want more information on how to manage a wonderful daycare center, visit us at Standout Daycare, and take a look at our blogs that will give you all the details you need to run a successful daycare.
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