School is almost out. It's great for about a week or so then your down to keeping your kids busy and out of your hair! If your a stay home parent, it can drive you crazy.
So get four other stay home parents together, and agree for everyone to watch all the kids one day of the week. Oh, you will be super busy on the day it's your turn. But if you plan out activities and rest time, it will be worth it, because you have the other four days off.
You can make it easier if you have parents provide the lunches and snacks. The older children are really good at entertaining the younger ones, and it's good social time for the kids. The greatest thing is no cost for summer child care! If you're worried about the amount of children, then stick with families with one or two kids. That's a very doable group. For safety reasons, be sure to work with families and relatives you know well.
This is a good idea, but check your town/city bylaws first. In my city it is illegal to care for more than 4 children, per adult, at one time, unless they are related to you, for more than 4 hours. Even if it is a "swap", as the law considers this a "Barter", or "trade" of service, and they consider a barter to be a paid service. So you are providing a child care service, and if someone complains about you...noise, number of children, etc., Child and Family Services can actually take all the children into custody!
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