So you’re ready to make more money for your skills and want to lead your first Adventure—fantastic! Here’s your go-to guide for creating a good Adventure:
1. Think It Through
When deciding what exactly your Adventure is going to be, take a moment to think through what the experience will be like for you and the children involved.
The Right Ingredients
A good Adventure is a combination of a few things:
- You find it interesting (your passion will shine through)
- Children find it interesting (it’s ultimately for them)
- It’s special (this isn’t a typical child care experience)
The Right Focus
Adventures are all about the experience the child will have:
- Consider the ideal age suited for your ideas or how your ideas would change depending on the age of the child.
- Think about how the kid(s) will stay engaged the entire time—how can they be involved in every aspect of the Adventure?
2. Put Yourself In The Shoes Of Parents & Kids
It’s important to write specifically for your audience: the kids picking out your Adventure and the parents booking it.
Share Your Passion
The families reading the description of your Adventure should easily feel how excited you are. When you use language to express how passionate you are, it attracts others to what you have to offer.
Highlight the Value
When parents are spending money on child care, they want to know that they’re making the most of it. Make sure you communicate the value of your time spent with the kid(s).
3. Establish Your Communication Plan
As you know, an important part of the caregiver/parent relationship is clear communication. Because you posted the Adventure, the parents will be looking at you to take the lead on how everything will work.
- Stay up-to-date with your messages so you can respond to a parent right away.
- Make a list of all the variables you’ll want to discuss with the parent.
These could be, but aren’t limited to: number of kids and their ages, confirming the supplies they’ll provide, the location in their house for your activities, resources you might take for granted (water source, light, etc), safety concerns, emergency contact information, etc. - Ask the parent for details about the kid(s) to personalize the experience.
- Think about if you want to follow up with the family after the Adventure.
4. Plan To Be Flexible
With kids, anything can happen. Think through how your Adventure can be flexible for anything that could come up:
- What could go wrong?
- What could take way more or less time than you planned?
- What’s the backup plan if something isn’t working or the child isn’t interested?
5. Have Fun!
The bottom line goal in any Adventure is about the joy and wonder you can have with a child. Don’t forget to enjoy yourself and help the child to have an experience they won’t stop talking about long after you’ve left.
