Preschool is shut till June and every summer camp starts at 4. What did you do with your 3 year old?

peach_tiffin_291413 May 2026

Our daughter's preschool closed for the holidays at the end of April, and I hadn't realised how much of my working day it was quietly holding up. I'm hybrid, so in theory I can be home with her. In practice my best focus hours are 10 to 1, which are also her loudest. Every summer camp I've called says 4 and above. The options I can see are a daycare near us that takes a few 'summer children', asking my sister-in-law across town to have her two mornings a week, or working early mornings and late nights till June. Has anyone tried a summer-only daycare at this age? Did she settle for such a short stint, or was it tears every morning?

1 comment

amber_spoon_41213 May 2026
The relatives route got us through two summers ago, when ours were 3 and 4. It helped, but it was a relay: one aunt on Mondays, granny midweek, us the rest. Tiring to organise, the kids loved it. We looked at summer daycare but never tried it.
- amber_sketch_927713 May 2026
  Our daughter's daycare stays open through the summer and does take a few older children just for May. From what I see at drop-off, the ones who come every day settle in about a week; the ones who come two or three days a week take longer. That's one daycare, though.
- teal_wave_953314 May 2026
  Useful to know. Ours is a month old and our planning only goes as far as daycare at six months. Didn't realise preschools shut for the whole summer.