The school year runs on a hundred small logistics. The ones that go wrong are almost always the ones nobody wrote down — who is allowed to collect, what happens if the bus is late, whether Thursday is swimming.
Work through this before week one rather than during it.
The school run
**Exact pickup time and location**, including where the gate actually is rather than the school address.**Who is authorised to collect**, by name, and confirm the school has that person on file. Schools will not release a child to someone who is not on their list, however sensible the arrangement is.**What happens if your caregiver is delayed** — who the school calls, and what your child is told to do.**Whether transport is needed**, and whether it has been arranged in advance. Caregivers can drive children when that is set up beforehand; it is not something to sort out on the first morning.**After-school pickup and care is its own service** at $36/hr — the pickup, the trip home, snack and homework help. It is distinct from standard daytime childcare and priced differently.The routine
**Snack and dinner** — what is allowed, what is not, and what has actually been eaten by 4 PM.**Homework** — how much help you want. This one varies enormously between families and is worth being explicit about rather than leaving to a caregiver's judgment.**Screens** — the rule, and who enforces it.**Activities** — the weekly grid, with kit lists. Swimming on Thursday is only useful information if the swimming bag is also part of the arrangement.**Bedtime**, if care runs that late.The calendar
**Pull the school district calendar now** and mark every professional development day, early dismissal and closure for the year. These are published well in advance, and a PD day booked in September for a date in January is the easiest childcare you will ever arrange. There is more in [occasional childcare: date nights, PD days and sick days](/blog/occasional-babysitting-bc-date-nights-pd-days-sick-days).**Mark the awkward weeks** — the ones either side of winter and spring break, where the school calendar and your leave do not line up.**Note that bookings need 24 hours' notice.** Anything on the calendar can be booked ahead; the calendar is the point.The September illness wave
It arrives every year and every year it is a surprise. New classroom, new bugs, usually within the first month.
**Know your school's and daycare's exclusion policy** — how long a child must be symptom-free before returning.**Decide now who covers the first sick day**, because it is coming.**Same-day sick care is arranged by phone**, not through the booking form: (604) 283-2829. The 24-hour rule applies to online bookings; the office is not bound by it.Medical and emergency
**Allergies, in writing**, with severity and where an EpiPen is kept.**Medication** — what, when, and who administers it.**Emergency contacts**, in order, and what counts as an emergency worth interrupting you at work for.**Any additional needs**, and what actually helps. Medical needs and care instructions are collected per child on every booking so a caregiver arrives briefed rather than improvising — see [care for children with additional needs](/blog/care-for-children-with-additional-needs).The handover habit
The families for whom this works best have a five-minute end-of-day handover and a shared note somewhere — what was eaten, what homework was done, anything that came up. It sounds like overhead in week one and saves an argument in week six.
Who is in your house
Every Puffin caregiver is an employee of Puffin, insured through Puffin, and cleared through the provincial CRRP vulnerable-sector check before any placement. First-time in-home bookings also include photo ID verification for the household, reviewed before a caregiver is dispatched — worth doing in August rather than the night before school starts.