Preschools can be a giant chunk of change, so some parents are banding together and forming their own unofficial co-op preschools. Tuition is minimal and mainly goes to paying the teacher (that they get to choose), and they save on overhead by rotating the location between different family’s homes. There are definitely some considerations to figure out. People who’ve done it before advise:

* Set an age range – a max 6 month difference seems to work best
* Know your state laws – in New York, if you take care of more than two unrelated children for longer than 3 hours, you need to register with the Department of Health, so some Brooklyn pre-school co-ops make sure to limit sessions to less than 3 hours.
* Don’t be crazypants – “At our initial meeting I looked at everyone and said nobody is suing anybody,” the starter of one co-op preschool told Brooklyn Based.

How to Start a Co-Op Preschool [Brooklyn Based] (Thanks to c-side!)

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