Babysitting
Originally written by "EBH" (Liz Hertel) - Babysitting head was Crystel “Ocean Thundermoon” Romero (revthundermoon@gmail.com)
What you did?
Babysitting, made schedules, supervised sitters, played with little kids, collected info from parents as appropriate.
What went right?
The music by Sarah Gardner was great—we need more program like that. The new toy was great. Ocean had fun & will return. Juice boxes rock.
What went wrong?
One of our sitters was lame. Someone was possibly drinking on shift; a sitter on the next shift found a schnapps bottle. Fast Track was sending people over to use our bathroom even though they had their own. The location was far too public. The quiet room & the active room need internal connecting doors, and each needs their own bathroom. One kid was caught playing in the toilet. We seem to have lost a box of toys. The location was too small—we had to close babysitting on 12/1.
Hotel-wise, they initially removed *both* beds, and forgot the cots. Persis & Lisa had to fix it Thursday (thanks to Christopher). Also, leave a bit more furniture; some of it was rescued back later.
There was a miscommunication regarding budget, resulting in too many hours being scheduled; we had to cut back. In the end, we were a bit under budget.
What should be done differently next year?
Do not rehire one sitter. Move to a ‘32’ suite (532 or 632, plus the connecting 31 bedroom), or, if staying on 14, move to the corner connecting rooms (1438 & 9), so as not to be so public. Buy more toys & books, or seek donations. (I can probably get donations – EBH)
What sort of schedule/timeline did you use?
Fri 7-10, Sat/Sun 9:30-12, 1-5pm, 6-10pm, Mon 10-12, 1-4pm
Are the any changes you'd make to the schedule for next year?
Close at 3pm Monday.
Vendors you used?
Target, WalMart (Diaper Genie refills were only found here), supermarket
Experiments to try next year?
More program, & figure out how to pay the sitters better in advance—there’s still checks to mail.
Any comments about the rest of the con (other divisions, hotel, ...)?
None from Ocean.