Holidays that fall on a Tuesday or Wednesday are quietly some of the hardest scheduling weeks in childcare. Families don’t always know who has the day off and who doesn’t. Staff schedules get patchy. Attendance is unpredictable. And the centers that survive these weeks calmly are the ones that communicated early.
Three weeks before the holiday is the window. Send one short message that does three things: state the closure clearly, name what regular operations look like the rest of the week, and (if relevant) note any expected staffing or schedule changes.
Sample language: ‘Hi families, a quick reminder that we’ll be closed on Tuesday, July 4. The rest of the week we’re open as usual, Mon, Wed–Fri. We’re staffed for normal attendance — if you know your family will be out Wed or Thu, a heads-up by Friday helps us plan teacher coverage. Thank you.’
What Families Really Need
Keep the financial part separate and predictable. Most California centers charge regular tuition for holiday-week closures, the same way most companies pay employees for federal holidays. If that’s your policy, it should already be in your handbook, and you don’t need to reargue it every year. If parents push, your stance is calm: this is how we keep the program sustainable so we can be open the other 51 weeks.
Inside the building, plan for attendance dips. Families travel. Some kids stay home Wednesday because the parent took the day off Tuesday and Wednesday felt easier. You’ll often see 60–70% attendance the day after a mid-week holiday. Use the slower day for things you’ve been deferring — a deep classroom reset, a teacher planning hour, a one-on-one observation. Don’t waste it.
How to Communicate Without Overloading the Team
For staff, name the schedule before they ask. Who is working what hours that week, who has the day off, and how PTO is handled for the day. The frustration providers most hear from staff about holiday weeks isn’t the holiday itself — it’s not knowing what the week will look like.
And give yourself permission to take the holiday seriously. The point of being closed on the 4th isn’t to be unhelpful. It’s to honor a day that your staff and families also have a right to. A program that treats holidays as inconveniences will burn out the people running it. Lead with respect for the day, and the scheduling will follow.
Why This Matters
This is also consistent with best practice in early childhood education. NAEYC’s family engagement principles emphasize timely, continuous two-way communication, and NAEYC’s guidance on reciprocal partnerships with families includes both informal drop-off and pickup conversations and technology-supported communication as part of strong family relationships.
Final Thoughts
The goal is not perfect communication. The goal is steady communication that helps families feel respected while protecting the team’s time and energy.