Nelson’s Acorn + Oak is redefining childcare

How entrepreneur Skye-lea Farr fills critical childcare gaps in the Kootenays

Acorn + Oak was built from lived experience and community need. — Photos courtesy of Skye-lea Farr

What looks like an “overnight success” is often decades in the making, and Acorn + Oak is no exception. For founder Skye-lea Farr, the idea of flexible, human-centred childcare began long before the business had a name. From studying childcare operations in Vancouver to navigating motherhood, relocation, and financial uncertainty in the Kootenays, Farr’s path unfolded slowly and organically. Each chapter—babysitting on demand, nannying, retail work, pandemic-era outdoor care, and even a bold attempt at a play café—revealed the same truth: That families need childcare which adapts to real life, not the other way around.

Based in Nelson, Acorn + Oak has grown into a rare, hybrid model that blends vacation babysitting, short-term local family support, and supervised event childcare—meeting needs that traditional centres can’t. Farr’s approach comes from a place of curiosity, flexibility, and deep trust in children’s innate capacity for play and connection. In an industry strained by shortages, rigid systems, and burnout, Acorn + Oak offers childcare that shows up where it’s needed, and proves that there’s more than one way to care well for families.

What inspired you to launch Acorn + Oak in Nelson, and how did you identify the gap in childcare services that your business fills?

The inspiration has evolved and taken decades to root.

The seed was planted in Vancouver in 2012 when I was finishing a college program about the various levels of running a childcare business. At the time I was the co-ordinator of an afterschool program and was thinking about starting my own family.

As part of the research we looked at waitlists and spaces available in childcare around the Lower Mainland. The results were wild, waitlists were so long. There was no space and if there was it was for full-time only, nothing if you only needed a day or two a week, or just mornings.

One of my fellow students and I started to brainstorm a solution. We started planning a drop-in daycare where families could book up to four weeks in advance for as little as four hours at a time. I left the plan when I got pregnant and had a baby.  When my mat leave was over, we moved to the Kootenays.

As a new family to town with only one income, we could not afford to put our daughter in childcare and there weren't any spots for infant toddlers even if we did. So I started answering social media requests for a babysitter  'one day a week', 'my family is in town and needs care', 'I need childcare for three days'. My then-1.5 year old came along with me and we started a little team.

The work was unpredictable and hard to count on, so I answered a nanny-wanted ad and we nannied for two families for over two years and kept up the here and there gigs. Once my daughter started preschool I kept up the “here and there” but also worked retail for stability.

Throughout these first years I found it really hard to connect with other moms with kids around the same age. We had been new to town with a toddler and nowhere to go. There were a few baby friendly groups but they always seemed to gather at nap time. When I would meet someone, especially in the winter we had nowhere to meet up (there was no way I was inviting anyone into my messy apartment). I had been dreaming about opening a play café from the moment we got here. A place where moms could come with babies, watch them play and have someone else make the coffee. I even signed up and qualified for the Self Employment Program through Community Futures two times when I thought I had found a space to open it.

Scarlett was now in elementary school and COVID happened. I took one girl into our cohort during the week so her parents could work and provided outdoor care for another, proving that there is more than one way to provide childcare.

Once school resumed, a restaurant space became available for the café right next to Scarlett's school. I bought the restaurant with what I had from a small inheritance and voila, dream come true. Once again with the Self Employment Program. Scarlett just walked to the café after school. The space had a big kitchen that I rented out as a commercial kitchen (something else the area was in dire need of) but alas, work hours were long, my time for my family was less and less and I didn't have the right set of skills or support to make a play café work in that spot.

Though I had actually been doing all of the things my business now does in many ways for years, it took starting the café to realize how unique what I had been offering was and that when I combined it all, would make for a kick-ass business.

Can you tell us a little bit about your services and approach toward childcare?

My approach to childcare and in life is to say yes, stay curious, meet people where they are at and everything is figure-out-able. It is less about me and what I value and more about how I can be valuable.

The business as a whole is a hybrid of three distinct branches. Vacation babysitting, local family support and a supervised special event play tent. Any one of those on its own would not pull enough weight to make it a viable business.

As a vacation babysitter,  I show up at a family's place of lodging with my toys, games and books curated for the age and interests of the children 6 months to 12 years old. I stay with them from three to twelve hours indoors or outdoors. There are many variables I have provided care in campsites, lodges, airbnbs, hotels, the park, and even an RV up at Whitewater. We can do an old growth forest hike, check out the salmon spawning or sit and read books and play giant Jenga.

The work I do with local families is rare, as I can fill a need for a shorter term and for a shorter time and with shorter notice. I will show up for as little as two hours. I work as a 'behavioural interventionist' with one family for two hours at a time, provide childcare for families in court on call, overnight for a family going to the hospital for their second child, early morning support when schedules don't match up with daycare start times, pick up and drop off from school to lessons, play dates at the pool while parents have an appointment, one parent is away and there's just an hour or two that needs to be filled, maybe a family is looking for a full day experience that goes above and beyond the usual babysitter's repertoire. I can care for the kids of two families at a time. I provide childcare outside the box.

The 10x10 play tent I set up and supervise is a hit at any event. I provide a play space with toys and activities for all ages. Anyone with kids is usually found socializing around the tent in the provided chairs and what would have kept them running around feeling disconnected at other events (their kids), is actually what brings them together and connects them. I can't tell you the joy it brings me to watch families light up as they peek in and see what we are up to.

I suppose there is one other branch to the business. I was asked by a local church if I would set up and supervise a nursery while the church is in session. As I am not a church-going gal, I said, "you bet." I open the nursery weekly for three hours.

How do you manage logistics, staffing and safety differently in more non-traditional settings compared to a fixed centre?

So far it is just me providing all of the services. The scheduling is one of the trickiest aspects of it all. I have three calendars. A huge one on my wall for my daughter and I. My day-timer with all the life appointments and the scheduling app that I keep track of clients. Hopefully everything ends up on all calendars and I don't miss anything. So far so good, but it does take a mental toll.

I have brought my 11-year-old with me to overnight jobs.

Safety is as simple as doing a walk-through of any new space to look for hazards, I bring my first aid kit with me everywhere, I reread  the intake forms before I meet a new family, keeping up to date with first aid certification, clear communication with families regarding expectations and plans, a current photo of the kids on hand and years of experience has given me the ability to read what a child's strengths and struggles are physically and emotionally from moment to moment and plan accordingly.

It took me a bit to find the right insurance because I don't fit into a clear box.

What role do you see for outdoor play, nature-connection and local culture, and how do you embed that into your mobile setups?

When I bring my tent to an event I aim to create a welcoming, something-for-every-child but not too much of anything space. I have predominantly wood and fabric toys and nothing with batteries. I have a lot of Lego, I guess that's plastic (45-year-old Lego).

Every relationship, age and setting is so unique . . . I would say that I get outside as much as I can. I bring my drum and tell stories sometimes, I will put a baby on my back and go for a walk in the rain, I will spend 5 hours at Kokanee Creek, animals are always a huge part of working with kids . . . songs and books, curiosity and creativity are what I lead with.

What are the biggest operational challenges you face, and how do you address them?

Because what I am doing is new in childcare, my main challenge is getting people to understand what I actually do. How do you look for something that you don't know exists? Marketing online, in person, attending events, volunteering, networking, referrals, or a website upgrade (are helpful strategies).

My car is old so that is a concern, but she fits everything I need for anything like a glove.

For the play tent, the biggest challenge is marketing. I have something that no one knows to look for, so showing up to events and marketing is huge. I go to the wedding expos, connect with party planners and offer my services and the tent for free for a high-volume event (such as the Canada Day celebration).

For tourism childcare, it's getting the right message to the right people (again, marketing). The local child support clients have come by mostly word of mouth and personal connections so I stay active in the community and never stop saying hi. I have gotten a few grants in the past two years that have helped me with equipment and marketing.

What’s one thing you wish more parents understood about selecting a childcare provider or on-site event childcare?

I would like people to understand how much has gone into every hour I provide. It may seem as though I just show up for a few hours, but the fact that I am able to show up for a few hours means that I cannot have a full-time job and that my income is unpredictable.

It is such an uncomfortable table to sit at—as I believe we, as a province, are failing our families, childcare providers and in the end, our kids.

As the region grows and changes, how do you see the future of childcare evolving in the Kootenays?

I think more and more businesses will start opening their own centres to support their staff. There are more and more at-home daycares and that will continue to pop up as long as babies are being born. The quality of childcare is either highly monitored and policed regarding policies and licensing requirements—or, on the other end, anyone can open a daycare without experience or skills and because people are desperate, they will risk a sketchy caregiver in order to go back to work.

Many childcare providers do not earn a living wage. A friend just got her Early Childhood Education (ECE) credential and is highly employable, but has chosen to stay with her old job as the wages and benefits are better.

Tourism is here to stay. I have recently turned my website and marketing attention towards the tourism aspect of my business.

How do you measure success, and what metrics matter most to you?

I don't really like to measure anything, I know when things have gone well or if things are a bit off. If no child asks to watch a show, I know I'm on the right track. I ask for feedback, I ask for reviews, I check in with the parents with the kids together so we are all on the same page.

Success is the look of excitement when I open a new bin of toys, when I transfer a baby from my arms to the crib without waking, when I change my goals for the day to match the energy of the kids, when I see a five-year-old at the library and they scream and run to hug me, the look of relief when I say 'yes I can' to a parent with an impossible ask, when I start getting referrals from families I don't even know because they saw me at the pool with a group of kids, when I can say no without feeling guilty because I am with my family, when I get butterflies before meeting a new family because I love what I do, when my family no longer raises an eyebrow when I talk about my career.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I didn't aim to do anything different or unique. I just started doing it. There is a lot of uncertainty while doing things without a guidebook for the first time, but I love problem solving and I love kiddos so here I am.