how much are you paying for preschool?

[carminex]

we really want dd to go to this amazing montessori school for a few hours a day. she'll be 3. we are in shock at the price but it is soooo much better then the other options.

[stillnominivan]

My experience has been that a non-co-op preschool costs anywhere from $225.00 to $ $400.00/month, depending on the amount of days they go.

[carminex]

ok, so this one is expensive- $650 a month for half day!

[Dragonfly]

Around here, we're going to be paying about $260/month for a co-op. It's five days per week, three hours per day, and I'll be co-oping about twice per month and have other miscellaneous duties. It's actually one of the less expensive co-ops. Private preschools that aren't co-ops seem to go anywhere from $400-$600+ for half day to $1000 full day. The Waldorf school I had originally wanted ds to go to would be over $10,000 for the school year for a full-day program, $4,000 for the school year for 2 days per wekk, $6,000 for 3 days per week.

Pretty expensive.

[luv my 2 sweeties]

Gosh, I am *so* lucky! My dd's awesome, non-traditional preschool (a Reggio Emilia school) is affiliated with our intermediate school district, so it only costs $1,200 for the whole school year (4 days/week, 2 1/2 hours each day.) Plus, we applied for finacial aid, and got half price tuition! (We aren't poor or anything, but I guess we were one of the only families to apply!) Being connected to the school district has it's disadvantages, though. They are not very supportive of the program in general because it is so non-traditional and somewhat child-directed. One of the folks in administration actually said that this school is "too good" for our area. (Meaning that parents wouldn't appreciate it sufficiently.) These people are in charge of making sure our kids get a "good" education -- whatever. It's funded for next year, but after that, things are still up in the air. I'm really hoping my son gets a chance to go the following year. I'll be starting homeschool with my dd, and I'd love to have the one-on-one time with her, plus it's such a great preschool that I hate to see him miss out! We could never afford a private program anywere near as good as this one.

[Milkie&Cookie]

Originally Posted by luv my 2 sweeties

Gosh, I am *so* lucky! My dd's awesome, non-traditional preschool (a Reggio Emilia school) is affiliated with our intermediate school district, so it only costs $1,200 for the whole school year (4 days/week, 2 1/2 hours each day.) Plus, we applied for finacial aid, and got half price tuition! (We aren't poor or anything, but I guess we were one of the only families to apply!) Being connected to the school district has it's disadvantages, though. They are not very supportive of the program in general because it is so non-traditional and somewhat child-directed. One of the folks in administration actually said that this school is "too good" for our area. (Meaning that parents wouldn't appreciate it sufficiently.) These people are in charge of making sure our kids get a "good" education -- whatever. It's funded for next year, but after that, things are still up in the air. I'm really hoping my son gets a chance to go the following year. I'll be starting homeschool with my dd, and I'd love to have the one-on-one time with her, plus it's such a great preschool that I hate to see him miss out! We could never afford a private program anywere near as good as this one.

That sounds like a great school! If you don't mind my asking, where is it? I live in Royal Oak, so I might be able to check it out for DS!

[luv my 2 sweeties]

Hi Tina,
It's just south of East Lansing (actually a Mason address, but closer to E.L.) so it might be a bit of a drive from Royal Oak. It is a wonderful preschool, though -- love it.

Edited to add: I think you have to live in Ingham County anyway, since it's part of the Ingham ISD.

[Milkie&Cookie]

Oh well! I work in Okemos one day per week. I love it there!

[IdentityCrisisMama]

I just enrolled Aya in a small private Waldorf inspired preschool. She can stay there from 8-2pm – 5 days/week. We only have to pay 175 Euros/month (about 200 USD). I do have to prepare an organic meal 1x/month but that is actually exciting to me.

[mammastar]

We signed my daughter up for preschool 2 mornings a week starting Sept (she will be 3), but now we're moving to a new city and she won't be able to go. It was a super-nice one, in a very bright purpose-built space in an elementary school. It was $100 Canadian/month, which would have been a great bargain!