Help! Going nuts over kindergarten school decisions

[TranscendentalMom]

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[imani]

What about keeping your son in the montessori until your dd daughter is old enough for school? That would be a middle ground between paying for private school. Other than that I would say look for a school you think your child would thrive in...Based on what you said I really dont know. I personally dont like drama, espesially if that means staff turnover. Also I would try to find a school both you and your husband are happy with. I know how hard it can be! My dd is 4 turning 5 in the summer. We just sent back contracts for a private school. My ds is 2 and im looking for partime daycare for the fall. So far I have been to 8 places. It can be challenging to find good schools/ daycare. Good luck with your decision!

[TranscendentalMom]

Originally Posted by imani

What about keeping your son in the montessori until your dd daughter is old enough for school? That would be a middle ground between paying for private school. Other than that I would say look for a school you think your child would thrive in...Based on what you said I really dont know. I personally dont like drama, espesially if that means staff turnover. Also I would try to find a school both you and your husband are happy with. I know how hard it can be! My dd is 4 turning 5 in the summer. We just sent back contracts for a private school. My ds is 2 and im looking for partime daycare for the fall. So far I have been to 8 places. It can be challenging to find good schools/ daycare. Good luck with your decision!

This was my thought. Also, I forgot to mention that he may be wait listed at the charter school anyway - it looks like its going to lottery. To me, the happy medium would be to send them both to Montessori school and then decide later whether to switch to either charter or public. However, the conversation with someone who did just that freaked me out a little. She said her kids were evaluated "behind" and they even wanted to hold them back. Her advice was that Montessori is for those in it for the long haul. However, the transition into the charter school would not be as severe and that might actually give the school some time to evolve a little more.

[mommy68]

I chose Montessori because it sounded like the best option for you but I think traditional does too. Have you thought about homeschooling? Just a thought since you're home all day.

We also run a business from home and have 3 kids. Our oldest child is homeschooling now and our youngest two will come home next year, but they are in private school now and like you said, it gets old after a while of paying that tuition, plus tuition is going up again next year, which is something you can't see coming. :

[RomanGoddess]

I voted Montessori but on two conditions: i) the school is AMI or AMS certified and ii) you have not been hearing too many stories about kids from THAT Montessori school that they end up being behind. I would seriously question its credibility as a Montessori school if a lot of kids who go there end up being behind their peers. Montessori usually puts kids adademically ahead, not behind.

[Kirsten]

I voted the charter school. My second choice would be the traditional school. There is no way I'd pay $8000 per year (and it goes up every year) for my kids to be behind when they are eventually mainstreamed back to public.

My dd1 and dd2 went to something that sounds similar to your charter school option. No gym, no music room, etc. That can be overcome. I actually thought our music and PE programs were exceptional. If you have passionate, positive, think outside the box teachers/coaches, it is fine - better than fine actually. We also had trailers (we call them portables here) and required volunteering. Yes, there is drama between the involved parents and the staff when differences of opinion occur.

For me, it would come down to the teachers at schools 1 and 2. Which one has better teachers? That would sway me. The only thing you need to worry about with the charter school is the lack of special services if your children ever need those, and that the teachers don't get the backup/support that they do at a more traditional school.

If you are going to pay for private, you should LOVE it. Just about everything about it. I wouldn't pay - money that could go towards college accounts, retirement, family vacations, whatever you put value on - unless you really feel without a doubt that it is the right thing to do. Two of mine go to private currently, and we LOVE it, but it is still a lot of money. 20% of our annual salary goes to tuition.... It is almost as much as our mortgage each month.

[thriftyqueen]

Spending that much money and having no gym or library would get to me. No playground either. Kids need time outside for free play and if there is no playground, that would be hard to do.

The traditional school has great qualities and public funding so they probably have the latest technology and a good library. I work in a public school library and my son goes to private school right now (switching to public this year). He will have so many more opportunities in public in terms of technology, field trips, books. With public funding, there is just so much more access to money for extras. Private schools don't have the money for all of it. Of course, it is different in different areas and maybe where you are the private schools are far superior, but from your description of the traditional school, that would be my pick.

Don't get me wrong, I love my son's private school, but it is hard to choke down spending that much money when the quality of education is great in our traditional public schools. You have to take the good with the bad, but I would have a hard time spending $8000 per year on private school.

[MomToKandE]

I'd go 1 or 2. It sounds like either would be a good choice.

[rumsmyname]

I voted Montessori

but definitely agree with a previous poster that you need to find out more information regarding being behind when transitioning out. My experience is limited at this point, my oldest are in their 5th year/2nd grade and 2 different schools and children haven't been behind relative to public school. In fact, it is the opposite. So, my answer is Montessori but you definitely need to find out more information as suggested previously.

Good luck! It isn't easy.