OK, so I'm not going to homeschool.....now what???

[natalieadw]

I was planning on homeschooling, but have decided not to. Now what???

My dd is a high needs, very bright (tested out gifted already) and spirited child. Here's my reasons for my indecisivenss...

-Love montressori, hate the price tag! We could possibly afford it for one kid, but what do I do for my second one (due in Nov)? Say sorry kid you get the shaft since mommy and daddy only have enough money for Bella to go to M school????
-If we go the montessori route, I have to start at preschool.
-I already have an awesome play based preschool that I have had lined up since Bella was 3 months old, but that would lead me down the public school path
-I was a special ed teacher before I had Bella, I know what public schools are like....and it kinda makes me nervous that her little spirit would be broken there I say this because I don't see her responding well to the authoritarian style of public school initially (and do I really want her too?).
-However, public school isn't all bad....I enjoyed it (I know... totally bad reason, but a reason nonetheless), and think she may eventually too?!
-Nervous about being able to afford M school (Im sure tuitition will be tons more for the upper grades, the school we like goes to 12 yrs)
-Nervous about throwing Bella to the wolves for middle school!



What do I do?? Please give me some advice!
Okay, that's all for now....please be gentle! I'm 30wks preggo and crazy sensitive

[ezcc]

your daughter is still little, plenty of time to change your mind as you go. I'd start with the preschool you like, and take it year by year. My mind changed a bazillion times about what school my ds would go to, and now we are sending him to a school that is just opening this year and I only found about in July. No way could have planned that out!

[Pancakes]

Your DD is very young and yes, you will change your mind several times.

I wanted to homeschool my kids but we ended up sending them to the cattle herd public school system where we lived. It really wasn't all that bad. I removed the kids in 3rd and 2nd grade and began to homeschool them at that point. It worked well for one child, but not the other. I realized that they needed to go back to school but was at a loss as to what to do. I couldn't afford to send both to private school, yet I didn't want to throw my now middle school daughter straight to the wolves after being homeschooled.

We settled on a public charter for both kids. I get MUCH more opportunity for involvement, there are all of 8 kids in my daughter's grade, and 13 in my son's. There is less of the cattle mentality found at this school because there are so few children. Do you have a similar option where you are located?

[lightheart]

I'm no for certain on how special ed is handled in the montressori setting, but do you have skills that they would want/need so you could work for the school and possibly get a reduced cost of tuition?

[annethcz]

I agree that you should enroll your DD in the school that seems best for her AT THIS TIME and just go from there and see how it goes. So much can change over the course of a few years.

I'd also encourage you to look into specific schools. Public schools can vary so much, it's not helpful to generalize about them. Do some research about the public school you're assigned to. Find out if there are magnet schools in your district or charter schools in the area. Perhaps a different type of private school would work well if you can't afford montessori. My point is that there are many options, it would benefit you to explore those options. And in the meantime, don't worry about it too much.

[mommyoftwo]

This is too funny-I think I wrote the exact same post a few years ago right down to being a special education teacher.

We had seriously considered homeschooling our dd (she did go to prek and that was great) but we almost kept her home for k. Longterm private school tuition is just too much for us with two children and I thought that public school would be terrible.

Well it turns out that after a lot of soul searching on my part that I decided that homeschooling just wouldn't work out for me. My dd can be spirited and high needs and our relationship can be a bit strained. I thought that homeschooling would make it worse not better.

We ended up sending my dd (and now my ds) to our local elementary school and we are really quite happy with it. Sure it has its problems but we are lucky enough to have a small local school with a lot of caring teachers.

Middle school-that is a whole other issue but we'll cross that bridge years from now.

[natalieadw]

Thanks ladies for all the responses! They truly helped me! I think I'll send you to the regular preschool, and just take it one year at a time

annethcz:
I have done my research. I'm a former teacher myself and know how to interpret scores and school report cards. I'm just not keen on having her attend our local neighborhood public school because their scores are soooooooooooooooooo low, and they are on their fourth principal in five years! i wasn't trying to generalize.



Anyways....
How do I go about finding out if we have charter or magnet schools around?

ETA: I did some searching and there are no schools either magnet or charter around. We would have to move pretty far away to go to one

[mags]

To the OP,

I agree with the others, you still have time. I chickened out a few months ago and finally decided to enroll my 4.5 yr old into preschool, which starts next wk. I have been feeling really guilty, b/c I thought I was going to HS. However, I was thinking it would not work, b/c I feel that I don't have enough patience and my oldest son is very active and can be very stubborn. I have a friend who HS that I look up to. She sends all of her kids to preschool and then HS them. Don't forget that your decision is not forever. If you aren't happy, you can always pull your child out to HS. I too would love to have sent my kids to a private school in our area, but in order to afford the tuition I would have to return to work and that would mean putting my kids into childcare, which I am not willing to do. We are doing private preschool and when my son is ready for K, he will go to our local school district. It is supposed to be good. I figure we will give school a try, if it doesn't work out, then I will HS. I have this weird feeling that sometime along the way, my kids will probably HS. What really helped me was to realize that things are not set in stone. Plenty of families that HS utilize traditional school for periods of time, so don't feel bad about it, like I said, you can always change your mind.

[mommy68]

Originally Posted by ezcc

your daughter is still little, plenty of time to change your mind as you go. I'd start with the preschool you like, and take it year by year.

I agree.

I've homeschooled mostly since my first child started school in 1999, but have put my children in both a private as well as a public school at one point. You can change your mind along the way and nothing is ever set in stone. Just take each year as it comes.

[natalieadw]

Your all right! I am sometimes too black and white, all or nothing. And thats usually when I'm approaching something new. I'm sure it'll all work out, and that I'll change my mind a million times, and that's ok I just wish there was a easy and clear solution!

DH and I talked lastnight, and we both pretty much agreed to move when it comes time for Bella to go to elementary school. We both agree M would be hard financially on us, and we would never be able to afford two kids going to M....and we both strongly dislike our neighborhood schools. So we are lucky enough to have one of the top five "Best Communities to Live" in right by us! The house will be smaller than one we have now becaus the prices are so much higher, but in the long run we both agreed it'll be for the best. Their schools are top ranked, and I used to work in one, so I have seen first hand the amazing things they do

[SAHDS]

Originally Posted by natalieadw

We would have to move pretty far away to go to one

Is that an option?

DH and I found the best school in the entire county and moved w/in a half-mile of them (the elementary and middle school).

OH, just saw your last post - good for you!