Struggling

I just want to say that I can sympathize with what you are going through and we may have to cross that bridge ourselves. DS is extremely blessed to have a full paid scholarship to our school because of his past special needs issues. We are extremely grateful but I'm starting to think of DD coming up as she turns three. We are of very modest means and I'm a SAHM which means that if we had to pay even for one tuition we couldn't afford it..

To make a long story short DH is in civil engineering and was laid off after drastic pay cuts because of the current economy and can't find a job. Basically I can't see us making more money than he was before, even when he does find a job to finance DD's education there. So I'm struggling with what we do when that time comes. Do I keep DS in there since he has the luxury of a full paid scholarship and homeschool DD or put her in public school? I wonder if that would be awkward or if she would become resentful when visiting the school for community events.

For now we are just playing it by ear and giving DS the opportunity as long as we can. You never know what may come along or how your circumstances can change for the good or bad, kwim?

What I will probably do is use a Waldorf homeschool curriculum for DD when that time comes. There are some great ones out there. That seems like a happy medium if you can't afford the tuition.

Oh, and on a side note I have had a lot of cultural issues being one of the families who couldn't afford to send my child there if I had to. I notice a definitely difference in my lifestyle and the other families which can feel isolating...just something else to think about in your decision. Good luck.

Why not go through the appeal -- explain what you said in your post, that you really want Waldorf but have three children to consider, etc. You can also ask if there is some service you could provide for an additional tuition discount -- our school recently started a work exchange program to receive tuition credits (mostly classroom cleaning, gardening hours, etc.) -- you could propose something like this if you're open to it.

I have a "build it and they will come" attitude about this -- my dh was skeptical about our ability to pay (we have two children) but I was so passionate about it we took the leap -- and what do you know, they were unexpectedly short a kindergarten assistant and I took the job -- it's exactly when my ds is in school so I didn't lose any time with him, and it paid for 75% of the tuition. There are lots of things out there to help that you don't know of yet!

No matter how many years you can afford, it's one more year your child/ren will get of Waldorf...

just wanted to share my family's experience. we homeschooled with live ed for kindergarten, then took the leap to waldorf school, having faith that we'd manage a way to continue. we'd made big sacrifices for two years, then the third year, our tuition assistance was reduced (less money in the pot). we moved to a smaller place (which ended up being a disaster with us being homeless for two months) to try and afford it. my son was to be in third grade at the time. he ended up going to a public magnet montessori program which has been fantastic. however, third grade is one of the most difficult years to change over from waldorf as the academic gap is the largest. with two years at the montessori now, we have made the decision for next year to finally hold him back a year. luckily, he is in a multi-level grade classroom, so it won't be a big deal, but it could have been, certainly.

good luck, it is a very difficult decision.