Yes, it’s on. The single most important decision is upon us, and it’s (SURPRISE) not infertility related.
Kindergarten.
If you are a long time reader, you may remember me blogging about this topic a year or so ago. We were stressing the decision as to where to start David’s official education.
Since our daycare doesn’t do full day kindergarten (which saddens me, really, because I LOVE the school) we have the following choices:
1. Full day Kindergarten at a private school (closest I am considering is 30 minutes away… the other is 45 minutes away).
2. Full day Kindergarten at our local Catholic school.
3. Half day Kindergarten at local public school.
The cons:
Full day @ private school is very expensive and I would need to drive David back and forth on my own (and it’s the furthest in miles from my home). The quality of the education is unknown (depends on the teacher and the school curriculum).
Catholic school is full day, but only until 2:45pm. Aftercare would be needed for an hour or two.
Half day @ public school would be a nightmare. I would still have to find and pay for 1/2 day of daycare (which negates the free part of public school). The worst part would be coordinating the bus and the drive to aftercare. Technically, half-day at our public school is 2 1/2 hours total “in-school” time. And you don’t know if you get AM or PM session until 3 weeks before school starts. Yeah, I know….
The pros:
Full day at private school is least disruptive to mine and hubby’s working day.
Catholic school is only 1/3 the cost of private school and is just two miles away, very close. They provide free busing. And, they have the option to provide aftercare on site for a minimal fee. The school has a great rep for a good education.
No pros for public school, except to say that technically I am paying property taxes and school taxes, so it’s free but not really free. The quality of education is ok, but not stellar.
Hubby and I are leaning towards the Catholic school big time. S. has a strong affinity for the religious aspect (we are raising David as a Catholic). I like the school’s reputation. I must admit, I am not Catholic (raised Protestant), but we are parishioners there, and I’ve thought about converting. Pondered, lol. Those of you who know me in real life are probably shocked at that statement.
The big con for Catholic school, it’s harrrrrd to get in. Really hard. There’s a pecking order, and we qualify as we are parishioners (and we were married there and had David christened there). But we are not the big fish in the church. We are guppies amidst a sea of salmon, bluefish, and sharks.
Registration is Feburary 11th. I will arrive early and throw myself on the mercy of the staff to please let my kid in.
Please?
BagMomma 
It sounds like you have a lot going for you and the Catholic School. I went to a Catholic school for my first 8 years of school, even though I’m not catholic and LOVED it. Thought of converting too but in the end, it didn’t really matter.I’ve had all three of my boys in a private school setting for most of their lives with my 6 y/o currently in a Montessori school where he’ll stay through 3rd grade. I have NO regrets and feel that I’ve really given them a leg up and started them off right. The older boys have gone on to public schools but were always in the gifted/advanced programs and I truly feel that is because they got such a good start in the private schools. It’s expensive but SO worth it.Bubble.www.bubblewrites.blogspot.com
Who could resist your little one? Hopefully once they see him the staff will yell “application approved!” and you won’t even have to fill out the paperwork : )Good luck to you.