Thursday, March 13, 2008

Preschool Quandry

It's amazing how complicated the little things get when you have a child. Right now I have the option to keep my child in daycare full time (2 blocks from me), keep paying $1,360/month or look into finding a daycare closer to home, which would also require hiring a sitter (another mom?) who could pick her up so that I can still work full time, which would of course either come out to be more or less expensive/beneficial/stimulating etc.

This of course led to other thoughts...how long do I have to pay for this full time care, at some point she will be in school right? So hmm...when will that be? Talking to my co-workers that have school age kids I learned that in Washington state, they go by the age of the child on the first of September. Her birthday of course is just a few weeks after that...and so...now there is another big decision to make! Do I think it is better for her to be the oldest, or the youngest in her class?

Options were explained to me that if I start her in a private school...I have a better chance of getting her into school a little bit early, then she can later transition into a public school. I like this idea but then someone else pointed out that...

Most private schools are religious (unconfirmed...haven't looked into this yet) and organized religion is not something that I am interested in exposing my young child too...however I do not see it as the end of the world to expose her to this for a short period of time.

So then there is yet ANOTHER decision...should I start her in a preschool that leads into a private school to guarantee placement?

So many decisions.

2 comments:

Jill said...

aren't there preschool options like montessori and other alternative types of education that are private but not religiously affliated?

Kristin said...

I hope so!! A huge part of what I need to do is research this topic more and explore the options. Cost, beliefs, opportunity, location & more are all really big factors that come into play that is for sure.

Thanks for the comment!