My girls turn 5 here in a few months, and that means they can attend kindergarten in the fall! This is exciting and nerve racking all at the same time. Kids grow up way too fast in front of your eyes.
What I have discovered that is more nerve racking that this is actually choosing a school for our girls. Consider the following:
There are currently traditional, progressive, Waldorf, Catholic, Christian, private, and public schools in town. I’m sure there are a couple I’ve missed.
Although school doesn’t start until August/September, registration begins in the next few months for lot of these.
Some of these schools are also having an open house/walkthrough type event so you can see what the school is about, meet the principal, etc.
Looking back at the various types of schools we have, each have a different focus on their educational foundations and practices. I know of one school that has a program that will effectively commit you to an 8 year process, since they approach the subjects in a different manner.
A lot of these schools want to interview your kids, (and you!) before granting admission. In the case of the Christian schools, there is a review/interview paper to be filled out by your pastor.
Our two girls are twins, but are definitely unique when it comes to topics they prefer and how they process information.
Costs look to be anywhere from $300 to $1000 a month depending on where you go. I get to multiply this by two for twins.
What’s a parent to do?!?! To pull out my cane and soap box for a moment, when I was a kid, there was one elementary school in town, and you simply showed up for class. The same goes for junior and senior high. I could be over simplifying things a bit, especially since we had zoning regulations and my mom never informed me of the process, but man, it’s crazy! I feel like I need to get a resume up for my girls and see about some scholarship options (some are available too if you need them) and start grilling them on interview questions or making sure they know their alphabet backwards in French. Maybe if I can get them to speak fluent Wookie or Huttese I can get them some unique scholarship money that way. Fortunately the tri-city area is doing a “convention” of sorts where all the schools will have a booth for us to check out. That will save us some drive time and give us some immediately comparisons.
All melodrama aside, when did learning get so crazy? Sometimes it feels like we’ve doomed our children to a life of ignorance if we choose the wrong one. Jen and I fully intend to supplement the girls with whatever they’re learning in school and help enforce what they are learning there, but it really seems like learning is taking on a whole new dimension, and this isn’t even high school or college yet, where things get really get diversified and intense. It feels like the race is already starting, and I was hoping to have a few more warm up laps.