Pre K budget buster what would you do

[EveDallas]

That's like saying I know a secret but I can't tell you. Please elaborate on the many reasons OP shouldn't himeschool her 4yo for pre-k.

I disagree on the religious aspect. DS attends a Lutheran Montessori K which is exactly what you described above. We are Baptist and after 3wks he was definitely influenced religiously by the subtle ways our faiths differ. It doesn't bother us since we discuss them but it's amazing how fast they pick up on it. If OP's DH is atheist it could pose problems.

If you are military, there must be other families with young kids at home too. Start a playgroup! Post a flyer or hand out door to door. I joined one that way. We meet weekly at each other's houses or at a park or playground so it's less pressure if you don't want to have people over. Your week- you pick where it is. Now the kids are all in school but still get together as often as possible.

The spelling, punctuation, and grammar in the first post are atrocious. Those are three very good reasons, IMO.

 

[prncess674]

That's like saying I know a secret but I can't tell you. Please elaborate on the many reasons OP shouldn't himeschool her 4yo for pre-k.
.

See below. I hate to be the spelling Nazi, but when someone is contemplating teaching a child from home, I do think the teacher should understand the basics of sentence construction, capitalization and spelling.

This was just my first pass. I didn't point out any of the punctuation and run on sentence errors.

so my state has public pre k IF you can get a spot... they cancled registration back in march i've been calling weekly to see when the registration would be rescheduled for i last called on a thursday well we missed registration it was on tuesday (five days after i last called) i call weekly because they were giving me crap about calling every day so friday the DAY after i called they announced pre k would register 8-4 on tuesday they put it on TV so EVERYONE would know they said... I dont watch tv ironically dh just finished hooking an antenna up to the tv at 11 last night so we could get the local news again (been TVless for 9 months) and that is where i saw that pre k registration had been that morning... get to the school my DD is number 14 on the wait list go to 3 other schools even longer wait lists. I found 2 day cares in my area with room that participate in the free pre k program them are relatively dirty that the caliber of the children left something to be desired (i know children are what we make them but they weren't being very nice to each other that i could see)

DD is VERY smart my states FREE prek programs main goal is socialization knowledge of basic shapes and numbers and alphabet. My dd knows her numbers to 50 minimum knows alphabet back and forward and can read some... she went up to the TV before the antenna was working and sounded out what was on the screan... she said mommy what does "No source" mean i've never told her what that says i almost peed myself she just turned 4 she also does basic addition and knows lots of random facts about animals this weeks project we are "growing butterflies' with one of those kits... anyway i'm a SAHM have a 5 month old and i try to teach my dd well... i'm guessing i do better than the public pre k program so here are my choices

10000$ non religous pre k (we are not religous people dh is an athiest and i just don't know what i am all i know is i'm not catholic like my mom wants me to be...) 6.5 hours per day 10000$ tuition fees and books 180 days

4500$ baptist pre k dd doesn't know lots about religion we go to christmas mass with my family (who live 2000 miles away ... we are military) and we go to church when ever we are visiting them she knows christmas is jesus birthday but there really isn't any prayer in our house so I don't k now if this would be weird for her or not I am totally ok with her learning relgion though... anyway this is 6.5 hours per day 4500$ not super nice like the 10000$ job but way nicer than the state funded stuff at the day cares 9-12 children per class i think

option 3 we are military we can do hourly prek at the CDC (on base day care center very nice very clean well staffed top notch) for 4$ per hour up to 24 hours per week so we could do 7 hours on tues and thurs for instance for a total of 14 hours a week for 54$ per week or 200-250 per month. I have heard the program is very good and she would get more out of this accidemically than a state funded free program 6.5 days per week

option 4 we put her in the free state pre k at the mildly dirty day care i looked up both the ones that have spots... they have 3 bad things on their record one of them seems netorious for rusted playground equipment and broken toys the other it seem staffing may be an issue because the citations were for leaving a 2 year old unattended after everyone finshed lunch so he ate off everyones left over plates... my dd would never do this also both places had a very definate diaper pail odor i do believe she would be "safe" there physically but also might not fit in she is pretty darn spoiled i save and am careful but she has been to disney 3 times and is 4 years old has been to grandma and grandpas lots in airplanes has lots of toys (most gifts but still she has a leapster explorer, leapfrog, ipod touch, portabl dvd player and a basic computer along with a nice swing set that her dad ad i built and one of those blow up water slides any way spoiled compaired to the children i saw it these places... and it doesn't bother me these kids arn't beneath my DD in any way but would she be teased or ignored because she is of such a differant house hold? there are 22 4 year old children PER teacher in the free program no assistants.

finance... we can afford the 10000$ if we skimp and save (i'm talking ramin noodles and never going out anywhere) but then she will have to go to public kindergarten next fall and will be WAY ahead of the other kids perhaps board and getting into trouble

4500$ i worry that this might not be much better than a state funded pre k because it is attached to a religious day care i plan on going for a visit to see i only saw them online havn't been able to visit yet also my husbands car is worth LESS than this... i mean thats kind of hard to swallow for something i didn't even do when i was a child and my college gpa was 3.87

military base CDC... can totally do the 250 per month we will just not do some of the "fun things" we would other wise do but she would only be doing 14-18 hours a week here vs 35 at a private pre k or at the free state pre k but i believe the instruction she would get here would be better than a weeks worth of instruction at the "free state funded in day care pre k"

i am on a wait list for my local schools pre k (which is at least cleaner and less scary because it isn't in a day care smelling of poo) and if i get that i will take it (can always pull her out and put her in the CDC if it isn't good). But if I don't get the wait list what option would you go for? is preschool 4500-10000$ important? is free 35 hours per week better then paid for 15 hours per week at a cleaner safer location with better staff (also note i would have more time to work with her in this senerio so she would get further instruction from me vs the free pre k teacher with 22 children in her class)? I just want to do what's best for DD with keeping budget in mind DH makes decent money but the $ that would pay for this will come out of his reenlistment bonus or my DD's college fund if i did the 4500$ or the 10000$ choice i would probably take half from her college fund and pay the other half from savings. (please note i really don't see the 10000$ happening just wanted to put all my options out there and look for opinions).

thank you all so much! i know the disers understand if $ was no object i'd put her in the best school money could buy but she will be going public starting in kindergarten no matter what.

Now my favorite, was her editing comment.

Last edited by auralia; Today at 02:02 PM. Reason: omg i spelt budget wrong how is that possible on the budget board lol

 

[sissy_ib]

I don't understand why anyone would spend $10,000 for pre-k just to put the child in public school. All those children you think are of a low caliber will be in public school with your daughter, you understand that yes? If you want her to have social experiences put her in an activity. Dance class, mommy and me classes, music class where they have recitals with a group of children rather than only one-on-one, swim lessons, t-ball, gymnastics, art classes, young reading groups at the library. If she can already read, count and knows her alphabet she is already ahead of most kindergarten age children.

 

[auralia]

im sorry but i had to fix the typo in the orignal post it was just TOOO bad of a typo the rest are just from fast typing as anyone might understand having a 5 month old and 4 year old i was just trying to finish the long post in the last few minutes of nap time on my husbands work computer (mac) and i can't type on the thing the keyboard is so different from what i'm used to and i'm running on 2 hours of sleep so thank you very much for trying to call me ignorant but all i'm trying to do is the best for my dd

as for the children in public school being the same as the ones that will be in the pre k at the day cares this isn't true i couldn't get into the pre k program in the school my dd will attend we are on the wait list IF she makes it into the school i will gladly send here these day cares are the only place in the county that isn't full yet for the full day pre k... there has to be a reason for that! i can't imagine it's a good one. Every other one i contacted had a 20-30 person wait list and i contacted all of them.

i will also be the first to tell you i was told as a high school student i couldn't spell my way out of a paper bag... that didn't stop me from being the top of every class aside from math in college and absolutely shattering the curve i gave up school to follow my husband in the military i was an EDUCATION major 3 years done with the degree and we moved too often to allow me to finish because every state had a different requirement for licensing so i finally worked as support staff in a school on the east coast and after being exposed to the politics and back stabbing I had no interest in throwing more money at my degree when i couldn't stand the maryland public school system then we moved to CA were there for one year oct to oct not really a good chance to finish a degree then to GA where i had my DD I wasn't going to send my DD to day care so i stopped school and will go back (hopefully for nursing) when my children are both in school until then i want to do everything in my power to do the best i can to bring them up to be the best they can be. so if anyone else wants to be a judgmental, mean person thanks SO much i've been reading Shakespeare since i was 8 years old memorized poetry when i was 3 and attended full time college my senior year of high school and got a 4.0 that year and had an AA degree the year after i graduated high school my word people here are supposed to be nice let ye who have never typed fast and ignored spelling throw the first stone.

 

[auralia]

Oh, and my husband is a linguist. some people can be so mean

 

[dogluva]

im sorry but i had to fix the typo in the orignal post it was just TOOO bad of a typo the rest are just from fast typing as anyone might understand having a 5 month old and 4 year old i was just trying to finish the long post in the last few minutes of nap time on my husbands work computer (mac) and i can't type on the thing the keyboard is so different from what i'm used to and i'm running on 2 hours of sleep so thank you very much for trying to call me ignorant but all i'm trying to do is the best for my dd

as for the children in public school being the same as the ones that will be in the pre k at the day cares this isn't true i couldn't get into the pre k program in the school my dd will attend we are on the wait list IF she makes it into the school i will gladly send here these day cares are the only place in the county that isn't full yet for the full day pre k... there has to be a reason for that! i can't imagine it's a good one. Every other one i contacted had a 20-30 person wait list and i contacted all of them.

i will also be the first to tell you i was told as a high school student i couldn't spell my way out of a paper bag... that didn't stop me from being the top of every class aside from math in college and absolutely shattering the curve i gave up school to follow my husband in the military i was an EDUCATION major 3 years done with the degree and we moved too often to allow me to finish because every state had a different requirement for licensing so i finally worked as support staff in a school on the east coast and after being exposed to the politics and back stabbing I had no interest in throwing more money at my degree when i couldn't stand the maryland public school system then we moved to CA were there for one year oct to oct not really a good chance to finish a degree then to GA where i had my DD I wasn't going to send my DD to day care so i stopped school and will go back (hopefully for nursing) when my children are both in school until then i want to do everything in my power to do the best i can to bring them up to be the best they can be. so if anyone else whats to be a judgmental mean person thanks SO much i've been reading Shakespeare since i was 8 years old memorized poetry when i was 3 and attended full time college my senior year of high school and got a 4.0 that year and had an AA degree the year after i graduated high school my word people here are supposed to be nice let ye who have never typed fast and ignored spelling throw the first stone.

You cannot be serious. This is an absolute mess. I didn't even attempt to read it. Have some respect for the reader and use some punctuation. I had four kids under ten and I managed to use commas. WOW.

 

[prncess674]

Your misspellings aren't typos they are a sign that you don't know the correct spelling. All keyboards are set up with the exact same QWERTY keyboard. I am glad you are changing your major, since I believe that an educator should be able to spell and apply proper punctuation before trying to teach anyone on a particular subject. Best of luck in your studies. I suggest you brush up on your grammar and spelling before applying to any jobs. In a tough job market one wrong word or run on sentence can land your resume in the recycle bin.

 

[sissy_ib]

Oh, and my husband is a linguist. some people can be so mean

Good for your husband. This means that he, not you, completed a very intense academic course at DLI.
I have poor spelling as well, I also have spell check.
You need to at least learn to capitalize "I". Your 4y/o probably knows that.

 

[Amare06]

So many perfect people here. OP just wanted advice on what to do for her DD, she didn't come here looking for a critique of her writing style or spelling. She obviously has very little time to herself being a SAHM with two children, give her a break! I mean, seriously!

Sorry, I don't post here often and this is the reason why.

 

[amylynne01]

Wow. Just wow. This lady is asking for advice on preschool, and she's scolded for her grammar and lack of punctuation? She never said she wanted to homeschool - other posters suggested it. Wow.

 

[sookie]

I can find many reasons why you should not homeschool your child but I won't elaborate on them here. Of all the choices that you have listed, the one on base is probably the one best suited to your budget and your child's needs.

thank you!
no one is entitled to pre-k.
it sounds like you would be better off and probably happier just keeping her home with you and setting up outside activities for socialization - dance, sports, playgroup, whatever.

 

[sookie]

You cannot be serious. This is an absolute mess. I didn't even attempt to read it. Have some respect for the reader and use some punctuation. I had four kids under ten and I managed to use commas. WOW.

Just make the sentences shorter.
I have to say that between length and style... and spelling... I just couldn't take it anymore.
And believe me I am NEVER the grammar / spelling police!

 

[sookie]

Wow. Just wow. This lady is asking for advice on preschool, and she's scolded for her grammar and lack of punctuation? She never said she wanted to homeschool - other posters suggested it. Wow.

But as the reader - it is very difficult to get through those postings and the replies. I had a hard time understanding the point.
Regarding home schooling - well, it was brought up.

OP... just focus on the kid right now. Just find ways to socialize her and you will be fine.

 

[auralia]

Thanks disney people. I (capitol) love when strangers make me cry. I have had a miserable day. My dd lost her chance at the local school because I spend time with my children and don't watch TV. We were chastised by the local school this morning for not watching TV because then we would have known. I was looking for some impartial advice and now i'm just so depressed I'm crying. I gave up everything in my life to follow a military man. I thought this was a message board not the grammer police. I read to my DD every day at least twice. We write letters and discuss lower and upper case and for some crazy reason i'm defending it to strangers on what is supposed to be a "Happy Place" board (disney is my happy place as it is for most people here). Thanks for ruining the happy place illusion i used to get when i came to the boards. I feel bad enough about missing the lottery thanks for making it so much worse.

Also I do NOT feel my DD is entitled to pre k if i did i wouldn't be looking into spending 5000$ to send her there. I feel the school board should give more than 3 days notice for when registration is. I just want to what's best for her.

 

[amylynne01]

But as the reader - it is very difficult to get through those postings and the replies. I had a hard time understanding the point.
Regarding home schooling - well, it was brought up.

OP... just focus on the kid right now. Just find ways to socialize her and you will be fine.

If you find it hard to read, move on. Not everyone has perfect spelling and grammar, and her post had NOTHING to do with that. Homeschooling was brought up by other people, but the OP was attacked.

OP, I'm sorry that others felt it necessary to point out the errors in your post. Good luck with your decision!

 

[dogluva]

Just make the sentences shorter.
I have to say that between length and style... and spelling... I just couldn't take it anymore.
And believe me I am NEVER the grammar / spelling police!

I am not the best speller myself but this is just over the top. A period can go a long way sometimes!

 

[sookie]

Thanks disney people. I (capitol) love when strangers make me cry. I have had a miserable day. My dd lost her chance at the local school because I spend time with my children and don't watch TV. We were chastised by the local school this morning for not watching TV because then we would have known. I was looking for some impartial advice and now i'm just so depressed I'm crying. I gave up everything in my life to follow a military man. I thought this was a message board not the grammer police. I read to my DD every day at least twice. We write letters and discuss lower and upper case and for some crazy reason i'm defending it to strangers on what is supposed to be a "Happy Place" board (disney is my happy place as it is for most people). Thanks for ruining the happy place illusion i used to get when i came to the boards. I feel bad enough about missing the lottery thanks for making it so much worse.

auralia...
I have to be honest with you. I think you're probably giving her more than the public Pre-K would have given her at this point. Really, they aren't that great. And my kid is going to a public Pre-K right now. I really think that at the base you should be able to find moms (or moms outside of base) where you can do a playgroup. It is very hard to be a military wife and mom. Don't give up but I'm sure you have options - it will just take some digging. Look at gymnastics, dance, library reading times - all of those things will give her more than she will get at Pre-K, because you're already giving her the basics at home. Does that make sense?
If you are able to be a full time mom and stay home, you're doing the best thing for her. She doesn't need Pre-K - she is already getting what she needs and that is you.

I think sometimes we get so focused on something that we can't see that it will all be OK. Take a deep breath and think about some of the things people have suggested.

 

[prncess674]

Thanks disney people. I (capitol) love when

Please, please STOP! The word you are looking for is capital.

 

[dogluva]

Please, please STOP! The word you are looking for is capital.

You stop it, you GRAMMER police.

 

[auralia]

Ma'am I spelt capital wrong for reason. I wanted to see who would be the first to pull it out of the post and complain. That is why I added it in. I just wanted to see how judgmental and excessive some people could be. Now I know.