What type of school will your child attend?

Terri Lynn - posted on 03/25/2011

I have been a homeschool mom and also homeschool consultant for around 20 years now. My daughter learned to read at 4 and now at age 17, she is doing college work and helping me as administrator of a nonprofit. Research has shown that homeschooled students outperform public and private school kids academically and socially. I would never have it any other way. I am very happy with the results and love helping others who are homeschooling through my seminars and assistance ( my help is free). My biggest factor was providing the most superior academic education and plenty of extras (art, music, etc) in the real-world environment rather than an age-segregated children's prison such as a school where kids influence each other too much. We have enjoyed the home school magazines, organizations, and support group fun (bands, sports teams, field trips, graduations, etc) too.

Medic - posted on 10/02/2010

Well my now four year old attended a private school when he was 3 for prek-3, he went 3 days a week 5 hours a day, now that he is 4 he attends our public school for prek-4, he goes 5 days a week for 3.5 hours a day, and next year he will attend kinder at our public school. We live in one of the best school districts in our state and while I do LOVE the idea of montessouri and if I could afford the 1000 dollars a month for the good ones here in town he would be going there. If we do move and end up out of district I will either find a private or use my parents address and make the commute so my kids can attend the best schools. I would love to homeschool but I am one of those moms who LOVES to work outside the home as much as I LOVE my kids. I feel that staying home for the first year for each of my kids is beneficial as I am not keen on the idea of putting them in daycares. My husband and I are lucky enough to work our jobs around one of us being home with the kids at all times. I feel that there are good and bad to all the choices and for a while I was beating myself up because I felt like a bad mom because I couldn't stand the idea of having to teach my kids at home although I do like the results. I had to come to terms with what my needs are and what my kids needs are and the best way to meet them all. But hey everything could change as they get older.

Bethanie - posted on 10/02/2010

Personally! My children are going to go to the same school that I grew up in. My youngest son of 10 months will attend Early Education in Head Start next school year until old enough to attend pre-school. And my 3 year old is scheduled to attend pre-school next school year as well. I attended Petal public schools here in MIssissippi, which is highly reputable. It's the best school district in the state! (which some people would say "isn't saying much since it's Mississippi"...) We have an excellent graduation percentage and have had several graduates go on to prestigious colleges such as Yale, Harvard, and Princeton! Even if all of these facts did not exist, I know first hand, having attended from K-12, that the teachers are patient and kind, the cafeterial food is not that bad and not expensive, and the courses profided range from art, band, and chorus, to culinary, allied health, and molecular technology! So, in short, public schools based on personal experience!

Kate CP - posted on 10/02/2010

Megan: Yes, there are some Montessori followers who go a little to extreme for my tastes and some that don't follow her teachings enough. Always a good idea to really look into schools before you enroll.

Sapphire - posted on 10/02/2010

Also forgot the mention that I do a modified homeschooling during the summer. 2-3 hours a day, not every day, but it's part of our routine. Education is always on-going.

Megan - posted on 10/02/2010

Public Schools, at least for now. There are very few options in our small town and the special needs program is well developed and staffed (the advantage of living in a university town). If we move it will depend because I don't believe I have the patience or know-how to home school but have heard horror stories about special needs programs.

A word about Montessori schools, sometimes they are wonderful, and sometimes they are run by crazy people. I had the director of our local Montessori school tell me there was nothing wrong with my son (who has a pretty bad speech delay, cognitive delay, and social issues, and has been diagnosed with autism) we were just expecting too much and not letting him learn at his own pace. On the other hand, my niece attended one where they were really able to cater to each child and make sure they got everything they needed, so it really varies from school to school.

Sapphire - posted on 10/02/2010

My son attends public school. I have been a public school teacher for 15 years, so for me it was a no-brainer. I support public education, no matter how bad our reputation is in the U.S., I am still proud to support public education. However, I did opt to send my son to a school outside of our local school district for several reasons. The primary reason is so that he can attend school with his cousins. As an only child, I still feel it is important to "have someone" in school with you. Plus, my sister helps out with morning care, parents help out with all 3 boys after school. The other reason is that my local school district is undergoing a serious reconstruction/transition year. 2 schools closed, 100+ teachers & support staff riffed, budgetary constriants. I did not want my son entering Kindergarten during this pivotal year and I am so glad I made the right decision. I have heard a lot of stories about overcrowded Kinder classes and issues in general. He also attended a full-time Montessori style preschool last year and he thrived.

Kate CP - posted on 10/02/2010

Laura:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori_...

It's a method of teaching and learning developed by Dr. Maria Montessori.

Rachael - posted on 10/02/2010

My son will be going to kindergarten and regular public school. The biggest factor for us will be money. Plus I went to public school and it's really not that bad.

Laura Zoey - posted on 10/02/2010

Question, what's Montessori? I've seen moms say this here and I'm clueless as to what it is.......?

Andrea - posted on 10/02/2010

Public. My husband and I both went to public schools and I think we turned out ok...lol. They are really good in our area.

My son currently goes to daycare so until he is old enough to go to junior kindergarten he will continue to go there. They use the Montessori curriculum there.

Jeanene - posted on 10/02/2010

Can't speak for other areas, but here in Louisville some of the private/Catholic schools have tuition assistance if you qualify. It would be worth it to check it out in your area. Also, some of the Catholic schools here will give you a discount if you work for them or volunteer. Again, something worth checking into.

Aleks - posted on 09/30/2010

Public. Good private schools are too expensive, while the so so, or ok private schools are no different to the public schools on offer here, so why pay extra???
I would love to send my son (and later daughter) to montessori, but I doubt that my fiance would agree to that. He is pretty traditional and I don't think he would feel comfortable about going a slightly different path (his family would loudly and strongly disapporve... sigh).
While, homeschooling path would be same as montessori when it came to my fiance and his family, I on the other hand am not disciplined enough (nor patient enough, or good enough, etc etc) to teach my kids at home... I am not a natural teacher, nor do I know anything about teaching kids.
There are great public schools in the area we are in. I can always support my son (and later daughter) with schooling/homework/learning at home, and hopefully let them still follow their interests in what other things they want to "learn".

My 5 yo boy is currently in 4-5yo kinder (after completing 3yo kinder previous yr - 2 days a week of 2.5hr duration) which is 2 days a week consisting of about 11hrs in total. He will be starting "prep", which is like final year of kinder or grade 0, early next year (we are in Australia and school year starts end of January beginning of February).
We are very happy with the kindergarten so far (was good for socialisation, which was the reason why we started him there, not to mention he gets to play and do things there I wouldnt really do at home whether it be it cos its not practicle, I didn't think of it, or plain I do not have the right equipment). His preschool is a Reggio Emilia based, which is following the philosophy of allowing children to lead their learnings thru their own interests. :-)

Johnny - posted on 09/30/2010

Public school. Our school district is good and our neighborhood schools are well-liked by other parents. I have no qualms about putting my daughter in them. There are no non-religious private schools anywhere near where I live, and I would not put my daughter on a bus for an hour each way at age 7 just so she could go there. I went to university with several girls from that school, and they were not ahead in any way, so I also couldn't see spending the money. And we abhor religion, so religious school is out. I also do not believe I have the skills and training to homeschool.

Brittany - posted on 09/30/2010

Homeschool, the schools in our area are horrible and private is too expensive.

I didn't even know there were non-religious private schools.

Jeanene - posted on 09/30/2010

I'm going to be sending my son to a private school, especially if we are still living in this area. The schools here are horrible. We are also definately going with pre-school!

Kate CP - posted on 09/30/2010

I'm a big fan of Montessori and that is where I send my daughter and will send my son when he's old enough. My daughter is 4 and has been doing Montessori for about two years now. We'll send our son when we feel he's ready; whether that's 2, 3, or 4 will remain up to him. :)

Krista - posted on 09/30/2010

Gad, you'd practically have to go back to school to take a course to figure out what school to send your kid to, with all those options!

We live in a tiny village. It's public school, or homeschool. That's it. And I am NOT homeschooling.

Amy - posted on 09/30/2010

My son is 4 and is doing pre-school 3 days a week for 2 1/2 hours. We chose to do this because our son was never in daycare and we wanted him in school for socialization. Next year we will do kindergarten at the public school. I will probably look into a magnet school for him that specializes in areas that he has expressed an interest in like science. Depending on the costs we will probably have to go the public school route but we'll have to fight to keep him challenged.

Good Day! - posted on 09/30/2010

Public.

We live in a fabulous school district. It is small and supported by the community. I know many of the teachers and principals, personally. The schools provide more than excellent academics, but also enrichment through arts and athletics.

If we ever move out of the district, we'll homeschool. We'll likely never move to the city, where good private schools are an option. If we did move, we'd move to the country where both the private and public schools are lacking. So homeschool would be the best option. There are tons of studies that prove homeschooled children perform BETTER than traditionally schooled kids, and there are more ways to socialize a child than just school.

As far as pre-school goes, we don't know yet. Ask me in a year when it's time to start looking and enrolling.
We'll do kindergarten.

Jodi - posted on 09/30/2010

OK, my kids are already in school, so this is easy for me :) My son didn't go to a traditional preschool, he was in a daycare facility where they had a pre-school program 2 days a week. My daughter attended preschool 2 days a week in our local area.

My kids attend Catholic school (which in Australia is private, but receives some public funding) because the school had a great reputation. Both my children are baptised Catholic, but that was not paramount in my decision. My son has now moved on to high school in a Catholic College, because it is less expensive than the better private schools in my city, but it has a good reputation in academics and extra-curricular sports, both of which I feel are important. My daughter is currently in Kindergarten year. Where I live, this is a compulsory year and is part of their attendance at "big school". I haven't decided on a high school for her yet, I think a part of it also has to do with their friendships, their capabilities and their personality.