My daughter is attendingVacationBibleSchoolfor the first time this week. While she has gone to the Moppets program at our local MOPS chapter and attending Sunday School at our church, this is the first time I have left her some place besides with a relative. She would barely each breakfast she was so exited and practically dragged me out the door. She was the first child to arrive in her class so I waited with her until a couple kids she knew arrived. She had a fantastic time and cried on the way home that she couldn’t stay longer. All she could talk about was how much fun she had at “her special Bible school.” This made me realize two things. One: I enjoy having a couple hour break from my daughter sometimes. Two: she thrives on socialization and new learning activities. I know that when the week is over she will be disappointed.
I also plan to take her to practically every activity held at our local library for her age group this summer. They have a summer reading program that runs for five weeks. None of the sessions are very long but there are craft times, play dates, and story times. They have activities four mornings a week. I don’t know if we will make it to all of them, but for my daughter’s sake I will try to take her to as many as I can, though I will miss being able to drop her off and have a few hours to think. I do still have my baby son at home, but this morning he mostly slept during the time that my daughter was at VBS.
Many of my friends are putting their three-year-olds in preschool this coming fall. I didn’t sign my daughter up for a few reasons. 1: While my daughter is social she’s never been in a situation with all new people before. Even VBS had some familiar friends from her MOPPETS class. 2: Preschool tuition in our area runs at least $100 a month unless your child qualifies for the Headstart program. 3: I’m not sure I’m ready to give up my place as primary educator of my child. This last reason is one I will elaborate on in a future post. My husband and I are currently in a major quandary about what to do regarding our daughter’s education. I’m reluctant to send her to public school, though at least our local elementary school is a good one. But class sizes are still rather large and the school day seems long for how little material is actually covered in a day. There is a great charter school but spots are awarded by lottery so there is no guarantee of admission and the school days at the charter school are even longer. I would love to send her to private school but that is completely out of the question due to the cost of tuition. Which leave us with the ultimate option of homeschooling about which I also have my doubts.
For now I’ll watch my daughter enjoy VBS and think about the approaching fall some more. No matter how many times I run the numbers there still isn’t the money for preschool tuition but at the same time I know she would enjoy herself. Perhaps I can find some of compromise of home teaching, field trips and free local library activities that will keep her busy until next year when we will revisit the issue all over again.
I just wanted you to know that I love reading your blog. It is bookmarked on my phone and I check for a new one everyday. I know sometimes it’s easy to wonder if anyone is out there, especially if they don’t leave comments, but I am. 🙂
Thank you for taking your child to VBS, Sunday School and Church! And taking her to Library is good too! Mommas are the best educator for their child over Pre-schools. Thank you for being a good momma and caring about your child’s education. I had my kids in public school, but no pre-school and only my spouse and I watched them after school. We gave them lots of time at church and Biblical foundations at home. They went through a lot of struggles at school, but always kept their faith and testimony. If I were raising little ones now, I am not sure if I would have them in public school. So much has changed in the last few years since my kids graduated. So many much worse things being taught. I just watched an interesting documentary called, “Indoctrination”. (http://indoctrinationmovie.com/). I knew many things, but this movie was even more eye opening.