Princess started kindergarten a few weeks ago. Our public school has full-day, half-day AM and half-day PM. Sounds great, right? Not so much. They apparently do not have enough full-day spots for all the families who prefer full-day. Therefore, they do a “lottery” for their full-day spots. Unfortunately, we did not win the lottery and they only gave her a half-day in the morning from 8:30-11. Do the math, that’s only 2.5 hours. Once you throw in snack and recess, not a heck of a lot left for “school”. That might be fine when BamBam starts school. Princess has always been advanced for her age. She already is trying to read. She really needs a full-day curriculum to keep her interested.

SO, we decided to send her to a private, Catholic school. Their enrollment numbers have been down in recent years and they saw what was happening in town with kindergarten, so they jumped on the bandwagon and offered a full-day program. It’s actually the school that I went for 1st-8th grade, so you’d think it would have been an easier decision for me. I loved the school and it was definitely a better environment and stronger curriculum than the public school at that time. Times have changed a bit and they appear to be struggling. I’ll give them an “A” for environment still, but I’m not sure that they’re much stronger on the curriculum. Also, now that I’m the one paying the tuition, I hate fact that we pay through the nose in taxes (just over $5k a year) and I’m shelling out $4k just for my child to get a quality education.

After a summer filled with waiting for the lottery results and the indecision that followed, we committed to sending her to the private school. She was very excited because her “boyfriend” across the street is a big 1^st grader and attends that school as well. They held an Open House the night before school began…that’s when I saw the first red flag.

Apparently, they decided to mix the full-day and half-day students within the same classroom. The half-day kids are there from 8:20-11:45 (still better than the public school!). In order to make it work, they decided to only introduce new concepts in the morning when the entire class is there. Red Flag, but I thought “OK, perhaps they will be reinforcing concepts in the afternoons, not a big deal.”

The first few days I picked Princess up at school, she was so excited that she could barely remember anything that occurred throughout the day. Once she settled in, she was able to give me a complete play-by-play. The 5-year old version of what transpires from 11:45am until 3pm when I pick her up was this:

“Um, we ate lunch. And played outside for recess. Then we put our heads on our desks. Then we played in centers”

This became a recurring theme, so I started probing a little more.

Me: “Princess, what’s your teacher doing when you play in centers?”

Princess: “She works at her desk”.

Me: “What do you do at your centers?”

Princess: “I colored today”

Basically, for $1500 more for the year, I’m paying for my daughter to put her head down on her desk and color. This doesn’t fly for me. Perhaps there are other parents who work outside of the home and cannot have their kids in the afternoons, but I can do better than having her put her head on her desk and color. I work from home. I’m just on the computer. I never even have to make a phone call.  She can easily do some worksheets or play an educational game and get more out of it.

I didn’t want to be labeled a PIA, but I ended up sending the Principal an email and having a quick conversation with the teacher. I tried to be as nice and PC as possible. I stressed that I love the school and really like the teacher, but I wasn’t convinced that Princess was benefiting from a full-day program and we would like to explore options. They pretty much think I’m crazy. The teacher thinks it’s fabulous for the kids in the afternoon because “they get to listen to classic music” (ah, ha! They DO put their heads down on their desks!) and “they get to work independently in centers and are really starting to create imaginative things…and they’re starting to pick up after themselves.” REALLY…that is fabulous! My kids get to color at home all the time and have no choice but to pick up after themselves because we, as parents, require it!! The school even threw me the “I totally understand if it’s a financial decision” card…which kind of pissed me off. Sure, there is a price tag involved, however, I never even mentioned money being an issue. Red flag number two.

I sent in a letter to the Principal this morning, so I’m anticipating a phone call…and dreading the sound of the phone ringing. Starting next week, we decided to drop Princess to half-days on Mondays and Fridays. My gut tells me that we won’t be agonizing with indecision next summer. If I had to make a decision right now, she’ll be going to the public school for 1^st grade. We’ll see what the rest of the year brings.

What is kindergarten like in your town? Any stories you’d like to share? Please leave a comment.

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