My husband and I are pretty conservative–I’m not talking about politics (I almost never am)–but just our general life decisions. We prefer things cooked from scratch–we don’t even own a microwave. I stay at home and my husband goes out and earns the money.
Even before Charlie was born, we thought that I might end up homeschooling our children. Not because we don’t like public school–I am a huge fan of public school–but because we knew that our children would get individualized instruction that was made just for them. Once we had Charlie, it seemed even more likely that he would need me around to insure that he got everything that he needs and deserves as far as an education goes.
We talked about it even more as he turned three and we knew that we would have to let somebody know if we weren’t going to send him to preschool.
The more we thought about it, the more we knew that Charlie needed to go to school. It was a tough decision–there’s only one other three-year-old in Charlie’s class, so I know that other parents must struggle with it too. Here on the Internet, I’ve observed many parents deciding to keep their children home for at least one more year or maybe more.
Here’s why we decided that Charlie should go to preschool:
- He’s not medically fragile. That is, Charlie’s risks of getting sick at school is the same as every other child. His lungs are healthy, his immune system has served him well thus-far. Medically, there’s no reason why he can’t go to school.
- Charlie is an only child. I can offer him all sorts of opportunities, but I can’t make him understand group dynamics at my house. Not only is he the only child, but he’s also the only grandchild. In his universe, he’s the center. I think he needs a little taste of the real world.
- He’s bored. I said it. Mommy is boring. We go shopping, we do little activities, but I don’t have a whole lot to offer in the entertainment department. School has other people and new toys and new books and on, and on, and on.
So for now, we’re trying preschool. So far, he seems to be having a great time and there’s no fuss when I drop him off.
What about you guys? What did you decide? Public school, private school, home-bound, homeschool? How did you come to that decision?