Shopping for Schools

Jamie and I took the morning off work to visit schools for the girls. I feel like an imposter. Like I'm pretending to be the mom of a kid that is old enough to go to school. I just doesn't seem possible. Kind of made me sick to my stomach. The only thing keeping me from crying is that Pre-K is optional.


We have narrowed our choices down to 3 schools:

1. The Catholic school in our area, Pre-K thru 8th grade

2. The Southern Baptist School in our area, Pre-K thru 12th grade

3. The Public Elementary school in our district, K thru 5th

All of them seem to be good schools. Open enrollment is next month for the private schools so we have to decide quickly. It is a bit overwhelming making this decision. We will be losing our nanny at the end of the summer. So basically we will need to hire a new nanny OR enroll them in a full time Pre-K with after school care.

Jamie seemed drawn toward the Southern Baptist school (SHOCKER cause Jamie is the complete opposite of Southern Baptist). They have a fantastic academic program. The school has a ton to offer. Jamie and I would have to struggle for the high tuition rates. But education is very important to us so I'm trying to take money out of the decision. They have about 1200 students Pre-K thru 12th grade. Amazing school and I was shocked at how much I liked everything they have to offer. But I still can't get past the Southern Baptist teachings.

I was drawn to the Catholic school. About 300 students Pre-K thru 8th grade. I went to a Catholic school and I loved, loved, loved it. Today was open house so an 8th grader from the Beta Club gave us a tour. Everything was familiar to me so I'm sure there was comfort there. Spirituality and religion is a big teaching at this school. They are not horribly focused on tests, mainly learning and understanding. I like this because I think it will pay off in the long run.

I was pleasantly surprised with our local public elementary school. The school itself was really nice. They have the best playgrounds I have ever seen. They have a computer system in some of their classes that was bad to the bone. I have to admit I was impressed. What shocked me was that they have over 900 students in K-5th grade.

I'm just not ready to ship them off all day. It would be different if I didn't work from home and if I needed 50+ hours of childcare a week. Being able to work from home and having them here 70% of the time is ideal for me. This set-up is as close as it gets to being a stay at home mom. Decisions, decisions! Jamie and I will talk about it tonight, preferably in the hot tub with lots o’ wine.