Nursery Schools...so expensive with twins!

I live in Los Angeles and it's supercompetitive to get kids into preschools here--private or not...I've been taking tours of schools and even though my babies are only 10-months am feeling how compeitive it is at this age! As I'm going on these tours, I appreciate the school atmosphere, the crafts, the learning I'm seeing but I'm also thinking, I'd be paying somewhere in the range of $510/month PER child for TWO days of school per week. Times two that's over a grand a month. We CANNOT afford that.

I'm an elementary school teacher so I'm thinking about just keeping them home with me until they are 3 1/2-4 years old or until they are ready for Pre-K at the public elementary school they'll be attending. I can teach them the alphabet, how to write their names, start them on reading, come up with fun, exciting arts and crafts projects as well as enroll them in a gym class, take them to the aquarium, museums, etc... teach them about things...I've also made some wonderful twin mommy friends and we go on park dates, have playdates, so my babies are around other kids...Teacher or not, I feel like as their mom I can teach them! I plan on staying home with them until they are in Kindergarten, at which time I want to go back to teaching...Anyways, I was curious to know what others think about nursery school vs. keeping your kids at home with you.

 

Whatever works for you really. Lara has always been in full time nursery as I went back to work. I kept her in when I had the boys . The boys now do 2 days a week which I agonised over but in the end keeping my sanity won. Very expensive but fortunately we can afford it and they love it. When it comes down to what's best - I think there are pros and cons to both.

 

I think it sounds like you have a great plan!! :good:

We visited schools recently for my girls. They will be old enough to start in September. But...if we want them to go next year I would need to add on a few more hours to my very part time working schedule. I had to decide what is more important, working more to send them to preschool 5 hours per week, or holding off another year so I can spend more time with them. Since we plan on the girls being our only children, I opted to work less and be with them more. I can't ever get these years back.

I'm not a teacher by trade, but I plan on doing the things you mentioned above. There are some great websites out there to help plan preschool activities at home. Hopefully I will be disciplined enough to make a schedule and stick to it.

 

Wow that is expensive. Usually NY is on par with LA, but here I've found some great preschools that are MUCH cheaper. I'm still on the fence about preschool. Our school district has a pre-K program so we think our girls might do that at 4 1/2, but we are still weighing the pros and cons of preschool at 3 1/2- as opposed to one or two structured activities a week (library, dance, gymnastics, etc). GL with your decision!!!

 

I could have TRULY written your post. I'm also a teacher

Um, YA.. as long as I'm home AND a teacher... I'm not paying to send them somewhere!! Seems counterintuitive to me. They have 20 YEARS plus to be in school. How many years do they get to spend at home with Mom??? Not nearly as many as they should!

Mine will stay with ME until they go to K. I take them out EVERY day and we have tons of friends so I'm not worried about anything.

If I was rich or had a pt job or something then maybe but I see no need for it. I just can't justify doing it PLUS, I don't want to!

Do what you feel is right. There should be no pressure.

 

Because of the finacial restraints, I think you have a good plan. I am also a teacher, but I also felt that it was VERY important for my children to attend preschool. They needed to learn how to deal with a classroom situation, and how to be with adults other than mom and dad. It turned out that one of my boys had/has a severe expressive speech delay--it wasn't that he couldn't talk, he couldn't get the words out to say what he needed to say to express himself. Had I kept him home until K, I probably would have missed it, and he would have had a horrible time in K. Because we were able to catch it--partially through behaviors exibited in preschool, he was able to attend the special needs preschool program. He was completely dismissed from special ed when he went to K, and is doing great in 1st now.

My point is, while I do understand that sometimes it is difficult/impossible to send them to preschool, the availablity of Pre-K in your situation, makes keeping them home until they are 4 very doable!

 

Wow!! That is expensive!! Is that for a 1/2 day program?

We are lucky in that there are a lot of church run pre-schools in town and the prices are pretty decent. My twins started at 3 1/2 going 2 half days a week and we pay $236 a month (we get a 10% discount on one). They will go three days next year and I think it's going to cost us $340 or so.

I think what you are talking about is fine. I would check out the homeschooling forum for some suggestions of websites/programs you can do with them to get them K ready. Good luck!!

 

Our area is not hard to find programs---but my girls are not PT and we simply dont have a lot of $ so that limited our options. This year we did 2 mornings a week for 2 hours (4 hours a week) of a church preschool and it was great. It was just enough to get some things done , but I can spend a lot of time with them and we still can do all our community activities.

Next Fall, they may qualify for a free Pre-K program. Do you have any in your area? That hopefully will help teach them neede social skills and group learning before K. I have taught them to write names, numbers, letters, etc already at home but there is no way I can teach some skills (work with another adult, get along in a large group, wait your turn, etc).

I would say there is NO right/wrong answer. We may keep the girls home next year if they do not qualify for the Pre-K program. I think it will all work out in the end since we are very active in local things.

If $ is tight- enjoy them at home. If you can or want to do preschool. I dont think you will regret either one!


KC

 

That is expensive! I think you have a great plan in place. Personally I feel sending them to nursery school versus keeping them home is really based on what works the best for your family. DH and I are thinking about starting ours in a part time program when they hit 18 months but we are still discussing it and figuring out finances. Good luck on your decision!

 

That is ridiculously expensive! Wow, and I thought we paid a lot.

Are there any churches near you that offer mom's morning out or something like that, as an alternative to traditional preschool? That might be a lot cheaper.

I see nothing wrong with keeping kids home, especially since you're a teacher, and because of the financial constraints.

That said, I think what my older DD has gotten from preschool has been invaluable. I taught her letters/numbers/colors/how to read myself at home, but at school she has learned how to deal with a bully, how to wait in line, how to take turns, how to sit down at a table with 10 other kids and open her lunch and eat in an orderly fashion, how to gauge if she needs a jacket/hat/gloves before going out on the playground, how to take instruction from adults other than mommy and daddy, etc. -- basic life skills. I posted recently that I was really proud of her, because she sensed that another kid was really shy/awkward, and she went out of her way to make him feel included.

These are things that are hard to teach at home. So, all else being equal, I would opt to send them, and not for academic reasons -- my DD's preschool isn't academic at all. But I think there are a lot of intangibles that they learn from being in a group setting...

 

I agree - it is a really tough call! I actually considered going back to work full-time solely so we could afford to send the boys to a very expensive, well-reputed pre-school program this fall at 2y3mo. After I toured the schools, I couldn't imagine my kids thriving more at school than they currently do at home. I will have to work extra-hard to ensure they have a good mix of social activities, but I think this is the right decision for us. These very well may be our only kids, so why send them off so young? In our case it would have had to be all day, every day because that's the only way I could make enough money to afford school at all... and if we could afford just a couple days per week, we would do it, for sure. But we can't, so we won't, and I am sure they will be just fine.

 

Because of $ (it would have been at least $1200/month for both at the places I looked) my husband works second shift and stays home with them for most of the day. We have a babysitter come for a few hours each day, which runs me about $650/month. It's still painful, but it's better than me not working or him not working.

Of course, I never get to see him. Hopefully when they turn 3, I can get them part time in a VPK program (subsidized by the state, voluntary pre-kindergarten) and then into Pre-K. I want them to be around other children and be in that sort of structured environment (and I want to see my husband again!!)

 

QUOTE(Becca34 @ Apr 17 2009, 11:09 AM) [snapback]1277456[/snapback]
That said, I think what my older DD has gotten from preschool has been invaluable. I taught her letters/numbers/colors/how to read myself at home, but at school she has learned how to deal with a bully, how to wait in line, how to take turns, how to sit down at a table with 10 other kids and open her lunch and eat in an orderly fashion, how to gauge if she needs a jacket/hat/gloves before going out on the playground, how to take instruction from adults other than mommy and daddy, etc. -- basic life skills. I posted recently that I was really proud of her, because she sensed that another kid was really shy/awkward, and she went out of her way to make him feel included.

These are things that are hard to teach at home. So, all else being equal, I would opt to send them, and not for academic reasons -- my DD's preschool isn't academic at all. But I think there are a lot of intangibles that they learn from being in a group setting...



The reasons you mention above are EXCELLENT reasons as to why I DO want them to have some sort of schooling prior to Kindergarten. I'm not throwing in the towel yet on schools...am still researching and trying to find something they could do eventually for 2 days/week! It just takes the pressure off knowing I can keep them with me and they will still have fun, learn, and be socialized!

 

It is just as expensive here in DC and yet I cannot afford to stay home (am also a teacher) so I hired a nanny to watch the kids during the day and implement lesson plans and daily routines I tell her to follow.

 

QUOTE(paulacraft1 @ Apr 17 2009, 01:40 PM) [snapback]1277626[/snapback]
It is just as expensive here in DC and yet I cannot afford to stay home (am also a teacher) so I hired a nanny to watch the kids during the day and implement lesson plans and daily routines I tell her to follow.



Okay, I just now realized that your babes are only 10 months old! So, you've got a lot of time yet to deal with this.

We did two mornings a week at age 2, three morning at age 3, and four mornings at age 4 -- which worked pretty well for us. But honestly, that 2-year-old classroom was totally not necessary -- it was more of a break for me!

 

QUOTE(Becca34 @ Apr 17 2009, 01:23 PM) [snapback]1277728[/snapback]
Okay, I just now realized that your babes are only 10 months old! So, you've got a lot of time yet to deal with this.

We did two mornings a week at age 2, three morning at age 3, and four mornings at age 4 -- which worked pretty well for us. But honestly, that 2-year-old classroom was totally not necessary -- it was more of a break for me!



Makes me feel good to hear this! Thanks for sharing this

 

That sounds expensive.

I have no intentions of sending my kids to nursery school - I simply cannot afford it.
My kids may qualify for our township's early childhood program since they are currently receiving EI services and may qualify when they 'age out' at 3 years old, next month.
But if they don't qualify, I will just teach them myself at home.

I'm 38 and didn't go to nursery school (not uncommon for the early 70's) and I turned out just fine (actually if I'm being honest - better than fine, academically speaking - my mom did a great job teaching us at home)

Do whatever you can afford to do. I'd rather save the money for college.

 

That's insane... I haven't started to look at prices here but I know we wouldn't be able to afford that much. I think you have a great plan.

I don't think mine will go to preschool before 3 anyway, but we'll probably start with 3 mornings or something...

 

My background is in education as well. Right now, my plan is to keep my kids home until they are 4 then putting them in preschool part time for a year, then onto kindergarten. I honestly believe they get as much from me as they would somewhere else.

 

hello, neighbor!

first off, i didn't realize you were a teacher! me, too! lausd? (and, omg, how sad what's going on there right now, huh? what a mess!). anyways, yes, nursery schools are really expensive. or, they can be. the one we are going to use is only $375/child for five days, which we rpobably won't even do five days... i would totally suggest something where they can just go a few days/week.... did you have sue's class yet where she talks about nursery schools?

anyways, i do'nt think it's totally necessary. lausd has pre-k starting at age 4, and they are great programs. epseically since you have two, and you've taken lots of other classes adn stuff, i think yours would be totally fine w/'official' nursery school.

take care, jl

ps: one last thing... i don't agree about it being too early to worry about it. unfortunatley around here, people get on waiting lists really early!

 

Here is my take, living in Southern CA (although I am sure this happens in many other areas):

1) There are lots of expensive preschools. They offer lots of bells and whistles, some are prestigious, some are well-reknowned for their academic rigor or plethora of special programs. They are hard to get into, competitive, and there is definitely an air of hoity-toityness (Well my child goes to the XX Academy. Yours?). There is a long waiting list and you pretty much have to put your name down before getting pregnant to get a spot.

2) There are lots of moderately priced preschools. They offer a nurturing, stimulating environment. They build independence skills, expose kids to new ideas, routines, adults, and children. They may practice the ABCs and 123s, but the kids don't leave speaking another language and reading at the third grade level. There usually is not a big waiting list. They are found in small churches or people's homes. You hear about them by word of mouth because they probably don't have a website.

They both exist. And I can tell you that we definitely chose a preschool like number two. I am a kindergarten teacher and yes, I did not need to send my kids to preschool. I can teach them the academics, expose them to new places and ideas, but I can not build their independence and self-confidence like preschool can. They are thriving.

Yes, if you cannot afford preschool, that is one thing. And I think you have a good plan in place. But don't give up on finding a good, affordable preschool in LA just yet. They exist. I promise.

 

QUOTE(happychck @ Apr 17 2009, 03:51 PM) [snapback]1278171[/snapback]
i think yours would be totally fine w/'official' nursery school.

take care, jl


oops! i meant to say "w/OUT 'offical' nursery school!