A Wrench in the Wheel

When it comes to affording a preschool, that's certainly not going to be an issue.

Try $75 a month.

A MONTH!

I'm afraid to see what they do over there, but apparently, it comes recommended by a neighbor who is known for being "research mom." It's always good to have one of those around.

And fortunately, preschool doesn't start until after Labor Day, so I have time to find the protective bubble figure out what I'm doing. But the main issue is that I live in the suburbs. Okay the stix. It's only 20 minutes outside of the city, but chances are, my child will be one of many white children.

I'm okay with that at the basic level. Mainly my concerns are safety, attention, and cleanliness. But at the same time, the reason why I'm sending her to preschool is that she can meet other children. Other children includes children of different ethnicities.

But not so much here in Stix, GA.

I'm still torn about what to do. Of course I won't rely on her 2-day/week 3-hour per day preschool to expose her to different cultures. But it would certainly be nice.

I guess I shouldn't expect that much for $75/day. Or should I?

Your thoughts? 

Comments

[Dana]

I'm thinking about enrolling Dawson in preschool for next year because he missed the age cut-off this year. It's a Catholic preschool through our church.

When I visited the school in May to get some idea of how it all works, I was very suprised at how diverse the classes were, because our congregation is very white.

When I mentioned how great the diversity was, one of the other parents told me, "Oh! That's because lots of our parishoners have adopted black and Asian children."

I think my shocked look scared the hell out of her. I didn't even know how to respond!

And the price is $83 a month here. Not much more than Stix, Ga.!

[beth]

75 a month is what i paid when my 14 yr old was in preschool 2 days a week when he was 4 and 5..yeah he was born 13 days past the cut off and this preschool teacher was good..when ur kid was born u called her to put ur kid on her class list for the years he/she would be going there. We lived in BFE Nebraska in low incomeville..so 75 a month was expensive for folks barely making minimum wage. But, she was the best preschool teacher for 20 miles around, there were some in churchs and other places in town, but in our small town she was it, and she was great. its probably cus ur in bfe georgia and it might be state subsidized or something like that.. go take alook at it, have ur child meet teacher and if you are not comfortable with her, it.. leave with ur kid.. if its dirty, call health dept because its not hard to keep a preschool clean. remember, you can trust ms research it.. or you can go make a visit and see for yourself.. i mean would you just trust someone judgement on childcare without going over and meeting them and seeing whatgoes on during a normal day..and visit unannounced. i am a former child care provider and i did preschool kinda when my kids were 2 and 3 yrs old to give them a bit of education while they were lil sponges still..some kids did good others could have cared less.. but always please go check it out for yourself.

[Kristen]

Ha. I'm pretty much in the sticks too.
And I was thinking of working...

SO I could get it for free.

HAHAAAAAA.

[Mrs. Chicken]

You may be surprised.

And dude. You're in the ATL and your tuition is $75.

I really live in the sticks - REALLY - and my tuition is $95. PLUS, I have t work at the dang school.

Psh.

[Christina]

$75 a month! Wow! We're paying $425 a month for two full days a week.

I'm sure she'll have plenty of opportunities to be exposed to kids of all types, if not at preschool then when you're out together.

Besides, just think of the variety of kid germs she'll be exposed to! That's variety, right?

[Amy H]

I really wouldn't worry about it, Kristen. In fact, my first reaction was that this is really one of the last things you should worry about with pre-school. She'll be exposed to different colors and cultures when she starts elementary school. If not, you can teach her through books and trips (stand-by, yay!) I think pre-school is really about learning how to behave in a school environment: socializing, rules, routines, etc. She'll be fine without a lot of diversity at this age. :-)

[jodi]

Actually, that's cheap for preschool. In DC it's like $20,000 a year. A school year.

[Jiame]

$75!!!?!?!?!?!?! That is incredible. Pre-school around here is $1K a month so I say.....white kids, purple kids, whoever....$75 is a deal.

[Manic Mommy]

Should I tell you that we're paying $5,000.00 a year for five days, 9:00-1:00?

As for the diversity, no, it's not the school's job. I was more interested in him learning how to take turns, stand in line, and play well with others. Her life thus far has been you, the baby, daddy, and the sin-laws. Just being in pre-school is diverse enough.

[divrchk]

That is really cheap! I pay $240/month for my son to go three days per week, 3 hours per day. Talk to the director of the school. He/she should be able to answer all of you questions and it might be a non-issue.

[Patty]

I don't know where you moved (I live just north of Atlanta in Marietta - in the suburbs) - if your preschool is in a church, chances are it is predominately white (depending on the church). But - we are in the city school system and my daughter is a minority - the black and hispanic population make up most of the school population - other races (cultures) are also represented but on a smaller scale. Don't know of many schools (unless they are private) that are 'lily white'.

Welcome to Georgia - I think you'll like it here.

[Heather]

Wow. I pay 125.00/mo for 3 mornings a week. That is a low price there.

With Parker, I could see myself being concerned with exposing to different cultures and that kind of stuff. It would probably be higher on my radar of things I think are important.

With Payton....bejesus, I walk a tightrope of balance every day of supporting his differentness and getting him adapt to just a school culture in general. Right now, ethnic variety isn't even a blip on my screen. Sigh.

But bigger picture, preschool is just two mornings a week. Perhaps society is beginning to expect schools to fulfill roles that they shouldn't? Just a thought. Living in a city like Hotlanta, I'm sure there are ways outside of school to expose her to a variety of cultures and people.

[Dawn @ Coming to a Nursery Near You]

Wait... is it a day or a month? LOL

We rely on Noggin, Nick Jr and Discovery channel for our daily dose of ethnicity, seeing as we're in Stix, NH LOL

We don't do preschool here so really, those are our choices lol