A tough decision to make...

Well, I guess it isn't a tough decision, it's just a rather complicated decision to make. Aidan went to a private pre-school last year and is currently scheduled to attend in the fall for their private kindergarten. I am absolutely happy with the education he received and I love the prospect of having him attend full day kindergarten. The public schools in our area do not offer full day kindergarten unless you are a special needs child. So, the decision to go public v. private has been an ongoing debate in our household. Irregardless of which school he goes to, there is going to be a matter of cost involved because we'll need additional care before and after school. Additionally, the full day kindergarten has a tuition associated with it, naturally, because it's a private school.

*sigh*

Hubby's first choice (and still is) has been to send Aidan to his sister's school. She attends a year-round public school and has thrived in the environment. We love the shorter break schedules that happen more frequently throughout the school year. We also love the faculty and staff at the school and feel that our daughter is attending the best elementary school in our city. Aidan has flip-flopped about where he would like to go. Some days he wants to go to HIS school. Other days he wants to go to school with his sissy. Today, he advised me that he would like to go to his sister's school. The more and more I think about it, I'm beginning to realize that this might be the best and most cost-effective option.

My only concern is that I feel that Aidan might be a bit bored and uninterested in the curriculum just becase he attended a full-day pre-school. But, he could surprise me and adjust well. Children are pretty resilient.

The next step is registering him for kindergarten and finding proper childcare for him after school. Malia was going to attend before and afterschool care this coming school year. Aidan can attend before school care with her since it takes place at the school. However, he cannot attend the afterschool care with her because he will be enrolled in morning kindergarten and afterschool care begins promptly at 3pm when school dismisses for the day. Therefore, I will have to find him a separate childcare facility to go to. The beauty of this, though, is that most childcare places will pick up the children and transport them to the school.

So, I guess the "tough" part now is to actually make a decision on which school he will attend. If he truly is going to go to school with Malia then we need to get moving because (*shouts of joy*) school starts on July 21st. =] I will also need to enroll him into an afterschool program (and I have an idea of where) and I will need to cancel his registration at his current school and see how much of the $350 deposit will be refunded to me.

The more and more I think this through, the more and more I realize that while cost will still be a factor, I think that he will enjoy going to school with his sister and the stress of taking two kids to two different schools will be eliminated.