Getting Your Learn On...Or Katherine's Breakdown (Both Are Appropriate)

I have been dreading this discussion for, let's say, four and a half years.

It's time to start thinking about Kindergarten for Landon. Registration day is near. When I was growing up (don't I sound old?), you had one choice for an elementary school. There were only like 3 in the whole county and you went to the school where you lived. Wake County is CRAZY! Right now, we have 3 options, and one of those options containing even more, and all of those options containing even more...

1. Option 1: Private Christian School - we toured Grace Christian and LOVED it. It has a strong educational curricula with a Christian backbone. I realized how much I despise our non-Christian schools when Landon told me that he would say grace at lunch at daycare quietly so his friends wouldn't hear him and laugh at him. I want Landon to be in an environment where he can feel free to be a Christian and will make every day decisions using his core Christian values. With all of that being said, there is that issue of money. It's expensive. It's cheaper than daycare, true, but can we afford to pay those fees for the next 16 years? And this school doesn't really reflect our diverse society...it's a bunch of rich white kids.


2. Public School (traditional calendar) - Our "base" school is a traditional calendar school, meaning a normal school that lets out in the summer. The problem is that our base school (Reedy Creek) doesn't sit very high on the scale as far as test scores go. I'm not impressed with this one. I have to register here next week, then request to be transferred to option #3 in mid February.


3. Public School (year-round calendar) - We can apply for the year-round option (Adams), but it's a lottery to whether he gets in (you would find that out in March). Year rounds offer 4 tracks, where 3 tracks of kids are in school at one time and the 4th is tracked out. The child would be in school for 45 days, and out for 15 days. Year-rounds have been proven to be better for the children as it eliminates that month of reviewing at the beginning of every school year because they've forgotten everything over the summer. It keeps them in the groove of learning and gives them much-needed breaks throughout the year. The problem here is that we are not guaranteed a spot. Then IF he gets in, we have to pick a track. That's also a lottery drawing (and we wouldn't find out what track he's on until like the beginning of the summer). Some tracks are better than others as they fit better with vacations schedules, etc. Tracks 1-3 start on July 11th, and Track 4 starts on August 1st. I visited this school yesterday. I didn't leave with the warm and fuzzies, but I didn't absolutely hate it. But again, I am probably comparing everything to Grace.

Then there's the issue of before and after school care and when he's tracked out/on summer break (the Y offers a great program for a fee). Then I'd have to figure out where I drop him off or pick him up at...sometimes at school and sometimes at the Y depending on if he's tracked in/tracked out/school closed/before school/after school. Or would the bus come early enough for me to put him on that? Then I hear horror stories about the buses where a friend's child was dropped off at the wrong stop and then this little 5 year old was wandering around some random neighborhood. And good grief, you should have seen the car pool line at the year-round - holy cow, I cannot sit in that! And my friend's kid barely has time to eat his lunch when he buys it because he doesn't get through the line in enough time to sit down and eat. And Kindergartners eat at 10:30!!! You can send money for their lunch money and they will send home a slip of paper saying your account is low. What if I don't get that slip? Then he'll go to school and eat fruits and veggies and water (I was told that the state allows you to eat that for free). So pack lunch or eat school lunch? O.M.G. I CANNOT handle this!!!!

This was probably not interesting to anyone...unless you enjoy witnessing a mental breakdown. I was hoping it would help me to get it out. I'd like to say I feel better...but I don't. Any suggestions?