Preschool Costs

[SoonerTexan]

N still has 2 school years before she starts Kindergarten and I wasn't planning on sending her to preschool until she was 4, simply because of the cost. However this summer I signed her up a for few weeks of camp at a local preschool and we toured it today as the nanny will have to do dropoff and pickup. We will see how it actually goes, but she was JUMPING out of her skin with excitement. I'm afraid she is going to be devastated when it ends and she doesn't continue through the school year.

So I'm starting to look into other options in the area...how much did you pay? I really like what I saw today, but I think this is just way too expensive. It's a Spanish immersion preschool with a really good reputation, but I really only chose it because the summer camp schedule worked out. It's $325/month for 2 days a week during the school year from 9-2. I'm looking around and it looks like the cheapest so far is $225/month for 2 days a week, also a 9-2ish schedule. Montessori...forget about it. It's like a second mortgage.

Should I just skip it this year? I don't think she needs it academically, she would just enjoy it. The problem is we are still paying a nanny and that cost wont change til I quit...and then our income will be reduced anyway. I wouldn't be paying the nanny any less for the time N is gone, either. On the other hand, it's kinda lonely at home with just brother to play with. She does great, but I can tell she is really craving time with other kids and that is hard to get with 2 working parents and a little brother always in tow.

[ladymoreta]

What about taking her to the gym after work? That was DS's main time to play with other kids before we could do preschool. You could also see if the nanny could take them to the public library for kids' time during the day. That's what some of my friends do who don't have their kids in preschool.

[OrionGrad]

Just for reference, the preschool we're looking at sending DS1 to in the fall costs $304/month for two half-days per week.

[oceanchild]

Some of the public schools here offer 3-year-old ECE programs, as does our local parks & rec department. Are either of those options where you are? They're pretty affordable.

My son's daycare doesn't offer partial week preschool, but their reduced day schedules start at $420/month. The school districts are on a sliding scale - one maxes out at $375/month for half days and another at $350/month for full days. Parks and rec are mostly 2 hours/day, but cheap (like $100/month for 2 days/week).

But of course she doesn't need it either.

(When/if we have another kid, we'll probably try to get a nanny and some part-time preschool for DS. The costs are definitely scary, and I'm used to full-time Montessori daycare.)

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

I never planned to put C in school at all. She's going 3-4 days per week in the fall. I was hoping to not be working by now and starting home school. It's $330/month and we can't reduce the nanny either. I'm trying to think of it as an upside for D to get 1:1 time that C enjoyed with our wonderful nanny instead of just one more thing residency stole from me.

Sending her for the same reason you are. As you get up to ages 3-4, most kids are in preschool so even if you send them to activities, they're often the only older kids there. You can join coop or homeschool meet ups but not if you work...

My newest plan is to send them to preschool and then bring them home for homeschool in K or 1st grade. If I'm honest, I don't love age 2-3 all the time and I think I'd be better at being with them FT when they're slightly older.

[MrsK]

The K Bros together were about $850/mo last year. But that's with one in Pre-K 5 days/week which costs about $6k/year. Next year, we're paying $3,500 for full-day kindergarten for K1 and about $3k for K2's preschool (1/2 day 5 days/wk). Also doing mommy & me and MNO with Lambie which is charged about $10/session.

[SoonerTexan]

Okay, so the costs are about right. My mom told me preschool was $60-80/month in the 90s. Damn.

I don't belong to a gym with childcare anymore and there were never any other kids there anyway :/ They do go to the library programs now, but I know it isn't the easiest and it is still limited interaction. Last week I told the nanny to take them to chick FIL a for lunch and N raved about meeting friends in the play place.

Maybe we should just find a way to make it work. I'll be home on leave for at least 3 months and doing outings with 2 and a newborn is going to be hard even if I am home.

She asked me if we were going to preschool today after rest time. "Mommy I just want to learn!"



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[Phoebe]

MDO is $12/day for 2.5 hours. We used to pay around $275/month for two days /week 9 to 2:30.

[Pollyanna]

I think that's pretty pricey for preschool tbh. It sounds like it's a place that would be billed more of an academic preschool VS play based? If you just want the interaction for her look for MDO programs or half day 9-12 preschools. We pay $120/month for a 9am-12pm Catholic Montessori at our Parish. We barely knew it existed because they don't advertise. So really dig to see what is out there.

[SoonerTexan]

The Catholic Church is the $225 one :/


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[Pollyanna]

The Catholic Church is the $225 one :/


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$225 isn't that far off from what we pay considering you get an extra two hours per day. Only about an extra $2-3/hr. I would check them out first and avoid being lured by "academic" preschools.

[civilspouse]

We paid a little over $200/month for 3 days a week from 12:30 - 3:30. I don't think what you are seeing looks to much higher than what we've found. We hesitated about preschool because of the cost, but DS loved it and he's made some good friends that we are continuing to have playdates with over the summer. We were trying to go the storytime, parks, etc route but like someone else mentioned there weren't many kids DS's age because they were all in preschool. I'd say go for it if you can swing it but don't feel bad if you decide to wait a year, she'll be fine.

[Thirteen]

$290, 9-12, MWF
$390, 9-12, M-F


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[spotty_dog]

I don't think she needs it academically, she would just enjoy it.

I'm totally biased but I don't think preschool decisions should ever be based on academics. I met a little girl today who's 4 with a September birthday and her mom was lamenting about how if she'd just pushed harder and worked with her she'd be ready for kindergarten this fall. Um, homegirl had NO idea how to act with other kids or take direction from adults. She is going to benefit SO much from play-based preschool this fall, especially as a transition to the school environment but also just as a transition to being a Kid with Responsibilities instead of just mommy's darling youngest, you know? Drilling her on her ABCs would have been no substitute in terms of kindergarten readiness. It's so much easier to come into kindergarten without academics than it is to come in without social-emotional skills. I'm certainly not saying that Noelle has the same issues that little girl has (and I think even the library storytime and playground interactions would be more than what this little one gets) but still, I'm a fan of supervision and structure from someone who's trained to work on all those fine motor, gross motor, social-emotional things. At least for one year, but I don't regret doing two.

My kids' old preschool just went up to $120 for 3 half days/week for 3-4 year olds. It's co-op, but we had working parents with flexible schedules who could manage to swing the 2 days per month to be in the classroom, or else those who had grandparents or other caregivers who were hands-on involved with raising the kiddos and also interested in being part of our community.

[GrayMatterWife]

Atlanta and St Louis (they were comparable): $1200 a month for all day care, five days a week. Opens 6:30 am (StL Louis) and 7:00 am (Atlanta); closes 6:00 PM (StL) but with aftercare ($20/evening) until 8:00 PM, and closes 6:30 PM (Atlanta) with no aftercare option.

Basically, you can completely off-load your kid for 12-14 hours a day, five days a week. And a lot of people do. There are always people waiting at the door in the morning and rushing for the last-second pickup...and a lot of those are the same people. They must have crazy-long days, considering the horrible commutes in Atlanta. :\