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Yeah I too was at public schools all my life. Of course with 6 kids, it makes it a lot easier to do it that way.

$500 a month?! Wow, I would die, lol. Have you thought about pulling her out for a couple months so you can pay to go to the doctor?

My son may not have a "HUGE" vocbaulary, but he's happy that's all I care. I don't think I could justify for our family spending that much, unless we needed childcare. He's not the most vocally gifted, but I'm not looking for a genius. We would bankrupt ourselves if we did that.

The public schools down in the south suck a**, but I graduated and I like to think that I did all right because of my mom's involvment, not a school's involvment.

Let me restate it, My DAD is paying for all of my daughters schooling until the age of 26.The thing I love most about it, its also a daycare/school. I can drop Hannah off at 6am and pick her up at 7pm.Tho for the normal classes, its from 1 pm-3pm.Once she's old enough to be in an actule class the payments go down to 150 a month.The class she's in now runs from 10months-18month olds.Once at 18 months theres another class whice whice runs until there 3.Then its normal class from there on out.Personaly I see nothing wrong with some public schools,Before I enroll Hannah in one, im going to check into it.I don't want her to be ahead of all the other children in the class,alot of schools don't push a child to learn. I want to find one that lets my daughters mind blossom.I went to public school ,hated it because they weren't teaching.My mom had to pull me out of school and send me to a night class.In one semester of night classes, they covered everything that I learned the whole school year.

You wouldn't happened to have goone to school in TEXAS and live there now, would you? Yee gads! I can guess why you might want other than a public school education for your daughter. I belonged to the Pre-School PTA in my neighborhood in Dallas when we lived there. (I don't blame you at all for wanting to have day care for your kid, either. I certainly did and it saved my sanity. Not every one is cut out a great mom of pre-schoolers.) Texas has a reeeeal bad record for public schooling, right down there with Mississippi. My PTA group realized we would have to begin BEFORE our kids went to public school to build up the library, install computers, develop a tutoring program where our kids would go. And we did raise lots of thousands of dollars and put in books, computers, tutoring programs, but we were from the privilaged class and all our husbands had big degrees and big jobs. The place was unique for Dallas and Texas.

My plan for "schooling" my kids is as follows. Let them go to elementry school (only if the one around here gets cleaned up. I went there and remember it being a great place, now it looks like its in the inner city and we live in a town often called mayberry, though its really marmet) If they dont clean up their act i'll take steps earlier to home school them. If the school does improve(if i have to im calling the local news) They go untill 6th grade then i take steps to home school them. By that time is when the schools around here start to really slack off.
I graduated with academic excellence, but was told i was stupid in college.
My kids will not suffer that same fate.
I'll hire tutors to help me if i have to.

Actuly if he is available i plan on having my friend help me out. he was a tutor for a homeschooled child and greatly improved the boy's progress and learning.

My sister home schooled her daughter for 3 years becuase the schools weren't intrested in the children enough. After 3 years I think my sister was ready to kill her daughter.LOL!

I wanted to say my piece on this topic as well- I have seen both ends of the scale. I went to an exclusive- read expensive- primary school, then a selective Highschool, then for my last three years I went to a rural public highschool.
I've lived in the middle of the city, and the middle of nowhere- and I really have to say that no matter how you choose educate your children, the best results are only achieved when there is clear communication between home and school. The two are not separate entities. I really believe that.
I personally, think that homeschooling is very touch and go. In a community where there is a large homeschooling group and children have regular social interaction with other kids then it can be great... but unfortunately that it often not the case. I also think, and please keep in mind this is just my opinion- that to deny your children the right to form independant ideas and relationships outside the sphere of parental influence is to refuse them a basic right. Perhaps it will protect them from certain undesirable influences and trends they will encounter in any school system- but how much more appalling to be thrust into the world after adolescence and have no idea of, or any armour against those same negative things. School is a childs first experience of life in a macro social structure, and exremely important in their social developement. As a parent I truly hold to the idea that if I can keep home a haven for my son, then anything he encounters at school, whether he brings it to me or not, will be dealt with in the knowledge that he has a soft place to fall. Perhaps that might seem a little naive, if so I will find out the hard way- but I still intend to play a support role in letting him find and make his own mistakes. As long as home doesn't end when the school bell rings, and school doesn't end when they walk in the door at the end of the day, then I think there is nothing more a parent can do towards raising a child who is happy and healthy.
Also, as an afterthought- Texas Momma, I really think that the money you are recieving from your dad could be better spent on ensuring that you recieve complete and competent medical during your pregnancy. Your daughter is not going to learn anything at this school that you can't teach her at home, and your health is more important.
Sorry, guys, if I sound a little preachy redface . Theo is not very far away from school now (Oh my god sweatdrop ) so it's something I've really been thinking about. It's good to see ongoing discussion on topics like this. 3nodding

I also wanted to say that comprehension and regurgitation are worlds apart. You can turn your child into a parrot by the age of two- but it is meaningless chanting until they can understand what it is they are saying. I think that the western world has an unhealthy obsession with milestones and over achieving, and it creates a multitude of uneccessary stress for parents and kids everywhere.
This is an exreme example- but just look at Japan. One of the most academically oriented nations, the cradle of many fine minds- and now they are seeing an alarming rise in a phenomenom where children are going into voluntary isolation. Locking themselves away in their rooms and never surfacing, rather than face the fear of being a failure. This phenomenom is spreading so rapidly that there are now halfway houses for adults who went into isolation as teenagers- classes teaching them how to do their grocery shopping, how to respond to a friendly hello in a bar.
I saw a documentary on this recently and it scared the hell out of me.
If someone could help me out with the name of this phenomenom I'd really appreciate, I can't remember it for the life of me.
Anyway, I think there is a lot to say for relaxing and letting your kid develop as they want to - there is time enough for regulated learning, let them develop there own interests and have some control while they can.