The Beginning

I always knew that I wanted to send my children to a private institution.  In the beginning, I knew about the school we are currently applying to, but never in a million years thought we could get in, much less afford it.  The tuition for preK is over $18,000/ a year and it keeps going up from there.  This school was a fantasy for me, nothing more.  Little did I know that we would somehow try to make this a reality.

I have been doing research on schools since before my son was born.  Where I grew up, there were no private schools.  I went to a marginal parochial elementary and after that it was public school all the way.  I was a good kid but very quiet.  I often was ignored so disciplinary problems could be dealt with.  I was never pushed to my full potential so I slid by with decent grades and hardly ever studied.  I can count the the teachers I had that made a positive impact on my life on one hand.  The good kids who wanted to succeed were a minority in my small town.  The kids who went to college we even fewer.

My son is a lot like me.  He is quiet and shy, unless he is around his family.  When he is in his element he never stops talking, singing and being silly.  He loves to learn and grow.  To say he is quirky is an understatement.  He loves windmills and windshield wipers.  He love propellers, airplanes, fans and elevators.  We are hoping that this love evolves into a career in engineering!  He already has all of the planets in our solar system memorized in order and loves anything space related.  He will play with play dough for hours.  He loves playing with the hose and being outside.  he has numerous books memorized and he learns words to songs and prayers after only a few repetitions.  I refuse to send him to a school that will not nurture his love for learning.

So, by some act of god, my dream may (hopefully) become a reality.  A friend of my husband's family sends their kids to this school.  When my husband inquired about the cost, they told him they got financial aid.  They had nothing but good things to say about the school.  Their children loved it there.  So, we decided, what the heck, we'll check it out.  Now, I will tell you this, my husband is not a big fan of spending this kind of money on education.  He feels, like so many others, that we pay taxes for school and we shouldn't have to pay any extra.  He agreed to do this with me because I had my heart set on it. I don't think he ever thought we would get this far in the process.  Poor guy.