Holy Crap. School tuition...

[iJenny]

Like I said before, my sister is a kindergarten teacher and the stuff they teach those kids is AMAZING! 22 years ago when I was in kindergarten I vividly remember having "nap" time and there was lots of playing "house" and stuff. Now they do hardcore learning and come out of Kindergarten knowing what I knew in the third grade.

 

[ashliwolf]

Like I said before, my sister is a kindergarten teacher and the stuff they teach those kids is AMAZING! 22 years ago when I was in kindergarten I vividly remember having "nap" time and there was lots of playing "house" and stuff. Now they do hardcore learning and come out of Kindergarten knowing what I knew in the third grade.

yes, i always played house with my loverboy from around the block zach..i thought we would always end up being married...at least until about 3rd grade.. lots of playtime for us...wish that i would have atleast learned to cook with all that house playing!

 

[iJenny]

yes, i always played house with my loverboy from around the block zach..i thought we would always end up being married...at least until about 3rd grade.. lots of playtime for us...wish that i would have atleast learned to cook with all that house playing!

When I was kindergarten age, the main focus of our learning was things like colors, numbers, letters, etc. Now, 90% of kids in kindergarten know all of that (and some!) before they ever get into kindergarten! Its amazing the difference in just a short 20 years.

 

[newfiemountiewife]

We never had nap time in kindy, but I know there was more focus on colors, etc, which I already knew before I went. Most kids did not.

Rae is 3 and has known her colors, shapes, etc for a year already. Benjamin used to have homework every day in kindy, a math sheet, or spelling, sight words, etc. Amelia goes this year, and I expect the same. School is 1/2 days for kindergarten here, and it's free.

 

[ashliwolf]

isn't that totally crazy just 20 years... oh yeah..most of them go into our 4 year old program knowing all of that..it spins my head that they learn so much..but they are little sponges and so much fun to teach..they LOVE learning...and playing is secondary to them..it is CRAZY..but if you can teach it with a song..they are ALl ears..and throw in some rump shaking and they are ALL yours i have this awesome cd that we dance and learn to for my nursery rhyme unit..they only sell it at walmart but it ROCKS..it is rapping nursery rhymes..sorry..but i LOVE it and totally phyched that we get to listen and dance next WEEK! YEAH!

 

[iJenny]

isn't that totally crazy just 20 years... oh yeah..most of them go into our 4 year old program knowing all of that..it spins my head that they learn so much..but they are little sponges and so much fun to teach..they LOVE learning...and playing is secondary to them..it is CRAZY..but if you can teach it with a song..they are ALl ears..and throw in some rump shaking and they are ALL yours i have this awesome cd that we dance and learn to for my nursery rhyme unit..they only sell it at walmart but it ROCKS..it is rapping nursery rhymes..sorry..but i LOVE it and totally phyched that we get to listen and dance next WEEK! YEAH!

That is so funny! My sister also "raps" with her kinders! She's an amazing teacher and has such a gift with the little ones. Last year she was my son's kinder teacher and it was so amazing! She's just so creative and does such fun stuff with them! They did some pretty intense learning, but they never really noticed because Kelly made it all so fun! Lots of getting up and moving around and getting creative. Just what little kinders need.

 

[Shawna]

drooling all over myself..imagining making that much that would ROCK!

Oh I know, the teachers at the Catholic school in our parish make no where near that! Which is really sad if you think about it. Kelsie's preschool teacher there last year taught at two different schools in the diocese and even that wasn't considered full time I don't think. But she absolutely loved working with the kids so I'm sure to her the $$ wasn't important. If you love what you do I think that is all that matters! I know my DH loves teaching 4th grade, and even though he could probably make a lot more doing something else (the aircraft industry is big here) he wants to keep teaching!

 

[mcardall]

oh man! you guys are scaring me!!!! first of all, i can't afford ANY tuition so at least I have one year to get out of debt so I can afford to send my kid to school! We were told that in order to be ready for Kindergarten in our school district, Hannah needs to be able to write her ABCs, sound out basic words, count to 30 & use a computer (ie control the mouse). She can't do any of those... 12 months to get ready! Hannah is a super smart kid but her attention span is 0. She is actually amazing with counting and numbers, but she has no interest in learning her alphabet.

 

[ditzyscrap]

Meredith...Mason was never interested in learning either, and I wanted him to know his alphabet before he started kindy (though here, they actually ask that the kids don't know anything, it makes them easier to teach, lol). Anyhow, I found this great dry-erase board thing at WalMart...it had the whole alphabet on it and had several pages, and shows how to draw each letter. He thought it was GREAT fun and learned most of it over the summer. I need to get another for Natalie (she doesn't start K until next year, as well) because he used it so much it's totally broken, lol. It had upper and lowercase letters, numbers, shapes, and some basic addition. I don't remember who makes it though, all I know is that it was in the office/stationary section.

 

[ashliwolf]

and mer..you KNOW i will help ya! holla if you need ideas i have LOTS!!

girls..wait till y'all see my CLASSROOM DECOR...it is the cutest..it came from HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i am so excited...i will post pics as soon as it is ON the WALL! i can't WAIT!

 

[Kat Stokes]

I'm sorry but I would be soooo pissed if our PUBLIC schools charged for kindy - or any other grade for that matter! That's what PUBLIC school is for. Everyone is entitled to an education according to the government and for the school district/State to ignore that and charge people for a public education just really rubs me the wrong way... I 100% agree that MOST teachers are extremely underpaid and I think that is so wrong. But unless I choose to enroll my child in a private school, don't expect me to pay extra money for it. That's what my tax dollars pay for.

On another note, my oldest went to full day kindy last year and I loved it! He is reading at a high 1st/low 2nd grade level, can count to over 100, can write a short story (with a little help) and so much more. He had a WONDERFUL teacher last year and I hope he gets another one this year. To top it off, our school is in Project Improvement which means they haven't met the State standards for a couple of years so our teachers at our school get extra training and extra money to get these kids where they are supposed to be.

 

[jsikardi]

i have this awesome cd that we dance and learn to for my nursery rhyme unit..they only sell it at walmart but it ROCKS..it is rapping nursery rhymes..sorry..but i LOVE it and totally phyched that we get to listen and dance next WEEK! YEAH!

Hahaha - am pretty sure my son's preK class has this. Last year my 3 year old knew the 50-states, in rhyme (from the song) - which then led to him being able to point out about 80% of them on our (large-ish) map. Good times.
And yes. I know it costs us a fortune (for 5 half-days of preK it costs me $130 monthly - not including supplies, trips, snacks, etc) - but thank you to the teachers! You guys really do make a difference.
When I get my kiddo back in the afternoon and he's all smiling and giggly and ready to tell me what is new in his world.... I just develop even bigger teacher-crushes on y'all. Thank you!

 

[AmyM]

I'm sorry but I would be soooo pissed if our PUBLIC schools charged for kindy - or any other grade for that matter! That's what PUBLIC school is for. Everyone is entitled to an education according to the government and for the school district/State to ignore that and charge people for a public education just really rubs me the wrong way... I 100% agree that MOST teachers are extremely underpaid and I think that is so wrong. But unless I choose to enroll my child in a private school, don't expect me to pay extra money for it. That's what my tax dollars pay for.

I wonder...
Some states don't require a child to be enrolled until the age of 6, different by state. Maybe that's how they get away with it? Since it's not legally mandatory until x age? Still ridiculous. Either give it to us free or just don't offer it.
And yes, teachers are wayyyyyyyy under paid! They deserve so much more. I don't know how they do it.

 

[ashliwolf]

so much love for the teachers at ssd...ahh..we luv y'all too..and of course we luv the kids...that is why we teach it sure ain't for the cash

still up..should be making nametags..but haven't got to that yet...still working on mine and my aid's composition notebooks...haha..i LOVE wasting time!

thanks again girls about the kind remarks and compliments for the teachers in the house..we really do appreciate it!
xoxo..feelin the love..........

 

[ashliwolf]

Hahaha - am pretty sure my son's preK class has this. Last year my 3 year old knew the 50-states, in rhyme (from the song) - which then led to him being able to point out about 80% of them on our (large-ish) map. Good times.
!

did it start out with baton rouge louisana *can't spell*, indianapolis, indiana and columbus is the capital of ohio that is my fav........love it!

 

[Brooke W]

Thank god i have no kids or grandkids and don't live in Colorado,lol. Kindergarten is free here in Ohio if it's public. I'm actually appalled that you have to pay for it, let alone THAT much :blink:
In this country every child is entitled to an education. I'm sorry, but that's beyond insane.and I'm sorry that you have to pay that kind of money for it.

 

[lizzyfizzy]

thank you for that apology. one day i may understand why i have to pay above and beyond for a public education when i live in a part of the u.s. that has enough tax money to support such things...blows my mind.

 

[KirstieGai]

Have to say it's been very interesting reading this thread. Australia's schooling is sooo different to the US. Our kids have to have turned 5 by the 5th month into the school year to be in Kindy. Some kids are held back and start the following year. So the age is the same right?

They say our public schools are free but they aren't really. You still have fees to pay each school term but they say they're for other things to try and make people think they aren't paying actual fees! LOL! I'm told it's around $300-400 a year. And don't forget that we wear school uniforms here too. So that's an additional expense for uniforms (summer, winter and sport). My DD goes to a private school so I obviously pay fees. School uniforms cost me $600 (including school shoes) and I'm hoping they will still fit her next year so I only have to buy shoes.

 

[disneyaddict]

This is an interesting thread. In West Virginia, we have had free full day kindergarten for several years, but, if I remember correctly, high transportation costs in our rural counties and the number of low income students in the state factored significantly into that decision. I think they may have broken even or saved money by only running the buses twice a day rather than four times a day for the half day kindergarten.

Also, we are phasing in universal Pre-K with most of the costs being covered by the state. There has to be a county collaborative, and sliding fee scales, but with the average income in many of our rural counties being so low, very little tuition will actually be collected in most counties.

As far as our school goes, the kids have a list of optional supplies they can bring in for the teacher (tissues, etc.), but there are no book fees, etc. One of the biggest problems with where we have chosen to live is that 63% of the student population is considered to be at risk, so the emphasis is on the basic core subjects. Therefore, no foreign languages and very limited gifted or enrichment programs (think one hour per week at the most) even at the middle school level.

High school is a bit better because several advanced placement courses are offered, but for students to qualify for AP classes they have to have three teacher recommendations: a straight A, gifted student can be denied the opportunity to take those classes if s/he doesn't have those teacher recommendations. Unfortunately, this has happened more than once.

In a few counties, with more resources, some of the schools are outstanding, with several foreign language and enrichment programs being offered in all grades.

For us, the nearest private school is 30 minutes away. However, the nearest quality private school is one hour away. Neither of those is a really good option for us due to some family circumstances.

Therefore, we have put ourselves in a weird position. To make sure my son isn't denied educational opportunities he would have had if we had chosen to live somewhere else, we homeschool for about 3/4 of the subjects, and he attends school for one or two subjects (but I usually have to supplement those because they are too basic). We also pay for a Spanish tutor (3xs per week) and music lessons. This year we are adding a computer tutor and a Chinese tutor (he is good with languages) plus he will be taking Chinese through the virtual school program in the state.

I was sharing our educational budget with my husband last night. Our grand total for my son's education this year is going to be $640 per month plus the costs of his curriculum (probably another $600-800) and the virtual school (I don't know exactly how much that is going to cost). Ouch!!! And I primarily homeschool!

 

[Angie4b1g]

I would have happily paid $1k $2k whatever for the option of all day kindergarten. The only kids that go full day here are the "at risk" kids. I tried to tell them my kids were "at risk" staying home with me for the 2nd part of the day, but I guess that's not what they meant. :glare:

 

[junebug]

Hey Corey-
Sooooo not trying to be rude, but I am a kindergarten teacher. We do SOOOOOOOOOOO much in kindergarten. K is no longer play, nap, snack. It's hard core reading, writing, science, math, social studies, etc, etc, etc. Basically, kindergarten today is what first grade was 15 years ago. My students have HUGE academic goals they need to meet. It pushes my buttons BIG time when people say that students don't do that much in kindergarten. They need to know all letters, sounds, a large list of sight words, be reading and writing, count to 100 or more, count backwards, add and subtract, know patterning, rhyming, using measuring tools, etc, etc, etc. I know you didn't mean it any offensive way at all, and that you were venting out of some major frustration, but it's a hot-button kind of thing to me. I've had WAAAAY too many people assume that K is all play, and acting silly and doing art projects all day. It's not. K is much more academic than it ever was when we were young.

Additionally, part of the cost is probably going to the teacher's salary. When my district was in half-day K, they were able to exist on 4 K teachers, because each teacher taught twice as many kids. Having a full-day program means paying an extra teachers salary (we went from 4 K teachers to 8 when we made the switch) and that is a HUGE chunk of change for any district to swallow. I'm confused about why they would not have let people applying for the program know that there would be an additional (hefty) cost, but the salary for teacher (and any additional parapros) may be a large part of the reason for the cost.

Anyway...had to get that off my chest. Totally not trying to be a...well, you know...just had to stick up for us K teachers and all the tough things we tackle each year!

I'm sorrry, lol. I wasn't implying that they didn't do anything. I know that they have a lot to learn. I just meant that they don't go on field trips or that kind of things that the older kids do. And yah, i'm mainly mad that they didnt let us know that there would be a tuition. This is a public school for those that were wondering; K-6th grade. we are going to go ahead and keep her in it because we agree that it would be best for her. I am still going to be asking some questions about it. Book fees are $60. Thats all i was told about. I had to fill out a paper and when i handed it in to the office the lady then just haded me the payment book and said "this is for the tuition, due every month". i walked out thinking it wasn't much then about died when i saw it. This is the first year for this so i can kind of understand, but still would like to have been told. I just hope its worth it and my DS learns her butt off, lol.