TK/K & Daycare or Pay for Montessori til 1st Grade?

Finances considered - what is preferred for your 5 yr old?

  • IUSD TK/K and after-school day care (and other activities) for ~$800/month

    Votes: 5 62.5%

  • Private School/Montessori all-day for ~ $1,800/month

    Votes: 3 37.5%
  • Total voters
    8
paydawg

paydawg

Active member
Just wondering if it's worth paying an extra $1,000/month for a Montessori (lePorte, GF, other) for a 5/6 yr old until they can enroll in their public IUSD school in 1st grade. 

I'm assuming that the costs include any extra-curricular activities that are typically add-on expenses (i.e. gymnastics, dance, language, etc.).  I'm also assuming that pickup/drop-off duties are already taken care of if the less expensive option is chosen. 

Are the after-school daycares (that are not really educational-based) SO bad at that age that I need to shell out the extra $10K-$12K a year?
 
Choose a cheaper Montessori  :p  We're paying under $1100/month for 7am-6pm Montessori (not in Irvine though as it is more convenient closer to work -- but I have asked a few others in Irvine in the similar price range)..

For us, we'll probably keep her in Montessori until 1st grade. Main Concern is the logistic of transfer from school to the after school facilities (lots of things can go wrong), nap time, lunches etc.  At least with Montessori, we drop her off in the morning and we are assured she gets a good lunch and good nap and just pick her up after work.
 
Hope your kid isn't in one of those schools where you need to be in TK/K otherwise 1st grade and/or after school program isn't guaranteed.
 
AW said:
Hope your kid isn't in one of those schools where you need to be in TK/K otherwise 1st grade and/or after school program isn't guaranteed.
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good point :)  need to check this out first ..
 
paydawg said:
Are the after-school daycares (that are not really educational-based) SO bad at that age that I need to shell out the extra $10K-$12K a year?
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The extra cost is much lower once you include the additional cost of before/after school care if you go public.
 
peppy said:
paydawg said:
Are the after-school daycares (that are not really educational-based) SO bad at that age that I need to shell out the extra $10K-$12K a year?
Click to expand...

The extra cost is much lower once you include the additional cost of before/after school care if you go public.
Click to expand...

I've already included those additional costs in my numbers.  So public school + afterschool care + other activities = $800/month.  Montessori + other additional activities = $1,800/month. 
 
The other day my neighbor was weighing the choice of putting his kid in private school for $10,000/year, or keeping him in public school.  I told him the kid would probably appreciate it more if you put the $10,000 into google stock today and give it to him on his 20th birthday.

i should be a financial advisor...I got all the answers n shit.
 
zubs said:
The other day my neighbor was weighing the choice of putting his kid in private school for $10,000/year, or keeping him in public school.  I told him the kid would probably appreciate it more if you put the $10,000 into google stock today and give it to him on his 20th birthday.
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I agree.  Hard to justify paying Irvine home prices, partially inflated due to the school district, then shelling out an additional $10-12K/year for private school.  I wish my wife felt the same way on this. 
 
Well, that's what we did, one of them even up to 3rd grade.

It's expensive but teacher ratios were better and the kids were better taken care of because the schools are way smaller than public schools.

My kids have had some issues adjusting to public school but they are okay now and that also depends on their teacher/principal.

Education-wise, the private school seemed a bit more advanced than the public one.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Well, that's what we did, one of them even up to 3rd grade.

It's expensive but teacher ratios were better and the kids were better taken care of because the schools are way smaller than public schools.

My kids have had some issues adjusting to public school but they are okay now and that also depends on their teacher/principal.

Education-wise, the private school seemed a bit more advanced than the public one.
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If you don't mind answering, what were some of the adjustment issues when your child transferred from private to public during elementary (the 3rd grader).?

Hi IHO!
 
It was a teacher issue.

That's why that thread where the poster was complaining about a teacher resonated with us. We complained the to the principal on several occasions and then just could not expose our kid to that environment any longer and just took them out of the school entirely. That principal is no longer at that school. Not sure about the teacher as we moved away from the school's neighborhood a few years ago.

Other issues were just getting up earlier (if I remember correctly, instruction time didn't start until 9am at the Montessori we went to) and the whole snack/lunch thing.

Homework wise, public was actually less than Montessori.

Other than that problem teacher, everything else was good, including safely getting to the after school care (we used the onsite facility).
 
Socially it's neutral.

Their friends are now kids from the area (in Montessori they can be from all over) but they still keep in contact with their previous friends (they were with them for several years).

It was an slight adjustment to be the new kid but there are always several new kids each grade.

I think it depends on how tight you get with your Montessori families but the kids adjust pretty easily to changing "besties".
 
paydawg said:
peppy said:
paydawg said:
Are the after-school daycares (that are not really educational-based) SO bad at that age that I need to shell out the extra $10K-$12K a year?
Click to expand...

The extra cost is much lower once you include the additional cost of before/after school care if you go public.
Click to expand...

I've already included those additional costs in my numbers.  So public school + afterschool care + other activities = $800/month.  Montessori + other additional activities = $1,800/month.
Click to expand...

Not sure which Irvine after school care yours is, but our after school care cost at Rsinbow Rising for kinders was $725 per month last year.  The difference between the Montessori and public school was only about $450 for us.  I did not factor in the extracurricular activities because the level of the activities offered at Montessori is generally lower than outside academies, since those activities are usually Catered to a younger group of kids compared to the age-specific activities offered by outside academies (thus the cost difference).
 
paydawg said:
zubs said:
The other day my neighbor was weighing the choice of putting his kid in private school for $10,000/year, or keeping him in public school.  I told him the kid would probably appreciate it more if you put the $10,000 into google stock today and give it to him on his 20th birthday.
Click to expand...

I agree.  Hard to justify paying Irvine home prices, partially inflated due to the school district, then shelling out an additional $10-12K/year for private school.  I wish my wife felt the same way on this.
Click to expand...

LOL...I hear you loud and clear.  Yep!!
 
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