The 3 R's = Cha-Ching!

I'm a little discouraged. No, scratch that ... a lot. I've been thinking about the cold, hard, almost non-existent cash we must shell out for Aidan's education this year -- a 1/2 day kindergarten class called "TK" (Transitional Kindergarten) for those kids, like Aidan, whose birthdays fall in those awkward months immediately preceding or following the enrollment cut-off date. In other words, without TK, these kids would be the very youngest in their class or the very oldest, with both scenarios having their own set of problems. Anyway, Aidan loves his class and is doing very well, I think, and while the class is considered "First Grade Ready," I believe most parents -- myself included -- will send their TK child to a full-day kindergarten next year, rather than jumping ahead to first grade.

Anyway, so that's where we are in the educational sphere right now. Unfortunately, this is Aidan's last year at this particular school, which means we have two choices ahead of us:
1. Send him to public school, which, of course, is full of its own pro's and con's
2. Send him to a fabulous Christian school, the same one that I attended, K-12, and truly loved and benefited from.

OK, there are theoretically two more options available -- another local Christian school of a very different caliber and theological background, and homeschooling -- but really ... we're not going there. So yesterday I decided to browse the website of my alma mater, and when I found the financial page ... I almost fell off my chair. If Aidan did indeed attend that school next year, for a full day kindergarten, it would kill us:

$7,000 !!!

Yes, that's right -- $7K. 7 G's. 7 Grand. 7 Large. I was speechless, beyond stunned, shocked. Not to mention my brief toying with the idea of entering Grace in a 3-year-old two-day preschool program, which would cost another $1,400. Unbelievable. Sure, they have scholarships and financial aid, but still ...

I found all that to be completely discouraging and, frankly, upsetting. Times have most definitely changed, since the days of my parents putting all four of us through that school system on my dad's small salary. What upsets me is that I wish I had a choice in this, I wish I could send my son to the school of our choice, I wish that stupid money won't stand in the way of the education that I want for my children. I feel cheated, I guess. This has nothing to do with me finding a job -- whatever piddly income that would be would go toward daycare for Grace, with nothing left for tuition. I know we're not the only parents facing this kind of situation, but this is our first foray into it ... and it's disheartening.

We have a year to think about this. But still ... maybe it's the principle of the whole matter, wondering why tuition for such young kids has to be jacked up to such ridiculous amounts (don't get me started on junior high and high school ...). I knew the price would be high; I just had no idea how high. It makes me sad, really. I know, I know -- I shouldn't get into the whole "cart before the horse" thing, but it struck hard. Really hard.