preschool?!

preschool.

whoa.

i have to say that i'm really not quite ready to let my little guy grow up. i'm sort of avoiding preschool, actually. if i sign him up, then he has to go, and...get...well, BIG.

i digress.

so i'm looking into preschools in the area that are first and foremost:

a) convenient.

b) affordable.

c) and, of course, they need to teach, and well.

southeastern regional high school has a program that has come highly recommended to me from a few different people, and since it's practically across the street from the church, ie, only 6 miles from us, so it's one of the front runners.

let's talk about this, though, moms. did any of you realize how EXPENSIVE preschool is?!

holy moly!

here is a breakdown of southeastern's center for early learners:

full day program:

tuesday and thursday, 7:15am-4:15pm: $60/wk

monday/wed/friday, 7:15am-4:15pm: $90/wk

i think we're doing a full day program because i'm not about to get us all out of the house every single day. nooo thanks. i'll have to do that every year from now until he's 18, so i'm cool with not making that kind of daily commitment right now (if your curious what the pricing is for a half day- full week, it's mon-fri, 7:15-11:45, $75/wk).

but have you done the math on it?!
$60/wk for 16 weeks = $960

20 weeks = $1200

24 weeks = $1440

(etc.)

!!! whoa, baby. i don't actually know how many weeks this particular program is, though i do know it starts 9/8/10, but regardless, it's hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of dollars. worth it, sure, but surprising for me, to say the least.

so i want to hear back from you!

do you think the cost of preschool is exorbitant? or would you pay anything to get them out of the house, ahem, i mean, educated? (kidding, kidding)

do you see pro's and con's for half days versus full days?

local readers- do you have suggestions of other great programs? what is their pricing like? for how many days and what times??

i'm one for making educated decisions (excuse the pun), so let's talk some preschool, mamas!