Where to school

It's hard o let go of a cherished idea isn't it. I had that with the homeschooling about 18mths ago. I can recognise, after the last 6wks of pure hell, that it wouldn't have worked in a million years, but I hated the alternatives and I was desperately clinging to it.

Second language from a young age and Catholic schools... I actually have experience from both of those. People respond differently to Catholic schools... the more gentle types will be happily brainwashed, and the others (my mother included) will probably play truant to go scrumping for apples in the Fall!! My daughter falls into the first category, at least as far as school is concerned. She plays doormat at school and comes home to play hellion and let it all out! You have to be comfortable with other Catholics of a less broadminded bent teaching your daughter her values. Some of the things I hear after school are enough to make my hair curl... I cringe quietly if I'm feeling peaceable.

As for second language... I always thought it was a wonderful idea to be taught French from a much younger age too. 11yrs old when I started is really far too late... just at the point where all kids are self-conscious too. However, and this is from experience... unless the person at home with the child also speaks the second language on a DAILY basis, it will likely not be quite as impressive as you might anticipate. My kids were already self-conscious about speaking Chinese with their father and aunt by the age of about 4. They didn't mind with their grandparents, because they didn't have much choice, but they'd still use more English than Chinese if possible. I'm the same... I'm quite comfortable speaking pidgin Chinese to my MIL, but DH would struggle to get a sentence or anything out of me.

I can't help you make the decision because all I have to offer is my own experiences, and either way there are both pros and cons. I've had my kids watching French teaching videos for a couple of years, and they love that because any television is better than none at all. Have you already introduced Sophie to basic French?? Do you speak to her in French, read to her, let her have access to French spoken language in any way at all?? Until you've done that and seen her response it would be unfair to try and push your cherished dream onto her. If she loves it you've got ammunition. If she hates it you've got your answer!

I assume you've told her many times that her name is a very popular French name... how does she respond to that??

Kerri.

Sounds like it could be rather unbalanced, which could lead you to more trouble down the road. If the emphasis is so strongly on language that other areas are neglected, that would definitely not be a bad thing. I'm with you on the importance of language, and I CHOSE to do French law in French at university (bad plan!), but I still wouldn't want to have the French at the expense of a balanced education. Learning any second language is useful I know in a broader sense, helps in the overall learning process, as well as tending to introduce the culture of the language being learned... all great incentives, but you can't have Sophie struggling with maths and science in which she may not be quite as naturally adept because the school encourages the thing she's strongest in. At this age I reckon it's better to offer something more balanced and rounded, rather than playing to a strength and having her move further away from other subjects at such a young age.

The more I hear, the more I would say that the parish school would be the better option. Of course it's only kindergarten, and whilst you don't want to be shifting around too much, it's still not a last-chance decision. The problem is that the decisions about our children's education are the ones we tend to be most anal about - hence my problem over primary school for my DD and my near headlong rush into homeschooling which wouldn't have been right for me as an individual, as right as I think it is in general. And the first decisions are the harder ones, even though it's the later ones which are more important. Find out everything you can about both the schools, particularly by visiting both schools. Talk to your daughter about what she wants, trying hard not to colour your questions so she supports only your perspective... she's not old enough to make the decision for you, but she's old enough to have opinions (especially since she's your daughter! ), and if you ask questions like what she's looking forward to about school, or what she likes already (has she been in any programme up to now??), maybe show her things like Sesame Street videos about school (I have that one and it's quite useful? just see what her own expectations and feelings are about school. It might help to inform you. As your husband says, you can always try teaching her the French at home if oyu decide on the parish school, and of course you'll be instilling good (Catholic) values whichever school you choose.

It's too early to specialise, no matter how important language is to you both. She still needs to get through a decent few years of high school maths and science even if she's a writer too. And it's up to you to protect the balance in her education - just to load on a little more pressure!

Kerri.

It sounds like it would be harder to go from Parish to French than vice-versa. If I were you I would:

Try them both for a day, they must have a visitation day program. See how you, Sophie, and dad feel about both days.

If they still seemed evenly matched, start at French to see how it goes. If it doesn't work out you could always move to the parish school, but Sophie would probably be able to fit in more quickly and easily than doing the switch the other way.

It has been my experience that "fit", that is, the child and family feeling comfortable and happy in the school community is the most important predictor of success in any school.

Good Luck!
-Jo

Well, you came to the conclusion I did before I got to post here. I was just going to say...

1. Forget about what other people think and do what you really want to do; and,

2. It's not going to mess up her education if you have to fine-tune your decision later.

You'll have figured out after a few weeks into it if the language program is working for Sophie. Sounds like she'd love it! And you can always do the "unschool" thing at home...i.e., surround her with lots and lots of interesting books and learning tools, which of course, being quite literate yourself, you are already doing. So don't worry, it's all going to turn out just fine.

I think the best way to get over the intelligence-anxiety with our kids is to focus on helping them become who they are meant (or created, in my view) to be. Your DD is just like you, so that's easier for you to understand. But my DD is as different from me as if she came from another world! I have to interpret her through her father; she's exactly like him. There are lots of different kinds of intelligences. My DD will never have lovely handwriting and will probably never be a terrific speller, let's just put it that way! She's not a detail gal, she's a big-picture gal. Each of us is given gifts that enrich our own lives and the lives of others, but they are only as useful as our character is good. I guess I'm trying to say that there's a lot more to education than just "getting smarter." Kindness, wisdom, perseverance, self-control...these undergird knowledge and ability and make them useful. If the French school supports (or at least doesn't work against) those things, I say go for it!