Kindergarten. In my mind, I kept repeating and processing the word, “Kindergarten.” My son would need a backpack, lunch sack, and a short list of school supplies, but I was going to need one thing, a box of tissues. Charlie was signed up to start Kindergarten at our town public school, and it just happened that his teacher was a friend of the family. I should have felt at ease. He would be with someone I knew and trusted, but my heart was unsettled. Charlie had previously attended two years of preschool at Pioneer Valley Christian Academy, and our family fell in love with his teachers, Mrs. Andre, and Mrs. Feldott. Mark and I never really thought about paying for private schooling as we both had attended public schools growing up, and we certainly did not think we were in an income bracket to afford private education. However, we did fill out an application for financial aid at PVCA, “just in case.”Mark and I had a choice to make. Sending our son to public school would leave more money in our pockets not having to make a tuition payment, but we would add to our plates knowing that our child would be exposed to a worldview that we do not practice in our home. In the scripture above, God instructs Christian families to teach about His ways from sun up until sundown. The average school day for full-time Kindergarten is 6 plus hours or 30 hours a week. Thirty hours without the mention of the most important piece of my son’s existence, God.
In the end, we chose the path less traveled and enrolled Charlie at PVCA. He is now going into Grade Four, and our youngest son, Ben, is entering Grade One. It is not without sacrifice that we send our sons to a private, Christian school, but the eternal investment we are making in their lives is priceless.
Mark and I had a choice to make. Sending our son to public school would leave more money in our pockets not having to make a tuition payment, but we would add to our plates knowing that our child would be exposed to a worldview that we do not practice in our home. In the scripture above, God instructs Christian families to teach about His ways from sun up until sundown. The average school day for full-time Kindergarten is 6 plus hours or 30 hours a week. Thirty hours without the mention of the most important piece of my son’s existence, God.In the end, we chose the path less traveled and enrolled Charlie at PVCA. He is now going into Grade Four, and our youngest son, Ben, is entering Grade One. It is not without sacrifice that we send our sons to a private, Christian school, but the eternal investment we are making in their lives is priceless.