Two LKG offers, one deposit deadline on Monday, and we still can't agree

apricot_sketch_413217 Apr 2026

We have two LKG offers for our daughter for June. One is a smaller school that stops at class 2, so she would have to move again for class 3. The other runs all the way to class 12, but it's a big campus and the van ride would be about forty minutes each way. My partner likes the idea of one admission and no more school hunting for ten years. I keep thinking about a three year old in a van for eighty minutes a day, and about how happy she looked in the smaller school's classroom on the visit. Both deposits are non-refundable, and the first is due Monday. If you chose a school knowing there would be a second move, how did that move go? And if you chose the long commute at this age, did it get easier, or did you regret it?

4 comments

amber_lantern_673117 Apr 2026
we did the long commute with our elder one from LKG. first two months she slept in the van both ways. after that it was just normal for her. the hard part was ours, every sick day or evening event meant a 40 min drive. no regrets about the school but i wouldn't say it was nothing
violet_violin_157017 Apr 2026
Boy in my son's class joined at class 3. Cried one week. Then had more friends than anyone.
- apricot_sketch_413217 Apr 2026
  That's reassuring, thank you. Do you know if anything in particular helped him that first week? I'm trying to picture what we'd do differently if we knew it was coming ❤️
- apricot_sketch_413218 Apr 2026
  My partner read your comment over breakfast and said 'one week of crying versus nine years of vans'. First time I've seen my partner waver. Still undecided, but thank you.
willow_lantern_107917 Apr 2026
one thing nobody asks: does the small school help with the class 3 move or are you on your own. some keep a list of where their kids went and how it worked out. ask them before monday if you can
juniper_puzzle_81618 Apr 2026
We're a year behind you. One factual thing worth checking before Monday: whether the big school takes outside children into class 3. If it does, the small school isn't a dead end, you can apply there later. If it doesn't, your partner's one-admission point gets stronger.