It's a little far off, but I need to make a decision regarding next school year for my soon-to-be 3-year-old. I'd love to be able to save some money, but I also want him to be challenged and in a supportive environment.

Our district has a Preschool for All program that my son has qualified for. It's 5 days, but only half day. There is no aftercare and he does't qualify for bussing. On the other hand, I loved everyone I met there and it's at the primary school where he will attend kindergarten, and he would have only accredited teachers.

He's currently in daycare full-time but he's also on 2 waiting lists for full-time private daycare programs. He should be able to start one of those programs in May/June after his birthday. None of these programs provide transportation or a half day rate, but they could be done part-time (such as 3 days a week).

In my mind I have 3 options:

1: Move him to a new full-time daycare, since the current one isn't very well managed in terms of curriculum and communication.

2: Enroll him in half-day preschool in August and hire someone privately to pick him up and do aftercare.

3: Enroll him in half-day preschool AND 3 days per week at private daycare. I would handle all pick-ups on my lunch break, and I would work from home 2 afternoons a week while he (hopefully) naps. I'm not even sure if that would work for my company, but I'd have to wait and see.

Any thoughts? I'd hate to pass up the preschool opportunity, but I feel like it could cause a lot of stress coordinating transportation.