Would you choose a hardcore program...where you could be SURE that your child was being pushed every single day to the very highest level he/she could achieve OR would you choose a program that was not likely to be very challenging academically but would grow into something more challenging (converting to a 130+ GT classroom at 3rd grade - still not nearly as rigorous as the other program, but closer).
What a great question! But I'm going to wimp out and answer both/neither.
2 hours of homework in K is neither desirable nor productive, IMHO. That seems to me to be of the "Baby Einstein" brand of thinking, and I don't buy into it. Kids learn by playing, experimenting, DOING, not by doing tons of homework. Frankly, I have my problems with even upper elementary students doing hours of homework. But in K? No way!
The other option isn't ideal either. Lack of academic challenge >in a highly academic program< (that's key!) is not acceptable because it will tend to kill the love of learning for the child. Now, a play-based program can be great, especially if it's half-day so the child has time to pursue individualized academic pursuits on his/her own time. But learning the ABCs when you can read chapter books is not going to cut it, not even for a couple of years. A couple of years is half the child's life when they're 5!
We're emergency homeschooling this year (after starting DS6 in public school in the fall), so we have--out of necessity!--thought a lot about this question. Our philosophy is very much what you outlined as your initial philosophy, though perhaps we expect/require a bit more than just enough academic rigor to keep him from misbehaving. I want DS6 to have the chance to do things that are hard for him so that he understands that you haven't failed until you've quit trying. I want him to grow in his education, not merely survive it.
However, I don't believe that hours of homework and a slavedriver mentality achieve those goals. There is no prize for finishing school first or fastest, and there's no reason to make learning itself into drudgery. I'd greatly prefer that DS6 gain a depth of knowledge and love of learning over speeding through material in some quest for maximizing potential...whatever that means!
The fact is, kids are natural scientists, and they learn most things best by playing around with them. That takes time to think and some measure of freedom.
As a side note, if I may be so bold...
I would suggest that you NOT push to have your child treated as an assistant teacher. Chances are good that this will happen anyway, but it is often not good for a child to be cast in that role. For a natural teacher, it might provide early on-the-job training--as if you need that!--but not everyone is a natural teacher. Many GT kids have no idea how to explain to a struggling student how they arrived at the answer, so it winds up being a frustrating interaction for both kids that leaves bad feelings on the part of the "student" and a nasty superiority complex for the "teacher." What a mess!
So to wrap up, I'd say that if you only have those two school choices, then I'd probably go with the second, the one more geared to exploration, suppplementing as necessary in the classroom and afterschool. It seems to line up best with your beliefs and seems to me to be best for kids. FWIW...
I look forward to reading the responses! Thanks for posting this!
K-
