u/Julia-Ay

First time posting here, and I'm looking for some advice!
My oldest is turning 5 soon and will be starting kindergarten in September at a local private Catholic school. She's a very bright, social little girl with a real thirst for learning.
Our story started when we, somewhat naively, applied there when she was 2½. We toured the school, heard great things from families with older kids, and didn't ask many questions. She was accepted and started full-day preschool (8:00-3:00) just a couple of months after turning 3.
It was really hard on me as a mom. I had a newborn at home, and suddenly my toddler became a full time student. She came home almost every day either melting down or falling asleep at the dinner table. She never slept during the school's 45-minute rest time. I asked if they could help encourage her to nap because I truly think it would have been a game changer for us, but it just never happened.
I wanted to pull her out, but because of the tuition refund policy, we couldn't. I work part-time and, after maternity leave, was only working one or two days a week, so she didn't necessarily need to be there full time. We could have switched her to half-day PK3, but my husband hoped she'd adjust as she got older. My mom guilt continued, and I ended up keeping her home one day most weeks (usually Monday or Friday) just to give her a break.
Then, somewhat naively again, we enrolled her in PK4 without really looking at other options. She was a year older, had an amazing, experienced teacher whom she absolutely loved, and the after-school meltdowns became much less frequent. Still, she generally had very little energy after school. We never signed her up for extracurricular activities because she just seemed spent. Most days, we'd simply play outside before dark. Toward the end of the year, restraint collapse became more noticeable.
So... we decided to continue into kindergarten. We're definitely not wealthy, but our cars are paid off and our mortgage is manageable, so we felt comfortable paying the tuition if it meant she could stay in a familiar environment with friends and teachers she already knew.
This week, though, I discovered another private school nearby that offers half-day preschool and a 9:00-1:00 kindergarten program—for significantly less tuition because of the shorter hours. They continue through elementary school, while her current school goes through 8th grade.
Ever since finding out, I've been beating myself up. I know I can't change the past, but I keep thinking about how different these last two years could have been. More importantly, I keep thinking about what kindergarten could look like for her if she only had four hours of school each day. She'd have time and energy to play with her little brother, spend time outside, and just enjoy being a kid instead of spending seven structured hours at school.
If we're accepted, we'd have to withdraw from her current school. Because it's after July 1st, we'd only receive 25% of our tuition back, so we'd lose several thousand dollars and then pay tuition at the new school on top of that. Financially, it definitely hurts.
The thing that really has me questioning everything is that she's currently in summer camp from 9:00-12:00, and she comes home so happy every single day. Seeing that has honestly made me dread the thought of going back to full-day school.
If you made it this far, thank you. What would you do? Would you take the financial hit to give your child a three-hour shorter school day if you truly believed it would improve her quality of life?
Has anyone been in a similar situation? If you chose the shorter kindergarten day, did you ever regret it? Or if you kept your child in full-day school, did things eventually get much easier?
I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences or thoughts.