Parents in recent weeks have sent their kids off to school, some for the first time. Whether it 's to pre-K, Kindergarten, or even university, it's a rite of passage many go through at some point in time.

But what if your teen wants to go to boarding school?

For the Palomares-Erickson family of Weyburn, the decision to send their oldest daughter, Lakshmi, to Briercrest Christian Academy was based on her best friend having started attending the Caronport school last year.

"It kind of intrigued her, and then we weren't so serious about it because we've always gone to school here, we're raising our kids here," she explained.

She said they told their daughter the tuition costs might be prohibitive, which sent her to tears in upset and disappointment.

"So when her dad said, 'okay, what is the reason for you wanting to go?' she said, 'I'm tired of being stuck around people I feel like I can't grow with', and so my husband instantly goes, 'yeah. Okay, you can go'."

"He said, 'if you wouldn't have answered me in such an adult like, real way', like it was a real feeling, it's her heart right? He said, 'I probably wouldn't have sent you'. Because it's a bigger cost for us."

"But, as he said, if she was here we'd be spending money on fast food, or clothes or shoes, things that don't matter. What matters is their actual mental, physical, spiritual, health, everything. And she wasn't getting that here. Lots of kids do get it here. Lots of kids don't, but lots of kids don't have the option to go to a boarding school."

While the whole scene suits Lakshmi, a social butterfly who loves to keep busy, Erickson noted some kids may find it too busy. That's not going to be the case, however, for her daughter.

"She's the kind of kid that's always kind of searched for that, like if she goes to two week camp, she's sad when two weeks is over, and most kids are like, 'I'm done' at two weeks, right?" she shared. "She loves being around people. She likes meeting people. She likes being busy. So it was a really good thing for her."

"They have events every weekend and all the kids go," she said. "Caronport is a dry community, so you don't have to worry about people just continually pressuring your kids to come drink."

Big sister being gone has not fully set i, however, for Lakshmi's younger siblings.

"Our oldest, Andrew, makes comments about Lakshmi every day, like, 'okay, we gotta go get Lakshmi from school!'," she shared. "But it kind of seems right now everyone is kind of in their group getting back to school, focusing. But especially when she comes home for the first weekend and having to go back and forth, that's really gonna be like when it's real."

Erickson said the excitement of back to school has been clouding reality from setting in, but they also know how much Lakshmi belongs in Caronport.

"We knew it was what she wanted, and we know it's going to be a really good," she said.

"We know it's a positive influence. We know that the teachers in the community, they raise your kids like you raise them at home. They take their keys away, they take their phones away. They have to approve outings for them, you know? Like they're here for us and for the kids, they're here for everyone, and it's just kind of really comforting, like, I'm not worried."

Erickson said while some teens learn independence through working a job around their hometown, this opportunity is helping their daughter spread her wings in a unique way.

"If she stays here and gets a job, is it really promoting what her spirit needs, what her soul needs? A job is a great experience for responsibility and to understand the real world, but there's going to be a lot of other things that give her that too."

While the Palomares-Erickson family looks forward to seeing Lakshmi soon, since Caronport is not too far away, they won't have to go too long between visits.

Jorges and Kathryn Erickson-Palomares with their oldest daughter Lakshmi at Caronport's Briercrest Christian Academy for the big send-off in early September.