[Photo by Liu Guanguan/China News Service]

Ye believes home schooling might offer Li a better childhood.

"Now, I'm not sure how much I can trust schools," she says.

"I never imagined this when she was born. But her father and I are hesitant to enroll her."

Ye sticks to a disciplined regimen.

Li gets up at 7 am. She studies painting for an hour and then takes an hour of piano with Ye, who works as a music teacher.

Li also attends the weekend classes her mother gives at a private music school.

"She sits in the back row and listens," Ye says.

"I take her because it's her only chance during the week to make friends and play with others. One problem is she doesn't have many peers to interact with."

Ye is unsure about what to do next year, when her daughter should start primary school.

Another consideration is home schooling falls into a legal gray area, since the law requires nine years of compulsory education.

Still, many parents take the risk.

A 55-year-old father, who would only give his surname, Zhang, says he was shocked at the teacher's reaction when he told his 9-year-old daughter's instructor he was pulling her out of school.

"She didn't even ask why," Zhang says. "It was sort of understandable because there were more than 60 students in the class. The teacher was probably happy to have one fewer kid to deal with - at least one whose grades weren't top-of-the-class."