Pre-school
The week has finally come. I think when my son was a little infant, I dreamed of the time that I would be able to take him to school and leave him at school, just for a few hours of the day. I had heard about a Moms Day Out program through the church where I attended MOPS for four hours on Mondays for $65/month. Of course that program didn't start until he turned 2 years old and I started MOPS when he was 11 weeks old so 2 years old seemed such a distance away.
And now he's 31 months old, a few months away from turning 3 and I feel panicked. I feel this pressure to pick the right pre-school that is within our budget, within a close proximity of where we live, and just knowing that he is being cared for in a way that I don't have to worry that he is being treated with as much care as a teacher can provide for my child. I have no idea how I'll feel on that first day...probably some happiness that he will be experiencing new things in this world, but also some sadness knowing that my little boy is indeed growing up.
Registration has already started in some pre-schools and one of the places that we're considering has a new program. Their open house is not until March 23rd so knowing whether or not I need to get the registration fee in order to hold our spot is kind of a mystery. Plus many of the schools I've looked at require a potty-trained child.
I've talked to different people on the phone, but mainly through email contact. There was a place I just found out about very close to our house, but so far the communication I've had via phone has left me less than impressed. I left a message on a Wednesday and sent an email to the director. I got a return phone call from a co-director on Thursday and finally a call back and an email from the director on Friday afternoon. The co-director was okay...not too friendly, but not exactly unfriendly. When I tried to return the phone call to the director on Friday, I talked to a very impatient, not very friendly teacher (I think from looking at the web site if I heard her name correctly when she answered the phone) who said, "Yeah, your name is written down." I was asked by the co-director to give a day next week when I would be there to tour the pre-school. And I wondered why did it take 2 days for the director to return my phone call and email? Did the director and co-director not communicate that I had already spoken to her. And this teacher that answered the phone that showed no patience for me just explaining I was returning the director's phone call...well what kind of patience would this teacher have for my child who will be leaving the comfort of mommy, daddy, and grandparents for the first time? I am less than impressed.
I recently read a statistic that talked about pregnant women in their last trimester are often in tune with people's feelings more so than others. Am I being overly sensitive in how I was talked to? I think not. I think my gut and intuition are picking up on things through just simple phone conversations without having even visited yet.
Of course the one director I spoke with and liked very well is at a pre-school about 20-25 minutes away...much further away than I would like. But if this place fosters a warm, nurturing, loving environment where my son is excited to go to twice a week, it will be worth the drive versus picking one close by to us where he will not feel this way and inevitably he will drop out because he won't want to go.
There are many different reasons why this is important to me. I know my son needs this socialization with other children rather than being around adults all day. He needs to learn to follow rules, needs to learn that there are other adults in this world that he can trust. I will also have a 5-month old baby at the start of pre-school and it will be nice to have some one-on-one time with just the baby. I know that it will also be important for me to have one-on-one time with my oldest son, too. And I'm hoping to use this time as well for running errands, possibly working out and trying to lose the weight I've gained through this pregnancy plus before pregnancy, and maybe even taking a nap some days as I'm assuming I'll be even more tired than I've ever been with two little ones.
This is where we're at these days...getting more uncomfortable and bigger by the moment and running out of time to get everything done before baby #2 makes an appearance.
And now he's 31 months old, a few months away from turning 3 and I feel panicked. I feel this pressure to pick the right pre-school that is within our budget, within a close proximity of where we live, and just knowing that he is being cared for in a way that I don't have to worry that he is being treated with as much care as a teacher can provide for my child. I have no idea how I'll feel on that first day...probably some happiness that he will be experiencing new things in this world, but also some sadness knowing that my little boy is indeed growing up.
Registration has already started in some pre-schools and one of the places that we're considering has a new program. Their open house is not until March 23rd so knowing whether or not I need to get the registration fee in order to hold our spot is kind of a mystery. Plus many of the schools I've looked at require a potty-trained child.
I've talked to different people on the phone, but mainly through email contact. There was a place I just found out about very close to our house, but so far the communication I've had via phone has left me less than impressed. I left a message on a Wednesday and sent an email to the director. I got a return phone call from a co-director on Thursday and finally a call back and an email from the director on Friday afternoon. The co-director was okay...not too friendly, but not exactly unfriendly. When I tried to return the phone call to the director on Friday, I talked to a very impatient, not very friendly teacher (I think from looking at the web site if I heard her name correctly when she answered the phone) who said, "Yeah, your name is written down." I was asked by the co-director to give a day next week when I would be there to tour the pre-school. And I wondered why did it take 2 days for the director to return my phone call and email? Did the director and co-director not communicate that I had already spoken to her. And this teacher that answered the phone that showed no patience for me just explaining I was returning the director's phone call...well what kind of patience would this teacher have for my child who will be leaving the comfort of mommy, daddy, and grandparents for the first time? I am less than impressed.
I recently read a statistic that talked about pregnant women in their last trimester are often in tune with people's feelings more so than others. Am I being overly sensitive in how I was talked to? I think not. I think my gut and intuition are picking up on things through just simple phone conversations without having even visited yet.
Of course the one director I spoke with and liked very well is at a pre-school about 20-25 minutes away...much further away than I would like. But if this place fosters a warm, nurturing, loving environment where my son is excited to go to twice a week, it will be worth the drive versus picking one close by to us where he will not feel this way and inevitably he will drop out because he won't want to go.
There are many different reasons why this is important to me. I know my son needs this socialization with other children rather than being around adults all day. He needs to learn to follow rules, needs to learn that there are other adults in this world that he can trust. I will also have a 5-month old baby at the start of pre-school and it will be nice to have some one-on-one time with just the baby. I know that it will also be important for me to have one-on-one time with my oldest son, too. And I'm hoping to use this time as well for running errands, possibly working out and trying to lose the weight I've gained through this pregnancy plus before pregnancy, and maybe even taking a nap some days as I'm assuming I'll be even more tired than I've ever been with two little ones.
This is where we're at these days...getting more uncomfortable and bigger by the moment and running out of time to get everything done before baby #2 makes an appearance.
posted by Princess at 3:17 PM
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