Three-yr old preschool
OK, this post will veer right into the sappy hinterlands of my mothering mind, but here goes.
Today was a big day. We went and looked at preschools for Boy #1. (sobbing wildly) As far as stages of life go, I know this is NOTHING compared to 1st grade, but I almost wanted to cry when we put down our registration fee (more on this step in a moment).
We visited two preschools (so far) and have four more on the docket, but the very first one we went to looked absolutely perfect to me. Pianos in the rooms, it's in a house so it feels homey but is definitely school and not daycare, colorful toys abounding, great play equiptment outside, *very* swell teacher who gave us the tour... everything you'd imagine preschool to be. She talked a lot about how the kids learn to play together, share, listen to the teacher, etc etc. It just felt sweet and nice and they even have cubbies. No preschool is complete without them.
But back to the registration fee: it's basically a hold-your-spot deal, and let me tell you, it's worth holding. I thought Harvard was hard to get into. Many of the top-ranked schools in our fair city are already full and have been for months. OK, so it's August, schools start in September, and I'm only just getting around to this but it's been a little crazy so leave me alone, and yes, this is all about denying the fact that my firstborn is growing up and he isn't a little boy anymore, and yes, he reminds me of that, and I'm going to have to start separating myself from him and I can't stand it! (wild sobbing resumes)
So the first preschool we went to was great, the next one, not so great. It was a stark contrast to the first. The teacher who toured us took us to the 3-yr old classroom and talked about their curriculum. I was bored and I'm not even 3. The materials were old and crusty. There was a dusty flags-of-the-world collection where they learn about other countries. There were grey walls and crusty old wooden blocks and a poster of cursive writing. (An aside: do 3-yr olds learn cursive these days?) Just kind of grungy, and not in a 1990's-Seattle kind of way. We were letting our boy look around the room (no one was in it) and when he got to some beads, the tour guide said, "Be careful not to drop those, they are glass and will break." Huh?, I thought. Glass beads (glass anything) in a 3-yr old classroom seems odd. But who am I to say.
Bottom line is, I'm feeling kind of sad, because our boys are growing up. Boy #2 is on the verge of crawling any day, and now this. Boy #1 could not be more excited about the prospect of going to preschool. And I am happy, because I think early education is so so so very important for a lot of reasons. But it's just amazing that this little person that my DH and I created is eager for this adventure. Life couldn't move any faster if it tried.
Today was a big day. We went and looked at preschools for Boy #1. (sobbing wildly) As far as stages of life go, I know this is NOTHING compared to 1st grade, but I almost wanted to cry when we put down our registration fee (more on this step in a moment).
We visited two preschools (so far) and have four more on the docket, but the very first one we went to looked absolutely perfect to me. Pianos in the rooms, it's in a house so it feels homey but is definitely school and not daycare, colorful toys abounding, great play equiptment outside, *very* swell teacher who gave us the tour... everything you'd imagine preschool to be. She talked a lot about how the kids learn to play together, share, listen to the teacher, etc etc. It just felt sweet and nice and they even have cubbies. No preschool is complete without them.
But back to the registration fee: it's basically a hold-your-spot deal, and let me tell you, it's worth holding. I thought Harvard was hard to get into. Many of the top-ranked schools in our fair city are already full and have been for months. OK, so it's August, schools start in September, and I'm only just getting around to this but it's been a little crazy so leave me alone, and yes, this is all about denying the fact that my firstborn is growing up and he isn't a little boy anymore, and yes, he reminds me of that, and I'm going to have to start separating myself from him and I can't stand it! (wild sobbing resumes)
So the first preschool we went to was great, the next one, not so great. It was a stark contrast to the first. The teacher who toured us took us to the 3-yr old classroom and talked about their curriculum. I was bored and I'm not even 3. The materials were old and crusty. There was a dusty flags-of-the-world collection where they learn about other countries. There were grey walls and crusty old wooden blocks and a poster of cursive writing. (An aside: do 3-yr olds learn cursive these days?) Just kind of grungy, and not in a 1990's-Seattle kind of way. We were letting our boy look around the room (no one was in it) and when he got to some beads, the tour guide said, "Be careful not to drop those, they are glass and will break." Huh?, I thought. Glass beads (glass anything) in a 3-yr old classroom seems odd. But who am I to say.
Bottom line is, I'm feeling kind of sad, because our boys are growing up. Boy #2 is on the verge of crawling any day, and now this. Boy #1 could not be more excited about the prospect of going to preschool. And I am happy, because I think early education is so so so very important for a lot of reasons. But it's just amazing that this little person that my DH and I created is eager for this adventure. Life couldn't move any faster if it tried.
posted by Left Coast Sister at 1:16 PM
2 Comments:
It's *always* "wait! this is happening too fast all of a sudden!" with kids, isn't it??? #1 here has taken to telling me that 'next year i'll be four, and then after that i'll learn to drive!'
I feel your bittersweetness. And, I'm also really glad you found a school to feel good about! hugs.
good job girlie...
i hate that from the moment they are born they are separating from us..
not fair!
i'll be caling you in a year or so for some tips on shopping for & surviving preschool:)
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