We have decided to send Maya to preschool number 1 for two days a week. Instead of starting in September, we are hoping to start when the preschool's summer session begins. We have been talking about preschool with Maya, have shown her a get-ready-for-school episode of Sesame Street, and have taken her on several walks to see her new school.
Of course, we still have to actually make the call to enrol her, but the preschool director said there is plenty of space. So it shouldn't be a problem.
It is amazing how hard a decision it actually is on where to send a child for preschool. And in some bizarre way, the fact that preschool 2 had a waiting list to get in actually made me doubt our initial reaction that preschool 1 was the best fit for us. I mean, if people are waiting to get in, then surely the school must be the best, right? Even if our instincts tell us otherwise.
What swayed us is that we saw the kids at preschool 1 playing together peacefully. We saw them eagerly accept our daughter into their group, with the teacher's encouragement. When Maya was trying to grab a toy from another child, we saw the teachers pause to see if the two kids would work it out, and then comment: "Look, they're negotiating over it." And we decided that our priority for school right now is not learning "school stuff", but learning self-awareness and kindness and sharing. So preschool 1 it is!
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4 comments:
Hurray! This is great news! The boys will be thrilled, especially Bug.
I know what you mean about the waiting list. It's the old thing about not wanting to be a member of any club that would have you as a member. Sorta.
Any chance Maya will start in May?
Yes, I think she will start May 15!! Mike and Maya stopped by today and got the registration papers, so it is pretty much a done deal. Mike said Maya made a beeline to play blocks with Giggle!
How nice for Maya. It sounds like an ideal transition to the fall.
Where we live everything filled up by February-March! M turns 3 in October, after the Sept. 1st cut-off, so that means she would be in the 2 year old classroom for the year, when she will just be turning 3. I am trying to figure this all out for the fall.
Hey Nancy. Maya has the same deal in terms of age for school. Her b-day is also in October. That's one reason I like the mixed age setting, because I don't have to wonder if I should push her up to the older group or keep her as the oldest in her class. She can just develop at her own pace!!
I can't believe that all the school near you are filled up already. How annoying is that!! I hope you can find a good place to put M.
Funny that I somehow had the idea that M was older than Maya (since that was my perspective when we were measuring age in weeks!!), when actually they are less than a month apart in age! Funny how time can warp a perspective!!
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