I know it seems like a long way off, but registration starts next month. Luckily, I already know the school. I'm going to send him to Tiny Tots, where I taught last year and where Ellie went for her threes and fours program. I love that it's a cooperative program, which allows me to be an active part of his education. I love that I know all the kids in his class and the parents. I can see him in action in the classroom and see how he's developing--the ultimate parent-teacher conference. I also love that Tiny Tots is kind of old school. They still do a lot of the things that people my age think of as "preschool" stuff. They do a craft every day, they have theme days, and my favorite, they do 4 field trips a year. Tiny Tots does have one major flaw, they're cut off for the three year old program is September 1st (it was extended to the 10th this year). Vince's birthday is the 18th of September. He missed the cut off by exactly a week this year. So here's the other thing, the cut off for the fours program is the 30th of September. So this year I have a choice--Three year old class, or Four year old class. And this is my newest obsession. I think about it in the car, in the shower, while making dinner. As I said, it's not that big of a deal. I know this. Really, I do. But I want to do what's best for him and I just can't decide which to do.
I'm going to send him to preschool for two years. He's too young to send to Kindergarten in two years. I taught, I know that sending a kid, a little boy especially, who's only a few days for the state cut-off date is just setting him up for failure. I've never heard a parent say, "I really wish we hadn't waited to send him to school. He's just so much more mature than the other kids and a little better adjusted." However, I've heard lots of parents regretting the choice to send their summer baby to kindergarten. So that part of the decision is made. Two years. But 3s and 4s or 4s and 5s? This is my dilemma.
When I decided to blog about it, I thought I needed to add a green spin on it, but there's not really a green aspect to education, really. But all my hippy magazines that I read always seem to lean toward home schooling when discussing education. That's when another option hit me...I can "home school" him for this year, teaching him the things that he'd learn in a 3s class. So we've started working on his name. We're talking about the letters in it and how to write it. He has "homework" that we're doing each night with the bigger kids to theirs. I'm not pushing him a lot, like I did with Caden. ( We used to sit down for at least 1/2 hr every day when he was 3. My goal was to teach him self-control...how to SIT, hold a pencil, basically "do school".) I do lots of classes with him at the YMCA. Preschool Play and Learn (gym), swimming, gymnastics, Art Gym Swim (it's AWESOME! If you live in the North Canton area and have preschool aged kids I HIGHLY recommend it!). He's getting socialized, just like homeschoolers do. We do play dates--he interacts with other kids other than our family. I'm not so worried about his social development---which I know is the focus of the 3s program. It's more the academic, which would be the bigger focus of the 4s and definitely the 5s program.
All it took was for me to sit here and argue it out--to you. Thank you! I knew that I already made the decision, (You know how you flip a coin to make a decision you *think* you have no opinion about but then you realized you feel a little let down when it lands on heads--guess you really did prefer the tails option!) I just didn't really realize it yet. So there it is. I'm signing him up for the 4s class next year, then the 5s class the year after that. Phewww! That's one less thing to worry about! That's the stress of 4 kids. It's not the physical aspect of having them, 4x the laundry, 4x the toys, 4x the mess, 4x the noise. It's 4x the worry that you're doing the right thing. But like I said, I probably won't really know if I've made the right choice for a few years.
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