My 10-month-old is already registered for school, as of yesterday. Say what?!? Yes, it’s true. I want her to start school this fall when she’s 18 months. She’ll be going for two half days (4 hours) a week.
Of course, finding a preschool that had toddler programs wasn’t easy. I live way out in the middle of nowhere, to make things even more difficult. I did NOT just want a home daycare where kids just run around. That defeats the purpose of “school”. As it turned out, the ONLY preschool center I thought looked promising turned out to be a great fit!
The program is in an early childhood development center located on a nearby college campus. When I say nearby, I mean 10-15 minutes away, which for me is closer than the nearest grocery store! I dropped by unannounced yesterday evening and was very happy with everything I saw. I was shown into every classroom, again unannounced, and shown the daily routine and lesson plan for each of the rooms. The building is code-access locked with video surveillance, and has the additional benefit of campus security. When you first walk in, you can see a large screen with camera surveillance of the inside of ALL the classrooms, which I was told that parents are welcome to watch at any time for as long as you want. All of the transparency was really comforting. You also have access to every single inspection document in its entirety online.
Jo Jo will be just old enough to enter the 18-33 month room on September 2nd, her first day. She has such an active, inquisitive mind, and she loves to explore new surroundings. She’ll be there from 8-12 Mondays and Thursdays, and I’m welcome to bring her before that as much as I need to and stay with her until she’s comfortable.
There is a government program for pre-K (4-year-olds) that is also run at the center alongside their regular preschool. The only difference being that its FREE if you qualify, and I was told that if she’s adopted she’d qualify. That’s great news, because it’s from 8-3pm Monday through Thursday. Preschool can be very expensive for that amount of time! I’d love it if she can remain in the same “school” all the way up to kindergarten.
So, I enrolled her and reserved her spot. Part of me is nervous about making these plans before TPR and adoption is final. I don’t want to jinx it. But I also don’t want all the spots to fill up and lose our place, since I haven’t found another option at all.
Mother of All Things 