School

I anxiously took N into school on tuesday not sure that I wanted to leave him there after last week. He could totally sense my feelings and tried to tell me that he really wanted to come to the grocery store with me. When that didn't work he started to tell me that his tummy hurt!
I was happy to see that they have made some changes since last week. There is a note on the door asking all those coming and going to make sure that the door is shut. Bells now hang on the handle so they can hear if my kid, or anyone else's decide to make a run for it. And they had a baby gate up stopping the kids from going into the cubby area, keeping them in the main room. His teacher apologized again and said that they felt bad about it. While I appreciate the apology it still worries me, so we've decided to give notice and take him out. Luckily for us I got called into work Thursday morning so he didn't go to school at all. I have a feeling that may be the way it plays out while we get through the month notice period.

N and I visited another school on Monday morning and after the initial shy period he was right at home there. We were scheduled for a 30 min visit and stayed for an hr and a half. Even then I had to drag him out with the promise of breakfast. It's a small school with a max of 7 kids in what would be N's class - he actually knows a bunch of the kids from moms club so I like that. But we are slightly concerned about the academics side if things. They will work on colors, shapes, some numbers, name identification and spelling of name. This is all stuff that N already knows so it could potentially be boring for him?! The kids get outside play as the weather allows, do lots of projects, including baking with the director who is a chef. From my point of view there is more parent involvement. They have a class mom, sign up sheets for volunteers, chance to read in the class, parent teacher conferences, twice yearly shows and lots of fun field trips.

I guess that my indecision over schools is not uncommon, but I sure am having a hard time with it. Part of the problem is probably that since I've lived in the US I've worked for very wealthy families. Those kids have always done every activity you can imagine and gone to the best schools. If we could afford to I'd send N to the big boy's school, but at $15,000 a year (just for preschool) it's not only out of our budget but it's also 30 mins from our house. That would mean lots of time in the car for N and even more for the new baby who would have to travel there and back twice a day. As preschool for this age is between 2.5 and 3 hrs I really want somewhere close to home. It would be nice to get some things done while he's at school and not spend the whole time in the car!