Keeley is in her Mother's Day Out program and doing wonderfully. In fact, Oma picked her up on Monday and she didn't cry at all. Her teachers told Oma to let me know that it must just be a show she puts on for me! She brings home artwork, learns new skills, and, most importantly, learns how to be away from me some.
At the beginning of the year, we applied for Keeley to attend a montessori school. We are very torn about the public school situation when our girls get there and I have some friends that have their daughter in this montessori school now. I like all that I know about montessori so I went on a tour and then had a teacher come out and do a home consultation for us. I explained to the teacher that we were thinking of enrolling Keeley next fall but thought it might be good to have some similar activities/structure in the house this year so she was prepared. The teacher told me that Keeley was the perfect age now and that they really like to get there kids around this age so they can truly get to know them before they move onto primary at 3. She said they were full now but that we could always apply and see what happened.
Well, they called to let us know we could come to an "interview" which is the next step in the enrollment process. At the end of the interview, they told us they had a spot open right now because one of the kids ended up not coming.
Now I'm quite torn. We can always say that we aren't ready and be placed back in the waiting pool. Or we can enroll her now. It is a great program. The classroom is great, the student teacher ratio is great, they play in the garden every day, this school goes through middle school (a lot just go through 6 years old)....BUT it means that my little girl will be gone for 15 hours every week.
The program is from 8:30-11:30 every day. Basically she will wake up, eat, get dressed, and play for a few minutes and then I'll take her to school. She'll come home and eat lunch and then take her nap. I'll have post-nap time with her.
I know lots of people have their kids in day care all day every day, but I don't. I've chosen to stay home so that I can watch all the little things. For instance, the other day I watched Keeley play with a roly poly for about 20 minutes. At what point will I be okay not seeing all the little things? I asked my mom about it and she said she felt uneasy about that when she dropped me off at TCU - not helpful Mom!
However, I see the value in the program for education and for socialization. Possibly even more important, I see the value of having some Keeley-free time with Kayden in these formative years. Am I ready to give up 3 hours a day with her though? How on earth do you make the decision to let someone else have that much time with your kiddo? How do I give up the huge role I play in her life - I truly think that most things are "caught not taught"? At what point am I keeping her home for me and not for her anymore? So many things to think about!!
I've been thinking about enrolling Claire in Montessori since the day she was born. I am a product of Montessori from 9 months through Kindergarten, and I think it's a wonderful education. The more I think about it for Claire, the more I've decided to wait until she is 3. Since the classroom is structured specifically for them to enter as the youngest and eventually become the oldest, I thought that would be the best time for her to enter. I'm going to keep her in her current pre-school (used to be a MDO, but is now licensed) for the rest of this year and next school year before switching her to Montessori through Kindergarten. Just something to think about for Keeley. Five days a week seems like so much for an 18 month old especially when she has the benefit of a stay-at-home mom.
ReplyDeleteSuch tough decisions! Call if you need to talk it out.
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