The school decision is made!

Last week, I spoke to admissions directors at 7 different schools.  One that I think we might really have liked, had waiting a list, 2 were all day everyday schools, and G- was not old enough (or patty trained enough) for another 2.  That left us with 2 possibilities.  Ideally I wanted a school that he could also go to next year.  My dream situation was a school that he could go to 2-3 day a week this year from 9 or 10 until 2 or 3, and then go about the same times but for 4-5 days a week next year.  Alas, such a school does not exist, or at least does not currently have any opening.  Of the two remaining choices, one went everyday from 8 to 11:45 and the other had openings on Thursday and Friday and went from 8:45 to 1.

I reluctantly went to see St. S-, the every morning school.  I didn’t like the times because I really want his nanny to continue working for us, but I didn’t want to be away from G- for more than 6 hours.  That would mean she would be working less than 3 hours a day 2 days a week, and I wasn’t sure it would be worth her time.  Also, all G-’s classes are in the morning, so I would have to rearrange the whole schedule.

But when I got to the school, I loved it.  It is a true Montessori school (as opposed to a MDO program) and each class is staffed with certified Montessori instructors, most with many years of experience.  They incorporate music, art, Spanish, and movement into the day, and the classroom was wonderful.  The other school did not give me nearly the same positive vibe and the 1 o’clock time would wreak havoc on nap-time.

But what finally sold me on St S-’s was the drop off policy.  They strongly encourage parents to stay with the child for the first several days.. Eventually, they would like you to be able to drop the child at the door, actually a teacher comes and gets him out of the car for you, but they feel very strongly that it is important for the kids to have positive feelings about the school in the beginning.  (Seems like kind of a “well duh…”  to me, but whatever).

So now I’ve managed to work out his other classes, though he will have a new swimming teacher (which I know will be upsetting for him, he LOVES Doug!) and new gymnastics coach.  I still have to work out the nanny’s hours but I’m sure we can manage.

Actually I wrote this post a few days ago but never posted it.  So today was the first day of school and I'll be sure to post about it later.

Comments

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I hope he had a great first day! :)