Preschool search

Until Anna was 27 months, she was always either with me or with my husband. It doesn't mean at all that she hasn't been in group settings. She and her papa were busy bees - playgroups, playdates, story hour in the library, Gym class, Gymboree music class. But we felt that by now she is ready to venture outside without one of us always standing guard over her. That's why we started looking at early preschools (the ones that accept children from the age of 2). I also started reading materials about preschool selection on the Web. One thing is very clear - there is nothing out there that fits every child and every parent. One link that I highly recommend is a collection materials on preschool selection and preschool search on GreatSchools.net.

School selection proved harder than we expected. One thing we were clear on - we didn't want a school that focuses on academics. Our daughter is a bright child. She caught on typical preschool staples - colors, shapes, letters by the time she was 2. We didn't feel that we need more "help" in getting her ready for school. We were rather interested in extending her early childhood, but giving her more opportunities to learn independence and life skills. We were all set on Montessori schools based on our readings and recommendation from a friend. But we also wanted a school close to where we live. Our visit to a local Montessori started with director of the school telling us that our girl is very advanced, and that we are doing her disservice by keeping her at home. She needs to be in school, and she needs to be there every day, otherwise she doesn't adjust. We were not impressed with this pushy approach and with the state of facilities, so we kept looking. We had a very high hopes for a preschool that was considered "the best" in our neighborhood, so we couldn't wait for their open house. It was a train wreck. Obviously, the organizers didn't expect anyone show up with young children. The children were screaming and running around, while the director and other teachers made no attempt to engage them and just kept talking how great their school was. I admit - the school had most toys of games, but it was also very big. We were so turned off with their impersonal approach that we left as soon as we could.

We found what we were looking for in an unlikely place - a Christian school. We are not religious, but our friends told us that many of so-called "Christian schools" don't really have any evangelical curriculum, they just happen to be based in church buildings. We have visited one in our neighborhood and liked what we saw. It's a very new school, so number of students is still very small. The director of this school taught many years in Montessori, so she uses some of its principles. She had a flexible schedule and didn't mind at all to start Anna on two mornings a week. Somehow all this made me comfortable to try it out, even though I still have some reservations, because it's so bare in comparison with other schools we visited. I will write in another post about adapting to the new way of life.