Schooled in pre-school

I have many hopes for The Boy; that he'll find true love, lead a happy life and get a good education. I also really hope that he won't inherit my tendency to procrastinate. A prime example of my procrastination being my utter ignorance, some might say wilful ignorance, of what it takes to get my kid into pre-school.

Friends whose kids are younger than The Boy have long since settled on pre-school, signed up for waiting lists, paid deposits and made friends with teachers and directors. I, on the other hand, had waited to last week to make a call to schedule an interview/walk-trough. Very lazy of me and it's definitely high-time I get my butt in gear and begin our first steps to Operation Cal/UCLA/Harvard/Yale or whatever Graduating Class of 2030(followed, of course, by graduate work at one of the aforementioned schools).

Maybe my procrastination is down to me being reluctant to see The Boy grow up. Maybe it's because I'm overwhelmed by the choices before me; Montessori, Reggio Emilia, play-based, language-based what-have-you. Maybe it's because I'm cheap and don't want to shell out the cash. Truth be told, my feet-dragging is probably the result of all of those, but time does not stand still and waiting lists don't magically get shorter.

Anyway, our visit this morning was amazing. The Boy loved it and all the kids looked really happy. They adhere to a "language based" method of learning. I'm not sure what exactly that means but I like what it means for The Boy - play, trikes, art projects, some learning, play, sand boxes, dump trucks and lots of getting dirty. We were told that he'd need extra clothes everyday because of getting dirty, and that the primary function of the school wasn't to "learn" stuff or even to socialize, but to develop a sense of himself apart from me.

That hurt. A lot. But I guess it's time, or will be in September. Sniff.

So yeah, today a room full of 2 year olds, 24 years from now this:

Pic from http://www.capsandgownsnow.com/