On the Preschool Prowl

It isn't anything like the horror stories I've heard from friends in Singapore who are trying to get their kids into the top schools, but finding a preschool for Kayla in this end of the valley has been quite a....challenge.

For starters, there aren't that many options, which really isn't that big of a problem--I subscribe to "the more choices you have, the bigger the headache" theory.

It has been easy rounding up and whittling the list down to a manageable few; the problem we're facing is that the schools we like don't offer preschool, only Jr.K.

Preschool starts at 3..and Jr. K at 4. I was hoping to put her in a 2/3-day preschool program so she can socialize, learn to be civil in a classroom setting, get some healthy detachment from Mommy and Daddy, plus it gives a couple of hours off to catch up on work and stuff.

We found one school that we liked that offers preschool and we're most likely going to send her there--but it also means we'll probably have to switch schools when she goes to Kindergarten at 5. (We'd like her to attend the Christian academy just 5 min from our place, but they only offer a K-8th program). We'll see.

We had shortlisted another school initially. It sounded perfect- small class sizes, up in the mountains, lots of fresh air, green space and interaction with nature. But it was a good thing we decided to check out the open house. Situated next to the preschool campus was a temple dedicated to a silent monk. I'm all for religious tolerance, but I thought the school brochure should have reflected its affliations instead of touting itself as a "non-religious" school when clearly it wasn't. So that's that.

Another major problem is Kayla's birthdate. A lot of the private schools are switching to a Sep 1 deadline. (ie unless you're born Sep 1 and earlier, you'll have to wait another school year before starting). I'd rather she start earlier than later (yes those pockets of free time are sorely needed) so that's yet another limitation.

Sigh...why can't school be easier?