{Pre-School}.

So, even though the calendar says it's March, and school typically begins in late August or early September, now is the time to find pre-schools. Excuse me? That's right. If you haven't "been there, done that" yet, get prepared. Finding pre-schools {at least, around this neck of the woods} isn't something that can be done weeks or even a month or 2 ahead of time. Oh no. If you want to get your child into the desired pre-school, start early. This is the lesson I learned last week.

My son who turns 3 this week will be starting pre-school this Fall {well, Summer, technically speaking}. I can hardly believe it! It seems just yesterday he was learning how to talk, and now they're going to be teaching him how to write numbers and letters?! Yikes! I have that feeling of, "Uh-huh. I'll believe it when I see it." I mean, I'm sure it's true, it just seems so...advanced, you know?

I had no clue as to just how different pre-schools can be. They can vary on everything from whether or not they are academic or play-based, how they discipline the children, what system {or not} they use to learn the alphabet, how big {or even "if"} they have a playground, whether music is offered and how often, and of course "the vibe" you get from just walking into the facility...among many others. Whew!

So I did what every "good" parent is supposed to do and set up tours for several pre-schools. I finally found one I absolutely adored, and guess what? All morning slots were full WITH WAITING LISTS TO BOOT! Sooo....what were my husband & I to do? Send him to a pre-school that wasn't as "good" as this one but at a better time, or select the afternoon time at the "better" pre-school? We went with the latter, and so our tyke will be in pre-school in the mid-to-late afternoon instead. I was hesitant since he can definitely concentrate better in the morning, and still does take an afternoon nap most days. Buuuuuuuuuuut....I was so much more comfortable with the staff at the selected pre-school and loved the vibe and their philosophy of teaching {plus, it was closer}, that its pros outweighed its negatives {the only one being the time-slot}. I figure he could well be done with naps by late August anyway.

So there you have it. If you have a little one and you're thinking of sending him/her to pre-school for the 2010/2011 {yikes! 2011??!} schoolyear, start looking NOW! No, better yet, LAST WEEK! Or if you're considering it for the 2011/2012 year, be aware that you need to begin the {somewhat daunting} procedure when January of that year hits.

{It's still nearly unbelievable to me. When did this all change?! I guess that's living in a "big city.}

Oh, and P.S., YES! This does mean we have finally...FINALLY...successfully potty-trained him {...huge smile...}, as required by the pre-schools!!!

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