When we moved here, we heard horror stories about getting kids into kindergarten. We live very close to one of the best Elementary schools in the area, so a lot of people try to move to this area for that reason alone. I guess there were 46 people on the waiting list last year. For kindergarten!! Those unfortunate kids who ultimately don't get in get bussed to another school, sometimes 10+ miles away. I didn't really worry; it was (and is) still a couple years away for me.
So...there's this amazing preschool here that gets rave reviews. All of my friends send their kids there and love it, and supposedly it's a pretty good price ($200/mo). I never went to preschool, and most adults I know didn't go when they were children. Yet, it seems pretty standard nowadays. Anyway, I got the heads up that today was open enrollment day and I should get there a little early because there's always a line of people. I got there about a half hour early and was 7th in line. The whole time I'm thinking, "This is PRESCHOOL, people!" - yet there I was right there with them. Well, it turns out the very first lady in line (who had gotten there at 5:30 a.m.) got put as 1st on the waiting list...somehow the class was already full! By the time I got to the front of the line, Emma was 6th on the waiting list, which they told me means she has a "pretty good shot." Of course my kids weren't keen on waiting in a long line with nothing to do, so by the time we got to the front both of them were in tears, wailing and fighting with each other. This seems to be my life lately. The teacher said, "Do you need a valium?" My response: "Every day of my life." Wow, we sure managed to make a good impression...
When did preschool enrollment turn into such a competition!? I didn't send her this year for that reason. But I see Emma thriving in such a fun, friendly setting. I sure hope she gets in, partly so we get priority enrollment next year for Tyler, and so I can avoid what happened today.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Rat Race
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Oh wow! That is a rat race! You're supermom for getting her on the list, for sure! Way to go.
It was that way when we moved here to Massachusetts. We had never considered how hard it was to get children into pre-school. Waiting list? For toddlers?
Good luck! Three of our four attended pre-school. I sent our second child, just because he seemed too ready for school, and was bored with his mom. Now he thinks he can go to college early. NO WAY! I am keeping him here as long as I can.
P/S--Valium, every stay at home mother's desire.
I gulp every time I have to pay the $80 a month for Jeremy! But as we have come to find out by trying out another preschool for just a week, the one we have him in is great! He is already starting to read and he still has another year before kindergarten!
Well ya know preschool is a huge part of determining what college they get into so they're not messing around :)
But seriously I feel you on the craziness of it. When I was a nanny one of my tasks was to write an essay about one of the girls so she could get into a prestigous kindergarten.
Just wait until everyone pressures you to hold your kids back so they're like 7 by the time they move onto 1st grade!!
Ahh yes, even for preschool the craziness begins. I've been a teacher on the other end of all the madness and it seems to never stop.
Post a Comment