Jackpot!

I think we've found a winner. This morning, hubby and I toured an alternative school in our area. We were really impressed with everything we saw. The students all looked happy and engaged. There were no desks set up in rows - the kids had a lot more freedom to move around. All of the classrooms were flooded with natural light.

The principal showed us some of the cool projects students were working on, including designing and building (inside the school) a scaled down version of a high energy-efficient house. They also have a number of community projects underway such as developing plans for a new walking bridge across the canal, and planting a community garden at a near-by historic site.

Parents are encouraged to volunteer whenever they can and to bring their own talents into the classroom. For example, one of the current pupil's parents is an artist. This parent has led an amazing school-wide art project. The artist painted a gigantic mural of the schoolyard and had every single student in the school created a self portrait that could be cut out and pasted onto the mural. It looked incredible! While we were touring the school we noticed at least three or four parents volunteering while we were there, being put to work.

The building itself was very appealing. None of the classrooms were perfectly square or rectangular. They were all different shapes and sizes. In addition to having windows along the outside walls, there were windows looking into the hallways.

We've decided to register him at this school, even though it means putting him on a school bus. Ideally we'd like it if he was picked up from home in the morning and then bussed to his caregiver's house when class ended. That way he could have an easy going afternoon in an environment in which he feels at home. The other options would be to enroll him in the daycare that is attached to the school (if we can get in -- I'll blog about this another day), or have him bussed to his nursery school.

I'm so relieved we've found a good school. I think he'll be very happy and challenged there.