Last week was junior kindergarten registration week, only no one told me. Is this something that all parents are supposed to naturally know about? I don't remember reading it in any of my parenting handbooks. I mean, September is still many months away. Am I the only one out there who totally missed the boat on this one?
The thing the sucks the most about missing registration week is that I am now scrambling to figure out what to do. If I don't act fast, he might not get a spot. For the past couple of nights I've been frantically working through all of the possible scenarios. But none of them are without fault.
The first dilemma: location. Neither of the two public schools in my area are close to our house, which means we would have to put him on a school bus. He won't be four until the end of November which means he's still going to be a baby in the fall. We can't just ship him off to school on a big, scary bus can we???
The second dilemma: timing. JK only goes from 8:00 - 10:30 am, so you need to have a childcare plan for the rest of the day. Can I bus him to my caregiver's house? That's something I'll have to figure out. Should I send him to the school that has a daycare located in the same building? If I do that, won't he be overwhelmed by spending so much time in an institutional setting?
The third dilemma: Alternative vs. regular public school. On this issue I'm leaning towards the alternative school. The classroom sizes are smaller, I agree with their teaching philosophy and I've heard great things about the staff. All around I think it would be a loving, nurturing environment. Plus there is a daycare right in the building. I haven't ruled out the regular public school option but I'm a little wary of it because of some stories I've heard.
The fourth dilemma: English or French. We've weighed all the pros and cons and have come out in favour of English. Both hubby and I feel it is really important that he get a good grounding in his first language before going into late French immersion. Almost everyone I know thinks this is a stupid idea but it's the right decision for us. I just know too many people who have gone through early French immersion who can't write well in either English or French.
The fifth dilemma: to go or not to go. JK is optional and we're seriously thinking of opting out. Right now the little guy goes to a wonderful nursery school three mornings a week. If we bumped that up to 5 days a week, would it really be much different than JK? I really doubt it. Also, it would allow him to spent one more year with his caregiver who we all absolutely adore. I like the idea of him spending his afternoons at her home instead of in an institutional daycare. This option is definitely the most expensive. Nursery school combined with daycare is pretty darn expensive.
I guess it comes down to where we think he'll be the happiest. Next week we are going to tour the alternative school and feel it out. I'll keep you posted on what we decide.
1 comment:
i don't think you're the only one that 'missed the boat' as you say. i think that unless you are told, you don't know and usually they will advertize registration in as many of the local papers as possible but if you are like us, we don't get ANY newspapers at our place so we are left to hearing things through the grapevine.
i know what you mean about the age and him going on a school bus. my daughters were also only 4 the september they started and turned 5 the following month which was not too bad but it still broke my heart to put them on a bus at that age. do you have the option of sending him next year?
i personally like the idea of having daycare in the school building so that you know once they make it to daycare they are safe. my daughters used to go to before and after school care and would have to bus it from the centre to the school so i always worried that they would not get on the bus, stay on the bus, have an accident on icy mornings. it was neverending. thankfully the daycare moved to the school which made a huge difference.
based on everything you and your hubby know, just make the best decision you can for your son. it's not the end all either. you can make changes after the fact, remember that!
good luck!
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