We have reached a huge point in any small one’s life. It is officially time to start planning preschool for our youngest. To be honest, she would have gone this year, but we waited (pandemic and all) as she is progressing well and we didn’t feel she needed two full years. When it came to planning for our older three it was pretty simple, but now that we live in a different area, I’m on the struggle bus!
Why you ask?
1) Let’s start with the waitlists. There are so many preschools in our area on waitlist. How is this possible when registration isn’t even open yet?
2) When did preschool become a fancy word for daycare? We are lucky to have my sister close by and she watches our littles when we are at work. I don’t need an all-day program, just a couple hours will do.
3) Cost! Many of the programs close by are super expensive. Especially when she would go from 9-11:30 a.m. or 1-3:30 p.m. They are charging the same prices for part-time preschool as they did the full-time kiddos.
4) Distance. Ok, so we didn’t move super far away. She could attend preschool where my oldest went, but it would mean 40 minutes of driving 2 times a day (20 there and 20 home) just for her to be at school for 2.5 hours.
5) We didn’t love the twins’ preschool! 30 kids in one class was too many. This just isn’t even something we want to consider at this point.
Some have suggested just doing preschool at home. Not really an option. We do workbooks and read already, but there is something we can’t provide. Socialization. She knows how to navigate older kids (three older siblings helped with this), but the same age will be a WHOLE new territory for her. Between our schedules and a surprise pandemic that shut everything down, getting her involved with same-age kids hasn’t happened.
So friends, here I sit. Four kids deep and feeling like a new mom trying to navigate the world that we call preschool. If you’re a new mama or a long-time vet like me who is also struggling with this, I’ll have a glass of wine for you, too!
