I really want to send K to Montessori. I think she’d do very well in the setting and she’d thrive with the Montessori teaching philosophy. At this time, I don’t think we’ll be able to make that work. My work hours don’t guarantee that I will be done in time to pick her up and my husband’s hours are even more difficult.
As time goes on, I realize it’s time to move K from her in-home sitter to a more structured environment. She is eager to learn and I think she needs someone with an educational background to help her grow. Couple that with some recent issues, and it’s very obviously time to look for a preschool/center to put her in.
It’s a scary time. Her sitter is the only one she’s ever had. She’s been there since she was four weeks old with the exception of last summer and fall when I worked from home. Part of me feels like I’m slapping the sitter in the face by moving her, but I have to push that to the back of my mind for the sake of my little girl.
This afternoon, we’ll be checking out two local facilities. I was happy when talking with both of them. The first one is walking distance from our apartment, they have decent hours, and the schedule they have the kids on matches K’s current schedule. The second one has better hours and it’s a bit more structured.
I’ve talked to other parents who made this switch and they all said it was rough at first. At the same time, none of them have regretted it. One had a daughter who was very similar to K as far as her development at this age. They wound up fighting their local school district to have her admitted to kindergarten at the age of four because the she was so far ahead of the rest of her class. Her dad said he wouldn’t change a thing and that he made the change because he worried that his daughter was getting bored at her sitter. Hopefully we’ll feel the same way after we move her.
