For the past few months, I’ve been engaged in a stressful hunt for a preschool for Miles starting in the fall. He’ll be 3 in July and, more important, I’ll have a newborn baby to parent. I’m not looking for a place where Miles will learn to read or hone his Latin skills (he can basically read anyway and all I had to do was provide him some books and an example of parents who read a lot).
I’m looking for a place where, for a few hours a few days per week, Miles can get a lot of attention from someone with more energy than me. And some social interaction, of course, plus a sense of rhythm, routine, and an idea that there are different norms of behavior in different places. Mostly, I just need a place that can help to redirect his boundless energy.
I learned, with less than a week’s notice, of the deadline for application to the Pittsburgh Public Montessori school in December. That was an obvious choice for us, because the program is free, the application is free, and Montessori-style education is very attractive to us. But rumor had it there were only 6 available openings in the 3-year-old program, slots filled via lottery. Chances were not high that we’d get in.
So I had to find a bunch of other places to go visit. Of course, the Internet is useless. Preschools, as a rule, don’t seem to post their tuition rates. They like to discuss such things in person, which is maddening to me because my available time to talk on the phone without interruption is sooooooo limited, let alone my availability to drive to and visit a preschool sans toddler in tow. If a place is thousands of dollars out of my price range, I’d like to know before I call to schedule a visit.
But anyway, I found 5 places that seemed nice based on friends’ recommendations, presumed price range, lack of religious curriculum, and proximity to my house. Five places! That was a lot of visits to schedule. I was getting rashy just thinking about it, because applications everywhere are due February 1.
One day, I even arranged for Miles to go to a friend’s house just so I could make phone calls to set up visits–I can’t guarantee that Miles will nap on a given day, and even television has lost its ability to hold his attention enough to talk to non-relatives.
I certainly did not imagine I would be the type of person who went through such rigamarole about preschool. I quickly discovered that living in an urban place means spots in secular educational programs fill up quickly. Parents HAVE to apply to multiple places, even if you’re not looking for a fancy or frou-frou school, because there’s a crazy matrix of wait lists and weighted lotteries. And the off chance an accepted child won’t be toilet independent in time for a school that requires such a thing.
So after all that research and scheduling, I received a text one day at work saying Miles has won a coveted lottery slot in the public Montessori program! Other friends of ours learned they were something like 45 on the wait-list. We got one of the 6 spaces. Where I initially faced a month of begging friends to watch Miles so I could visit schools and paying too much for applications, I now just need to convince Miles to pee in the potty. And poop in there.
Surely that’s easier, right?
Just in case we don’t make independence by fall, we kept one of our appointments at a brand new school in our neighborhood. So new it doesn’t have a name, the “farm school” basically involves kids running free in some fields of an urban farm. They sing songs about squirrels and talk about the deer poo they find on the paths. They climb logs, observe wild carrots, and play in the sand. When they do go inside, they do stuff like drop clothes pins in 5-gallon water jugs or look out the window at passing freight trains. It’s hard to imagine a preschool more suited for my kid.
Miles liked it there so much he pooped as soon as we walked inside. He doesn’t poop just anywhere (anymore)–it has to be a place he feels is familiar and comfortable. I view this as a strong endorsement.
Now, we need to decide. If we pass on our Montessori spot, we may never win another one and then we’ll have to find an elementary school AND a middle school (since Montessori goes through 8th grade). Plus, it’s hard to say no to something with no added cost. This is a nice place to be, mostly because I can stew on it from the comfort of my own home.
