Monday, July 16, 2007

Preschool or Not......

O.K....you know how I have struggled deciding on school/homeschooling.....well now I am trying to decide on sending Rachel to preschool this year. Her birthday is Sept 2, and she will be ready to start Kindergarden next year. O.k...here is my problem. I have been told that they MIGHT change the cutoff date to September 1st, meaning she won't be eligable for school until the following year. If she went to preschool this yr, then she would be allowed to go to kindergarden next year anyway. Now, what I am unsure of, but think I know the answer.....If they didn't change the cutoff date...but I wanted to hold her back, would she be able to go to preschool next year, even if she were eligible for kindergarden? I am not opposed at all to letting her wait until she is 6 to start school. She just acts younger than my other 2.

Have I lost you yet? Well, my next problem is this. Do I want her to be home by herself this year? Noah and Leah both went to preschool when they were 3 and 4...and even though they were home a year, I feel like they are more prepared for school this year and are looking excited to it. Also, while Rachel was gone...she was SO bored! I do think she would do better this time around at home with us. Don't let this photo of her deceive you. Anyone that knows her, knows she has the most unique personality......and is not very sociable. She needs social skills more than any of my other 2 kids ever needed.

I have had some people say, (and I think this is how Clay feels too) if she is home this next year and gets 1:1 parent time, it might help her, b/c she acts the way she does b/c she is seeking attention. The way our life has been....all 3 of them kinda do everything together.....and it breaks my heart....for the other 2 kids to not get to have 1:1 mommy time...while she gets to have it. Does that make sense? I kinda just want to have all 3 of them start school together...so nobody gets more of my attention than the other. Rachel doesn't want to go to school. And I KNOW it will be a struggle for her and me both at first. She says she wants to go if she can be in Leah's class. They could probably be at the same school, but not class.

Oh, decisions, decisions! I have until August 1st....school registration to decide. Oh, and when we moved here to Maumelle, I was so excited to see that the school was only 3 mins away....and quiet streets to get to it. WEll, Maumelle has rezoned their schools, and we have to go to one that is 15 miles away....by the interstate...and my neighbor informed me tonight that the traffic is HORRIBLE...she said....YOU JUST WAIT! EEEk!! Just that thought alone, seriously makes me want to homeschool, b/c the traffic just about gives me a nervous breakdown! Honestly, I planned my whole day's trips and errands....based on when the traffic won't be bad....and then I am going to be right in the middle of it every morning?? Hmm I wonder if I could get my dr to write a letter saying how crazy I am and that the kids have to go to the school close to our house, b/c I am too crazy to homeschool....and I might just totally flip out? LOL I am sorta kidding! But, the school is suppose to be a really good school....but so was the one 3 minutes from my house! UGH!

SO, give me your honest opinion about preschool or not for Rachel. I want to hear it. Any experience, or just thoughts you might have about it. And I hope all my ramblings makes sense!

2 comments:

  1. i thought they had changed the rule in AR about school zoning...and that now kids were allowed choice as to what school they want to attend? i'm asking, not telling. it's just what i thought i read or heard or something somewhere along the way. it's worth looking into. sometimes people suggest one thing, when the truth is something completely different. so many times, we just don't ask questions.
    anyway, i won't even venture advice. this is your decision. although i will say that i have found great, sometimes unexpected (that sounds so wrong, but true) wisdom from my husband when i'm at crossroads. it's just that he's usually the kind of guy who lets me make those kind of decisions because i'm with the kids all day, so i know best; but, when i really tell him how i'm feeling and that i'm at crossroads, it's like he suddenly becomes this well of wisdom and he makes me think about things i hadn't yet thought of. you know, as women, we're just going to let emotions and plain wishywashyness (isn't that a great word?) get in the way of our decisions. god made men to complement us. :) well, some days, anyway! :)
    and k.t. is right, i almost always think it's the child's best interest to wait when they have even july-august birthdays...as both of my younger two have.

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  2. What a dilema! I understand as I will be having this same conversation with myself this time next year when my Carter turns 4. I love the PreK program here in Monticello... I sent Madison b/c she was SUPER shy (though very much ahead in all academic areas from me working with her at home) and within a few months that girl was a social butterfly! It's so hard to remember her having any social issues now! Carter needs some 'social training' himself.. just different training. lol I think he'll love school, even if he doesn't know it. He's so go-go-go.. they just do way more there than I'd ever be able to do at home with him. So.. I'm fairly pro preschool... couldn't you at least try it and see? I mean, if you try and it is horrible.. just pull her out, right?

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