Matt and I have decided to look for a school for Owen two or three days a week for a couple of months. Starting ASAP until we get into the groove of having two. I was actually against this idea at first. I feel like that's my job, taking care of Owen and his soon to be here baby brother. However, I agreed to look at a few places and I would love a week or two before the baby is here to get some stuff done! (I can clean and clean and there's a little tornado that seems to follow behind me. Plus, Owen isn't a fan of DEEP cleaning....I can't even mop when he's a wake because the kid will not stay off the wet floors.)
I've seen 3 schools so far and will look at one more on Thursday.
School 1-Edgewood Preschool
I found this listing on craigslist. It sounded great. A home-based school run by a retired older couple, both certified preschool teachers, one had been on the ECE Board at a local college. I call and set a visit with Dick and Diane! It's on a busy street, which immediately alarms me however, the it's well gated, like triple gated, so I'm comfortable the kids won't escape onto the road, but getting Owen in and out of the car with cars flying by at 50mph is a little bit scary. Dick greets me and in the house there are about 5 kids, ranging from 18 months to 4 years. They're all real quiet. Eerily quiet. Diane starts to show me around and there are lots of rooms dedicated to the children, the front room is all books, stuffed animals and puzzles. The patio has a playhouse and tricycles. One room has dress up, a kitchen, and tons of pretend play things. Then there's the Preschool room, where Diane says the "older" kids have school. Would Owen partake? No. What do the "younger" kids do for academics? Flashcards. But she says, they don't have to pay attention. They believe in lots and lots of free play. Now that she mentions it, I don't see any artwork or crafts or anything around. Finally we go outside and see the play area and garden. The toys are old and cob-webby. There are chickens and fish and turtles. Owen loves it and doesn't want to leave. I hate it and can't wait to get out of there. The kids never spoke, they just followed us around silently. They weren't ever doing anything structured the entire time we were there, for an hour and frankly, it just felt strange. NO THANKS!
School 2-Belmont Learning Center
This is a community based program. It's a school-school. Owen instantly loves the classroom setup and starts to play. I like all the arts and crafts that already up and it's only the first week the school opened. It's colorful and active and there are kids laughing, talking and crying! That's what I'm looking for! I don't love the teachers that I see. They're blunt, sharp and don't seem very patient. The crying kid is ignored on the chair. One kid is crawling to put the date on the calendar and is sharply told "TO WALK". Finally, one kid is brought in from the playground with a bloody face and when the director asks what happens the teacher says "I don't know, I didn't see it and she won't stop crying." I'm certain my eyes pop out of my head, since the director quickly excuses herself. So although I didn't love our experience, I didn't actually hate it. Having been a teacher, I know things happen, you can turn your back for a second and kid can fall off the slide. I don't know why that crying kid was being ignored, he could have just kicked another kid in the balls and was having a time out (reluctantly). There aren't any openings anyway, which I see as a good sign and was put on the waiting list. Again, Owen didn't want to leave.
School 3-The Wonder Years
This is another school-school and is literally walkable from our house. We pull up and it's actually in the back of a Tongan Church....but it's not affiliated, which is good since we're clearly not Tongan. The high school is also a stone's throw away and as I get Owen out of the car, I see and smell (pot, weed, you know, SMELL) a student headed to school. Not great, but what can you do? We meet with the director and take a tour. This place is cute. It could use some updating and fancy-ing up, but over all it's well appointed, lots of artwork and crafts and just overall kid friendly. The kids in each room are actively engaged in some project. They're laughing and talking, actually no crying anywhere to be found. They have a music room, an indoor gym/mat room, an art room, a library and great outdoor spaces. The teachers are all very sweet and patient and welcoming. I like it. There are of course, no openings! We're on the wait list. Fingers are crossed.
School 4-Edison Montessori
I have no idea what to expect. I don't have any experience with Montessori, but it's also walkable and they do have openings. We'll see!
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