Preschool, Take 2

Yesterday Pigpen and I decided to stop by the fancy new preschool to register Gabriel. The school is not yet filled up as it just opened this fall, but preschools around here have a habit of getting waiting lists. While our planned start date is somewhere between July and September of next year, we still wanted to ensure that he was guaranteed a spot.

We had Gabriel with us as Tuesday is a school day for him, and poor baby, he did not want to leave. Off the lobby is the door for the infant room with a large window where you can see the babies, which fascinated him. They also have a fish tank (with clown fish I was excitedly told) over a mock bridge, also fascinating. But the icing on the cake was their marketplace - which is a cross between a kitchen (with nice toy appliances), cafe (with cute tables and chairs) and grocery store (with bins full things to cook with or eat with) with shopping carts and a cash register. That alone was enough to convince Gabriel he never wanted to leave as he dragged me back there three times to just "look" at the marketplace and Pigpen got dragged back once. I felt so bad as we walked down the hill to his current preschool. He looked so dejected. There is just no comparison between the two facilities.

He really wanted to stay at the fancy new preschool, and I really wanted to let him. However, we are paid through December at his current preschool and then he will be with my MIL full-time until probably July. Not that she isn't great with him. They go to the library, they do art projects, they cook, they read, they play games, he has a nice jungle gym in the back yard, we're planning on getting him a child-friendly keyboard with learning games for the computer. He will not be lacking anything except the companionship of other children. And he adores his Grandma. So he will be fine. And hopefully not too far behind the other children his age when he does start full-time (or rather three days a week all day) at the fancy new preschool.