To Public School. To Private School. To Home School...

Prefacing all of the age-old schooling questions...the pre-curser to it all...should we or should we not...

Pre-School

I remember those earlier on handful-days when Noah wasn't yet two and Tait was a couple months old. I remember dreaming with anticipation about the day he would enter preschool. I didn't know where it would be but I knew I was looking forward to it. He could play, learn, grow, and interact with peers while I could enjoy the slight break of one less child running around.

Over the past many months and a fair bit of research, we have decided that there will be no preschool per se. That is not to say there will be no pre-schooling-education.

Selfishly and emotionally I love having him home.


This pre-schooling era is the only time in our children's lives we have them all to ourselves. We don't have to share them. We set our routine and schedule - we definitely have one - and see our kids thrive on it. We get to watch them evolve into these exploring creatures. We seek to raise not our children but adults. People. Human Beings who will go on to mirror our footsteps, years from now. This may seem a bit dramatic, but it's the truth if you're looking at the big picture.


Factors involved in whether or not to send our boys to preschool were numerous. And, while I have several friends who are ECE accredited and while I think pre-schooling is an important piece of the educational puzzle for many...it doesn't make sense for us right now.

• Was it worth the 15 minute drive in to Duncan/Chemainus (closet two towns) and then back again
• If it was worth the drive, what would I do with the other kid(s) while he was at school.
  
• We could stay in town...but two or three days a week to burn time in town seemed a bit much.
• We could come home but then we'd have to turn around again and pack everyone back in the car a mere hour later
• It's not cheap. Monthly fees of $110 - $150 seemed a bit steep. I completely agree with the fact that we cannot put a price tag on our child's education. That said, I think pre-school fees can be a bit silly. They are learning to share, explore, and develop motor skills for goodness sake. These are extremely important but isn't my job as a parent, to help encourage and intentionally facilitate this development?
  
• Speaking of money, gas isn't getting any cheaper
• As mentioned earlier, this is the only time in my kids' lives that I will get them all to myself. If I apply myself, (ourselves) I/we can surely teach the lessons needed. That, coupled with the fact that I earned my degree in Psychology while focusing on Childhood Development, plus the fact that I purposefully set up play dates, read a ton with them(!), get outside to explore in stimulating environments, etc etc are all reason enough for me to do the following...

While I very seriously belief that Home Schooling is not the best route and I think for our family, public school will be a great option, this is a perfect way to prepare our kids for the boundaries and structure of a classroom...

Not enroll our kids in formal Preschool. Instead, the three of us head out each day we pre-plan, to a fabulous program known as Strong Start.

Ever heard of it? If you live in BC I highly recommend checking one out...and I can ensure you there is one somewhere near you. Heck there are more than 3 or 4 within 12-15 minutes of our house. And we live in Crofton. It's the sticks!


Strong Start was recommended to me by an aunt who helped facilitate one in the Okanagan. To save you from my long winded ranting and raving, I will summarize it as follows:

• It's provincially run. This means It. Is. Free.
• It runs Monday - Friday from 9:00am - 12:00pm
• It's drop-in. Go when you want for as long as you want
• It's for children ages 0 - 5 yrs and their parent or caregiver
  
• It's run through Parent-Directed play
• That said, there are many stations and many kids so my boys have lots of independent play/learning time and also interact with others on their own
  
• There are literally dozens of stations set up around the classroom. Some days we make new playdough. Some days the boys and I paint. Some days we play at the rice table. Some days we use the calendar to figure out what day of the week it is. Some days we play with blocks. Some days I read to them. Some days we put tracks together. Some days we hammer tees into styrofoam using toy hammers. You get the point. It looks like any "regular" preschool classroom.
• Similar to a "regular" preschool, the teacher is ECE accredited.
  
• Similar to a "regular" preschool, one morning a week we have Gym time...from 9-10:30am. And yes, you guessed it - it's parent directed which means I run my little heart out, too.
• Similar to "regular" preschool, one morning a week we have Music. A very certified teacher who owns/runs a nearby affluent Music School comes in and leads the kids for an hour.
• There is a free (!) nutritious snack each day. (Last week we enjoyed apples, bananas, carrots, peas in a pod, stone wheat thins, rutabega, oranges, red peppers.)
• Days which don't include gym or music include a couple of circle-time songs and stories.
• There are children and (grand)parents there from all walks of life so our kids are exposed to all sorts of ethnicities, ages, etc
• They get to make new friends and so do I
  

Our kids seriously eat this educational school stuff up.

And, I get to be a part of it.

Each and every day.

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On another note this is the conversation I overhead last night while the boys were playing in the Living Room and I was in the Kitchen:

Noah: "Tait, I'm going on a trip ok?!" (He may or may not have been standing on the back of the couch.)

Tait: "Okee, Noah. Ba Bye Noah"

Noah: "Ok Tait, see you when I get back from Africa."

Hmm, around what (ah hem, Who) do you think our daily conversations revolve?