I’ve begun the preschool search. For some of the preschools you have to make appointments in September to tour the school in October/November to apply by January to get accepted/rejected by February for the following September. It’s enough to make me not want to have anything to do with those schools.
I also think that for the majority of the schools, they do mostly the same things: circle time, play with art supplies or “science” supplies (like water and sand), read books or “work” with the “manipulatives” which I think is just a fancy way of saying “play with toys.”
There are 3 or 4 schools that stand out to me, however. One is a co-op in the canyon in Glen Park. The highlight: a lot of the curriculum is out doors in the canyon: NATURE! This would be a preferable experience to the urban playgrounds that all the other schools have to offer. I won’t belittle the urban playground, Milo spends every day in one. We went yesterday and ended up in a pickup game of baseball with a few local families - kids ranged in age from 2 to 6 and it was one of the most fun times I’ve ever had in a playground. However, this can’t compare to the daily experience of hiking in the canyon, turning over rocks to see the bugs, walking to the canyon’s garden. It’s these out-of-door experiences that I recall most richly from my own childhood and have lamented Milo missing out on them. So, this preschool is in the top 3 on my list.
The other ones are a Spanish immersion school, two Montessori schools - which I also see the merits of early Montessori education, and the Chinese American International school - which is both Montessori based and Mandarin immersion.
I’m sure I will be confused, frustrated, and fascinated through this process. And then in the end I will question whether or not it was the right decision.