The School Dilemma

Before I forget, I wanted to let you all know about a cool giveaway at one of the Savvy city sites (Silicon Valley). She is giving away a book that chronicles one woman's struggles with infertility. Since a lot of us have been on that island/boat/etc, I thought I'd share. The contest is open until Feb 26.

Ok, on to life. I've been so lax in posting here that I'm not sure how to catch up. I'll start with the fact that I am going tomorrow morning to visit a school that might end up being Mr. Moo's kindergarten. Kindergarten! Gah. We keep wavering between just sending him to our local school district (which is decent) or going with a private school ($$$...panic). At one point, we thought we had bought ourselves a bit of time by deciding that when he got to kindergarten, he would just go to the one at our current daycare. Except that they are closing the program as of this summer. Doh.

One of the things we really want Mr. Moo to experience is exposure to a foreign language. He gets a bit of that at home because Mr. D is fluent in Italian (it was actually his first language) and speaks it on the phone with his family as well as using some terms around the kids to teach them. But I'm not great with language and can't hold up my end of the conversation to give the kids a true bilingual home experience. I do remember a bunch of Spanish from HS and college (and living in Los Angeles for six years), so I can help a bit in the Dora and Diego category. But still, not anything formal.

Then, I get to wondering to what degree a preschooler would get a "formal" language education anyway? Well, tomorrow, I am going to visit a local preschool and kindergarten that is a Spanish immersion program meant for non-Spanish speaking homes. It seems like a good idea, but I want to be sure about it because it will cause extreme chaos (more than usual, if you can believe) to descend upon my mornings. If it will benefit Mr. Moo, I'm all about making it happen, though.

I guess the main thing I want is for him to be engaged in his education and feel challenged (not in a sadistic way, just in a not-sitting-on-his-laurels way). Two weeks ago, he started reading. At 3.5 years old. To me that seems early, but maybe it's not. Oh, and he also eats up math problems with a spoon. Story problems, that is...basic addition and subtraction are "fun" to him.

He finds learning to be a wonderfully enjoyable experience, and I want to nurture that tendency without being overbearing. In other words, I want what every mother wants for her child. I hope I can find it.