I freely admit that I'm a procrastinator. And I'm consistently a procrastinator. I don't go to the dentist until I am in sooooooo much pain, the only reasonable choice is to go to the dentist for a dreaded root canal...of which I've had 5. And I say reasonable choice, because a guy at work had a sore tooth for a couple of days and decided that the only logical thing to do was to PULL IT OUT...himself...on his break. Logic, common sense...different for everyone, I guess.
My son almost didn't go to kindergarten because I waited until the last minute to enroll him. I started thinking about it in February, but by the time I actually got around to doing it was late May. By then, I was having panic attacks. Not so much that he wouldn't get into the school, but moreso that I would be chastised for waiting so long to do it.
"What kind of irresponsible parent waits til the end of May to enrol their child in kindergarten? Don't you care about your son's education? Don't you know that a good education is the corner stone for anything that is important in this world? It's parents like you that make me sick."
Well, that's how the conversation went in my head, anyways. It was more like, "Okay, I just need you to fill out these forms, and I need a photocopy of his vaccinations and birth certificate." She was probably thinking all of the above though. I mean....I was...
Unfortunately, I don't seem to learn from my experiences as a procrastinator. Because if I did, I surely would have enrolled Q in his new school for grade one way before the end of June. Again, totally thought about it when we moved into the new house in the beginning of February. I even drove by the school multiple times every single day, so it wasn't like I had forgotten.
The problem is...in addition to being a procrastinator, I'm also really indecisive. I think they probably go hand in hand. And I'm even more sure that they're genetic (which means...it's not my fault. It's my mother's!)
The school Q went to Kindergarten in was a fabulous school. I loved his teacher. I loved the SEA (Special Education Assistant) I loved the kids. I just loved every aspect of it. So moving him broke my heart for all the emotional reasons. Practically, I had to drive 20 minutes there and 20 minutes back every day when there was a perfectly good school down the street from my house. So, logically (there's that word again!!) it makes more sense for him to go to the new one.
The new school is a French immersion public school. I know this sounds fabulous, but Q has a bit of a speech delay and has been in speech therapy sessions since February. He's improved by leaps and bounds, but throwing a whole new language in the mix when he's not 100% with his first seems a little daunting to me. And it's 100% immersion, no English at all until he's in grade 3. Uh....so who is going to teach him English? Me? I don't think so. Uh...ha, ha, ha...
However, the new school does have an English program, so there goes that excuse.
His dad lives near the old school, and currently he's unemployed (damn airline industry). But, he has an interview with Gulf Air in Bahrain on Friday. I don't exactly know where he will be in two months time (here's praying real hard for Bahrain...) The tough thing is that I don't know where I'll be in two months time. Everyone is being really tight lipped about the whole "delayering" process at work, so for all I know I could be out of a job completely come September.
It would be really great to have him in the new school so he could meet kids in the neighbourhood. I mean there's oodles of the little buggers running around. We just have to meet them. What better way than school!
I enrolled Q in the new school last week. I was super shocked and a little excited that it's a Montessori grade 1 program!!! I'm not super educated on the whole idea of Montessori. I've done research on it in the past, and understand it in theory...but I'm not sure how letting a 6 year old take charge of his own academic learning works in the real world. I figure he's either going to excel and surprise us all by being the next Nobel peace prize winner or we'll be pulling him out because he's forgotten how to spell his name (To which he laughs and says, "Mommy, I won't forget that. I spell it like, every day!! Silly me) I like the principle of Montessori schools. There's research to back it up. I really do believe that Q will excel in an environment that's less classroom, more hands-on. He's always been that kind of kid. And I cannot think of anything more empowering for a child than to take the reins on his learning and education. I really, really hope it works.
Currently, I have him enrolled in both schools.
What's life without a few surprises along the way? I guess we'll all find out on September 8th!!!
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