Seriously, though, Andy got into our first choice preschool, the park district, which is why the farmhouse preschool is going to shove it. I mean, the supply list doesn't help, but if the park district hadn't called, I'd probably be out right now bitterly selecting the cheapest thing of card stock I could find. The wait list at the park district worked out- kind of. We wanted the park district for several reasons:
- $58 per month as opposed to $160, with no registration fee (or $5 "printing" fee. I hope the parents request receipts on this.).
- Not in a farmhouse.
- Not affiliated with any religion. I still can't put it into words, but I'm still wary of the idea of a Christian preschool. Even though I'm Catholic and have accepted Jesus as my lord and savior et cetera, I'd just rather keep Jesus out of the whole early education thing. Doesn't Jesus already have enough on his plate? Plus the request for all the printer paper coupled with the Christian thing has me once again thinking there's going to be leaflets involved. Leaflets of the "Have You Found Christ?" variety.
- Park district just seems more... official. Or something.
Here's the problem, though. The park district class we got into is two days a week from one o'clock to two thirty. Nap time! So, while I've gone ahead and signed him up for the class, I can't help wonder if I've made another mistake. Will Andy nap before class? After class? Not at all? What have I done to my already dysfunctional little sleeper? Have I royally screwed him?
Andy's not a good sleeper. We recently went through a period where he was waking up every morning super early (three o'clock, four o'clock, five o'clock) wide eyed and ready to begin the day. This period coincided with two things- Alex being born and Andy getting his big boy bed. So, at least there's an explanation- too many changes lead to getting up early and making our lives a living hell. We mostly solved that problem, though, by putting him to bed earlier in the evening (sleep begets sleep!) and doing something else that I'm super proud of. I taped a handwritten "6" next to the first digit of Andy's digital clock and told him that the numbers have to match before he can get out of bed in the morning. It took a couple mornings for Andy to get the hang of it- BUT IT'S WORKED. And now in the morning, Andy bursts out of his room exclaiming "Six! Six! Six!" So, yes, there's a very good chance Andy's up at three in the morning just waiting for six- but at least he's in his room, letting us sleep. And it's not always at 6:00- sometimes, it's 6:30, 6:47, and so forth. And, yes, at some point, that handwritten six is going to become a seven. Or I'm just going to reset his clock incrementally until "six" on his clock is like ten in the morning for real. There's a couple of devious ways I could go about this. Oh, the options.
Anyway, so that's the night time deal. The day time naps, though- man. It's a struggle to get Andy to nap at all, and now that he'll be at preschool during prime nap time- it ties my stomach in knots. An overtired Andy is NOT a pleasant Andy. Andy needs his naps even if he fights them. And it's usually about one o'clock or so by the time I win the "time to nap" battle. Super. How do I get him to nap earlier on the days he has school? How much benadryl is it safe to slip him?
I think the only thing I can do is send him to the preschool and if it's really screwing with his sleep- just pull him from the program and call it a day. At this point, my main reason for wanting Andy to go to school is no longer as valid. I was afraid that Andy would miss day care and the kids and absolutely NEED a preschool program. But, as usual, I didn't give him, or me, enough credit. He's adjusted to not having day care. I've found plenty to keep us busy. He gets socialization through friends, the park, the library, and other programs. So... if the preschool works out, awesome. If not- I guess we can try again next year when he's three. Which is really a more legitimate preschool age anyway, let's face it.
On a side note, I am going to sign me and Andy (and Alex) up for a mommy and me class in September- "Barnyard Dance," which meets Monday mornings for six weeks and is all about animals and, no, does not actually meet IN a barnyard. I'm so excited. This is why I wanted to be a stay at home mom- silly opportunities like this animal program. I hope Andy enjoys it as much as I think he will, and I think it will be something really fun for us to do together. Alex is allowed to come as well, as long as he's "not a disruption" per the park district clerk's rules. She had to raise her voice to tell me that it was okay Alex join as long as he wouldn't be a disruption- mostly because Alex was screaming and being QUITE the disruption while I asked if he could join. Yep, this definitely bodes well!
So, I have to call the farmhouse preschool people on Monday and inform them that Andy (and his liquid soap and box of tissues) will not be in attendance for school. I've been putting off this call because I'd rather just not deal with it. I tried to find an email address for the place but couldn't. Yet another reason I don't want Andy going there. Why would I want to talk to another human being when I could just send an email? Isn't that why we have technology- so the socially awkward can avoid confrontation?
I hope the afternoon preschool works out. I hope this is yet another situation of not giving us enough credit- maybe it'll work out just fine with early/late naps. And maybe Andy will end up being class valedictorian! And earn a scholarship for next year's preschool! And look just so darling in his mortarboard and tassel.
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