Warning: I really wish I could make this a "long story short," but since this issue has occupied the better part of the last year of my life, I don't think that's possible. Make that 4+ years, actually. Feel free to skim. So -
Schools. I used to think those people that were freaking out about where their kid was going to go to school and how they "did" in the "interview" at said school were so stupid. "I'll never be like that. That only really happens in lame ass movies." Well - Hi, I'm Lame. And I know you've met my Ass.
When I was pregnant with Peach, I had the perfect job, which I loved, but I really didn't want to go back to work after she was born and leave her with someone else. True, we needed me to work, but once we figured out how much full time care would be, what was left of my pitiful state-issued paycheck wasn't a whole helluva lot. So, I went back for two months after my maternity leave was up, and my grandmother came and took care of Peach until I quit. I kept my eyes and ears open for jobs that could somehow work around my life at home, and a year later, just as I was about to put in an application with some Horny Housewives party line, T-Bone saw the posting with Law Nerds, and by some miracle, I got the perfect job again. Except for I hated it, but that's another story.
Working from home, especially in the beginning, was quite challenging, so we thought maybe if Peach went to a Mother's Day Out or preschool just a couple of mornings a week, I could get a little more work done. She was about 18 months by this point, so every place I called either was full for the next two years or had no waiting list at all, and I thought, "But why don't they have a waiting list? What the hell's wrong with them?" So we decided that if Peach was ever going to leave the house, we had to get on some lists. Enter that rascal Maria Montessori.
I had read a lot about Montessori education because - have I mentioned this? - Peach is brilliant, and I liked the idea of her opportunity for learning not being defined by her age or some other BS but by her ability and interest in learning. I had some recommendations from friends, so I began the visiting. The first school closed their waiting list for Peach's age group a few months after she was born, so that was a no go. I visited two others - one that was too loosey-goosey, even for me, and one that was more hardcore, so no thank you there, too. And then I went to Groovy Granola Montessori School, and that was IT. I could see Peach a couple of years down the line getting down and dirty with all those awesome materials and working her magic with those little brooms and rags. She would DIG it all. "Yes, please sign us up! Are these the hoops I jump through to get her in here? Okay - look how high and fast I'm jumping! Jump! Jump! Jump!"
And then wait. wait. wait. And get letters three years in a row that say no. no. no. Too full. Too many siblings. Blah. Blah. Blah. I'm glad GGMS is so in demand, and obviously they're doing something very right, but dang. In the meantime, a wonderful thing happened. We had also put Peach on the list for her current school, and although things didn't look good when we applied, a month before school started when she was three, they called with a spot. "Yes, please, we'll be there tomorrow." And we loved it for the next three years. Although it was technically our "second" choice, I could not be happier with her experience there, and I would love for Olive to go there as well. However, every year when we got the rejection letter from GGMS, I thought, "Well, GGMS has elementary classes, too. Surely we'll get in by then."
Silly, Lame Ass. Our story picks up in October when GGMS called with an opening! "Yeah!" Right then. "Oh." In the lower elementary class. "But, she's only 5," I said, "and besides, we're committed to her current school for the year, and we couldn't leave now even if we wanted to." Which we didn't. "But ... how does it look for next year?" GGMS told me to call in February because we were so far up the list, since we had been on it for frickin' ever, and we would see about getting Peach in for the fall. So, I was feeling pretty good. The goal was in sight, or so I thought. I went to the Open House in January to see if this was still all I'd built it up to be. I cried the whole way home because I was even more certain that that was where Peach belonged. I called in February (around the 5th - I didn't want to look TOO desperate), and GGMS basically said we'll call you in March, IF there's a spot. March comes and almost goes, and I couldn't stand it. So I called and was told that the enrollment process was just about over and so if I hadn't heard anything yet, it probably wasn't going to happen. "OK. That's what I figured, BUT here's why I'm calling ..." and I relayed the October and February conversations I had had and was then told, "Oh, yes. Peach. Oh - she's six. And she's a girl. That's what happened." Um, what? Too many 6 year olds, too many girls. "If she'd just been a boy, she would have gotten in." And so it starts ...
Everyone keeps saying, "Peach will be fine, wherever she goes to school." But I don't want her to be "fine." I want her to be challenged and excited and acknowledged. She loves learning, and we want to foster that attitude as long as we can, and I really think that a Montessori education, at least for a few years, is the perfect avenue for that. But, I digress.
So, I thought, that's it. The dream is over. Until two weeks ago. GGMS called and said there's a spot and are we still interested and when would we like to come visit, etc.. I was so stunned and uninspired in my answers, I'm sure it sounded like I had been napping, but I was really just so surprised. We went today, glowing teacher recommendation from her current school in hand, and Peach loved it. She had just said the day before that she wanted to draw her own cartoon characters this summer, and the class we visited was studying animation. In the parking lot, we had just had a conversation about Roman numerals, and there they were, posted on the wall. They had fish and a frog, and she excitedly told the guide about fishing for tadpoles and all the frogs we have around our house. And the guide listened to and engaged her further, and you could just see those little wheels spinning. She totally gets it. I love that. T-Bone loves that. And I know if Peach goes to GGMS, we'll see more of that.
Schools. I used to think those people that were freaking out about where their kid was going to go to school and how they "did" in the "interview" at said school were so stupid. "I'll never be like that. That only really happens in lame ass movies." Well - Hi, I'm Lame. And I know you've met my Ass.
When I was pregnant with Peach, I had the perfect job, which I loved, but I really didn't want to go back to work after she was born and leave her with someone else. True, we needed me to work, but once we figured out how much full time care would be, what was left of my pitiful state-issued paycheck wasn't a whole helluva lot. So, I went back for two months after my maternity leave was up, and my grandmother came and took care of Peach until I quit. I kept my eyes and ears open for jobs that could somehow work around my life at home, and a year later, just as I was about to put in an application with some Horny Housewives party line, T-Bone saw the posting with Law Nerds, and by some miracle, I got the perfect job again. Except for I hated it, but that's another story.
Working from home, especially in the beginning, was quite challenging, so we thought maybe if Peach went to a Mother's Day Out or preschool just a couple of mornings a week, I could get a little more work done. She was about 18 months by this point, so every place I called either was full for the next two years or had no waiting list at all, and I thought, "But why don't they have a waiting list? What the hell's wrong with them?" So we decided that if Peach was ever going to leave the house, we had to get on some lists. Enter that rascal Maria Montessori.
I had read a lot about Montessori education because - have I mentioned this? - Peach is brilliant, and I liked the idea of her opportunity for learning not being defined by her age or some other BS but by her ability and interest in learning. I had some recommendations from friends, so I began the visiting. The first school closed their waiting list for Peach's age group a few months after she was born, so that was a no go. I visited two others - one that was too loosey-goosey, even for me, and one that was more hardcore, so no thank you there, too. And then I went to Groovy Granola Montessori School, and that was IT. I could see Peach a couple of years down the line getting down and dirty with all those awesome materials and working her magic with those little brooms and rags. She would DIG it all. "Yes, please sign us up! Are these the hoops I jump through to get her in here? Okay - look how high and fast I'm jumping! Jump! Jump! Jump!"
And then wait. wait. wait. And get letters three years in a row that say no. no. no. Too full. Too many siblings. Blah. Blah. Blah. I'm glad GGMS is so in demand, and obviously they're doing something very right, but dang. In the meantime, a wonderful thing happened. We had also put Peach on the list for her current school, and although things didn't look good when we applied, a month before school started when she was three, they called with a spot. "Yes, please, we'll be there tomorrow." And we loved it for the next three years. Although it was technically our "second" choice, I could not be happier with her experience there, and I would love for Olive to go there as well. However, every year when we got the rejection letter from GGMS, I thought, "Well, GGMS has elementary classes, too. Surely we'll get in by then."
Silly, Lame Ass. Our story picks up in October when GGMS called with an opening! "Yeah!" Right then. "Oh." In the lower elementary class. "But, she's only 5," I said, "and besides, we're committed to her current school for the year, and we couldn't leave now even if we wanted to." Which we didn't. "But ... how does it look for next year?" GGMS told me to call in February because we were so far up the list, since we had been on it for frickin' ever, and we would see about getting Peach in for the fall. So, I was feeling pretty good. The goal was in sight, or so I thought. I went to the Open House in January to see if this was still all I'd built it up to be. I cried the whole way home because I was even more certain that that was where Peach belonged. I called in February (around the 5th - I didn't want to look TOO desperate), and GGMS basically said we'll call you in March, IF there's a spot. March comes and almost goes, and I couldn't stand it. So I called and was told that the enrollment process was just about over and so if I hadn't heard anything yet, it probably wasn't going to happen. "OK. That's what I figured, BUT here's why I'm calling ..." and I relayed the October and February conversations I had had and was then told, "Oh, yes. Peach. Oh - she's six. And she's a girl. That's what happened." Um, what? Too many 6 year olds, too many girls. "If she'd just been a boy, she would have gotten in." And so it starts ...
Everyone keeps saying, "Peach will be fine, wherever she goes to school." But I don't want her to be "fine." I want her to be challenged and excited and acknowledged. She loves learning, and we want to foster that attitude as long as we can, and I really think that a Montessori education, at least for a few years, is the perfect avenue for that. But, I digress.
So, I thought, that's it. The dream is over. Until two weeks ago. GGMS called and said there's a spot and are we still interested and when would we like to come visit, etc.. I was so stunned and uninspired in my answers, I'm sure it sounded like I had been napping, but I was really just so surprised. We went today, glowing teacher recommendation from her current school in hand, and Peach loved it. She had just said the day before that she wanted to draw her own cartoon characters this summer, and the class we visited was studying animation. In the parking lot, we had just had a conversation about Roman numerals, and there they were, posted on the wall. They had fish and a frog, and she excitedly told the guide about fishing for tadpoles and all the frogs we have around our house. And the guide listened to and engaged her further, and you could just see those little wheels spinning. She totally gets it. I love that. T-Bone loves that. And I know if Peach goes to GGMS, we'll see more of that.
2 comments:
Wow - so, are you in for sure? Does that mean Olive would get a good spot on the list as a sibling?
It's great to feel like you're in just the right place.
Yippee!
We got on the UT waiting list of 800 in my 5 month cooking AO. Our number got called while I was working on AP but we had to pass when there wasn't a place for him outside of a spot on the waiting list where he had been since his 2nd month in my belly. We finally got our 2 spots when they opened the new building- it was like winning the lottery. Like you, I nver thought I would be that kind of parent, but when they come out you just want them to be in the best place possible. The Big O. is already freaked out about working the almuni thing for Junior High and High School. I'm just counting down the days till kindergarten.
Congratulations- you must be so relieved and I'm glad your journey is coming to a close.
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