Woohoo! it looks like Hugo will be able to start pre-school early next year, just before his third birthday. A couple days ago, when I was feeling a little down, I thought it was time to make a good effort to organise something for him so I emailed all the pre-schools around us in one swift session.
Before long, I received lots of replies and while most of them were very friendly and happy to put Hugo on a waiting list, only one seemed like it would be able to actually enrol him for next year.
We went to visit it this morning and leading up to it, I was really hoping I would get a good feeling from the place since it looked like our only realistic option at this stage.
I had been corresponding with the director who seemed lovely. That was a good first sign. Once we got there, I found the place to be just like all the other childcares I had visited in the past. It was perfectly fine without being anything flashy. There are a few brand new centres around and they are fairly impressive. The older ones do seem a little dated in comparison but in the end, paint is paint is paint. The activities are all the same and kids don't need everything to be brand spanking new.
The place looked clean, not too crowded and all the staff were friendly and welcoming. All the kids looked perfectly at ease and keeping themselves busy nicely, even on a rainy day like today.
From the moment, we walked in, we were made to feel welcome. Hugo was invited to play with whatever he wanted, even decorating a little box with collage stuff. I spoke with the director who gave me the sense that this is an environment where children can learn while feeling nurtured. They can nap, they can play, they can rest, they can learn.
It was a great relief to get a good feeling because we won't have many options anyway, unless we wanted to wait another year.
The government wants preschools to prioritise 4 year olds and to do that, they are cutting funding to centres who enrol younger children. For some reason, this place is willing to take him despite being just on the cusp of being too young.
I think it will be a great experience for him and seeing him run around and find toys and activities to play with made me feel confident that he will be ready when the time comes in January.
We will be back for an orientation week in November which I am looking forward to. I think this will be a great step for Hugo and being quite soon already, I feel very cheerful about the next few months.
Before long, I received lots of replies and while most of them were very friendly and happy to put Hugo on a waiting list, only one seemed like it would be able to actually enrol him for next year.
We went to visit it this morning and leading up to it, I was really hoping I would get a good feeling from the place since it looked like our only realistic option at this stage.
I had been corresponding with the director who seemed lovely. That was a good first sign. Once we got there, I found the place to be just like all the other childcares I had visited in the past. It was perfectly fine without being anything flashy. There are a few brand new centres around and they are fairly impressive. The older ones do seem a little dated in comparison but in the end, paint is paint is paint. The activities are all the same and kids don't need everything to be brand spanking new.
The place looked clean, not too crowded and all the staff were friendly and welcoming. All the kids looked perfectly at ease and keeping themselves busy nicely, even on a rainy day like today.
From the moment, we walked in, we were made to feel welcome. Hugo was invited to play with whatever he wanted, even decorating a little box with collage stuff. I spoke with the director who gave me the sense that this is an environment where children can learn while feeling nurtured. They can nap, they can play, they can rest, they can learn.
It was a great relief to get a good feeling because we won't have many options anyway, unless we wanted to wait another year.
The government wants preschools to prioritise 4 year olds and to do that, they are cutting funding to centres who enrol younger children. For some reason, this place is willing to take him despite being just on the cusp of being too young.
I think it will be a great experience for him and seeing him run around and find toys and activities to play with made me feel confident that he will be ready when the time comes in January.
We will be back for an orientation week in November which I am looking forward to. I think this will be a great step for Hugo and being quite soon already, I feel very cheerful about the next few months.
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