Preschool

A few posts back I wrote about trying to decide on a preschool for Gemma, whether to even send her this year or not. Well, we decided we would. Through some moms in town via a facebook group, I heard a lot of great feedback at the preschool within one of the public schools. I didn't even know public schools had preschools. Jesse and I went to an open house and met the teacher, saw the classroom, etc., and we both really had a great vibe from it all. I could see Gemma having a great time and really truly enjoying "school". The big plus is that it is significantly cheaper than a private preschool. For 9 hours a week, we are paying $125.  A parent is required to volunteer once every 6 weeks or so and on that day that parent is responsible for providing a snack for the entire class. I don't mind the volunteering so much, but the snack thing really bugs me - not that I have to provide one, but that I have no control over what Gemma is getting for a snack except when it's my turn to be the parent volunteer. If you know me, you know I'm extremely anal about what my kids can and can't eat. No juice, nothing deep fried, no cold cuts with preservatives, no pickles, no candy. And while it was crystal clear in talking to the teacher and the handouts she gave us that the snacks needed to be healthy, I didn't love some of the examples of "good snacks to bring" on there - pepperoni sticks, pickles, pure juice - these just made me cringe. I know, I know... I can't hover over my kids for the rest of their lives to see what they're eating, but i hate that I have to give up control already. 

Snacks aside, I can't WAIT for September. I know plenty of people who are against the idea of preschool at 3 years, bringing up reasons like "why do you want them to grow up so fast?" or "but they learn most when they're with their parents" or "they'll be in school long enough, why add an extra year?" etc. Well, this has nothing to do with me wanting them to grow up faster (who wants that?). This is 100% based on the fact that she is bored to death at home and I cannot do these "preschool"-type things at home with her. I work full time for crying out loud and their caregiver (my mom) isn't obligated to be a teacher. This way Gemma will be socializing, playing, learning, experiencing new things that I just can't provide her being a full-time working mom... and with Gemma especially, she just craves knowledge and new experience and it would be bad parenting to keep her at home just for the sake of not wanting her to "grow up too fast".