School Changes

So I fell behind again on blogging... ;) (not that anyone actually reads it anymore!) With sick kids and doctor appointments, my Friday morning time to myself went away for a couple weeks. But that is to change soon!

In the last week or two, I've been starting to wonder if we made the right decision on what to do with Matthew for the year. He's had three years of pre-school at Northminster. We still stand by our decision to wait to send him to Kindergarten. Since he has the late summer birthday, we decided to wait until next year to send him. While I feel that he would have been totally fine this year academically and socially to go, so many people say the differences show up years down the road. We figured we might as well give him an up on life, and maybe things would be easier for him. He can be the first to do things instead of the last (to drive, etc). Maybe it'll get a little extra college scholarship.... ;) So, we had to decide what to do for the year. The preschool he has been going to does not have a 5 year old class. So our initial decision was to unofficially do some homeschooling stuff with him (things he won't necessarily do in Kindergarten, just to spend some good time together) on Monday and Wednesday while Jacob is in preschool. Then we enrolled him in a pre-K Friday program at another school, Forest Chapel, which is around the corner from our house. He was just going on Fridays. I thought that would give him the social interaction he would need. But, in the last couple weeks, we've noticed that our little social guy needs more social time. Last year I was really good about getting out and spending time with friends on Tuesdays and Thursdays when the boys weren't in school. This year, between being pregnant and tired, Jacob needing some downtime in between school, and just being generally over committed all around, we tend to stay home on those days a little more. So, Matthew just isn't getting out to see people. In watching him, I'm afraid that after a year of this, he may start to struggle socially by the time he goes to Kindergarten in the fall. So we were faced with a decision....there is an opening at Northminster in the class that he was in last year. He could do that again, and just be on the older side instead of the younger side. There is an opening at Forest Chapel where he could go (every day,if we wanted). Part of me wants to keep him at Forest Chapel, since it would be something different. We could do Mon/Wed/Fri with them as well. But, I can't imagine every M/W/F doing drop off and pick up at two different schools. It wouldn't even give me enough time to get to the grocery. I would drop Matthew off at 9, Jacob at 930, pick up Matthew at 1130 and then Jacob at 1. It's just too much driving. It would be so much simpler to have them at the same school. And with a baby coming, simple is what we need. So while I feel sad (and guilty) pulling out of Forest Chapel, I think we're making the right decision for the family. I feel a little bit like a failure for not doing well with the homeschooling I was trying to do. But I think if I get the little bit of time with both of them at school to catch up on life (my schoolwork, preparing for dance, treasurer work for the preschool, and just general mom/wife things), I will be a better mom and can do that at other times. And I think Matthew will be more a joy to be around if he gets to spend time with friends. So, for now, that's the plan...