Declan starts pre-school this week, can you believe that?!
At first, we figured he wouldn't go this year because Amy had a gig lined up to watch another girlfriend's kids four days a week until Christmas. And since she planned to do the kid-watching at this other gal's house, there really wasn't any way to get Declan to a pre-school a couple days a week.
Then, when those plans changed and Amy had her autumn weeks unexpectedly free, we came to the logical conclusion that it was far too late in the summer to get our boy into any sort of facility. We consoled ourselves with the thought that we'd get him in next year; give him some socialising before he starts kindergarten. We want to make sure he gets some amount of social interaction before hitting the big leagues of grade school.
Unexpectedly, an opening popped up. My wife heard about it, I forget exactly how. (She'll remind me, I'm sure.) The only misgiving I had at first was that it's hosted in the basement of the nearby Lutheran Evangelical church. At least, I think it's a Lutheran Evangelical. Once I get away from the comfortable conformity of my erstwhile Catholic stomping grounds, the rest of the Christian traditions sort of all blur together for me. I couldn't tell you the difference between a Lutheran, a Protestant and a Baptist if you gave me a paint-by-numbers guide. But it sounds like the beginning of a good joke.
Once I conquered my initial misgivings, I realised it'd be a good idea to get Declan into the pre-school. It's only just taught in the basement of the church and it's not like he's going to come back home after his first week complaining of stigmata or anything. I want both our boys to be exposed to different religious traditions, but those choices will be left up to them and not made by us on their behalf.
I felt better after filling in the four page registration form. On the bottom of the first page were a couple lines specifically asking for parental preference or reservations in regards to religious teaching. I had to use a ruler to add a couple extra lines for my answer, but I felt satisfied in the end that I managed to express my inoffensive opposition to indoctrination until such time that Declan is old enough to make his own choices. He wasn't rejected outright, at any rate.
The orientation is this Wednesday and the first class is Friday morning. Regular classes start next week when he'll follow the schedule of Monday and Wednesday mornings. Wednesdays and Fridays when long weekends intervene.
He's very excited.
We've been talking him up for a few weeks, but it seems he doesn't need much encouragement. The mere mention of "pre-school" brings a smile to his face and an enviable light to his eyes. My job - or the one I want to set for myself - is to work at keeping that light there as far into his academic career as I can. The only prerequisite for his admission was that he had to be three years old and potty trained. (Heck, that nearly qualifies him for a job in this current market.)
Between now and May he'll be kept busy two mornings a week with 17 other wee kids aged three or four, doing arts and crafts in the school, reading stories, or taking morning field trips to the library (walking distance) and other curiosity-arousing destinations. My wife and I will be left to wonder where that baby went and how he'll get along with everybody else.
We might squeeze Tavish a little bit harder at times, knowing that there's not much baby left in him either. This is all very fun and sort of agonising to go through at the same time. These are the steps we want our boys to take, and we hope we've done our best to prepare them to begin to face things without us. But it's the not knowing, you know? Better get used to it.
