After interviewing my friends with older kids and touring what seemed to be the top three affordable, developmental preschools in the area, I fell in love with one in particular for my son: Sonshine Preschool (spelled with an 'o'). I could tell Jonathan was welcome there from the moment we stepped foot on the grounds and he seemed to fit-in seamlessly. For example, he spotted an open chair at the snack table of one of the classes in session and ran over to join the other kids. Sonshine still had some openings for the T/Th morning class, so it wouldn't have to interfere with Jonathan's afternoon nap routine. I was sold! The only problem was that I would soon learn that preschools in the area are very difficult to get in to! You have to pay a price - and I don't mean a monetary one!
Registration was to open at 7 A.M. on Wednesday, February 13. But while on the tour, our guide warned us to arrive early. She even mentioned that the earliest person to arrive last year showed up at 1 A.M.! I was incredulous! There are other families on our court whose kids attend Sonshine and one friend in particular mentioned that the earliest person to arrive the year her second son was to attend, showed up as early as midnight! My other neighbor, Stacey, who also wanted to enroll her twins for the fall, and I, decided we needed to take drastic measures if we wanted a prayer of getting our kids into the school! So, on February 12, at 11:55 P.M., we set out for Sonshine. We reasoned, "What was the point of showing up at 1 A.M. if we could potentially miss our opportunity by one hour?" Would you believe that we weren't the first ones there at midnight? Another couple had come at 9 P.M.! Because we arrived early, both Stace and I were able to claim a couch for our sleeping bags and pillows and get a good 3-4 hours of sleep. People continued showing up all the way until 7 A.M.. Registration started as scheduled and Stace and I were finished by 7:20. Thankfully, our sacrifice paid-off and we both obtained the spots we desired for our kids! As we were leaving the building, however, we noticed a woman looking very discouraged. We asked her if she was OK, and she told us that her child had to be put on the waiting list for the three's morning program - the same one Jonathan had just gotten into! We showed her compassion and discovered that she had arrived at 4:30 A.M.! Boy, was I thankful that we had arrived as early as we did! Jonathan will now have the opportunity twice a week to learn and socialize with his peers and I will have some "Mommy Time" with Harrison.
The experience turned out to be quite an adventure! Stace and I caught up on our celebrity gossip, reading "People" magazine, enjoyed some snacks and even got in a little shut-eye. The inconvenience was well worth it and now makes for a story we won't soon forget!
Karen, I am incredulous. I cannot BELIEVE what you had to go through! I didn't know situations like that actually existed in the real world, and if they did, I thought for sure it was crazy, Harvard-like preschools for extremely overachieving parents in big cities... I am amazed.
Posted by: Jessica | March 02, 2008 at 09:11 PM
I'm still as shocked as you are, Jess! I remember plopping into the couch in the wee hours of the morning, shaking my head disbelief while laughing at myself for what I was willing to endure... for PRESCHOOL!
Posted by: Karen Lee | March 24, 2008 at 10:59 PM