Thinking about Schools

Image by Felixco, Inc   

So I was talking to a friend today who has a son the same age as the Bear and we got onto the topic of schools. We've both recently realised that next year is the last year we will have our little boys at home with us -  in 2013 they will be off to Pre-Prep, then in 2014 its Prep. I can't really explain how I felt when I realised that. It sounds dramatic but it felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. All of a sudden the hundreds of little moments the Bear and I share during the day suddenly flashed through my mind. Curling up on the couch to read books, making lunch together then deciding where to have it (the current place of choice is under the dining room table, all squished up and giggly), playing on the swing set and pretending to fly up with the birds, 'cooking' in the play kitchen, dancing around the living room playing mini guitars, making obstacle courses through the house, building roads and spending hours playing cars, impromptu dashes outside because we heard a helicopter, and oh, so many many more. All these little moments, the things that I tend to take for granted because they happen every day, suddenly became like gold. I'm so very glad all this dawned on me now and not in a years time, or even in a weeks time, because by god I'm going to make sure I treasure every single one of those moments with my boy!

So after that emotional beating we moved onto the topic of schools themselves and how on earth you  go about choosing one. It may be the Primary Teacher in me talking, but schooling is such a big, life changing thing. Everyone has stories to tell from their school days, some positive, some not so much so. Is there any real way to ensure you choose a school that will provide your child with more positive experiences than negative ones?! Yeah, I already know the answer to that as well. I guess all you can do is choose a school that offers a safe, supportive and challenging environment, one that has an academic program and pedagogy that you agree with, one that has a behaviour management plan that mirrors your own, one that offers a wide range of experiences and opportunities to their students. Easy hey? Pffft.

The good news is we are spoilt for choice with regard to schools in our area. Religious schools, state schools, private non-religious schools, co-ed schools, single sex schools, single campus schools, multi campus schools....the list goes on. Thankfully I have a few more years to ponder this, and to be honest I think I'll need them as the Bear currently insists that the main point of going to school is to get a sausage sizzle (the highlight of our most recent visit to an open day).

In the mean time I'll keep playing trains and savour every moment of him being with me 24/7.  I'm not quite ready to admit my baby Bear is growing up ;)