I'm THAT Mom

I've recently become painfully aware of a stigma that people have seemingly given me: "The mom who doesn't send her kids to preschool."

Yeah, I'm that mom.

And you know what, I'm proud of it.

Last year we sent Anna to Pre-K one day a week and she loved it.  And for that matter, we loved the place we sent her, we loved her teachers, and we loved that she made new friends.  It's not that I'm against preschool.  I'm not.  It certainly has its benefits.

But I've come to realize a few things.  #1: to send them full time is down right expensive for one of them, much less both.  My money can better be used elsewhere.  #2: unless you're a recluse (which I'm not) your kids will get plenty of socialization - be it at church, play dates, with their siblings, cousins, etc...  #3: At most, I have 5-6 years full time with them before I send them off to kindergarten.  That's it.  Period.

Five or Six years.

Let that sink in a moment.

This is not at all intended to make people feel bad if their kids are in preschool (or daycare for that matter).  It is however intended to be a gentle reminder that our time with our kids is limited.  It's limited regardless, but why limit it even more?

I'm assuming one of the main concerns is their readiness for kindergarten.  I assure you, everything they need to know can be taught at home in a matter of 30 minutes a day.  Anna knows all her colors (in Spanish too), shapes, can count to 20 (to 6 in Spanish), knows all the letters by sight, and can now write the majority of all the letters.  She even knows a few site words (her name, Eli's name, mommy, daddy, hello, Dora, etc.).

She's actually probably ready for kindergarten right now.

Yesterday I started having her write words and was completely surprised at how well she did.

So, although I'm that Mom, my kids will still be ready for kindergarten, I'll have extra cash in my wallet, and I will have spent 5 or 6 glorious years with my kids that I will never be able to get back.  I'd say that's a pretty good deal!