The Great Preschool Dilemma

When James and I made the decision to move in August, as we looked at houses, I was very clear I wanted to stay close to Nolan’s school. Mainly because he is in school three days a week and we are in the car enough without another long drive, but also because I DID NOT want to start the whole preschool registration process over again. (See here and here for a refresher on my experience with this before and why I am still traumatized). When you have a currently enrolled child in said preschool, you have PRIORITY enrollment for siblings. This is huge! Now you can see why I wanted to stay somewhere in the proximity of his school.

Needless to say our search for the perfect home ended up in the exact area I had repeatedly said was way too far from Nolan’s school. Considering there is not an opening for a preschool anywhere once the school year has started, I have made it work. It has not been that bad of a commute, but it would be nice to be at a school closer to home and not have approximately $40 a month in tolls just going to and from Nolan’s school.

So this brings me to my current dilemma and I do mean a MAJOR situation here folks. I am not sure where to register Griffin for preschool. You may be thinking, but he will only be two? What is the big deal? It is a big deal because the older a child gets, the more competitive it is for available spots in preschool. The preschool you chose for a two year old, maps out their future preschool years typically. I know. It sounds ridiculous, but welcome to North Dallas.. I have several options, but it could all be a gamble and a costly one at that.   

Here we go. The school that I have heard repeatedly about from multiple sources as “wonderful, great, fabulous, etc.” is of course the one that is the most difficult to get into. As in, you absolutely must camp out overnight. Now the irony of this is that I should be overjoyed. Up until the year that I was to register Nolan for his preschool for the first time their registration was on a “first come, first serve” basis. Due to security concerns for the poor moms who camped out overnight, they changed to a lottery. I was SO upset. I could no longer be in control of the situation. Who cares about safety?? Just kidding!   

So anyhow, when I toured this preschool last week I asked the tour guide approximately what time do these moms start lining up. Her response, “Do you really want to know?” (Of course I want to know I thought to myself. I will need to be there about an hour before they began lining up last year. Hee hee!) She said 5:30 PM for registration that begins at 10:00 AM the NEXT morning. She went on to say how the moms in line become friends for years to come and form play groups, etc. Was she trying to make this sound desirable? She described the waiting line “do’s and don’ts” as far as you cannot just put a chair out and go home, but apparently if it is freezing outside, it is OK to sleep in your car. She also named grocery stores and restaurants that are nearby that we can use when we need to go to the bathroom. Too bad the church that we are lined up outside of does not open their doors to the poor souls who sit there to use their facilities. Anyone sold on doing this with me yet?

I am at a disadvantage because Griffin will register for the 2 year old program. He misses the 18 month program by three weeks based on his August birthday. This is very signficant because all the kids in the 18 month program move up to the 2 year old program leaving very few openings for the 2’s. Since there is not a program for younger than 18 month olds, they will have around 60 openings. Three weeks difference and the possibility for getting Griffin into this school would be much greater. Now it is more like slim to none. I am a little bitter.   

Early registration for Nolan’s preschool is this week. I am guaranteed a spot, but I have the commute to contend with, the tolls, and a few things about the school that I do not like that would be different at the schools I have researched in Frisco. I most likely will go ahead and register him, even though I will have to pay a non-refundable registration fee. I am not much of a gambler and I need to make sure he gets in somewhere.

I toured another preschool today that has been recommended by several of my neighbors and friends. Although I liked it, the preschool is over thirty years old (which is good right?), but the facilities look like they are 30 years old and are not shiny and pretty and new like Nolan’s preschool and the “must wait in line overnight” in Frisco preschool that just opened a new facility two weeks ago. When I told James that the children I saw today in their classrooms all looked yellow in the low ceilinged room with flourescent light bulbs, I am sure he rolled his eyes. He just does not get any, and I mean any, of this! I know I am being superficial. This school has around 450 children enrolled. It has a long history in early education, but still. I trust my neighbors and the reputation that seems to come with this school, but I can’t quite picture Griffin there. All that being said, their registration is next week and yes, I am thinking of registering Griffin there too if I can get a spot. The good news is that I would not have to camp out overnight (or at least the director does not think so), but I would have to go very early and pay a once again non-refundable registration fee and supply fee, but the school is closer than Nolan’s school, no tolls, and it does have a good reputation.

Registration for “the” preschool is not until March 1st. Now you see my major dilemma. My first choice has registration LAST and is the one I have the least chance of getting into. I told my mom today, oh I can get into that preschool without a doubt, but it just depends how early I want to go wait in line. But as the saying goes, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” seems very true in this situation. If I wait for this school’s registration I may not get him in anywhere. I have to make a decision about early registration for the school Nolan goes to by Thursday when the paperwork (and money) is due. I have to make a decision about the “old looking” preschool by next Monday night for registration the next day and I guess I need to go get camping gear for “the” preschool because yes, I will do what it takes, and I will be in that line at least an hour before they lined up last year.

Stay tuned. At this point, your guess is as good as mine as to what I decide regarding where to register and where little G will actually end up!