First Day of "School"

Today Anya started her first day of "school". It's actually the infant class of the North Seattle Co-op Preschool. And she already knows two of her classmates, Luca and Liam from PEPS. The idea of it is pretty neat. Right now, classes are just once a week for 2 hours and a parent (or parents) attends with the babies and acts as a "teacher's assistant". We each have a job/position (I'll pick mine next week) and also take a child development class once a month. As the kids get older, they go more days, but the parents just continue to go one day. And then the kids are off to kindergarten.

It feels kind of early to put Anya in "school," but it has its good points. 1) It's a social activity out of the house. 2) It's inexpensive. 3) The co-op preschool system is fairly competitive for 2 year olds and up. Putting Anya in now guarantees us a spot and we'll likely get our choice of schools (there are several neighborhood co-ops, some apparently better than others). 4) I have hopes that I'll learn something about kids and parenting and become more comfortable dealing with groups of children.

The first day was somewhat chaotic, with forms to turn in and instructions being shouted out by the teachers over squealing babies. It was hard listening to them and trying to watch Anya at the same time...but all the other parents were in the same boat and I can only hope we'll figure it all out eventually. Anya enjoyed herself and meandered (no, not the right word...that implies a leisurely pace. She quickly crawled and climbed over things and stole toys and I had to chase her a handful of times. She did not want to sit in my lap. She had things to do (tm) ). I also figured Anya would be the oldest in class. Surprisingly not so. She's right in the middle. There are a handful of 1 year olds, and I think only one, maybe two 5 month olds.

Anyway, I look forward to next week. But a thought did just occur to me. If Anya continues with preschool, she will be in school from now until at least high school graduation. For the next 17-18+ years. Mean mom is taking away her only chance at freedom from the classroom.