Kindergarten

I can't believe I'm already doing this, but we're researching K options for Julian. Since he was born outside of Canada, our situation is a bit more complicated (ugh). We have to register him at this centre (which is not exactly close) BEFORE we can go to each individual school that we are interested in to register him. THEN, we are not guaranteed a spot, but rather in a "lottery" system, since we're in the city and classroom space is limited (like most cities). Luckily, the quality of schools in Canada are pretty similar across the board. Registering for a public 'inner city' school does not mean it has metal detectors at the door.

Here are our options:

Elsie Roy - our neighborhood school. It is 2 blocks away. Who could ask for more in terms of convenience? The view from the school library is outstanding and the locale provides walks to the central library, Vancouver Art Gallery, and boat rides to Granville Island. However, I met the principal and SHE DID NOT impress. Clearly, the school is overcrowded, being the most popular downtown, the teachers have been on strike since January and are teaching but not doing administrative tasks (testing, grading, report cards, etc). Normally, we would recognize all schools have issues, but we have so many other options, we're not sure what to do. 

Henry Hudson - this is a 2 minute drive over Burrard Bridge. Two issues: we have to get in a car to get there and it's full FRENCH IMMERSION. This concept was totally foreign to us. Apparently, the teachers speak french all day long, including all lessons. Melvin is not keen on this as he thinks it'll interfere with Spanish. I'm a bit torn. I think it could be healthy for our kids to learn a foreign tongue and would encourage them to speak Spanish more freely. I mean, when I go to a French restaurant, I can understand most of the menu because I can read Spanish...doesn't that mean the same thing? I am not sure. One thing that concerns us most is that we wouldn't be able to help with homework or would be limited to Google Translator. Since French Immersion is such a popular option here, the overflow school would be Strathcona, which is located on the "east side" (think Harlem, but whiter and trashier). I think I'd be okay with that if we chose to go French Immersion though because it's the same curriculum and Strathcona is getting amazing funding, plus it's important for our kids to see all walks of life in their surroundings.

Tyee Montessori - we are really loving the Montessori Method. Julian's preschool is Montessori and at first we were indifferent about it, but we've seen how positively he's responded to it. It's all about kid-led learning without a teacher in front of a classroom. Without going too much into the method, I think it really promotes independent learning (you know how when you were younger, if the teacher left the room, everyone would turn around and talk to their friends? Well, in a Montessori setting that doesn't happen and kids wouldn't even notice if they left the room. It goes to show how dependent we are on teachers to tell us what's next and what we're supposed to cover that day), teaches time management and self-awareness (the kids create a personal lesson plan with teachers at the start of each week), promotes compassion and respect, as well as responsibility. The kids are in mixed aged classrooms (no grade 1, 2, etc), there are no letter grades (instead, it's typically 'learned', 'mastered', etc) and the older kids are an example to younger kids, help teach each other, etc. They also cover "practical life", like setting the table, knowing when to wash hands, take a break, etc. Anyway, we love it and there is a public option here, BUT it's lottery AND it's a 12 minute drive away. In Vancouver, that translates to "far" and feels more like 45-minutes. I know it's a weird concept but we're not used to driving more than 5-minutes anymore.

THEN, there is Catholic School, St. Patrick's K-12. We never even considered it and are big public school supporters, but we've become parishioners of a church here that is predominantly Filipino and really like the neighborhood. It's about 5-minutes by car and in a really great neighborhood on the nicer part of the east side. Anyway, we had no idea Catholic Schools in B.C. are government subsidized (main reason for consideration)! Therefore, tuition is only $225 - $300 per month for parishioners. Apparently, this is one of the most expensive Catholic Schools too -  crazy cheap. So, it kind of bothers me that it's predominantly Filipino because, as I said, it's really important for the kids to be exposed to all walks of life, BUT we really like the sense of community there and Filipinos are not so bad :)  This will be our back-up.

Phew, so much to think about before NOVEMBER 1st! Yes, we have to register him on Nov. 1st and then when we get back from our trip to D.R., we have to go to each school to register. I think we're honestly going to register to all of them and just see what happens (since it's lottery). The kicker is that I found a SPANISH IMMERSION preschool that is opening Sept. 2012 (for Amélie) which would typically be a no-brainer. However, it's located in North Vancouver, which is a 25-minute drive (now that's far) and over a bridge away in the OPPOSITE direction of all of these schools. Can it get more complicated? Yes...we only have one car.

Also, I think I need to ask myself if I'm okay with sacrificing another 2 years trucking the kids around. I think I pictured in my head that once J is in K, that I can walk Amélie to his current preschool (5 min walk, starts at 8:30am) and then Julian (2 min walk, starts at 9:00am) and then have the morning to myself. Hmm, that would be lovely. Well, we'll know what our future holds by end of February. Updates on this topic to follow!