School Days

So it begins. Yesterday, we were at the municipal playroom. 3 other moms, whose children are the same age as Alina, were sitting and chatting. The topic of converstation? What school their child would attend in the fall. None of the moms lived in Melle, and there were some who would be putting their kids in the little school of their town, and some would be going to school in Melle anyway because that was more convenient because the mom works in Melle.

Then, a mom turns to me and says, "Alina will be enrolled in Melle, right?"

"Well, um," I hesitated for a second before saying, "We're not actually sure we'll be sending Alina to school in the fall." She looked at my incredulously, but I had my excuse all ready, "We figured that with the two languages, it was maybe better to keep her at home to let her advance a bit more in English." The mom still looked skeptical, then her expression changed to a sort of patronizing, know-it-all look. She said, "You'll see, once the new baby is here, you'll be glad to have some peace and quiet." (She has older children as well.)

Certainly.

There will certainly be days where I will ask myself, "Why on earth did we not enroll Alina in school?" But, to be honest, I was thinking, "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? SHE'S NOT EVEN 3, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!"

At least she's potty-trained. None of the other children in question, who will be in school in the fall, are.

I can understand that for families where both parents work, school for their 3-year-old is a much cheaper solution than daycare or a babysitter. But should this be considered normal?

I can only imagine the looks I would have gotten had I said, "Well, actually, we're considering homeschooling, in which case she wouldn't be going to school at all."