[khnath]

We're struggling with this issure right now. We're looking at 3 preschools for next year. My son is 3 1/2 and currently is in a Cooperative preschool. We had every intention of returning to the Coop up until about a month ago. My son had missed about 5 weeks of school due to the holidays, and then he had tube and adenoid surgery, had strep and 2 bouts of a nasty flu virus. So, in January and Feb. he had regressed in his behavior and was behaving quite immaturely for where he should be. Infact his teacher suggested we hold him back in the 3's program again next year. My son will be 4 in the summer and there is no way I'm holding him back in a 3's program. Doesn't make sene to us at this point.

That said, the last 2 weeks of Feb. he has been doing really well but we've all ready begun the search for new school. And there are 2 others we're considering. They're all learn through play schools. One is through our public school and we know he will get outdoor play every day that the weather is good. The other is a private preschool and he would get a lot more "active" playtime there and these are both close to home. We're leaning towards the program through the schools, because we thought maybe he'd meet some kids that might be in his kindergarten class.

The Coop is a lot of work, and I am on the board of directors. Which is added work and meetings. The school is about 30 mins from our home, and all their field trips are quite bit south of the school. We're also in the process of adopting our second child, and working in the classroom and all the driving is going to be more difficult.

I hate giving up my board position because it has been a lot of fun, and I have really enjoyed the women. I also like being able to steer my son's education. We feel really empowered because we make, uphold, change, implement policy for our school and ultimately for our kids.

The coop was an excellent way to start out. I didn't feel like I was completely handing my kid off to strangers for the morning, and it made it a much easier transition for both my son and myself.