To Preschool or Not to Preschool?

That is the question. And apparently I should've been making this decision way back in the fall, when enrollment began for 2011. Who knew preschool was such a big deal?

I was wrestling with this question last night as I laid awake in bed. I pictured myself dropping Nate off at school, leaving him to his own activities completely independent of me - and my eyes welled up with tears. "This is it," I thought. If we go ahead with preschool, this begins the start of his gradual independence through school. Am I ready for this? Even as I think about it now, my stomach starts turning and I don't feel so well. Oh boy. Am I going to be a treat on the first day of kindergarten!

Neither Monte nor I went to preschool, so it wasn't even a discussion when we first talked about having kids. But now that kindergarten is a full day, five days a week, I could see the argument for preschool as a stepping stone to ease kids into the routine of school. So now begins my search for a potential 'right fit' for Nate... Should we opt for preschool. Montessori? Wind & Tide? Church-based program? 3 day vs. 5 day, morning or afternoon? Sheesh! Wish me luck.