School Days

AC started pre-school last week. My heart is heavy with the fact that my baby toddler is quickly growing into a little girl. I knew there would be a time when she would leave the comfort of our home and venture into the land of education. The only problem is, she was ready to go to school long before I was ready to let her go into the wild, wonderful world of preschool. In the end, I recognized it was better for me to help her spread her wings than to keep her caged (not that our house is anything like a cage). 

There are a wide array of pre-school options within a few kilometers of our house, and after checking out every last one of them we settled on a tiny little English speaking school run by an Italian mother-daughter team. The environment of her pre-school is so warm and welcoming that I really couldn't pass up the opportunity to send her there. With only 4 other children in her class she receives a lot of individual attention. The curriculum is fast moving and highly individualized for each child. 

Upon moving to Italy, I was adamant that AC would only attend an Italian speaking pre-school in order to pick up the language. I always have had a way of eating my words. Little did I realize that the high student-teacher ratio (18:1), and the overall quality of the Italian pre-schools were more likely to fuel my decision than the language that is spoken in the pre-school.  

AC is only in school 3 days a week right now, and so far she loves it. She talks for hours about school when she comes home, and kisses her teachers at the end of the day. As for me, I can say that I honestly miss her for the 5 hours she is in school. But...my house is cleaner, I now have time to work out, and I am now enrolled in an Italian class! A win for all!