Pre-School!

I registered BSM for pre-school this morning: Hurrah!

The pre-school we chose is a Charedi [Ultra-Orthodox] school on the Yishuv and offers afternoon care. The kids there seem confident, happy, and independent, and they generally have 8-10 kids in the three-year-old class. From the few minutes that I visited on Friday morning, the teacher and assistant seem nice, but once I saw the kids, I knew it was fine.

The big difference between standard and Charedi preschools is when kids learn to read: standard track has them learning their letters in kindergarten and reading in first grade, the Charedi track (for boys, I didn't ask about girls) teaches letters in 4-year-old nursery and reading in kindergarten.

I verified that the 4- and 5-year-olds still spend much more time playing than sitting at desks, so I don't really care when BSM learns to read. Since we'll probably send him to a Charedi first grade, however, BSM should probably learn to read on the Charedi schedule. Hence, a Charedi 4-year-old nursery, and since we don't want the kid to switch schools more than necessary, a Charedi 3-year-old nursery, as well.

Sound like I'm trying to justify what's going on, here? I guess I am: I know I'm Orthodox, but I'm not sure that I'm Ultra-Orthodox, and sending BSM to an all-boys 3-year-old nursery seems a bit extreme to me. But sensible, and not a big deal. Right?