Further proof that I am an irresponsible mother......

Because my work involves programs for the younger set, I was invited to a pre-school fair the other day. The fair was being put on by a local Mom's Club and had been advertised all over the community, so there was a huge turnout. The programs I run are more along the lines of "Parents Morning Out" drop-in-when-you-need-it programs, as opposed to traditional preschools, but there were enough similarities that I thought it'd be a good event to attend. And it was -- there was a lot of interest in what we do -- but that's not my point.

My point is that I stood there, in the midst of a sea of stroller pushing mothers, watching with unbelieving eyes what was happening all around me. And I'm not saying that what was happening was bad.... Just that it was so foreign to me. Mothers were walking from pre-school director to pre-school director and interviewing them about their curriculum. Seriously hard-core interviewing them. Like these pre-school directors were heads of state. They brought pads of paper and pens! And they very studiously took notes as they all talked.

• "And do you have a foreign language curriculum?"
• "Do you have weekly themes?" And what's your process for structuring that?"
• "And what is your music curriculum like? Because dance and movement and music? It's VERY important in our household and I need to make sure you will reflect that here."
• "What, exactly, does your typical day look like?"
• "Are you a peanut-free zone?"
• "What sorts of leadership opportunities will my child have?"
• "How much reading do you do? I really want my child to be reading."
• "What does your free-play area look like? Is there a kitchen? I want my son to be exposed to kitchens and cooking."
• "What do your mornings look like when other parents are dropping off? Is there structure? I don't want my child just milling around in the mornings....."

nod. nod. scribblescribblescribblescribblescribblescribblescribble...............

And I stood there and laughed to myself. Because I'm not sure what it says about my parenting, but here's the process I went through to figure out what pre-school my child would attend:

• "Yo'! Amy...."
• "Whad' up, Kafsky?"
• "Are you sending Will to preschool this year?"
• "Yeah."
• "Where are you going?"
• (She tells me the name)
• "Do you like it?"
• "Love it! The director rocks. You'd love her."
• "Awesome."

Then I called them up and registered him over the phone. And I'm going to admit right here in this public forum for all to see that I am so irresponsible I didn't even tour the facility.