Thinking WAY ahead

Going in for my first “real” ob/gyn appt today, and the last one for a while.  I hadn’t realized the 8 week one was a “viability” visit – they don’t even let you see the real doctor until they know the baby looks like it *might* make it, which explains why I was just with a nurse at that point.  Part of me is kind of proud I graduated and part of me is kind of creeped out by the whole thing.  Not sure what’s going to happen today, but according to Google it’s pretty basic – more blood pressure, more weighing and urine testing, and that’s kind of it.  Sounds like a bit of a waste of time to me since they did all this on Friday, but I’ll humor them.  I guess it’s a chance to meet the real guy and get a sense of how we get along, so that’s something.  Nobody should be looking at my lady parts today.

Spent last night obsessively Googling schools.  Started with preschool, since I have no clue how all of that works.  It seems like today’s kids are in “school” from the minute they walk pretty much – but I might be mistaking that for daycare.  Anyway it seems ages 3 or 4 and just a couple of days a week is acceptable, which works for me.  The idea of paying up to $1000 a month for my kid to go play with glitter and construction paper for three years seems kind of excessive. 

I checked out that cool place down in Figueroa that I visited in my Highland Park art deco tour.  As with all schools, there were mixed reviews; a lot of news items about how there’s a huge noise problem because of the high ceilings and general acoustics that they’re having to fix so they can keep their government funding; and one thing that worried me was some parents said the place was getting kind of ghetto with all the gang kids being admitted who then terrorized the other kids, and the staff shrugging their shoulders and saying they pretty much have to admit everyone (and let’s face it, that’s the neighborhood).  However we’re talking years from now, and I can certainly do another tour to see how the place looks in 2016!  But it’s close by and I might be able to get subsidies so it might be a good option.

Then of course there’s the excellent elementary up in the hill behind me, but that’s only up to 6^th grade.  I remember my real estate agent saying when she moved me in here that she typically moves people in for that school but then has to move everyone out when the kids reach middle school age, because there are just no decent options anywhere around here.  However, I found one school I found really interesting, the one in Eagle Rock that I always see kids coming out of with musical instruments, that’s housed in an old 60s department store building.  All over the website it stresses the school is NOT for everybody, and is VERY non-traditional, as in, no sports teams, no proms, no extra-curriculars other than their already in place music and dance programs, which appear to dominate the school.  There are no grade levels per se and no homework (whoo-hoo!).  It sounds like a big disorganized mess, but then you look a little deeper and it sounds pretty hardcore academically; the requirements for years of each subject is way more than the UC system requires, and it’s a classical education, with Latin and reading of classics (sounds a bit like my high school, which I like).  The students who commented, even negatively, all said the school was “hard”, which to me is a good thing, because it means they don’t let you slack and academics are still important (not always true in these performing arts schools).  So the reviews were interesting – apparently you either love or hate it.  The complaints mostly consisted of the facility not being very nice (one big room, no outdoor space), punishments being arbitrary and cruel (apparently you go sit in a naughty spot if you misbehave), kids being left behind in favor of the more “talented” kids (show me a school where kids aren’t being left behind), lack of parent-administration communication.  The positives were the amazing opportunities the kids get – performing at Hollywood Bowl, Disney Hall, etc; every kid has to chose to play violin, viola or cello as they start school, and everyone dances (dance is the PE, and of course I love that).  In fact, you have to wear dancewear to school – the uniform is t shirts and non-jean pants at all times.  I do think for the right kid it could be fantastic – for the wrong kid a disaster.  My main thought about the school is it’s SAFE; because of how it’s set up, there is zero opportunity for kids to be bullied or attacked and no drug activity at all.  There are no delinquents in the back of the room ruining the class for everyone else.  Stuff like that just doesn’t happen in a school like this.  I can’t even imagine the luxury of that – in my high school, 80% of time there was spent trying not to get beat up by kids from the projects, 20% actually learning something, and most of that didn’t happen until about junior year when I finally graduated to the AP classes.  Anyway.  Who knows where this school will be by 2026?  It could not even exist anymore, or could be so competitive you can’t even get in (already there’s a lottery system for admissions).  It’s only been in existence since 2004, so my real estate agent wouldn’t have known about it in 2001.  I’m glad there’s at least a good neighborhood option, however, assuming I have a performing arts-type kid.  It would be great to get the kid in nothing but awesome schools all the way through, instead of the random hodge-podge I got. 

So, I’ve got that all figured out.  Now to think about where to put the crib.