Since we weren’t sure if we would be living somewhere new this fall, I have put off enrolling Ryan in pre-school. He went to an enrichment type school last year on a farm, and we have been thinking about sending him there again for the fall and winter. However, since he will be starting kindergarten next fall (gulp), we have also been thinking about enrolling him in a more formal pre-school setting.
Not knowing what to do, I have taken to asking Ryan what he wants-just to hear his thoughts on the matter. Every time I bring up the subject, he tells me he is not going back to school. The first few times he said this, I brushed it off, but it is a little concerning to me that he is not excited or has any desire to go back to school.
I brought up the subject again with him today:
Me: Are you ready to go back to school?
Ryan: I am never going back to pre-school ever again. I am going to stay home and play all day.
Me: Why don’t you want to go to school?
Ryan: There are too many kids, it is boring, and I get straw in my shoes.
(Light bulb moment for me- at last I felt like I was getting to the root of the problem)
Me: What if we go to a new school where there aren’t as many kids, and you aren’t bored?
Ryan: Nope. I’m not going back.
Me: Well, what are you going to do for a job when you get older if you don’t go to school? You have to make money one day, and you can’t do that if you don’t go to school.
(Silence from Ryan. I finally broke through to him- or so I thought.)
Ryan (after several moments of thinking): I can get a job at McDonald’s.
(Silence from me. I have nothing left to say.)