About six months ago, I put a task with a due date of today on my Palm to-do list to “Apply to Montessori school.” I had called to get some basic information about the school and see if they had a pre-preschool day care program. They didn’t, but they encourage me to apply for a spot in the pre-school program a year before Aitch became eligible at two years nine months (“2.9” in the base-twelve parlance).

A year in advance? You don’t even apply to Ivy League universities early-decision a year in advance. Obviously, they got me all panicked and I put it on my task list, but I have to wonder how competitive preschool admissions are in this little town. Are there so many people applying so far in advance that a new family moving in would not be able to find a spot for their toddler for an entire year? If the market is that tight, then instead of consulting I should definitely be opening a preschool.

Aitch’s current playschool has a preschool program that I could easily roll him into just by making a phone call to the director and placing him on the list, but for some reason I feel I need to put myself through the ordeal of multiple Montessori school interviews (both parents required! But leave the child at home! Preferably with a trained caregiver guiding him in some Montessori-approved multi-sensory activity!). Although I adore Aitch’s toddler program, I wasn’t so crazy about the early preschool class. It’s held in a basement, cheek by jowl with a bunch of other classrooms, and the kids did not seem terribly active or content on the day I toured the preschool.

But of course my overriding criterion for school selection is proximity. Aitch’s current playschool is a mere five and a half house numbers down from us on the same street (for some reason, the school number is 13 1/2, perhaps because they felt 13 was by itself too unlucky?). Distance as the crow flies: 50 meters. Unfortunately, the school entrance in in the back of the building, so we either have to exit the front of our house, walk three buildings down, and then circle around the back of the complex, or exit the back of our house and circle around the block (more like 75 meters). There is actually a hilly, wooded shortcut between our driveway and the school door (30 meters, tops), but it’s kind of scrubby and not toddler-friendly. The Montessori school is an entire 500 meters away. For the visual learners among us:

school routes

Obviously, either distance is walkable, but at minus 20 wind chill every second of exposure is critical. There’s also the “empty stroller factor” — the amount of distance I have to travel back from the school (after dropoff) or to the school (for pickup) wheeling an empty stroller and meeting alarmed glances from passers-by with defiant looks (”No, I am not so high in the middle of the day that I forgot the damn baby!”). If I’m lucky I meet other “empty stroller moms” en route and we give each other sheepish smiles.

Maybe I should shift tactics and look for a preschool that is farther away — far enough to justify a car ride. Then I could forego the arctic-quality outerwear, listen to the radio, and stop by the Dunkin’ Donuts drive-through on the way to school.