Making Decisions

How do you make decisions? What do you base it on?

Yesterday, Bryce and I visited 2 schools that have a 5 year old program. We decided a few months ago that we are not going to send Bryce to Kindergarten next year since he is a Summer birthday. He'll start Kindergarten when he's 6. That in itself was a very hard decision, but after much deliberating and talking with friends & family, we decided the best thing for Bryce was to give him an extra year to grow physically, emotionally, socially and intellectually. I think this is a very individual decision for each family and that there is no "right answer" to this situation, but we feel good about our choice and are confident it help Bryce in the long run! :)

Anyways.... as I was saying, we visited 2 different programs yesterday. Both of them are designed for kids that turn 5 in the Summer or have very early fall birthdays and just miss the cut off. I liked both of them. I didn't walk out of either with that "this is definitely it" feeling, but really liked them both. Each had it's own pros and cons and gave me much to think about.

I wanted to know what Bryce thought. I want him to feel important in making this decision. I asked him which school he liked better. He said, "the second one". I said, "Why did you like the 2nd one better?". He replied with, "Because they have a kitchen like Sam's." Yes - he's talking about a plastic, play kitchen! Apparently the kitchen they have to play with at the 2nd school is the same one that his buddy Sam has at his house!! Interesting. I had to chuckle to myself at WHY he liked the second school better. He said he liked all of the teachers, all of the kids and all of the toys at both schools. His decision is based soley on this play kitchen that is apparently just like Sam's!

When we went to pick Jenna up, I was talking to my daycare provider about the day and what we found. I told her about why Bryce liked the second school better. We smiled at each other and she said, "Well, kids at this age often look for something that is familiar to them and that is what makes them feel comfortable." I thought about that a lot last night. I think we, even as adults, probably base our decisions on what is comfortable and familiar to us as well. Obviously our decisions are rarely based on play kitchens.... ha, but after taking the time to think about it, his reason and how he decided which school he liked better, it's probably very similar to how we make some of our own decisions! :)