School finally started!

After a 3.5 months break, JB's school finally started again last week! And for all you swiss peeps, school in terms of a small child means 'krippe'. So please no worries, Jackson is not forced into an un-natural setting, but spends time with other kids his age in a loving + nourishing environment. Other than in Switzerland (I think, correct me if I'm wrong), the day schools do "work" with the little kids on colors, they playfully introduce numbers + letters + sing the ABC song frequently. For the kids, it's playing, not learning per se, like everything else is at that age. When JB walks stairs for example, he likes to count the steps: 1 to 12 work fine, the 'teens' however are really funny: 'eleventeen' is my favorite number these days!!!
This year, JB will go to school 4 days a week - on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday he will stay also for lunch + nap, meaning we pick him up at 3pm. On Friday he's only there in the morning, 9-12. It feels like a lot, whenever I think about it. But then again it allows us to work hard for the hours he's gone, but then also to really be there for + with him when he gets back. Plus: JB loves his school! And so do Chuck + I. For many reasons: 'Our' school is comperable small: 65 kids in 6 classes, never more than 10 kids per class/day, 2 teachers per class. Jackson is not a number, he's being cared for + supported very personally. The ladies love him.... The school also is very close from where we live - 4 min. by car, 12 by bike. I met some really awesome ladies through school: I became friends with a couple of moms/teachers + we started a book club together. My monthly joy: an evening of good talks, good laughs, good advice +friendship.
The down side is the cost of this, but there's just no way around it. There are NO public schools for the little kids (and if there were, we might very well choose not to send our son there, unfortunately...). And it's not an option for me to be a stay at home mom. Yeah, I make some money working, but following are the real reasons why: I like being a professional as much as I love to be a mother. My job also provides my + my sons health care. Which is HUGE in the US. Being in the adult world, accomplishing things, working out issues keeps me sane, too - I don't think I'd be a very good mother without having that balance. Even if it's a stretch sometimes - and it is, hands down - I feel grateful for the way things are today.
So: Happy school year JB! I can;t wait to get home today to hear what fun stuff he did today!