To move or not to move

I am now having nagging thoughts about Mini-me’s daycare situation. You see, Mini-me was born in October and is currently in the PK4 group at his daycare. The center does not have a Kindergarten group, but they have a 5 year old group – you know, for the children like Mini-me, who miss the state’s Kindergarten deadline. On the other hand, there is a center close to our house that DOES have a Kindergarten program that starts later in the school year. Mini-Me would probably qualify for this group. You would imagine that it would be an easy decision, after all, I already have a son older than Mini-me and I can base my decision based on experience, but unfortunately, it’s not that easy.

Mini-me has the advantage of being a second child, so he has someone to learn from and try to emulate, therefore he is definitely more advanced than his brother was at the same age. Not only that, but having a brother 5 years your senior, can definitely influence your thought process and learning curves as well as you have a less neurotic mother who lets you explore and experience more of your surroundings including but not limited to playing with Lego’s past 3 years old but way earlier than the age on the box, allowing you to use your brain in ways your brother was not allowed to UNTIL he turned the age on the box.

To add to this, Mini-me is über-smart (his old teacher’s assessment although I concur). The kid has always been a smart one… and I am not only talking about being a smart-ass although that also applies at times, I mean SMART. Mini-me is the type of kid that can figure something out by looking at you do it… and if it’s something mechanical, watch out. The kiddy gates were no good in our home: he figured them out in 3 days. The covers for the electrical outlets: 1 day. Since he likes to hang out with me, he has been “helping” me make brownies since he is about 2 years old. When he was about 2 ½ he asked me if he could crack the eggs into the bowl. Since I didn’t care about the mess that day I told him that it was fine. Then to MY surprise, the kids cracked 2 eggs into the bowl… perfectly… on the first try. He has been doing it ever since.

So… smart-wise the kid is ready, but how about emotionally? Socially? Skywalker is very immature. In Puerto Rico we compare maturity to the ripeness of a fruit (because if we can, we compare everything we can to food) and he is greener than an unripe avocado (I should add this one to my list of folk sayings…) So even though his birthday is in September, the question of his attendance to school was NEVER raised. We knew he could benefit of being in a grade lower – his maturity couldn’t handle anything else. But Mini-Me? According to his old teachers, he is ready. He was playing mostly with the 5year old kids that were waiting to go to Kindergarten this year and got along with them great. You see, Mini-me knows he is four, but he refuses to act like a four year old.

To add to the dynamic, there is the recent move. We just started him in this new daycare a couple of months ago. Should we move him again? He is very resilient, but is it fair to him? Distance or hours of care are not an issue (I don’t know if that is good or bad, because a huge difference would tip the balance one way or another). His current daycare is less than a mile away, and the other one is 2 blocks away. His current daycare is $195 a week (gasp) the new one is $226 a week (gasp, pant) but really, that is only a $124 difference a month – not bad considering that the second daycare is considered a “private school” and not quite a daycare at that age. The more I ask, the more ambiguous are the answers to my question.

My window of opportunity is closing. I need to make a decision soon, as the spots on the school being considered get filled quickly… Decisions, decisions….. AARRGGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!