The Easter Festival

Dylan goes to Headstart. For those of you who don't know about Headstart, it's a preschool for, well, how do I put this? I can't think of a different way - poorer kids. You have to show your tax return when you apply, and if your income is under a certain amount, your kid can go to Headstart for free. We got Dylan into Headstart last year, when Ben was a student - he obviously wasn't making much money at his part-time job, so we were a shoe-in. I adored it! The program is funded by the government, so the teachers have to show that they are benefitting these kids. You have to set goals with the teacher every couple of months - areas in which you want your child to improve, etc. And then the teacher has to document the child having reached the goals. Not only that, they check their hearing and vision a couple of times a year, and they have a psychiatrist come once a month to observe the kids and make sure they seem behaviorally healthy.

Because Headstart looks at last year's tax return to determine eligibility, we were able to get Dylan into Headstart this year, though technically, we are making a little more than the income limit. He is really thriving there. He's made a lot of friends (he's a very outgoing dude). Some of the kids and their parents are kind of... scary. So, when one of his friends asked me if Dylan and he could have a play date sometime, and he gave me a little piece of paper with his name and number on it (he had his mom write it down for him), I was a little nervous. But as I have gotten to know this kid and his mom, I really, really like both of them. They are decent people. Plus, the kid's grandma is a teacher at the Headstart center, so I trust her.

Dylan and this kid (Marcus is his name) had their very first playdate today! Marcus's mom and grandma wanted to take Marcus and Dylan to an Easter Festival at a local college. I've never heard of it, but it's supposed to be really great and be like a carnival. I was kind of nervous to put Dylan into the hands of people I haven't known for very long, but I was really, really careful about getting to know them first. Dylan had a blast! He came home with a sack full of candy and the coolest Spiderman balloon. I can't believe my kid is old enough to go on play dates!!