You Get What You Pay For?

My whole life I've heard this and to some degree I actually believe it.  It's the reason I have the sweet red cruiser and the Sienna minivan.  It's the excuse I'm going to use to buy an Apple computer and that Nikon 300 someday.  It's why I'm pretty sure the last two portable DVD players we've had died within the first year.  It's why I'm totally amazed that the $10 DVD player we got four years ago is still kicking.  That being said I felt a slight reserve when placing Gigi in her current preschool.  The cost was many times what we paid for Captain E and about $100 more a month than what other programs in the area might cost.  We felt really good about it though and because of some of the concerns we had about Gigi, especially her speech we decided go for it.  Many times over this year I have felt a reassuring spirit that we made the right choice.  This week I had two.  The first: We came into class and Teacher Katie said, "Gigi come here I have something special for you."  The teachers had covered the underside of one of the tables in the middle of the classroom and put a mat on the floor under it.  Gigi and Katie went to the table, climbed underneath and started to draw.  Other kids came under and did the lines but Gigi drew out this family.  Daddy is the one with the ears.  Mom the big one with hair.  Peach the tiny one.  Captain E the one with no hair at all.  Gigi the small one with tons of hair.  Teacher Katie told me later she'd come up with the idea specifically for Gigi because she's a little girl who really enjoys activities that are "outside the box".  Then today when I brought Gigi in she was really grouchy.  She woke up late, ate toast in the car and was at school probably within 30 minutes of first opening her eyes.  The girl was unhappy.  Later when I talked to with her teacher she told me that Gigi had just wanted to lay on the little couch in the classroom when she first got there.  It remind Katie of a story about a dad who was trying to figure out which of his kids was hiding under a blanket.  She went looking for the book and a blanket.  She read the book to Gigi and then asked her if she wanted to perform the story for the rest of her class during circle time.  Gigi said yes and from then on her bad day was gone.  I'm so impressed with how much consideration and personal attention is put into the activities, curriculum, and daily care of each of the children in the class.  I'm happy to say that in the case of preschool we are definitely getting what we paid for :)