Unexpected | pjm

Chapter 3

"Where are we going?" Jiho called from the backseat as Jimin pulled out of the diner's parking lot.

"We are going to go look at a new school." Jimin said as he made a right turn.

"A new school?"

"Yep! One where everyone is nice, and won't steal your toys or hit you or push you." Jimin looked in the rear view mirror to see Jiho smiling happily out the window, swinging his legs in excitement.

After a few more minutes of driving, Jimin pulled into the parking lot of Spring Day Childcare Center. "We're here!" He called out excitedly, exiting the car and opening the backdoor. Jiho had already unbuckled himself and practically jumped out of the car, causing Jimin to have to catch him before he hit the ground. "Woah there, be careful." He set him down and grabbed his hand, walking him up to the front door.

He rang the doorbell, and seconds later, a tall man came into view and opened the door for him. "You must be Jimin."

"That's right, and this is my son Jiho." He greeted the man as he walked inside the center.

"Hi Jiho!" The man crouched down to his height and held out his hand. "I'm Mr. Seokjin, it's very nice to meet you." Jiho smiled and shook his hand. Seokjin stood back up and introduced himself to Jimin. "I'm the director of the center, and the person you talked to on the phone this morning. If you'll follow me to my office, we can discuss some things." He turned around and led them out of the entryway through a second door.

"What's that?!" Jiho pointed at a door on the right.

"That is the toddler classroom. That is where the one and two year olds go. I bet you're too big for that class." Seokjin answered him, turning away from the door and entering his office which was just on the left.

Jiho nodded. "I'm three!" He exclaimed, holding up 4 fingers.

"You are a big boy!" Seokjin said as he sat behind his desk. "And just for big boys like you, I have some blocks over there," he pointed to the corner of the room, "for you to play with." Jiho immediately sat next to the blocks and started pulling some out.

"So on the phone you said Jiho had been having some trouble at his old school."

"Yes, I feel that he wasn't properly being cared for over there." Jimin answered, glancing over at his son who was humming as he stacked some blocks.

"That's understandable." Seokjin nodded, pulling out some papers. "As you can see, this is a very small center, but that just makes it easier for us to form a special bond with each individual child, and make sure they are getting the best care we can possibly give them. There are two classrooms, the toddler room that I pointed out, and the preschool room which is just a little further down the hall from here. That is the room Jiho would be in, should you choose to enroll him. Are there any specific questions you have? Or anything we would need to know about Jiho."

"Yes, what's a typical schedule for the day here? I keep a pretty tight routine with Jiho throughout the day." Jimin leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice. "His mother and I recently separated, so I want to keep as little confusion and stress in his life as possible."

Jin nodded in understanding. "We completely understand, we have children here going through many different hardships, so we also believe in sticking to a routine. We open the doors to kids at 7:30, where they have free play time until 8:30 when we serve breakfast. After that, we have circle time activities at 9:30, where each child will be assigned a certain job. For example, one child looks out the window to determine what the weather is like, while another may lead the group in an activity song. They go outside to play at about 10:00, depending on the weather, and stay outside for 30 minutes to an hour. Then they usually have a story time or other language development activity, followed by free play until lunch time, which is at around 11:45. After lunch, they have their nap time which lasts until around 2:00, based around when the children wake up. We do provide them with a snack everyday after nap, so you don't have to worry too much about your child being hungry when you pick him up. They then have afternoon circle time, which will vary depending on what the teacher has planned. If the weather permits, the children will go outside again in the afternoon, if not, they will have free play, until they are picked up. The center is supposed to close at about 5:15, but if there is an emergency, we can keep a child later."

Jimin blinked, overwhelmed at all the information. Seokjin was so organized, the complete opposite of the other school. "That sounds great. But I do have one very important question." Jin nodded, telling him to ask away. "How do you handle if a child is bullying another one?"

"Well, we do have the occasional child that excludes another child, or uses violence, but we do not tolerate that. We do enforce time out if a child is acting up, and if a child hits or bites another, we do file an accident report and let the parent know what happened. Our main goal is to protect the child and provide them with the best care available."

Jimin sat back in his chair. "That's good. One final question, how much does it cost?"

"For all children, there is a 34,000 won enrollment fee, plus an annual 67,500 won supply fee. Our main tuition is based on the child's age, so for Jiho, it would be 113,000 won per week."

Jimin sighed and slouched in his chair. "That's what I was afraid of." He ran his hand through his hair.

"Daddy, I made a tower!" Jimin turned to look at Jiho.

"Wow, you did a really good job! It's so tall!" Jimin smiled at how happy Jiho already seemed. He turned back to Seokjin. "I really want Jiho to come here, but I'm not sure if I can afford it."

Seokjin rummaged through a drawer in his desk. "We do have options for parents that have trouble paying their fees, or are in specific situations." He placed a piece of paper in front of Jimin. "Sadly, I know of one you won't qualify for, which is the single parent with full custody, as you and your wife are only separated at the moment. However, if you fall into one of these other categories, I can give you a discount."

Jimin picked up the paper and skimmed through the options, when his eyes landed on one. "You provide discounts for college students?"

"Yes, our center is in connection with the local university, we allow their child development students to observe and work here for their classes, so we do allow them a discount. All you have to do is provide proof of you being a current student at the time of enrollment."

Jimin set the paper back down on the desk. "How soon can you get me that paperwork?"