Hey Mamas! Did you know that in Palm Beach County they offer FREE VPK for children the year before they enter kindergarten? Actually, if you live anywhere in the state of Florida, and your child turns 4 years old prior to September 1, they are eligible to participate in this program!

What does VPK stand for? Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten.

How many hours a day is my child in school? Each school is slightly different, but they will be in school for 540 hours total. Usually, it’s three hours a day, but some places offer extended days or an extra half hour. Anything over the 540 hours (3 hours per day) is paid for by the parent.

What are the steps? I’m so glad you asked!

1. Register at this website here. First you need to form an account, then log in and fill out forms. You can do this as early as January 1.
2. Wait and look daily for the voucher! It should take no more than 10 days for it to arrive in your email inbox.
3. While you wait, tour the schools in your area! Google which schools accept the VPK voucher and go see which one is the best fit for your family/time schedule.
4. Once you have chosen your school, ask them when their enrollment opens to the public. Some schools fill up QUICK. Like, within the first half hour of the first day that they open enrollment. I would get a gauge on how quickly spots of filled up in the past for your school of choice, and plan on being there accordingly. The school my son went to had open enrollment as early as mid-February last year!
5. Have your voucher and paperwork ready to go!

Here’s some questions to ask when touring schools:

1. What sets your school apart from others in the area?
2. How do you prepare children for kindergarten?
3. What is an example of the students’ daily schedule?
4. What are the start and finish times each day?
5. How long is recess?
6. What is the snack policy?
7. What is the discipline policy?

Some questions to ask once you have chosen the school:

1. What is the date and time of open enrollment?
2. How many spots/classes do you have available and how quickly have they filled in the past?
3. What documents do I need to bring (in addition to the voucher) the day I sign my child up?

Do you have a child that participated in VPK, Mama? My son went to an awesome school last year called Church In The Gardens! I was so pleased with our experience there. Do you have any tips for other Mamas? Share below, I’d love to hear from you!

Where did the first month of 2020 go, Mamas? I feel like it breezed on by, quickly!

I’ve been doing some reflecting on 2019 and what I want 2020 to look like. A big goal for 2020 is to pay off any remaining debt we have, and we are SO CLOSE, I can just taste it! I am finding it’s best for me to focus on one goal and go after it HARD.

Our goals can be met, but the daily choices we make play a big part in that. My sister shared with me a recent sermon from Journey Church (shout out to them!). The speaker challenged the people that small “yes’s” and small “no’s” will lead you closer to where you want to be.

You want to lose some weight? Saying “no” to eating after dinner time once, gives you more power to say “no” the next night, and the next. Saying “yes” to exercising when you want to sleep in, makes it easier to say “yes” when future alarm clocks go off.

This Mama loves a break from cooking once a week. Really, it’s the cleaning part, not the cooking part that I want a break from! 🙂 We used to eat out a few times a month at Chipotle, Blaze Pizza, or some fast casual restaurant where our family can eat off it twice and it’s super affordable. For the month of January, I challenged myself and my family to refrain from eating out.

And Mama, it was CHALLENGING! I said a lot of small no’s and what felt like some big NO’s when I really wanted something to treat myself and my family. This has greatly impacted our family budget for the better! And helped us work towards the big goal of paying off that debt!

Do you have a big goal for the year? What are some small “no’s” and “yes’s” you can do daily, Mama? I’d love to hear from you!