Last Day of GA PreK

 

August 11th, 2014

The last day of GA PreK arrived on Friday, May 22nd and we were all kinds of excited! While we were sad to say goodbye to the friends made at Medlock Bridge, we were so ready to stop waking up at 5:40am M-F to get on a bus at 6:15am. I'm sorry, but it made for a really LONG school year.

Gus still had a bit of a baby-face at the start of the year, but by May 22nd, that baby look was gone. It's sad so see the passing of this phase, but exciting at the same time to start the next phase :: The Elementary Years.

I'm excited for Gus to experience all the wonderful things that come with attending school. He thrives on order and routine, and school is perfect for that. He loves being around other kids and feeling important, and he'll have that. Most importantly, he needs his sensory needs met, and when he returns to kindergarten in the fall, he'll have plenty of time to have all his sensory needs met. It's going to be great for him.

Here are some comparison pictures of August and May.

 

August 2014

 

May 2015

 

1st Day with Mr. Serge

 

Last Day with Mr. Serge

 

1st Day

 

Last Day

This year has been full of tremendous growth for Gus. Academically, he's on the advanced side of things and has recently begun reading sight words. While in school, he was one of five kids in the only reading group in his class, and he was doing really well. He loves books, words, and reading.

His favorite subjects are science, reading, and math-- though to be honest, he really loves all subjects. He has a natural love for learning and I'm praying that it continues.

I know that preschool, kindergarten, and first grade are the CRITICAL years for developing a love for school and learning. If a child has a negative experience during these three years, it sets the tone for the future, and there's nothing more difficult to process than a child that hates school. We're hoping that he gets a phenomenal teacher for kindergarten and that his first grade year is met with nothing but happiness, growth, and success.

We've already started preparing for kindergaten and have been reading lots of books with a kindergarten theme. We recently bought his backpack (on clearance from REI and it's awesome). We per-ordered a Paw Patrol lunch box and are eager for it to ship. I've started buying back to school clothing (I've got his first day of school outfit bought and his shirt and tie for fall pictures). Needless to say, he's really excited for kindergarten. :-)

Next we need to start focusing on Hugh and his first day, but he doesn't start until September (he starts Tu/Th preschool on the Tuesday after Labor Day). Gus starts kindergarten on August 10th.

I'm hoping to post more this summer-- please forgive the lapse in time!!

 

 

Back to School!

The summer really seemed to go by so quickly. The days of sleeping in and doing whatever we felt like doing were so fun, but toward the end of last week, we were all starting to feel like it was time to get back into a routine. I know for some people, not having a set schedule and just going about your day however it comes, works. For us, we need a schedule and we need structure. Gus thrives on being able to predict what'll happen next, and when he doesn't have a set routine, things can get very chaotic and frustrating for everyone.

We had his "Sneak Peek" last Thursday and up until the time we left for this event, we did not know who his teacher was. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. For the K-5 kiddos that attend that school as their base or home school, sure, I get the thrill of posting the teacher assignments on the windows and letting the kids find out at the same time which teacher they'll have for the year.

As a parent of a special needs preschooler at that school, it did not sit well with me that I had no idea who our teacher was before going to the school. It would have been VERY nice and VERY helpful to be able to work with Gus on who his teachers are, and to practice their names. I know his teachers have known who was in their class for at least a week, so they could have sent an email to introduce themselves. They chose not to and it's quite disappointing.

Steve's always said it, but being a former teacher is going to be the worst thing ever for my kids. I guess my expectations are higher than most parents because I know what I used to do as a teacher. I know that it takes less than five minutes to send out a welcome email, or to send a postcard to my students (back when I had over 25 kids and no assistant) to share how excited I was to have them in my class. I know how easy it was to create a website where I could share our class schedule for the parents.

None of those things have happened, and Gus is in GA PreK. I have higher hopes for when he starts kindergarten at Abbotts next year.

So anyway, we got to the Sneak Peek and had to do this treasure hunt of sorts... go to the media center and fill out a bus card. Did anyone know if I needed a bus card since Gus was in GA PreK and not going to be attending MBES as his base school? Of course not. No one had a clue and there were no instructions anywhere about out of zone families and if they needed their "golden ticket" to leave the media center or not.

We then had to go to the cafeteria and there were a lot of things to do... sign up for a "runapalooza" shirt for Gus, sign up for the PTA, get his spirit wear, and then stand in a long line to turn in his residency affidavit, that we already did when we registered in July. No one knew if I needed to resumit or not, but I decided to do it again just in case they lost it. 

Then we got to attempt to find his class. None of the halls were labeled for PreK... there was 5th and 4th, 3rd and 2nd, and 1st and Kindergarten, but nothing for the GAPreK classrooms (there are two). After wandering up and down halls, we finally found his room and went inside. We were the only ones there and when I signed in, there were 19 other names filled in and we were last. 

Gus enjoyed seeing his new classroom and liked meeting his teachers. He has two teachers this year, one is a regular education teacher (Ms. F) and the other is a special education teacher (Ms. B). They were both eager to meet him and enjoyed talking to him.

Then the OT came by and we got to meet her. Gus will be having OT services each Friday with her and we're excited for these to begin!!

We said our goodbyes and headed out. On the way I decided to take a picture of Gus with the giant mural that they've got in front of their library.

On Monday, we woke Gus up at 5:45am (yes... that's his new wake-up time) and he was excited to go to school. His bus driver is the same one that he had at LWES, so he was eager to see Mr. S. 

Over the weekend, Steve helped me make a "First/Last Day of School" frame that we can use each year until the boys are seniors in high school. It was pretty inexpensive and easy to make. 

Here are the "First Day of School GAPreK" pictures that I took of Gus:

 
The "first" part is on chalkboard, so I can erase and write "Last" in May and we'll see the growth over the year. I also took a picture of him in front of the door so we'll be able to see how much taller he grew over the course of the school year.

 

It is SO DARK at 6:15am (his bus pick-up time)

 

Gus and Mr. S

 

Big boy off to school!!

 

It was sad to see him off, but he was excited and didn't cry, so we didn't cry. I had a MOMS Club® chapter meeting to attend at 10, so Hugh and I did that while Steve worked from home. After our meeting, we came back and picked up Steve and the three of us went on a nice little lunch date. We've never been out just the three of us (without Gus), so it was a nice treat. 


We got home and put Hugh down for a nap and before we knew it, it was time to go out and get Gus from the bus. 

He was all smiles and said he had a great first day of school! Here's to a wonderful year full of success and fun!!