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!!

A Month of Gratitude: Day 9

Day 8: Gus's Classmates

Gus and his best friend at school :: Meera

I am the classroom coordinator for Gus's class at Lake Windward. I don't really have to do much, as there are only six kids in the morning class and four in the late morning class. Parents don't come into the school to volunteer at this age, so there hasn't been a need for much from me. I do coordinate the Scholastic Reading Club each month, but that's about it.

I decided that it might be fun to get the kids together outside of school for them to socialize. I'd been trying to get something organized for a few weeks, and we finally were able to set something up for Saturday.

I invited the kids from both the early class and the late class and I was excited to see that there were five/six that came from the early (Gus's class) and one/four from the late. It was really awesome!

We arrived just after Cameron and James had arrived (they're twins). They are in Gus's session and he loves to play trains with them. Meera arrived next (also in his session), then Alejandro (he's in the late session), Eli (in Gus's session) all arrived.

There was something so wonderful about seeing Gus with his friends. They were all so excited to see each other, none of them were shy or awkward to be playing outside of school, and they were independent and not caring about what their parents were doing. It was magical.

I haven't seen Gus so happy to be with his friends, in well, ever. Steve and I both commented on how special it was to be witnessing him thriving with his peers. They're all in the special needs preschool together and Gus, Cameron, James, and Meera are all there for speech and sensory/OT support. Eli has Down Syndrome and just started a few weeks ago and will be going three days a week (the other kids all go M-F). Alejandro is in the late session and is learning to walk and receiving support for speech as well.

The kids all have some disability, but they love each other and just see each other as friends. It was really amazing to see them playing, laughing, chasing, and just loving the time together. No one fought, no one cried, and no one threw a tantrum. AMAZING!!!

 Each parent brought something for the kids to have as a snack. There was a LOT of food and drinks and the kids all had fun eating together

  Cameron, James, Meera and her older sister Maya

 Eli and Gus

 Alejandro and his mama

Almost everyone (Steve and Hugh weren't in this one, and neither were Eli's dad and Alejandro's dad and grandpa)

After they had their snack, they were off to play some more. It was a brisk morning, so everyone was chilly, but the kids were running around and were comfortable. 

I loved the opportunity to talk to the other moms and to hear about their experiences with special needs preschool (they were all in Amanda's class last year because their kids were three-- they all just turned four recently but will be in the class because they weren't four by September 1st). I learned that as neurotic as I am, I think I have the least to worry about and I thought I was nagging Ms. Amanda with my once every two or three week emails. These moms email multiple times a DAY.

Steve had a chance to talk to some of the dads that were there and he loved watching Gus as well. It was a really awesome morning and we can't wait to do something again soon.

While we were there, we created a FB group and became FB friends. It'll be easy to chat on there and to share pictures. I'm hoping to plan something for next month and hope that it'll be as much fun as this first gathering was.

 When it was time to leave, Gus and Meera gave each other a hug and said they'd see each other at school on Monday.

 Bye James!!

Meera thought Hugh was pretty cute  ;-)

I'm so thankful that Gus is spending his days with children like him. I'm thankful that he's having a great preschool experience and that he's got friends that like him and want to be around him. I love seeing him happy and I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to see what his friends are like.

He's a Gator!

 

Officially Registered as a Gator

I still cannot believe that I went to Lake Windward today and registered Gus for preschool. It was so strange to be going in and filling out paperwork for him to start school, and he's only three.

We met the new principal at the school and she was so friendly (and young) and just warm and welcoming. I got such a great feeling from walking into the building and I have high hopes for this upcoming year for Gus.

His school day will start at 7:40am and carpool starts at 7:10am. It's incredible to think that we'll be waking up at 6:30 when Steve leaves for work and our day will be starting too. I'm not sure what time his day will end, but the secretary said she believes it's from 7:40-10:40. Hopefully he'll be home by 11am.

It's going to be so strange to see him off every morning. I am cherishing every moment that I have left of him here at home with me this summer. The thought of him being gone five days a week from August 12 through his senior year makes me want to cry. I'm not ready for him to be gone so much from me.  :-(

My sweet little Gustafer. He's the joy in my heart and makes me so proud. He is kind, sensitive, and caring. I cannot wait to see hear his language take off!!

 

Very interested in plants and flowers

He Qualified

On Wednesday, I took Gus to our local elementary school for him to be evaluated by FCPS (Fulton County Public Schools). As you know, back in October we had him evaluated through Georgia's BCW (Babies Can't Wait) program and he qualified for both speech/language and OT services. We decided to start with speech since that was our biggest concern (and STILL is), but because of scheduling conflicts, we didn't actually get a lot done with Gus and his speech therapist.

The ST came to our house three times and each time was horrible. Gus didn't seem to like her and she was constantly touching his face, talking really loudly, and just not a good fit with him. On the third visit she threw her hands up and said she just couldn't keep working with him until his sensory "issues" were resolved. She said I was the problem (he was looking to me for help and not doing as she wanted), and so it was for the best that we stopped using her for speech.

However, while it was great to start OT services with Mary, whom Gus absolutely LOVES, he hasn't been getting any help for his speech and language. As six months have passed, he has remained behind and has actually gotten further behind where he should be.

We did enroll him in preschool in January, and I honestly think it was the best thing we could have done for him. Any language gains that he's made have come from preschool.

Anyway, BCW is a program for kids up to age three. Once a child is three, they "graduate" out of BCW. Some end their services there, because they don't need assistance anymore. Others continue to need services and so they move to the public school system for their needs.

Because we still need support, we had to start the process to see if Gus would qualify for services. He had his hearing tested about a month ago and the results were excellent. Then on Wednesday, he went to have more testing done.

There was good news that came from the meeting. 

He qualifies for more services and will start in August at an elementary school that's close to us (not the school where he'll attend for K-5). 

He did not qualify for OT services. I say this is a positive because it means that he's doing really well in the areas that he was deficient before. He's been seeing Mary every week for an hour, and obviously it's paid off. They said they see the sensory problems that he'll need help with, but it's not enough to have an OT there to support his needs.

He will have an IEP. This will be good for three years and each year we'll write goals for him and we'll review to see how he's doing. When he's met all the goals we have for him, I believe the need for an IEP will be gone, and so will the IEP. However, it's a legally binding document that will spell out exactly what he needs and he'll be sure to get what he needs through it.

So the biggest question I had was what are we going to do next? The team recommended he be in a classroom setting. This means that instead of someone coming to our house for one on one time, once a week for an hour, he'll be in a classroom and seen at the school.

They said he could go five days a week (mornings only), and wouldn't need to continue with preschool somewhere else. This means no more Christ the King for preschool. It also means, no more spending $$ each month for preschool, since sending him to the public school is free (taxes pay for it).

I had a lot of questions and doubts. I want him to be with a variety of kids, not just a bunch of special education kids in one room. However, I was told that while he'll be with kids with IEPs, he'll be with similar kids. So he'll be there for speech delays, he'll be with kids who also have speech delays and maybe a few other things, but won't be with behavior/emotionally delayed children. They try to put the kids together based on their needs, which made me feel a little better about it. I want him to thrive and not be negatively impacted by the behavior of others.

I don't want him to go five days a week, but I found out that it's most likely a 7am-11am program. It might not be too bad for him to go five days a week for just that little bit of time. We could still do MOMS Club stuff and it's important that he still have time with non-disabled peers.

We'll see. We go May 9th for the IEP meeting and thankfully, Steve will be there with me. I just want Gus to get the support that he needs and I want him to be with teachers who not only have a passion for exceptional learners, but also have the background, training, and ability to serve his needs. 

Gus has a great teacher at CtK right now, but she's the only one on staff who is going to school for early childhood education, and is the only one focused on special education. It's been such a blessing to have her for Gus, but as the director told me, we cannot guarantee what next year would look like for him. He could have a teacher (at CtK) who doesn't understand his needs, and it could be a disastrous year for him.

So, we decided to give the public school preschool a chance. If it's not what we're looking for, or it's not a good fit, we'll have the IEP to help us find the right fit. CtK is a great school, and we'll probably send Hugh there when he's older, but for now, when we get to May 21st, Gus will be saying goodbye to CtK for preschool.

Fulton County offers free transportation to and from preschool. I immediately said no, I don't want Gus on the bus, but they assured me that it's a special bus for preschoolers only and it has car seats. I said I'd think about it. The more I've thought about it, the more I think I may do the bus. Not only because it'll be super nice to not have to load everyone up to go down the street, but because traffic is HORRIBLE at 7am. We'll see, but I'm leaning more towards letting him ride the bus and it'll give me more time at home with Hugh, will let Hugh keep sleeping and not have to wake to take Gus to school, and will give Gus a chance to ride a bus, since he sure as hell will NOT be riding the bus when he's in elementary school. 

It's REALLY odd to be on the other side of the table for an IEP. As a teacher, I sat in on multiple IEP meetings each year, and I'm very familiar with IEPs. As a teacher, they spell out exactly what you're to do for the child, how to help them be as successful as possible, and what goals to work on for helping the child succeed. 

As a parent, it's totally different. I just want Gus to get caught up on his language. 

Looking at the developmental milestones for a three-year-old, I was shocked at how many are centered around speech and language. At this age, EVERYTHING revolves around speech and language and he's significantly delayed. I'm excited that he'll be going to school (which looks just like any other preschool classroom) with teachers who can help him get where he needs to be.

I'm hopeful, I'm relieved, and I'm excited for him. 

I'll keep everyone posted. Thank you to everyone who called, emailed, and texted to see how the evaluation went. It means the world to know that you care!!!