This morning I took T to school, hoping that S's insane, piercing scream fest on Friday hadn't caused me to miss anything important (or permanently damaged anyones hearing). Turns out it didn't. Hooray! Because T has an IEP, he is entitled to, and must receive, certain services. When I first started the enrollment/registration process, one of the many people I spoke with said that T would need to be reevaluated. Perish the thought, because from my experience, it's a long, long process. So after a week in his new class, his teacher and his IEP manager wanted to make a few minor changes. The more I see the way this program works, the more impressed I am. I love that the kids are assigned certain responsibilities, I love that the parents are expected to be involved, I love that there is so much communication between the teachers and the parents, and that the program encourages the parents to be a support group for one another. I also love that the reevaluation process is done while observing the child to get a complete picture of his needs and skills.
The main change that started today was that T starts the day out in a different room than last week. This room is where he will receive both his occupational therapy for his sensory issues and the remainder of his speech therapy, which is tapering off since he's doing so well. With this change, there is less interruption in his schedule and the therapy processes can be more streamlined. Cool.
T has been asking to ride the bus since we got here. When I mentioned it to Ms. B, she told me that I needed to speak to the assistant principal about it since T has in IEP. Not a problem, but I wanted to wait a couple weeks and see how T was settling in before I requested it. Plus, I feel more involved taking him to school. I mean, isn't that part of the joy of having a mini van and doing the whole soccer mom thing? When we walked into the classroom and T went through the process of putting his things away, he said something about wanting to ride the bus. Mr. S looked up at me questioningly and I explained the situation. He looked surprised that I was told to talk to the assistant principal and told me he'd check into the situation today.
I didn't hear anything when I picked T up today, so I didn't think much about it. Plus, S who woke up at 2:30 this morning and didn't get back to sleep until almost 5, was just exhausted and cranky all day today. When it was time to leave to pick up T, she refused to put on shoes, a coat, or mittens. So, I had to force her into the car. Again. Force her out of the car. Again. Carry her screaming across the parking lot. Again. It was freezing today and we had snow flurries all day, so the poor little thing had to be miserable as we went to get T. His teacher, seeing me carrying an underdressed, shoeless, screaming, fighting toddler wrapped in my coat across the parking lot (again), just sent T out to me with a wave. T, gets to me, looks at S, assesses the situation and says, "Mom, this is embarrassing." Exactly.
To further add to the irony of the situation, S is crying for T now and he reaches up to pat her back and tells me, "Mom, she really shouldn't be out here without shoes or a coat." Exact-o-mundo. We get in the car and I look back, and they are holding hands. And she's calm. Hallelujah! T then proceeds to 'explain' to me that I shouldn't have let S leave the house without being properly dressed. I agree and tell him this, but I explain that I had to pick him up by a certain time and when S refused to put on her coat or shoes (both of which were in the car with us) that I had to make a choice, and I chose to put her in the car with items she needs and pick him up on time. He thinks about this for a minute and says, "well, next time I'll just wait, then."
I love this kid.
We get home and I make lunch, try unsuccessfully to get S down for a nap, and settle down to play with the kids. Also called tantrum wrangling. The phone rings and it's the bus driver that will be picking T up for school. Starting tomorrow. And, because he's in preschool, they come to our door, so we don't have to wait at the bus stop. I'm in awe. So, I'm off to bed because I've got to have T ready for school in the morning 10 minutes earlier than we leave. He's so excited. I'm totally taking pictures.
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