First day of school (again)

So we started off this whole blog with a first day of school. That was technically a first day of play group that happened to take place in what is now her classroom.  I stayed with her the whole 2 hours as we played with our friend Ella and her little sister Jenna.  Now it’s for real. Kind of.  She’s started pre preschool! It’s still so funny in my brain. Who sends their 3 year old to school? I do. And I’m excited about it.

The day started off ok. I’m really incapable of being on time to almost anything, so we were a couple minutes late. I’m really going to work on that.  Promise.  I wasn’t the only one late though, and they were running behind schedule anyway. We first stopped in the front yard to take some pictures before we headed out.  Even that was a bit of a trial.  But I had to document the adorable backpack I made for her the night before. I went looking at Target for one, but she’s so tiny, even the littlest ones would have made her tip over.

I stayed for the first half hour or so, just watching.  They start class by letting the kids play with toys first, to let the adjust to just being in the classroom, then they move to “circle time” where they begin learning letters and sounds and other fun pre preschool things. :)

And lets add in some explanation here: Maggie is in a class of 7 kids that are all special needs.  I’m not really sure what they’re needs are, but Ella is in her class. She is visually impaired and was in playgroup with Maggie earlier in the year.  One boy has some physical disabilities, walks with crutches or a walker.  The others are speech delayed or have some level of autism, I believe. There is a teacher and an aid to help with just these 7 kids.  That makes me so happy!  If they are anything like Maggie, they each need reassurance at every change in routine and all seem to be pretty stubborn.  So within the small amount of time I was there they moved from playing to circle time. One kid just screamed when told he had to put the blocks away and come sit with the rest of the class. He set off two other kids who are apparently sympathy criers, and this set Maggie on edge too. She didn’t want to sit in the little chairs, but eventually was ok with it. Then they sang a welcome song and that made her very happy. 

Move over to singing time, and there’s a whole new set of problems.  Maggie didn’t want to sit on the floor. Sigh. I decided to leave at that point. They obviously know how to handle crying kids. I got a text about an hour and a half into school asking if I’d bring milk when I come to get her. Another sigh.  That means things are not going very well.  I show up and she is asleep in Laura’s arms, has been for half an hour, but is still making the little sobbing sounds.  Yup, that means she cried so hard and for so long that she fell asleep and was still calming down half an hour later. I proudly report that I did not burst into tears, even though I really wanted to.  I got her stuff and took her from Laura.  She woke up during the transfer and was very glad it was me. She drank some milk and when I asked her what she did at school, she said, “I cried. I was sad.” Heart tearing apart! What am I doing to my little girl?!? I talked with her teachers for a little bit and though they were being very reassuring that things would get better and that it wasn’t all that bad, I could tell that it had been a hard day for everyone.  We went home and she got all the things that bring her comfort and as we started talking more about school, she didn’t say anything negative. It was all about the play dough, which I know she didn’t touch. Sitting at the art table, where she wouldn’t do the painting. Drinking apple juice, which I’m sure is about the time when Laura texted me to bring milk.  Reading stories, they told me she wouldn’t sit down.  She seemed to be remembering everything in a very positive light. This was very calming for me.

Today was her second day.  The morning was rushed again.  I had to actually wake her up to make sure she had time to eat before we left. She was only reluctant to go because she wanted to stay in her high chair, one of her very favorite spots to be.  We were a bit late again, I swear I’ll get better, but came in just as they were heading to circle time.  She was eager to join in and talk about the sound the letter P makes.  So I left, went to sewing group at my church and worked on a quilt for my cousin.  I came about 10 minutes early to get her.  They are out on the playground for the last 15 minutes or so of school.  I saw her talking with Lauri, her orientation and mobility specialist, and could see she wasn’t upset, so I went and talked with her teachers. 

They said today was much much better.  There was still some difficulty with transition, and Sandra (our old VI specialist) who had shown up to drop off some braille books for Maggie actually went to the store and got some milk. Bless her. She’s doing better!!! She likes school enough to say it. And we asked at dinner if she was excited to go back tomorrow and she said yes. I have faith in this program and in these teachers. I feel so very blessed! Here’s to a good day tomorrow.