Today has been very emotional for me in a lot of ways. There have been highs, lows, happy, sad, excited, nervous and everything in between and all in one day. To say the least I think we all needed a break by the end of the night. Eden hasn't actually expressed and specific feelings about the events of today but by the end of the evening, I could tell she was as tired as I was.
Eden's last day at preschool was today. She has been in this school for over 2 years. She has been in 2 types of classrooms, had numerous class mates, volunteer drivers, teachers galore (yes there had been many) and had so much success here. She started talking in sentences, made her first friends, developed wonderful relationships with teachers, gone through hard times and very good ones.
There is one person at the preschool that has been working with our family (in a lot of different capacities) since the very beginning of our journey. She has been there when our family has gone through the toughest behaviors, attended doctors appointments with me when I needed someone to support me, listened to me complain, listened to me cry, sent me through training that has been immensely helpful, been there with my older kids with sibling groups, found resources I never thought I would need but would end up invaluable, helped assure Eden would get the best possible therapy/education/support (and still does for all the other children in her care). This one person deserves a thank you that she probably rarely gets. I'm not sure if she'll ever read this but it's here.
Eden's teachers have been so wonderful during the years that she's been there. They have been tireless in looking for new and innovative ways to get her to do even the smallest tasks successfully. She has turned into a great friend because of your help. I know she'll be very successful in school because of your wonderful foundation. I never said it enough but it's a very tough job you have to do and it doesn't go unnoticed. I'm sure seeing a child go to kindergarten as confident as Eden is will be one of those moments of pride you should pat yourself on the back for.
Eden's little preschool graduation ceremony was perfect. The kids from each class had little musical performances and at the diploma ceremony Eden decided to turn it into a party and make sure she made another mark on her little corner of the world. When her name was called she danced, jumped, wiggled her buns, and struck a few poses. She requested hugs from her teachers and once she got her diploma she celebrated like she had just won a jackpot! Arms in the air like the champion she is. We ate cupcakes and said our good byes and I promised to bring her to visit sometime and we left.
We then went to the Doctors office for some unpleasant business, Eden needed one more immunization (Oh and if you choose not to immunize your child, I'm ok with that and I am not one to judge you for your decision don't judge me for mine) for kindergarten. It had been months since she had one and I had planned to have her get this last one right before she started school. I did some preparation with this one, I called the office and had them get everything ready before she got into the room. The quicker the better, if she became anxious and got her adrenaline going it would be more difficult to get her to sit still. It worked as planned with a little fuss and she is all done with them until middle school. We did get ice cream right after and she was so happy about that. She has had a lot of anxiety talking about having a shot all evening but I'm hoping that will go away in time like some of her other anxieties have. We just keep reminding her it's not going to happen.
Tonight, we started her new journey. We met her special ed and regular ed teacher at her new school, and had a quick tour through some of the rooms. I'll ride with her on the bus on Monday and we'll spend about 1/2 the day there with all the other kids to get used to things and Tuesday she's on her own in the care of people I hope she'll learn to trust and will teach her to be the best student. I'm so excited to see how she will do at this new school. it's only been open for about 2 years and there are lots of great teachers and lots of new friends to make. We will be having a meeting in about a month or so to kind of gauge how she is doing and see if we need to tweak anything in her IEP.
Lot's of new adventures coming, I'm not sure how it will go but I'm sure she's ready for it.
Eden's last day at preschool was today. She has been in this school for over 2 years. She has been in 2 types of classrooms, had numerous class mates, volunteer drivers, teachers galore (yes there had been many) and had so much success here. She started talking in sentences, made her first friends, developed wonderful relationships with teachers, gone through hard times and very good ones.
There is one person at the preschool that has been working with our family (in a lot of different capacities) since the very beginning of our journey. She has been there when our family has gone through the toughest behaviors, attended doctors appointments with me when I needed someone to support me, listened to me complain, listened to me cry, sent me through training that has been immensely helpful, been there with my older kids with sibling groups, found resources I never thought I would need but would end up invaluable, helped assure Eden would get the best possible therapy/education/support (and still does for all the other children in her care). This one person deserves a thank you that she probably rarely gets. I'm not sure if she'll ever read this but it's here.
Eden's teachers have been so wonderful during the years that she's been there. They have been tireless in looking for new and innovative ways to get her to do even the smallest tasks successfully. She has turned into a great friend because of your help. I know she'll be very successful in school because of your wonderful foundation. I never said it enough but it's a very tough job you have to do and it doesn't go unnoticed. I'm sure seeing a child go to kindergarten as confident as Eden is will be one of those moments of pride you should pat yourself on the back for.
Eden's little preschool graduation ceremony was perfect. The kids from each class had little musical performances and at the diploma ceremony Eden decided to turn it into a party and make sure she made another mark on her little corner of the world. When her name was called she danced, jumped, wiggled her buns, and struck a few poses. She requested hugs from her teachers and once she got her diploma she celebrated like she had just won a jackpot! Arms in the air like the champion she is. We ate cupcakes and said our good byes and I promised to bring her to visit sometime and we left.
We then went to the Doctors office for some unpleasant business, Eden needed one more immunization (Oh and if you choose not to immunize your child, I'm ok with that and I am not one to judge you for your decision don't judge me for mine) for kindergarten. It had been months since she had one and I had planned to have her get this last one right before she started school. I did some preparation with this one, I called the office and had them get everything ready before she got into the room. The quicker the better, if she became anxious and got her adrenaline going it would be more difficult to get her to sit still. It worked as planned with a little fuss and she is all done with them until middle school. We did get ice cream right after and she was so happy about that. She has had a lot of anxiety talking about having a shot all evening but I'm hoping that will go away in time like some of her other anxieties have. We just keep reminding her it's not going to happen.
Tonight, we started her new journey. We met her special ed and regular ed teacher at her new school, and had a quick tour through some of the rooms. I'll ride with her on the bus on Monday and we'll spend about 1/2 the day there with all the other kids to get used to things and Tuesday she's on her own in the care of people I hope she'll learn to trust and will teach her to be the best student. I'm so excited to see how she will do at this new school. it's only been open for about 2 years and there are lots of great teachers and lots of new friends to make. We will be having a meeting in about a month or so to kind of gauge how she is doing and see if we need to tweak anything in her IEP.
Lot's of new adventures coming, I'm not sure how it will go but I'm sure she's ready for it.
She will do well at her new school. She has amazing, dedicated parents who will see to that :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure she will do perfect. She always does. Eden is just one of those kids that hides hey true colors very well. I am sure her teachers will be confused about the behaviors that have been reported by her other school and by me. I am guessing about November, she'll be comfortable enough to show her behaviors.
ReplyDeleteI know how to deal with them, I'll be waiting for my phone call for help. I'm on my phone so I didn't answer on my blog page.