If mommies could fly, I would have sprouted wings and flown to the moon

This morning I had the transition meeting with BOY's teacher and with the PUSD coach (to special education teachers)/administrative designee. The purpose of the meeting was to look ahead to Kindergarten in the fall and what is next for BOY. Academically BOY is excelling. He loves the stories, singing, learning sight words, sounding out letters, putting letters together to make words, and also enjoys math concepts. He is friend to all, and entertains everyone with what comes out of his lively imagination. He gets very enthusiastic and wants to give ALL the answers, so the teacher is continuing to work with him on impulsively calling out answers/ideas before being called upon. However, they see a huge change in his impulsive and self-regulating behavior. His teacher described him as incredibly sweet and kind to all of his classmates. He's the first one to go over to someone who is hurt or upset to see if they are OK.

His attention has gotten more focused and he isn't always drawn into the tumble play of the other boys. He continues to want to move on if something doesn't engage him, so the challenge is teaching him to hang in a bit longer.

While I was sitting in the meeting, I was overwhelmed with the feeling that BOY is truly appreciated for his gifts and strengths. He has been a welcome addition to the classroom and they enjoy him. What a different feeling it is to not feel that he is disruptive in the classroom and a problem. When we had our meeting in February with the school district preschool special education program staff, one of the things they said is that they thought BOY was bored at his previous preschool. I thought they were nutty. I now believe they were right.

The plan is for BOY to be in a general education inclusion classroom for the fall. What this means is that he will have a regular general education teacher and an educational aide in the classroom to assist if/when he needs help. He will also still receive one 30 minute session with an occupational therapist at school (either working in the back of the classroom or pulled out of the classroom for 30 minutes), as well as continuing the OT once a week at the clinic. All of us felt that he has been doing so well, and has made such strides, that he will benefit by continuing to receive special education services in Kindergarten. He's got a comfortable rug under him now, and we don't want to pull it out from under him.

If mommies could fly, I would have sprouted wings and flown to the moon. The meeting was THAT satisfying. My Little Engine That Could has chugged out of the station and is heading up the hill. Often under his own steam. I feel like we're in a good place both literally and figuratively. We made the right choice...


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Painting entitled: "Hope" by Zoe Hadley.

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