BACK TO SCHOOL!!
We survived SUMMER..not sure how, but we did. Last week was back to school for both kiddos.
Nateman is turning seven years old next week and he started second grade. He is in a self-contained Autism class that is comprised of grades 1-3. The adjoining classroom is Autism grades 4-6, and they sort of co-teach. He has about 6 students in his class(all with Autism), his new teacher, and about 8 aides between the 2 rooms. He has a few friends he knows in his class from last year too, so that is great! First day went great for him. He is in the same elementary building this year and the same physical classroom, so I am sure all of that helped tremendously. Consistency is key!!
He joins the "typical" second grade class for specials such as Library. He has a one on one aide for his time outside his own classroom and hopefully we can increase the amount of opportunities he has with "typical" kids his age. The big problem with this is that each year, that gap between where his peers are and where Nate is keeps widening and we just can't keep up.Take music for example. Nate LOVES music. He has private music therapy once a week at a therapy center and enjoys it immensely. In school, you would think music class would be a great chance to integrate him, but not so much. Nate is still at basically a preschool-ish level as far as singing along and using bells and such...and typical second graders have moved on to actually learning about notes and such. It's not exactly the "shake your egg" sing-a-long that Nate craves and enjoys. SO, it's adapted music class for him. :)
Neve is 4 and just started all-day Kindergarten! Her birthday is in December, so we had to "test" her in. She passed and we are so glad! She is the youngest in her class.We really feel this is the best placement for her. The summer has socially changed her so much and academically, she is more than ready. She is reading...her writing is good and she loves writing stories (with spelling help!)..and she knows basic 1-10 addition and a little subtraction. After seeing the curriculum for Kindergarten, we KNOW we made the right choice!! She would have been BORED out of her mind going another year of preschool. She is a smart cookie and we aren't gonna hold her back. I would have felt like we were "red shirting" her had we waited to send her. :)
Neve gets to go to the same school as Nate again this year and she LOVES that. They are in the same wing of the building too. I like knowing they are close to each other. There are 5 Kindergarten classes at her school. She has 24 kids in her class and doesn't know a one of them! ..so this is a little rough at first. She has two bestie friends from preschool that are at her school too, they just got put in different classes. :( BUT, when she found them on the playground, they giggled and ran to each other and all was right with the world.
Nate gets dropped off in a special car loop in the back of the school where his teacher meets him..so I didn't get any pics of Nate heading in. He had no problem though and seemed happy to be there! First day was a madhouse so we walked Neve all the way to the door to see her in.
That is Neve in the ugly "Merida" from Brave backpack. hahaha..My overly pushy, although right, friend, demanded that I let her have complete choice over her backpack this year(a HUGE step for me)...and that is what she chose. It is glittery too and she LOVES it. She has seen the movie three times and can't get enough.
(Neve blowing Dad a kiss.)
...and there she went. Our little girl is officially a BIG KID.
*sigh, sniff, sigh*
