1st Day Of Preschool

Today Milo started preschool for this school year and I couldn't have been more proud of him. He walked from the car to his classroom door (although he did try to go to his classroom from last year) and waited patiently for the teacher to let the children in the classroom. He walked right in and was met by his speech therapist, Steve, and never looked back. It's a new room, a new teacher, new kids & a new routine so he has to adjust to the new routine but I bet he'll get there before long. When I got there to pick him up the teacher called is name to meet me at the door and it took a minute for him to come. What a change from last year when he was charging out the door the minute it opened or cried sitting on the carpet if a teacher attempted to keep him where he belonged. His teacher said he had a great day! He walked back to the car holding my hand and most amazing of all only had 2 small temper tantrums between getting home and bedtime. Milo is in afternoon preschool this year which I was initially hesitant about but after thinking about for a while I decided that it just might work better. The afternoons is when he needs more structured activities and preschool fits the bill. I think he was a bit tired after school today :0)

Last week we had the opportunity to meet his teacher and see his new classroom. I was prepared to go into this school year fighting for Milo's needs. After 1 hour with his teacher I am hopeful that no "fighting" will need to be done. I can't tell you how relieved I was/am. This year's teacher, Ms. R, is a much better fit for Milo than last year's teacher. We were able to talk about Milo's medical issues, allergies and where he stands developmentally as well as behaviorally. He was not happy about the visit and clung to me, cried, and screamed for the majority of our meeting but finally settled down and played with a few toys. Ms. R is absolutely fine with Milo having a comfort item with him in the classroom, something last year's teacher was definitely opposed to. She assured me he would get the help and attention he needs to learn to follow the routine and be re-directed when necessary. Most importantly she seems excited and up to the "challenge" that Milo will bring into her classroom. He will have the same speech, occupational & physical therapists as last year but will have a new Special Education teacher. The Special Ed teacher is new to this school & has also taught deaf/hard of hearing children so she is fluent in sign language. After the big stink about Milo's lack of accessible communication I put up at the end of last year I find it no coincidence that the new teacher knows sign. Ms. R also knows a bit of sign language and both feel it is a good bridge for speech delayed kids as well as thos learning to speak English as a second language. That being said it is amazing how much Milo talks now. He tries to say most words and much of the time will sign at the same time which makes it easier to understand what he is trying to convey. I'm sure being in a classroom full of peers will spur his language skills even more.

At our meeting last week the teacher explained that on Friday a folder will go home with that weeks art work, newsletters, therapy notes, etc. I love that idea but had one problem. Milo's backpacks are all too small to fit a standard size folder in. He has several and I tried them all. Standard size backpacks are way to huge for his little body to be able to carry. I scoured the stores and the Internet and couldn't find any backpacks that were in between toddler and school-age size. Finally I did find a pattern (http://www.made-by-rae.com/) so I could make one, it was toddler size but had instructions to enlarge it to fit a standard size folder. It turned out great! It is probably just a little big for him but is lightweight and definitely manageable.

They are easy and kind of fun to make. What do ya think? Could I sell these?