So back in January, when I was 8 1/2 months pregnant, I made sure to figure out what AJ & Daniel would be doing next year for school so we wouldn't have another thing on our plate when we became a family of 5. We had it all figured out...Daniel had done so well with his OT, behavior therapy & feeding therapy that he didn't quality for school age services. AJ was still struggling with his speech & social & emotional skills. So what made sense was to send them both to Flying Colors Preschool (where AJ goes this year). That is our school district's special needs preschool that has classrooms with 8 special needs students & 8 typical students. AJ would go to the Pre-K 5 class & continue with his speech therapy & working with an intervention specialist as his teacher. Daniel would go to the Pre-K 3 class as a typical student with an intervention specialist as his teacher in case any of his issues got worse, or new ones popped up. They would ride the bus together, go to school 4 mornings per week & Zak & I would have some one on one time. Done and Done!
Then we had a meeting with AJ's teacher in March & all of that planning went out the window!
Miss Julie told us that AJ was excelling academically, one of the smartest kids in his class. There was no Pre-K 5 class & he would have to repeat the same curriculum he did this year. She thought he would be VERY bored & that his attention would wane & he could possibly become a behavior problem. Her recommendation was Kindergarten with speech therapy & we set up a meeting to set up his IEP. That meeting was last Fri & I got to meet his teacher & speech therapist for next year. They are both great women & I think AJ will do great! He will get at least 20 minutes of one on one speech therapy every week plus additional group therapy in his class room. He will go 5 days/week in the mornings & he gets to ride the bus (even though the school is only 4 doors from our house). He is graduating from preschool next Weds & we couldn't be prouder of him!
Also during that fateful meeting, Miss Julie informed us that our school district had changed its preschool program & Daniel was no longer eligible to go to Flying Colors. This wouldn't have been a big deal except this was the end of March & all the preschools in the area register in Jan/Feb so most of the prime spots would be full! We decided to first check out the new school district preschool. They now have the local YMCA running the program & it's a full day program. There is no busing & it's in the building with the 5th graders in our district. The cost also quadrupled, from $100/month to $100/week! This was NOT an option for us!! So I scrambled to figure out where I could get him in. I found a few options, but it was hard to work around AJ's schedule for drop off & pick up (at the time I didn't know if AJ would be AM or PM). Then one day I was driving to a friend's house & noticed the church across the street was starting a NEW preschool. Jackpot!! We went & took a tour & we all loved it! They had plenty of spots, since they are brand new & the program looks fantastic. Plus the times work perfect with AJ's schedule & it is less than a 5 minute drive from the house. Daniel will go there Tues & Thurs mornings next year.
I am very happy & thankful this all worked out, but it has been an exhausting 2 months being up in the air about it. I guess it's true what they say...the best laid plans...
No comments:
Post a Comment