A Fantastic First Day of Kindergarten

Teddy had an absolutely fantastic (albeit exhausting) first day of school yesterday. It began with discovering that his morning bus driver from last year, Lori, is his driver for his rides both to and from school. Lori told me the first thing she did when she got her schedule was to check to see if she had Teddy on her route again. That put a smile on my face to start the day.

When I walked Teddy into his classroom, he immediately found cool things to play with and was content to be there. One of the classroom para-professionals (paras) knows of Teddy from working the Early Childhood program last year even though she didn't work directly with him, and two other people greeted Teddy by name. One was the program coordinator for special education services in his school, and the other was someone who was a substitute teacher for him last year who recognized and remembered him. I tell ya, the boy makes quite the impression on people. 

Teddy could care less that I left his classroom because he had all these new people to play with and things to explore. I'm sure he will keep his teacher and all the paras plenty busy. From little bit I talked to his teacher afterward and the note that came home, he had a great day. He did well at lunch time in the little lunch room and was working independently on a matching game when I arrived.

Teddy was all smiles, as was his teacher!

After school was done, we met with the kindergarten teacher who will be working with Teddy's teacher to provide Teddy opportunities to interact and learn with his age-group peers. This is something that we feel is incredibly important because Teddy learns from watching others, so time spent with other kindergarten students will help Teddy to pick up on social skills, routines and who knows what else. We recognize fully that the skills gaps between Teddy and others his age will only increase as he gets older, so we view these early school years as the best opportunities for him to have as much natural interaction and integration as possible without preventing the other students from learning. Last year, we really had to push for integration, and it only happened at recess and then periodically when staffing was available because Teddy needs a para directly supporting him for it to be successful.

This year, though, the kindergarten teacher spent time on the first day of school to meet Teddy, talk through the plan they've created and left me feeling so hopeful. I recognize the plan might not work perfectly and might be adjusted based on how things go in real life, but there's actual, intentional thought on how Teddy can spend time with his age-group peers. Quality time. The plan is that once things settle down next week and the kindergarten students are familiar with routines that Teddy will join them for the first 1.5 hours of their day, except for the days that Teddy has gym class. That means Teddy would get the opportunity to eat breakfast (they do breakfast at his school, which is just weird to me), enjoy play time and morning meeting with his age-group peers. 

The kindergarten teacher had a spot at the table for Teddy with his name, along with an extra crayon box and crayons that she had. That means that Teddy belongs in the classroom, that he's a part of it rather than just fitting him in as a visitor. The kindergarten teacher gave Teddy his first homework project to create the same "All About Me" poster that all the other students are doing, so that everyone can get to know Teddy just the same as all their other classmates.

Teddy sitting at his spot in the kindergarten classroom.

Last, but not least, she talked about how they do sharing time during their morning meeting. She said she's already given Teddy's regular teacher the list of questions, so that we can program Teddy's talker to have his answers. That way, his para can help Teddy answer questions like, "What's your favorite color?" just like the other students.

Are you crying yet? Because I almost am.

It's just so amazing to have Teddy be so welcome, supported and accepted at his new school. Now, let's hope it lasts once they get to know the very opinionated, mischievous side of Teddy.