Monday, September 10, 2007

New school year!

Well, the new school year has arrived! The summer seemed to go very fast. We spent a lot of it going from here to there, and it felt a little hectic. We had a couple of wonderful, memorable trips to Niagara Falls, Lake Erie and Disney World. Sam enjoyed spending time with Taylyn and Jeffrey. By the end of the summer, it was definitely time for some more structure in our lives, although Sam seemed to handle the lack of routine and structure this summer pretty well.

School started at Bradt Elementary school in Rotterdam last Thursday, September 6. We decided to drive him to school in the morning (30 minutes each way) since the bus would have picked him up at home 40 minutes earlier than I would have to leave to get him there on time. The drive so far has not been bad- it takes me about 30 minutes to do it. Most of the traffic seems to be going in the opposite direction. I can get him there any time between 8:15-8:30. His teacher, Ms. Breeyear, and the classroom aides are outside to meet the students.

The morning routine has so far gone well. The two best things about it are the year of experience we had last year and the fact that I can now stay in bed until 6:30!! Sam being used to the morning before school routine seems to be making a big difference in how the mornings are going. I've encountered no resistance to getting ready to go to school. I also think he likes being driven to school. Somehow it seems a little more relaxed than having to walk down the street to the bus stop and try to keep Sam out of the puddles and dirt piles while waiting for the bus!!

Each day he has a sheet sent home detailing the activities they do and his performance doing them. The first day was a glowingly perfect sheet where the teacher wrote what a joy it was to have him in the classroom. The second day there were a couple of check marks indicating he did not follow directions. Tom and I both agree that mistakes are good where he's concerned. He's in this program for a reason, and we really hope his difficulties get worked on. He hasn't talked a lot about school yet, but he seems to like it. At least he's not saying anything negative.

He is tolerating the bus ride home well so far. It takes about an hour for him to get home. There are three students on the bus total. The driver is a nice lady, a grandmotherly type whose name is Dorothy. I'm sure by the time he's riding home on the bus, he's so tired from the day he's just zoning out. He arrives home at about 3:45, which is way late compared to last year's 2:15. It makes my afternoon seem really long- I was so used to having to drop whatever I was doing at 2PM to go pick him up at school.

So we can't complain so far. I know there is probably a period of resisitance coming up- once he figures out the routine and the newness wears off. I'm also sure they are used to that sort of thing in his class. I hope to be better prepared to deal with that this year than I was last year. Better to make plans for a rough period to happen now and not be caught off guard.

I'm thankful for all the experiences we had last year in kindergarten, even the negative ones. It has made a difference with my outlook knowing we have a year of school under our belt. There were so many positive changes that took place last year, it would be impossible to chalk it up as a miserable failure. It really was a kind of experiment to try things and see if they would work out. I like to think that as a result of that experiment, we've gained some insight into how Sam ticks, and can now address more specifically his needs in a much more appropriate setting. We just have to keep slogging through.