Preschool!

Preschool officially started Wednesday October 3rd! Our current schedule is every W, Th & Fri from 8:45am to 11:15am, she receives a different therapy on each day and even gets to go swimming on Thursdays.

Both Jocelyn and I survived our first 3 days of preschool ... barely!

Of course Jocelyn did pretty darn amazing with the whole transition and as for mama? Verdict is still out.

Here are some "first day of school" pictures:

{Daddy and Boogie}

{1st day of preschool and she needed a nap before we even got started! She slept 7:30am to 8:05am, then she HAD to get up so we could get dressed and on the road. That's what happens when you get up before 5am all the time -- thankful we had time for a nap!}

{Double checking to make sure everything on the wheelchair is secure & ready. Yes, her legs are as long as they look!!! She is a tall girl for sure.}

{Buckled and ready to go!!!}

{Mama jumped in the van beside Boogie to steal some Mother/Daughter shots!

See Boogie eye-ballin' me? hahaha She was like "Whoa! You came at me

from the other side!" She got a million kisses before hand!}

 

I think because Jocelyn has received therapies and been "handled" from the minute she exited the NICU, she really wasn't scared by the new adults or even the other kids for that matter. She has always been quite the social butterfly. She didn't shed one single tear or whine!

Once we arrived to Kidlink, we entered the building with the other kids right at 8:45am. All the kids were instantly infatuated with Jocelyn and everyone wanted to sit next to her. There is one girl in particular that is a total mama hen wanting to show Jocelyn everything, bring her whatever she needs and even entertain her to get a smile. There is also the sweetest little boy that has been smitten with Jocelyn. He tries to sit by her when he can, pets her (yes, he literally wants to pet her but not in a weird way) and he really gets her to giggling. Turns out, he has an older brother who is even more involved than Jocelyn and I am sure that is why he is so quickly taken by her.

All the kids were pretty stinking cute!

On the first day of school there were a total of 11 kids in the class, the teacher, 2 assistants, 1 volunteer and the director of the program. Pretty good ratio huh?

The director is not typically in the classroom, but seeing how no one knows Jocelyn and her pending needs, she will be present for a little while to assist the others in educating, guiding and so forth.

Here is part of Jocie's classroom and the window that I can watch from.

Even though I stayed and watched (lets be honest, I watched all 3 days), I totally cried my eyes out when they took Jocelyn into the room for the very first time. I gave myself a pep-talk before even getting to the preschool, but the very second we walked in building, I could already feel my eyes stingy!

 

Here is Jocelyn's cubby, her first day on the outdoor playground with the kids and first time swimming with complete strangers (you can barely see her with the two ladies)! During swim days, there is 1 volunteer for each kid, and for Jocelyn, she will initially have 2 volunteers until they know her better. I don't care how many volunteers they have/had ... I was still terribly nervous for her to be in the water with people I didn't know. Turns out, they were beyond cautious and I found myself saying "Its okay ... let her go and have it!" Those Water Way Baby neck rings are marvelous!! This neck ring gives Jocelyn so much independence in the water, allows the caregiver to be hands-free and eases the task of doing "therapy."



Here is Jocelyn's very first school craft! A Bird Treat!!



Not everything has been peaches-n-cream the last three days, and particularly on Thursday. Although Jocelyn didn't cry the first day of school, right at the beginning of the second day, she was quite tearful. The trigger for the tears was during morning circle time and the whole group started singing (and of course loudly as every kid does) and she was totally terrified! Sometimes her hearing is overly sensitive and my heart was literally breaking!! All I wanted to do was rush in there, swoop her up and comfort her. Instead, I continued to watch through the window, showed restraint and found myself getting increasingly angry as no one leaned over to explain to Jocelyn what was going on, offer her reassurance or a simple pat on the arm telling her "everything is okay" and there was a staff member literally right next to her.

 

After a little bit Jocelyn stopped crying and center time began. Jocelyn remained in her wheelchair which was inserted into a Hi/Lo base (this is a special device with wheels that has hydraulics that will allow Jocelyn to be high up in the air, or sit as low to the ground as if she was nearly seated on her bottom). I didn't have a problem with Jocelyn being in her wheelchair because she was about to do an activity that required her to be positioned well, but what I didn't like, was that she was slumped down in her seat, the lateral supports were clear up into her armpits, her base was not locked so another child was pushing on it with their feet, she was totally not at kid level and she was a little ways from all the kids. So, I kept thinking, "how is she suppose to interact with the other kids, participate and even get anything out of this?"

 

Luckily, the director came in to talk to me at that time (she had not been in the classroom due to a morning appointment) and I informed her of my observations. It took her about 20 seconds once she entered the classroom to correct the situation, but I found myself saying "Is this how its going to be when the directors not here? Does no one know how to position her correctly? Are the staff aware of her needs to adapt activities to her level? Do they know how to include her appropriately? Why is no one paying attention? Isn't this a place where other special needs kids like Jocelyn have attended before? If so, why does everything feel so awkward and uneasy?"

 

After the second day I found myself supremely stressed out and contemplating what in the world were we doing. Is Jocelyn too young for this? Not ready physically and cognitively? How can I ever leave while she's in preschool? (I will always be present for the therapies ... that's just the way it will be) The pace of preschool is entirely too fast for Jocelyn!!! How are they going to slow it down for her so she can learn something? How long will it take to learn what they need to do for her?

 

I found my thoughts almost screaming inside my brain!

 

Jocelyn is my one and only concern. I know that preschools have many kids they have to attend too, but I will always put Jocelyn first ... I'm her mama ... that's what we do!

 

I am also one that understands that people don't have to do things exactly like I do (but come on ... I totally want them too!), but the point is that we don't have to do things the same way as long as we still get the same end result!! It will help Jocelyn if the therapist, her teachers and I are all using the same system for educating and hopefully that will come in time.

 

This is the first time that a group of people ... strangers in fact ... that have been given the chance to get to know and care for Jocelyn. That in of itself is a difficult thing for us ... I'm proud of us for taking this step as parents ... but I also know that anything I see that I don't like, will only be magnified.

 

Last night as I laid in bed, my heart was so burdened ... heavy ... irritable and confused. I was praying to God to help me see the path in front of us clearly and to give me much needed peace about Jocelyn being in preschool. Ultimately I fell asleep while praying my fears ... my heart.

 

Today as we entered the facility for our last day of our first week, the director pulled me aside and requested that we talked about how the last 2 days have went, expectations, areas to work on, etc.

 

Turns out -- WE ARE ON THE EXACT SAME PAGE!!! I silently laughed to myself and said "You sneaky little God! Thank you!" She was very honest in regards to the staff needing training on how to specifically care for Jocelyn both physically and in educating, we discussed that we will need to adjust activities and slow them down for Jocelyn so they are meaningful for her ... so they are challenging yet so she is able to be successful. We discussed how we will need to review her equipment so everyone knows how to utilize it appropriately and safely. We talked about providing something tactile or visually closer and stimulating during circle time to enhance Jocelyn's participation (the other kids use their vision and watch the teacher; whereas for Jocelyn, everything is too far away for her to be engaged). There were a whole lot of other issues we discussed which was greatly appreciated. 

 

I can't tell you how much I appreciate honesty!! Its okay to not know how to do something, be a work in progress, not feel comfortable ... as long as a person is wanting and willing to learn! I would rather someone ask me 15 times how to do something in regards to Jocelyn rather than just assume or not do something in fear of breaking something, hurting her, not wanting to appear "dumb" and so forth.

 

It helps to remember that we've been with Jocelyn her whole 2 1/2 years and of course know her thoroughly ... its going to take the teachers/assistants/volunteers time to achieve a similar understanding.

 

Ultimately our talk soothed my heart and gave me the courage to try another week.

 

It was pretty great seeing Jocelyn be excited by the other kids, observing how she would watch them, how the other kids wanted to be her best buddy ... be so helpful in every way! It was even good for me to see that someone else wanted to get to know Jocelyn ... teach her ... help her and even very soon will love her!

 

Week #2 -- here we come!!!