All Grown Up

So I'm a bit late with this post. My tiny baby boy is all grown up and goes to all day long Kindergarten. We were able to meet most of the people that are involved in James' school day on the day before school. We met them all and taught them all about James and what he likes and dislikes. I found that so helpful! I think they did too. For the first couple weeks there were lots of phone calls to mom to find out even more about James. He is adjusting very well to all day school. The first couple days were the toughest. James gets on the bus at 7am every morning and gets home at 2:30pm. That's a long day for a little boy-especially one who is so busy at school. His day is pretty jam-packed at school. He spends the majority of his time in the Special Education classroom but gets integrated into his own classroom for group times like snack, phy-ed, art etc. He is loving the group reading time in his classroom and his teacher reports to me that the students that sit in his pod with him have become very protective of him! In the morning before school starts he is in the gym with all the other kids and his para and it sounds like all the kids love to hang around James and help him and push his chair. Other things on his agenda each week are 100 minutes of speech therapy, 60 minutes of therapy with the deaf and hard of hearing services, 60 minutes of Occupational Therapy, 60 minutes of Physical Therapy, and 60 minutes of Adaptive Phy-Ed. That's all in addition to his regular school day in the classroom/special ed classroom! Last week his teacher reported to me that he identified the sounds for the letters "F" "M" and "P" He is still strongly motivated by the computer and iPad and is using those frequently to complete his schoolwork. His team of teachers is working really hard to find the best ways for James to communicate his knowledge and wants to us. Just today they had an evaluation with the assistive technology person for the school district. They got a switch to help James use his iPad more effectivly and are exploring other options-even having an evaluation for an eye gaze computer system for him to use!!! Wow! I can't believe how much has happened for James in other a couple of short weeks at school. I can't wait to see what else he'll teach us this year!