school is cool

j started school today. It’s a school that specializes in kids with special needs--according to his IEP, he’ll get speech therapy and occupational therapy several times a week there. The “school” part only lasts from 1-3:30, but they have a daycare there as well, so we decided to have him in the daycare in the morning so he can have more daily interaction with other kids, which he really needs. The daycare is an integrated program, but the classroom is right across the hall from his afternoon class.

He seemed to have a really good time. j’s been having a very tough time with transitions lately, but he has always seemed to adapt pretty easily to other people. The place--playground, teachers, classroom, services--is wonderful, and P and I feel very comfortable with it. Between all our moving around, we’ve seen many daycares/preschools and this is one of the nicest.

So he’ll be there 5 days a week, and I am excited for him to (1) be on a regular schedule and (2) be playing with other kids regularly. And they won’t kick him out if there’s an incident.

The immediate concern, though, is the bus. j’s services include transportation to and from school. He hasn’t gone on the bus yet, since P and I decided to take him for these few two days so he knows where he’s going. The ride takes 45 minutes, and he’ll start Monday. I’m terrified that he’ll scream for the entire bus ride and that it will take 3 people to strap him into the car seat. I think he’ll be fine once he actually gets to school (since there's that transitions-are-bad-but-new-people-are-fine thing).

I’m back to school too, doing a bunch of administrative work in addition to teaching. P is directing a play at his college that goes up in October; he’ll been gone a lot in the next month. So we’re all pretty darn busy, and truth be told, I love it. I feel better overall when I can focus on work and we have a schedule going.