Play Group

Today was Mr N's first day of play group, there are two other children in session with him. Having the children together helps improve social skills and learn team working skills. Due to past experiences at the development center they suggested we leave the door open from the playground to the classroom so that when we arrived Mr N could play outside then move inside when he was ready. However, Daddy and I have found that Mr N has matured enough that we thought that he would be okay with starting in the classroom.

Sure enough, I took Mr N into the classroom without any issues, I asked the therapists if they wanted me to stay or leave, they said I should go. So for the second time in recent weeks I left one of my children behind while I walked away in tears. Mr N was excited to start "school" as sissy has been calling it, she got him all pumped up by telling him how awesome school was and telling him he'd have a great time. She was right, he loved it so much that it took me a good 15 minutes to convince him to leave even using a bribe.

His playgroup includes the speech therapist, occupational therapist and early childhood development teacher so that they can all work together with the children. I'm not sure of the diagnosis of the other two children, but they both appeared to be high functioning, speaking, and had good gross motor skills. One of our concerns about playgroup was that Mr N would be exposed to lower functioning children with more severe issues and then pick up bad habits.

E started school a couple of weeks ago, she could not be happier. She loves school, loves to learn, and loves to be a big girl. She is determined to be the smartest kid in the class, not a bad goal if you ask me. I volunteer in her classroom twice a week to help out with math stations, the class is divided into 3 groups while the classroom has 3 stations set up for the groups to rotate between. Each group spends 15 minutes at each station, I assist at the diamond station. The kids seem to really enjoy doing the different stations, although there are a few kids who do not want to participate or feel they are exempt from doing the task assigned.

The first day I volunteered I left the school in total shock and wondering how on earth the teacher ever survived a full day with those kiddos. The second time was a little less chaotic, maybe since it was Monday the kids were still wore out from the weekend. I'm really looking forward to seeing the progress that all of the kids make throughout the school year, the range of development between them varies greatly. Some breeze through a task and master it immediately, others never seem to grasp what it is they are supposed to be doing.

We are looking forward to seeing the growth in both of our kids this coming year and have high hopes that they both will make great strides forward.