Christian's First Week of School

Christian started kindergarten on Monday at a new school! And it just so happens that big brother went to this school, too.

Off he goes!

And this is what he looked like when I  picked him up. Tired!

This is his sensory wall at school. He really liked it! One of the squares has bubble wrap on it and I hear he really liked it and used his pointer finger to pop the bubbles.

Here he is in the kindergarten classroom with his aid.

And here he is this morning off to finish up his first week. He was so tired this morning.

The first day of school I had planned to stay with him all day. But by the time we got to lunch it seemed like everyone knew what to do, including Christian. I think it's important they have their own time with him so they can get to know him without my interference. They have to create a bond with him and if I'm always jumping in, it's hard to make that happen.

When I went to leave I asked him if he was ready and he was so vocal about it. Probably saying - Can you leave already? Nobody else has their mom here!

We're all doing well with it. The first couple days I felt like it was such a long day away from me with a full day in kindergarten. I would think throughout the day - I wonder what Christian's doing right now.

For the first day I made a little book about Christian talking about what his favorite things were, about his wheelchair, about his button, and about things he does. The teacher let me read it to the kids so they could learn more about Christian. I didn't want them to be afraid of him. The preschool kids kind of just blindly accept him but as the kids get older they have more questions and fears. So the book helped relate Christian to them but also explain why he does some of the things he does. I'll post the pages soon.

 So it sounds like Christian is really liking school and I can't believe how big he is! Oh yeah, and it has been so much easier getting him back and forth to school! I used to have to load him and Lola up every morning and drive about twenty-five minutes to his school. Then park and unload Christian's wheelchair, Christian, and his grumpy little sister who was still in jammies half the time. We'd have to trudge through the office, the school courtyard, and all the way to the back of the school where his classroom was. Then we had to turn around and do the whole thing again two hours later. 

Now his school is five minutes away. I can hear the morning announcements from my front door. And because I was having trouble finding parking when school pick up and drop off purgatory was taking place, I now just pull up to the side of the school and his awesome aid helps me unload and load the wheelchair into my van and then she takes him into his class! It has been a dream!!! It's the little things that make life easier!

I'm really excited about this year and still in disbelief that he is in kindergarten.