I even took a picture of him, but it's hidden within the recesses of my camera. One day I'll free those images and release them into cyber space like they're supposed to be.
I was in for a surprise last week when I found out, quite by accident, that Boy One was scheduled to ride the school bus again this year. I had been told last spring that since we live only 1/4 mile from the school this was not an option. Imagine my confusion. The clarification (as I understand it) is that normal kids can't ride the bus so short a distance, but Special Ed kids can, and are pretty well expected to. To add to this, they also release Special Ed kids to their bus ten minutes earlier than other children in order to avoid the crowds that can supposedly cause fear and panic with these kids. Who knew. I feel so uninformed as a parent - I forget that other people may think he always needs help whereas I think he only sometimes needs help. But he might like the special treatment, who knows.
So he caught the bus this morning (the Special Ed bus pulls up right at your door, how handy) and I totally missed the joy of taking him to school/picking him up. Do other parents not understand how important this is? Or am I just too attached to my kids? Fortunately, Mrs. B from his first year of kindergarten was there to give him a hug and see that he seemed perfectly comfortable and confidant. One down, one to go.
After a LONG morning of waiting (afternoon kindergarten feels so anti-climactic) Boy Two and Girl and I walked the half mile to kindergarten for the delayed entry start. We filled out some paperwork on volunteering, back ground checks, emergency numbers, etc. and sat for a little bit of circle time (learning to sing and English and Spanish, with some sign language thrown in for good measure), writing our names, and a tour of the school. One of the kids in his class, Calvin, is the son of a girl I went to high school with, imagine that! I couldn't have picked her out of a line up if my life depended on it.
It feels nice that, as this is my third year to have a kindergartner in this school system, I know all the rules and routines and am perfectly comfortable chatting with the teachers and staff. I notice the other parents all have that deer-in-the-headlights look while I kept tuning out the teacher and letting my mind wander. It was like high school all over again.
The boys schedules this year will require quite the finagling, so I hope I can get it straight.
On Mondays and Friday, we leave at 7:50am to walk Boy One to first grade by 8:05. Then we walk Boy Two to kindergarten at 12:10pm, return home, walk down to get Boy One at 2:20pm, then keep going to pick up Boy Two at 3pm.
On Tuesday and Thursdays, Boy One rides the bus at 7:40, walk Boy Two to school at 12:10, Boy One comes home on the bus at 2:15 (yes, that's before school is actually out for the other kids) and we walk down to get Boy Two at 3pm.
On Wednesdays, Boy One rides the bus at 7:40, walk Boy Two to school at 11:40, Boy One comes home on the bus at 1:15, and we pick up Boy Two at school at 2:30pm.
I'm bound to forget one of them somewhere.
To top it off my dentist calls this afternoon, "When are you free to come in for a cleanings?" My only answer was, "Uuuummmmm.............."
But last year's trick to get Boy One to go with his therapists ("If you go with Mrs. _________, then you can come home and play the Wii") has backfired this year. Now he comes home saying, "I sat on the carpet, I get to play the Wii!" "I lined up, I get to play the Wii!" Um, no. So now we're having the "You're in first grade, you're old enough to follow the rules just because it's part of school" discussion.
A plus! (I think) One of the boys in Boy Two's class we know from play group at the Gladstone Christian Church the last three years, so yay! Well, at least for me. I adore this boy's mom. When did I get to the age where it seems all of my friends have been gleaned from my children's friends or teachers? Should this make me lonely? I'll think about it tomorrow. At Tara!
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