Wednesday, February 13, 2013

School Days

Millie's first week of preschool was awesome.  We found out on a Thursday that she qualified and by Tuesday she was on the bus headed to class.  I'll dive into the details of her school, but first humor me and look over our cute pictures.

Waiting on the bus to arrive.  Love those two so much.



Even Baby Louis wanted to see all the excitement.




She has a wonderful bus driver.

First, let me explain why I put my little 3 year old on a bus instead of driving her to school myself.  She was so excited to ride the bus!  As soon as it pulled up she walked up the steps ready as can be.  I had to grab her and force her to give me a kiss.  After she got on we followed her bus to school so we could sneak a peek at her getting off.  She did fabulous--like an old pro.  Had we driven her to school we would have pulled our car up to the front of the school and let a teacher take her out of the car and walk her into the building.  Much less exciting for her and not sentimental for this Momma...so bus it was!  Yes, it is a short bus, and she shares that bus with 3 little boys that also live in our neighborhood.  Earlier this week her bus driver (Tammy) complemented me on having a talkative child.  She loves chatting with Millie since the other kids tend to keep quiet.  That's my girl.

We've been working with a preschool here that is affiliated with the school district (for special needs) and the city (so anyone in the city can enroll for a fee) since December.  I've taken Millie in for different testing to see if she qualified for special needs through the school district which would mean becoming a student at this preschool.  My initial concern was her speech, but after much testing they determined she was still behind a bit socially and would benefit from an integrated preschool classroom.  So she's in a classroom with "caught up" children as well as a few in her similar situation.

She loves going to school, and I'm so excited for her to get some extra help (that I can't provide) that will teach her how to communicate and interact better with her peers.  And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thrilled to get a few hours twice a week to spend with just Louis.  She's happy, I'm happy.

Tomorrow she goes back, and she gets to do a "show and tell" for her class.  When she's older I'll send her with something really cool like her first diaper or the picture of her wearing her Daddy's wedding ring on her arm.  I'll never get over my walking miracle.  For now I think I'll settle for a stuffed puppy she calls "Penny" after our favorite dog.