Preschool Update
I recently attended my first Parent-Teacher conference at TLE’s preschool. I’ve been to other Parent-Teacher conferences at TLE’s other school so this isn’t a new experience. Neither, it seems, is the report. Gross motor and fine motor skills are either age appropriate or above though she still only scribbles and doesn’t really draw anything recognizable yet. And her self-help skills and math skills seem to be age appropriate as well.
Speech continues to be an issue. She talks a lot but her speech is hard for others to understand and she is prone to meltdowns if she thinks no one can understand her. The director of the school asked if I was okay with bringing in a school district observer, which I am. I am hoping that the school district may have some suggestions but for now, keeping her in a typical preschool seems to be helping her a lot.
She’s continuing to develop socially. She tends to play alone and still doesn’t initiate play with other children though she will join in on invitation. Her teachers mentioned that she’s shown a lot of progress from when she initially started school in the summer to when she started going again full-time in December after that partial hiatus.
Overall, the conference was what I expected, including the same issues of attention and willfulness that her other school observed over a year ago. She’s better about it now than she used to be but still won’t do things like sit still for story time and directing her to do something can take some time. Hopefully we’ll find some ways wrangle her to be more compliant in the coming months.
Read MoreTLE the Preschool Revolutionist
The Little Empress
(If you’re wondering what in the world TLE is doing, she’s impersonating a Weeping Angel who, according to her, are the scariest baddies in Doctor Who. I’m just sort of amazed that I’ve managed to turn her into a Whovian at the age of three. This has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of this entry, of course.)
Thanks to an eleventh hour deal, The Little Empress’s full-time preschool is still covered until the end of the month which gives us some breathing room. Unfortunately, we’ve been having some behavioral problems at school lately.
I now live in constant fear that TLE will spark a naptime uprising at school. She’s never been a great napper at home but has generally been good about napping at school until a week or two ago. There have been days were she will not nap at all and she’s had to go spend some “quiet time” in the office with the preschool administrator to keep from disturbing the other children.
The teachers are remarkably understanding about it at first, figuring that it is just a phase, but it has been getting worse. She either doesn’t nap or her naps have been getting shorter. I’m worried that she’s going to lead a naptime revolt, which of course NO ONE wants.
*sigh* Someday, I may be able to convince TLE that sleep is GOOD and that she should get more of it but I guess to her, there are far more interesting things to do.
Read MoreDealing with lemons
TLE and "Doctor Rice Ball"
As I posted a few months back, The Little Empress was accepted into a scholarship program for a high quality preschool. She’s been going for several months now and last week, we got a phone call that we were not expecting. Due to budget cuts, the scholarship program has been reworked and our family is among dozens that finds ourselves without preschool for our little ones.
I could write volumes about how unfair all of this is, not just for the kids who no longer qualify and their families but for the preschools who worked with the scholarship program as well. Some of the preschools in the program depend heavily on the scholarship program to ensure enrollment; now this means that some preschools may have to cut their staff. The domino affect is horrible.
Unless something happens in the eleventh hour (doubtful) TLE’s last day of her current school will be September 9th. Originally, they were going to only approve enrollment until August 31st but they decided to be nice because they originally gave the parents and schools less than a week’s warning.
I won’t lie: when I heard the news, I cried. And then, I became angry. And then the anger faded away and I’m left with figuring out how to make the best of the situation. We’re exploring our options which range from asking our parents for help to keep her in her current school on a modified schedule to exploring alternatives like co-op preschools and homeschooling. Right now we’re hoping to keep her in her current school until she was 4 years old since we planned to do pre-k at home. It took her longer to adjust than we had expected and forcing her to adapt to another school right now just doesn’t feel right.
While the situation sucks for the most part, there is a silver lining. TLE’s been in school five days a week since she was 2 years old on a schedule that’s closer to a kindergartner’s than a preschooler’s and we haven’t had a lot of opportunity for our own adventures. We’ve maybe only a handful of playdates with friends since she started school at 2 years old. The library used to be a weekly thing while now it’s more like a monthly outing. I’ve hesitated to put her in extra classes to keep from overscheduling her.
While I still hope to somehow maintain at least 2 days a week in preschool to help maintain her social skill building, it will be nice to find time to have our own adventures with more home learning opportunities, even if we don’t “formally” homeschool. So while unexpected, this may still be a good opportunity for our family overall.
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Read MoreTransition Meeting
Paint-covered TLE
At three years old, The Little Empress will no longer be covered by the county’s Early Intervention and her special education needs will be covered by the local school district. So today, I met with her current program coordinator, early intervention coordinator and a representative from the district’s special education program to discuss beginning the transition process. Basically, she’ll be re-evaluated by the school district in the next few months to see if she qualifies for services. The program coordinator at her current school and the early intervention coordinator agree that she does need speech therapy but whether or not she gets it will all depend on whether or not the school district agrees. And if they do, she gets a half hour per week with a small group of kids. Eventually, I’ll be provided with a list of local preschools that may be options for her. (Though the co-op preschool seems to be universally recommended and may very well be what we go for.)
And now begins the uphill battle, which I haven’t been looking forward to. Unlike our early intervention coordinator, I’m not getting warm fuzzies from the lady who is handling TLE’s transition to the school district. I don’t know, that may just be a first impression and hopefully, I’ll find out differently in the months to come.
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Another thing that has been on my mind is whether or not to get her assessed for anything beyond her speech delay. It’s been driving me crazy wondering if her speech delay, especially when paired with her social delay and sensory issues, may be indicative of being on the spectrum. If anything, I’m just hoping they’ll rule out the possibility of being on the spectrum so I can put my mind at ease. It looks like getting an assessment may also be an uphill battle. The EI coordinator said that, on paper, they’ll just see the speech portion and not really look at the social since her cognitive levels are developmentally appropriate. But, she said she’d fight for an assessment so I’ve got my fingers crossed that hopefully, I’m closer to an answer (or at least a resolution) than not.
Read MorePreschool home school
TLE wearing a collar which she insisted was a necklace. Yes it is disturbing. No it has nothing to do with the entry below. Again.
In light of The Little Empress’ recent assessment, The Hubs ™ and I have been reconsidering TLE’s schooling options. Interestingly, even though I’d said I didn’t want to home preschool, it looks like I am going to be doing so anyway. I do still intend on sending her to the co-op preschool but we’ve decided that I’m also going to be working with her more closely at home to help with her language challenges. Since her play based school is doing very well for her, I’m trying to figure out how to best emulate her school day at home. For now, she’ll still be going to school and I’ll be providing her a more structured afternoon. When she’s no longer attending school when she turns three, we’ll start the half-day structured preschool at home. (At least I have six months or so to prepare!!)
What I’m finding out is that preschool isn’t all fun and games. I mean, it is for the kids. My goal is for her to never view our home “preschool” as “work” — it will all be play based. But the thought that goes in to planning these days and activities… phew!! I honestly never realized the amount of planning that goes in to making a school day for a preschooler. It is a lot of work! Right now, I’m trying to determine themes for the various months and then plan activities around it, concentrating on ways to stimulate language.
I have a newfound respect for teachers, both conventional and homeschoolers. I knew that the work involved in homeschooling was pretty intense but just dipping my toe in the water for preschool lesson plans has me pretty nervous about whether or not I’d homeschool without the support of the school district or a charter academy. On a positive note, this curriculum creation process is definitely giving me first hand experience on the benefits of homeschooling as well as its downfalls. Yes, there’s a lot of work involved in not just the planning but the execution of the plan. I also am realizing that all of this is tailored specifically for TLE: her particular learning style, her needs. She will never get the same sort of attention in a conventional classroom. It just isn’t possible. Definitely food for thought in the years to come.
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Copyright
Text and photographs copyrighted by Michelle N unless otherwise noted.