BACK TO SCHOOL, PART 2

Little Ben also started school this year. This was a really difficult decision for me, since he is only three and  totally my baby. A little background info:

 While we were in South Dakota, he did six months of Speech Therapy at the request of our Pediatrician. I didn't notice much improvement until right after we moved here and his language just exploded into tons of words and sentences. I have no idea if it was the therapy that did it or if he just decided to work at it. Who knows, but the kid was talking. So, fast forward to this spring and he was going through a bit of a "phase." Very irritable, hitting, screaming, and just so emotional and volitile. I didn't know what his deal was! I was talking to a friend about how tired of the "phase" I was and she mentioned her daughter was in speech with the early childhood program here. Then I got to thinking that maybe his language was "stalling out" and  not keeping up with him so he was acting out. My friend gave me the contact info to get him screened and all I could think of was "Yes, free preschool. Sign him up!" Once we started the testing, I felt so bad for wanting to send him off to school so early. I prayed really hard, asking Heavenly Father to help me know what was best for him, not me. We continued through a series of screenings and testings and he performed beautifully normal on all of them. Except the one with the Speech Therapist. He was in fine form that day, didn't care to interact with a stranger and when he did, chose to use words no one could understand. She evaluated him as being a bit delayed in conversational speech, meaning he does fine up to about four words and then after that, it all jumbles together. So forget trying to understand a story he is retelling or something similar. At the end of all the tests, a councelor added up all of his scores and then suddenly, got excited. She said, "Well, he was totally normal developmentally until we added in the speech evaluation. That put him just below the average line and he qualifies! So he is eligible to attend school here and you may either choose to have a therapist work with him while he is here or you can bring him in seperately and it's a four day program and he will ride the bus and, oh, it's just great!" I seriously was trying to take in everything she was saying and not start crying at the same time! Four days? Bus? WHAT?! I immediately wanted to say no to it all. And then. And then this peaceful, right, calming feeling came over me. I knew it was the spirit, reminding me of my prayer for him. This is what he needed. That is why it worked out the way it did. I took all the information home, talked to everyone I knew in education and out to get their opinions. I called the school and asked questions and cried while I listened to the answeres. I waited until the afternoon of the deadline to turn in his paperwork. I felt like I was shoving my baby bird out of the nest. But it also felt right.
That brings us to the first day of school for Ben. His teacher came to our house to visit and gave him a tag for his backpack. It would get him onto the "turtle bus". We went to open house to see the bus and the classroom. Wow, that school is A-mazing. Ben thought so, too. He was excited!

Ben's classroom. I have no idea who that lady is.....Ben loves the little fort in the background!

A window seat just for little kids!

 The first day went relatively well. We read tried to read the Kissing Hand but I was bawling so hard I finally gave up. We sat outside waiting for that big yellow bus for what seemed like forever. Soon it came, and he jumped on, almost forgetting to kiss his mommy good-bye. He got buckled into his seat. I cried. The bus slowly pulled away and as his little hand was waving to me, I cried. Hard. Wow, the right things are so painful sometimes. I went inside and drank the soda I had purchased for this very moment. If all else fails, a good carbonated beverage usually does the trick.

Ben's ticket to ride....

I think this is the same pose Nick did on the first day of school....

waiting......

          

Seeing this bus pull away was one of the hardest moments of my mommy life...

He was sound asleep in his seat when the bus pulled up to the front of our house after school. My little boy whose backpack is nearly the same size as he is stumbled into my arms, sleepy but happy. He loved school! I have never been so relieved.

Sadly, the rest of the week didn't go so well. He was tired and wanted to have his standard "quiet time" after lunch when instead, we had to get ready to meet the bus. He cried. One day he told the bus driver over and over,"I want to stay HOME! I want to stay HOME!" as he boarded the bus. But everyday he would get off the bus and tell me how much he loved school. What to do? Then, on day three, I got a call that he was sick and I needed to pick him up. He was crying and sick when I got there and he told me he "hated school and would never never go there. Never." Agony. Do I pull him out after three days? I was so  tempted.....

Then something happened the following week. He asked me one morning if he could go to school. I told him it was his day off and he replied, "Dang it! I love that school. I really want to go there. Can I go there tomorrow?" I assured him that yes, he could go there tomorrow and now he can hardly wait to get ready for the bus each day. He loves school and his teacher and snack time and bike day and the library and everything! And...AND...the craziest thing is that since he has been in school, his temperment has changed. Totally and completely changed. In just two weeks, he is happy and loving and calm again. I can talk to him now, unlike in the spring time when he was just a mess. And he talks all the time, too. Constantly. I hear him trying to correct things in his speech that he and his therapist are working on and it is just awesome. I am so happy for him, that he is enjoying it so much and it is obviously helping him, too. Heavenly Father does work miracles and I am so grateful for that. I know He loves me and Ben, too, and that is really is the best thing for him. Here's to a great school year for you too, Buddy! Have fun!