Oh Glorious Days

It is Mother's Day, again... That's right, my oldest two are both finally back in school.

M has been attending school since Tuesday, a great thing since that means he only missed 1 day of school in the transition. He just moved right on into that classroom and is, I am proud to say, doing well. His behavior has yet to get in the way. I think it really helped that his previous teacher (a miraculous soul who enterred his life at a critical time and who, by virtue of sure determination, found ways to help M be a better learner and peer) was able to send along a written explanation of tricks that she found that worked well with M and also included explanations of M's little quirks. So far it seems to be working. I am hopeful that this transition will continue to be a smooth one for M.

C is finally, and gratefully, at the precise school I had hoped she would be enrolled in. I forwarded all the information I had for her, including her most recent IEP and several evaluation reports, the week before we moved to help move the process along faster. These were enough to persuade the local school district that they couldn't, in fact, meet C's needs. I kept trying to tell them that when they so abruptly removed her from this school at the beginning of kindergarten in the summer of 2008. I was really angry about this sudden change and was frustrated at the sense of loss that both C and I felt because the opportunity that was so brisky wisked out from under her was so perfect and met her needs to ideally. Needless to say, the child who came home today from her 1st day of school was GLOWING... Almost literally. She was ecstatic that there were so many signers there. It's the first thing she said to me when she got off the bus... "SO MUCH signing!" I couldn't be more thrilled. Needless to say, all the hard work that C's IEP team put into her latest IEP and all the goals that they listed REALLY made the difference in C's current educational status. I am now confident that C will be able to gain enough language skills upon our departure in a couple of years that I have had a great burden lifted from my shoulders.

Except for the lack of Speech Therapy that M received at our previous location (which was so miniscule as to be practically non-existant... In fact, it was so horrendous that M's speech/language skills deteriorated tremendously during our stay there AND I actually had to threaten legal action... But that's a whole other story. Anyway...) The education and support that M and C received while in California was so tremendous as to, literally, be life altering!!! I cannot thank M's Teacher and C's entire team for everything that they have helped my two amazing children achieve... THANK YOU, ALL!!!