We went got to speech therapy at 1:00, and I stay with her for that. She did very well there, but didn't want to get off of my lap. She learned some new sounds, and really responded well to what the therapist wanted her to do. Karis was going to have to be a part of group therapy, which I really didn't think would benefit her at all. But, I didn't say anything, I know there are many students, and one therapist. Plus, every preschooler who needs speech therapy would like to have that spot right before class starts, and that's when a small group of them were meeting. But....Great News!!!!......The speech therapist rearranged the schedule so that the 1:00-1:30 time slot is for Karis only, 1 on 1 therapy!!! YAY! She said nonverbal children get the priority (which Karis isn't nonverbal, but whatever, I get the point, she has the greatest need). We ended speech therapy a few minutes early so we could go to preschool before everyone else and get situated. The preschool classroom, is just the next room over.
So, we went into the preschool class, and Karis wanted the first seat she saw to be her seat. It was Keaton's seat when he was in that class (Does she remember that? Hmmmm...) It was a little bit of a fight getting her to sit in her assigned seat. They seated her right next to Malaya which made me very happy. Malaya is my best friend Misti's daughter, that I babysit 5 days a month, so Karis knows her well, and loves her. We got her little butterfly with her name on it, and took it over to the attendance chart to put it in the "Karis" spot. When we sat back down at the table she said "bible" (haha! preacher's kid!!). So I took her over to the books, and she picked one out, and took it to her seat. She "read" it out loud for a minute then wanted to put it back, so we did so, and got some table toys. By this time Malaya was there, but Karis barely noticed. One of the teachers sat down to show her how to use the toy she had selected, and I slowly faded out the door, in tears of course.
I might not have cried, but Ms Kathy asked me if I was going to be ok, and that was it! Haha! I'm such a crybaby. It was embarrassing because people expect crying mothers on the first day of school, in August. When you cry in April, you attract a lot of attention. You can tell by the look on their faces, that they don't understand why in the world you are starting your child in preschool on April 18th. I'm too emotional to explain the whole Down Syndrome-aged out of early intervention-therapies transferred to the public school thing.
Anyway, nearly two hours pass........I'm not there........Hmmm, what's going on......It must be ok! Then at 3:20, 10 minutes before I would have picked her up anyway, they were calling us to come get her. She did well the first hour, and then it started to go south. She liked centers, painting, and seat work etc. But, she was totally uninterested in snack, and when they went out to play, she just wanted them to hold her. By 3:20 it was total melt down. She was so tired, not enough nap. So, she goes again today, and we are just going to do speech, then the first hour of preschool. We'll let her warm up a bit, and maybe increase her time. This is all a good trial run for next year.
After all that, it was time for another short nap, and then, PARTY TIME! Don't forget, this was Karis' third birthday after all. We had a great time with great friends at the park. It was sooo windy, but we had fun anyway! We played on the playground, ate dinner, had cake and presents, and plenty of laughs, I appreciate or church friends so much for coming out, and bringing their kids on a Monday night to celebrate our little peach's special day. You know she had fun, because she was a grubby mess! Happy Birthday Karis!
