We were able to get Jackson approved to go to Happiness House for a special education center-based program. We were super-excited to hear that they were able to hire a one-on-one aide for Jackson as that meant that he was finally able to start going to school!
His first day was May 9th. We had visited the classroom once before and Jackson seemed to love it so I didn't think we'd have a hard time convincing him to go. That and he had been coming to Happiness House twice a week for a couple of weeks for Speech Therapy, which by the way is going great! I posted a video on my Facebook page that my Mom took of him practicing some of his new words. It's so stinkin' cute. I watch it every time I need to smile. Jackson likes watching it too and repeating all the words.
Okay, I can't help it. I'm posting it again. Here's the video:
Okay, enough getting sidetracked by adorable videos. Back to the topic at hand. We met the rest of his class in the gym and hung out there for a little while. He had fun wheeling around the gym playing ball with all of his new classmates. When it was time to head down to the classroom, we stayed behind and watched him head down the hall. He didn't even look back. Our baby is growing up! **tear...sniffle, sniffle**
The class is two mornings a week for two hours each session. While he's there he is also getting speech therapy (one session a day). I've got to admit. That first day I anxiously awaited for the end of the two hours. I was so excited to hear how he did. And the verdict was......he had a great time!
The first few weeks he went in with no problems. I think it was mostly because they let him do what he wanted while he was there in an effort to get him used to the environment. Now that he's been there a little while, they are starting to get him on their routine and actually do some "work". The past couple of weeks, he's had some problems transitioning - leaving Mommy/Grandma/Grandpa and going to class. I dropped him off the day before his birthday because I had the day off and he flipped out when it was time to go in. Crying, holding the wheels on his chair so he couldn't move. The whole shebang. They ended up carrying him down to the classroom and coming back for the chair. He calmed down within minutes of getting in the classroom. Mommy on the other hand......
They've been working on some different techniques in the past couple of weeks to make the transition go smoother and it seems to be working okay. Hopefully, he'll eventually be back to wheeling in on his own with no issues. He has a lot of new friends in class that he loves to play with.
So, what does Jackson do while he's at Happiness House? Well, first they play in the gross motor room (gym). After that, they go back to the classroom for some free play time. They then do some circle time with music/songs/stories and have a snack, read some books and sometimes play outside. Sounds like a lot of fun, right?
This week is the last week of school for this session. There will be a two week break and then Jackson goes back for the summer program, which lasts six weeks. After that, there is a three week "vacation" and then the fall session starts. Once that fall session starts, Jackson will be going three mornings a week instead of two. Super exciting!
Now, I'll apologize in advance. I was a horrible parent and didn't get any really good pics of his first day of school. I know. I'm very disappointed in myself too. But, here are the pics that I did take. I was going to recreate the outfit and take some on a different day, but I knew I could never live with that lie! :)
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| Playing ball in the Gross Motors Room |
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| Tired little munchkin after his first day of school |
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I asked him if he had a good day at school and this was his reaction. <3
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awww. don't feel bad. Kian's first day of preschool I totally forgot about picture and I quickly used my phone as he was exiting the car...bad mom shot ha. glad it's going well. the novelty wore off but I'm sure he will really enjoy it! then won't want to leave lol
Krysten