Pre-School Meet n' Greet

Disclaimer: several of the pictures are in terrible focus. Apparently, my camera was on 'manual focus' and I did not realize it. Sorry!

Anyway- yesterday was the Meet and Greet Open House at Mairead's pre-school. Parents are invited to come and stay with the child for an hour and a half as the kids explore the classroom, meet the teacher and the other kids, and become familiar with the surroundings. Great idea!

Mairead LOVED it there. The only drama came at the end when she just didn't want to leave. She kept saying, "Nope!" (her new favorite word), signing, "more" and saying, "More school!" She explored every inch of the classroom, made great eye contact, said hi to her teacher and some other kids, and really did well. Tomorrow is her first real day, so I hope that she continues to do well. I am incredibly anxious about it. I know every mom is anxious about leaving her 'baby' at preschool, but I really don't have the luxury of that kind of worry- I worry about her safety, her ability to communicate her needs, and her ability to interact with the other kids. I can't even be sure that this situation will work for us, but it's definitely a chance worth taking. I know that she needs to be in a classroom with other kids, and this is the only way for that to happen. Her level of understanding is a mystery, so when the teacher talks about letters and numbers, Mairead will be an all star. When the teacher says, "everyone go to the art center," she will be lost. I think she is in good hands and I hope and pray that she is happy there.

We are still waiting to hear from the schools about her schedule for speech, so we really can't schedule anything else (PT, OT, etc) until that happens. September is a month of big change for all of us with Mairead going to preschool and speech, and soon, hippotherapy and probably other sessions, and Dave back at work. The boys are now 18 months (can you believe that???) and are not 'babies' anymore, so their routines are changing, too. It's all happening so fast!

Anyway, Daddy thought Mairead needed a special treat for her first day and came home with a pretty awesome cookie that was decorated to look like Elmo. Mairead LOVED it!





This picture is from the other day. She was watching Sesame Street and Big Bird was in Mexico. Lots of little girls were salsa dancing in beautiful dresses, and Mairead just happens to have a beautiful multi-colored dress, too! She insisted on wearing it for the next two days. Even to bed.

Apparently, she is a salsa-dancing doctor.




Ok, back to preschool. Have you met my 6 year old??? Seriously-- she looks SO grown up!!! Thanks to Jen for the adorable dress that was perfect for school on a 90 degree day.

While Mairead and I were at school, my mom had the boys. They wore themselves out running through the sprinkler and were half asleep on the swingset when we got home.

If you can spare a good thought or prayer tonight, wish us luck with preschool tomorrow. It's a huge step for any three year old, but a three year old with such a unique set of needs faces a unique set of challenges. So do her mom and dad!