Fun in the Sun! Summer 2012

   

         The summer of 2012 has  brought us many adventures, and as we wind down and head toward the biggest transition of Jordan’s life, it’s time to pause and reflect how far we’ve come.

June brought us to the end of preschool for our Sweet Pea. I think her last IEP meeting with her preschool team was the toughest. She has made a great deal of progress in her cognitive and expressive skills, but still has a bit of trouble focusing and staying on task. Her social skills are superb. Everyone loves Jordan! Whenever a new friend joined the classroom, she was always the first to greet and make the new student feel comfortable. Our main concerns going in to kindergarten were the new atmosphere of the big elementary school, having to change classrooms for different lessons (ie: gym, music, art, etc) and having lunch in the cafeteria with the other children. The biggest sigh of relief, however, was in learning that she would be attending the ASD program at Federal Furnace Elementary. What this means for her is that she will go to school for a full day, as opposed to only a half day were she a typical student.  She will still have a half day in the typical classroom, but the other half will be with the ASD class.  So there will be no transitional issues in switching from a full day of preschool to only a half day of kindergarten!


Preschool graduation was positively adorable. This year it was held outside on the front steps of the school. All the children filed out in construction paper graduation caps decorated with stickers, markers and glitter glue. Jordan waved to all of us and was most excited to see Gammie, Great Grandma and  Grammie all clapping and cheering for her along with Daddy, Mommy and Johnny. Miss Melanie announced each child by name and said something nice about everyone.
We got to meet Jordan’s best friend Charmaine, with whom we exchanged phone numbers and promises of play dates. Jordan then got special gifts from Grammie and Gammie, and Uncle Josh joined us all for lunch at Bertucci’s. It was a very special day!

The birthday girl turned 5 on June 20th!  We celebrated at home with chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream (her choice, of course) and Jordan picked out a Disney Princess pretend hair styling kit as her present. We then surprised her that weekend with a trip to the New England Aquarium! I had some fears going in that she wouldn’t like the dark, closed in atmosphere and would have a melt down due to the crowds. But she surprised me yet again and was on her best behavior! She loved every aspect of the aquarium, from the penguins and the giant tank, to the jelly fish and the ray and shark touch tank. She stayed close to us, held hands when we asked and listened to everything she was told. We were very pleased! She is very anxious to go back!

After a minor debacle with the school department regarding her transportation and the lack of necessary paperwork that they never sent, Jordan started her final summer program with Mt. Pleasant. Unfortunately, Miss Melanie had resigned so she had a different teacher this year. She seemed to do well and enjoy her time there, but I was more than a little disappointed at the lack of communication from the new teacher. I never received notes home regarding the day’s progress and there was one incident that almost prompted a call to the program director. Jordan had a coughing fit at school to the point where she almost got sick and was running a fever. And, instead of calling me, the teacher’s aides had the bus driver relay the message to me. The driver was equally dismayed and agreed that the school should have contacted me. I managed to calm myself enough not to contact the director and chew her out, and decided to give them one more chance and if it happened again I’d be on the phone in a heartbeat. Fortunately for everyone involved it did not. The rest of the program went off without a hitch.

Our other big trip of the summer was to the Franklin Park Zoo with Uncle Pat and his crew. This probably would have gone off with out a hitch if not for a couple of reasons. It was part of a program called “Free Fun Fridays,” so the entire state decided to show up and the crowds were obnoxious. It was over 90 degrees, so we were all hot, sweaty and particularly whiny. And naturally, as per usual in public places, Jordan refused to use the rest room and began to scream and cry. After we battled through lunch and it was time to leave, Jordan pitched a fit and fought me the entire walk back to the car. I practically had to drag her out of the zoo and  dodge her feeble attempts at hitting me to get her buckled in to her car seat. Unfortunately, and due in large part to the excessive heat, she got car sick on the way home.  The exhibits we did get to see the kids enjoyed,  and we may go back in the early fall and try again when it’s not so hot.

We made our yearly family trip to the beach house on Saquish which was very relaxing for everyone! Jordan had great time playing with her brother and bonding with her cousin Kerri. She had the most fun wave jumping and swimming in the ocean! She has no sensory issues out there, and no problems eating, going the bathroom or sleeping. She’s looking forward to more trips out!

Fun time in the water!!

Jordan is eagerly anticipating the start of school in a couple of weeks. I think I’m more nervous than she is! I have the “I’m-not-ready-for-my-baby-to-start-kindergarten” jitters, as any parent should, but it’s more than that. I worry that, because of Jordan’s naturally congenial nature, she’ll get taken advantage of by the older kids and potentially bullied. There’s the worry, of course, that she won’t get the services she needs or was promised in her IEP. But I’m not too concerned on that point, because I have every intention of being 100% involved with the school and the PTA.  There is no way she is going to get lost!

There’s three weeks left of summer, and we have every intention of enjoying every last minute of it!  The next blog will be after school starts!

Until then!