School Update

One of the things that has been the hardest for me ever since we transitioned to preschool from Early Intervention is the change in communication between school and home.  For the first three years, we were always fully involved in Early Intervention because the therapists had spent so much time at our house.  We knew exactly how Colin was behaving, how well he was participating, what kinds of progress he was making, etc.  While the communication between Colin's teachers and therapists and us has been great, it's obviously different because of the fact we are not with him while he is at school all day long.  

Last year we implemented a communication notebook for Colin's therapists and teacher to use back and forth with us and we found that it helped a lot.  We didn't expect them to write in it every day (we would get a daily sheet home most days anyway) but found that it was kept up on a regular basis.  When the potty training stepped up last year, his teacher started a chart for all of us to keep so that we could all know when he was going and whether or not he was having accidents.  That was always a challenge because it didn't always make it home from daycare and while everyone did the best they could, it often seemed difficult to maintain.  

This year, I included a potty chart that I quickly make every night in the communication notebook and have also added Colin's daycare teacher to the book.  It has been tremendous because she is now in the loop AND has been very thorough in her communication with us.  With the potty chart being a part of the notebook, it has cut back on how much "extra" stuff we have to worry about with everything being in the same place.  The downside to the communication notebook is that sometimes, we are getting so much information that it can be difficult to hear.  Colin's teacher at preschool has written numerous notes saying that some of the smaller behaviors she was dealing with him in school has greatly improved.  Most of the behaviors that we are dealing with now include very typical toddler "skoochie" behaviors and not always being the best listener.  While I am happy for the detailed communication, hearing all of the "bad" things Colin does in a day doesn't always sit well.  However, I know that for the typical parent, they don't hear all of these things that we purposely ask to know.  These are behaviors that we observe among other kids but know that their parents aren't always made aware because they are essentially minor "typical" behaviors.  

On the bright side, there have been many positive things we are hearing daily.  It's been really nice to see the progress that Colin is making this year!