Getting ready for school!

Yesterday we registered our little miss Hannah for school, officially!

It was really exciting because I kept thinking “Wow, all three of my kids are in this school!”  I never thought this would happen.

Hannah also had a very special one-on-one meet-n-greet with her new special ed teacher, Ms. T, and her class assistant.  The classroom was bright, colorful, and incredibly “preschool-ish” which was exactly the atmosphere we had hoped for.  I think Hannah was a bit overwhelmed and overstimulated at first because she was a bit apprehensive when we walked in the room (It also didn’t help that we had just woken her up from a 20-minute nap when she fell asleep in the hallway.).    Ethan and Abby were so excited to see Hannah’s classroom as well.

But once we took Hannah out of her wheelchair stroller and moved her to various parts of the room, you could see that she was definitely showing an interest in what was around her, especially the red and yellow duplo blocks that she even tried to reach out and play with!!  (Yes, it was at that moment, seeing her try so hard to play that I knew this was the right decision.)

Hannah’s teacher sat on the ground with her, and Hannah surprisingly seemed to take to her within minutes!   Hannah sat on her lap, and she talked to her so sweetly.  Ms. T. even put Hannah on her (Hannah’s) knees to sit, and Hannah used her arms to balance on Ms. T’s legs.  Within about 10 minutes or so, Hannah was already snuggling up in her arms.  We just had to laugh – that’s our Hannah, the cuddler!

We talked about Hannah’s goals, how the class would work since her goals are obviously much different than most (if probably not all) of the peers in her class (including a few typical development peers).

But as I reiterated to Ms. T., our goals are for stimulation and socialization.   We want Hannah’s quality of life to be the best it can be.  I know it will be a rocky start until she gets used to it, but if today was any indication, I think this atmosphere (4 days a week, 2-1/2 hours a day) will be a much welcome and fun change for her.

We also talked about nursing, which we are working on.  We already knew that Hannah was one of the more medically fragile children in the school district, and we know having a dedicated nurse for Hannah will also put the teacher at ease so she doesn’t have to worry so much about Hannah.  We want nurses that Hannah is comfortable with, obviously.  The school has even agreed to let me come in and be Hannah’s “nurse” in the event we don’t have a nurse show up or can’t make it.

Daddy and I walked away feeling really good about this.   I feel this is the right decision for her.  We owe Hannah every opportunity she is capable of handling, and if it proves to be too much for her, then at least we gave it a shot.   But with the people we met today (principal, office staff, special ed teachers, school counselor, etc.), I know we are in the right place to try.

September 26th is when school begins for Hannah.

Oh, and did I mention that she has to wear a uniform like Ethan and Abby?   I love it 🙂