Preschool

Yesterday was Cayden's first day of "real" preschool. For the past 6 months he has been going to a sensory class on Mondays and a toddler class on Wednesdays. I have had to take him to both, and pick him up. When he turned three, he had to exit the Early Intervention program and start with the public school system. We debated for a while about which class would be best for him between our two choices. One was an Autism class which was similar to his sensory class, and the other was preschool which was similar to the toddler class. He did so amazing in different areas in both classes so it was so hard for us to choose which one he would benefit from the most. Its so hard to pick something like that for your child. I wish someone could have said, "this is your option, take it or leave it..." But not so much! We finally chose the preschool class in hopes that he would see those "typical" peers and strive to be like them. The bus would take him to and from school so I wouldn't have to, and then I could spend more time with Jaken. He goes Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8:30-11:15.

So yesterday was the day! He was so excited. Mom was a little nervous. Sending my three year old on a bus with strangers was giving me anxiety. My cute mom and friend Mandy came over to be with me and watch him get on the bus. We were standing outside waiting while Cayden ran around the yard saying,"Bu, bu, bu" (thats bus for Cayden).

  8:30 came and went. 8:35, 8:40, 8:45.... School starts at 8:45. So I ran in and called the transportation office. They called the driver and came back to tell me that the driver never came in to get his new info, so he didn't know there was a new child to pick up! They asked if I could take Cayden and they would have someone bring him home. (right, because at this point my confidence in the bus system is super positive....) So we did. I threw him in the car so fast and drove him to school. The whole way there he cried for the bus. It was heartbreaking. We had been prepping him to ride the bus and he didn't get to. His teacher and class were outside waiting for him when we got there. He was crying, I was crying, so I just handed him to the teacher and walked away. So sad! I ran a few errands and ended up at my grandparents house to vent (and cry with grandma). The bus was supposed to drop him off at 11:15, so I was nervous if he was actually going to come home... My grandparents came up to be there when he got off, and as soon as the bus pulled up Cayden saw my grandpa and started knocking on the window and waving! It was adorable! He jumped off the bus, waved good-bye, and ran inside asking for lunch. I was so relived that he wasn't crying!

This morning we waited for the bus, and as soon as it pulled up he took off running in the opposite direction crying. Oh boy, this may take some getting used to!

But we followed the bus to school and by the time they got there he wasn't crying and held his teachers hand and walked into the school. Hopefully after a few days of these he will learn the routine and love it! For my sake and his... :o)