First week, First Grade

Now that we're a month in, I have the time to write about Toe's first week of school. I met with Toe's team: his first grade teacher, the school nurse, school counselor, and principal, to review and adjust his 504 plan. A 504 plan is similar to an IEP but is for health-related issues rather than developmental issues. We had a similar meeting last year and the staff worked through the year to help meet Toe's needs. We were very happy with the care Toe received. Last year's plan was well-constructed and so we made a few adjustments for full-day school and took the time to educate his teacher on cystic fibrosis. I left the meeting feeling excited for Toe's second year at this school.

The first day was just a short orientation - an opportunity for us all to see our children's classrooms, meet teachers, and review expectations. I love that they have this day that allows the children to enter the real first day with confidence and lets us as parents have a sense of what our child will be doing. We were immediately impressed by Toe's teacher.

First day - taking Gatorade and an air purifier to Toe's teacher.

And then the first day of school was upon us. We have to get up at 6:30 to get his breathing treatment done and breakfast and get him to school by 8:20. J and I have been in rehearsals for a show at a local theater and have been having late nights, so this was a shock for all of us. We got him to school on time (we've only been tardy once, thank goodness) and then J and I took a walk along the river. That has been our routine every day since: drop the kid off, walk on the river, return home for J to work on fulfillment for Scott's wallets.

Toe's report after his first day of school was pretty predictable: excitement at having three recesses. He did say, though, "We played a lot today. In fact, I think we played more than we did work!" Knowing this teacher, the play was educational. I love that the kids are getting an education where they are allowed to explore through play.

Soon after, I started volunteering in Toe's classroom and I am loving the things I see. His teacher takes each student at his/her own level and knows just how to push them. She has a relaxed classroom atmosphere and she approaches things with a positive attitude and positive reinforcement for the kids The students are expected to have responsibility for their actions, but are helped as needed and are given time to play and explore. And Toe loves his teacher.

During the first week of school, Scott looked at our rehearsal schedule and Toe's school schedule and decided it was time to intervene. He took large portions of childcare during our evening rehearsals so that Toe could maintain a regular schedule, eating, doing breathing treatment, and getting to be at a reasonable hour. During the day, Scott kept the laundry and dishes going so that Jason and I could work and rest as needed. It was amazing. Even with Scott's help, Toe was still really tired.

So tired he slept through morning breathing treatment

It seems we have caught just about every bug coming down the pike. Toe has missed almost as many days of school as he has gone - there was the high-fever bug, the stomach bug, the head cold... He just recovered from the head cold and this morning he woke up with an ear/jaw ache. I foresee that this year is going to be all about building up immunity. I just hope he gets well enough soon that we can get him his flu shot. I am grateful that he has not caught anything respiratory lately (knock on wood). So far, the lungs have been good.