Ella had her first day of school at Lake Travis Elementary (LTE) on Tuesday, January 8. The kids in the district didn’t go back from winter break until that Tuesday, it was a nice long break. We enjoyed having all of the extra time to get settled. By the time school started, the girls were comfortable in our apartment and we were feeling pretty settled as a family. Had we started back right away on the 2nd, we’d have been very stressed since our belongings hadn’t even arrived by then.
We have an interesting situation because of Ella’s special ed services. The Lake Travis district is doing the best they can to accommodate Ella, however, unlike Minnesota, Texas doesn’t recognize Developmental Delay as a diagnosis to qualify for special ed services. Furthermore, they don’t have district early childhood programs that are open to all families like MN does. The only district preschool they have is basically Head Start, for children of service men/women and for special ed needs. For the first month, Ella is going to LTE on Monday and Tuesday and they’re assessing her and she’s attending the preschool program. She’s really enjoying her time there and I’ll be curious to see what her evaluations have to say. Part of this program means that she eats lunch there, in the lunch room. Honestly, that was what I was most worried about for her. I was nervous she would be sitting at this big table, unable to open her containers, confused, hungry. It had me so nervous. First day of school, she come bounding out to the car with a giant smile, I ask what her favorite part was, without hesitation, “LUNCH! I sat on a bench with my friends!” So far, no problems on the lunch front. We’ve donated one of our spoons to the LTE kitchen or garbage, but otherwise, okay!
On Wednesday and Thursday, January 9 and 10 the girls went to Cedars Montessori for an hour each afternoon for an orientation with their new guide, Ms. Martha. It was just the girls and Martha, so they were really able to get comfortable and she was able to connect with them. Their school is so cute, each classroom is like a little house surrounded by gardens, animal pens and woods. It’s a peaceful walk down the path to their class. A couple of kitties come and greet you on your walk.
Before they could start, I had to send each girls with a bin of essentials. The usual change of clothes, and then a hand towel with a loop sewn on (they each have their own hand towel to use when they wash their hands), a cloth napkin with a napkin ring and a plastic mug. We all went to Target feeling pretty confident. The towel was easy to get. I then bought some ribbon from the scrapbooking department and thankfully found a travel sewing kit and was able to sew a loop on. Cloth napkin, check. Napkin ring? Could not find any to save my life. Apparently they all disappeared right after Christmas! None to be found. We even own some, but of course, they’re in storage. So, I improvised and purchased a set of cheap plastic shower curtain rings. Plastic mug? Seriously!? This was nearly impossible. I could not find anything that was plastic, open on top and had a handle (because they hang their mugs on a peg) We looked all over. Finally, finally…after strolling through the camping aisle several times, we found a camping dish set on clearance. Two red plastic mugs included! Victory!
Friday morning, both girls were up and ready to go to their first full day of school. It was also a rainy day, so they were doubly excited they’d also get to use umbrellas. It’s the little things… it was day two of our four inch rain deluge.
First day of school at Cedars!
Walking between the apartment and car.
I’ll have to get more photos, but this is Ella and Lily’s classroom.
Lily goes from 8:30-12:30 everyday and Ella goes 8:30-2:30 on the days she’s not at LTE. Both have been busy girls. Lily is working on sandpaper letters, Ella’s worked on spindle boxes, movable alphabet and is starting clock work. Both girls have come home adorned with bead necklaces they’ve made.
On the girls’ first day of school, I dropped them off and the teacher helping them out of the car asked if Lily had a lunch box…I hadn’t realized that Lily would eat lunch there every day. Ella had a lunch, but not Lily. I offered to go home and make one, but they told me not to worry about it, they would give her some crackers and cheese and fruit, which probably wouldn’t have been that different from what I would have packed. Of course, I pick Lily up that first day and one of the first things I hear from that sweet little voice, “All of my friends had lunches except me.” *dagger through my heart*. However, she was all smiles and happy, even without her froggy lunchbox in tow. Two hours later, we were back to pick up a very happy and talkative Ella. Once home, I opened up her lunchbox to discover an untouched lunch. I asked Ella why she didn’t eat, she simply told me she couldn’t get the container open. Ugh! I’d been so worried about her eating in the cafeteria, and here she didn’t eat. So, we spent the weekend working on opening her containers and practicing what to say if she needed help opening her lunch. Since that first day, all lunches have been consumed.
Since then, we’ve dealt with Lily forgetting her lunchbox, remembering her lunchbox but not the containers, forgetting her sweatshirt and nearly forgetting her backpack. Ella came home wearing a sweatshirt that wasn’t hers. I was worried we were going back to petty thievery. However, the sweatshirt was similar in color to hers. After a few days, we got the correct sweatshirt back. Fridays, the children bring home some of their school work. One Friday, Ella came home with a plethora of work. None of it was hers. Here we go again. She told me that she wanted to bring work home, but didn’t have any so she basically went shopping in other children’s cubbies. We returned that work the following week. These two keep me on my toes.
They really do enjoy their schools. That makes a world of difference in the transition. It’s a little odd to start mid-year because I feel like there are so many everyday housekeeping items that the schools forget that I don’t know. But I don’t know that I don’t know them. But we’re getting there, and it’s becoming more familiar.
I’m hoping when we meet with Ella’s LTE team in mid-February, they’ll tell us that she will have an IEP going into Kindergarten, but I’d really like to stop running between both schools. Or, I’m hoping we can go one day or just in an afternoon to meet with the therapists. Ella loves her school and class there, but I’d like to have some consistency and fewer transitions, if not for her, then for me! Mostly, I just want her to have an IEP when she starts Kindergarten, then I’ll feel comfortable sending her to our district elementary school (unfortunately not the one she’s currently at). Without the IEP, then we have some options to weigh, including keeping her at Cedars. Decisions, decisions.
Yes, that’s Lily’s winter coat, we had some 30-40 degree days. Like two. Two days.
When I pick the girls up at their respective times at Cedars, they are at the playground. The teachers watch the cars roll in and send the children down the path one at a time to another teacher who helps them into the car. I love seeing them playing and then coming down the path, usually with a little skip in their step. Lily especially cracks me up. She just looks so cute coming down the path with her mop of curls, giant backpack and happy stride.
Back to school is always an adjustment. Lots of learning and fresh air at the playground partnered with a nice hilly, curvy, 20 minute drive home makes for some tired girls some afternoons. Now a few weeks into it, they’re doing better, but I see a few heavy eyelids now and then.
I do have to laugh. There are the typical preschool winter lessons in January that involve things like penguins, snowmen and other wintery things. It’s pretty universal, so I wasn’t surprised when Ella’s LTE class was learning about such things. I was surprised that they are spending time, according to their calendar, learning about winter clothing. I joked that I should send Ella to school in her full snow gear, similar to when a firefighter shows up in full gear. Everyone would be amazed to see Ella’s snow pants, boots and big coat. However, those things are in storage. It’s funny to see something that Minnesotans take for granted as something that has to be taught, and has a certain level of novelty. Of course, Minnesotans have been wearing some of that gear since October. Today it was 80. I’m told that even by central Texas standards, that’s freakishly warm for January/February.
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