So it’s now been a month that Piper has been at nursery
school. She is going three days a week to the Bloorview Macmillan Kids Rehab
Nursery School. The school integrates children from the community with special
needs kids. The site is around the
corner from us so it’s very convenient to drop her off and pick her up. Since I
am not working right now (I was laid off from my job back in June) it’s actually
perfect because I can wake up with Piper and get her ready. I was also able to
transition with her by sitting in the class for the first few sessions.
If I was working I don’t know how we would manage it. Piper
takes so long to eat anything and then I have to give her a bottle and she
needs to be to school for 9am. Now add my 6 year old into the picture and it
would be impossible for one person to do it (yes I mean my husband all by
himself) and go to work.
Anyways, back to Piper. She seems to be doing well in the
class now but at first there were some bumps to work through. It was a little
hard to get used to for me as there weren’t any children that were “like” Piper.
Physically everyone looked fine. I don’t know what it is but I get really sad
when there are a lot of children around that are Pipers age and I look at my daughter
and I just feel sorry for her. I feel this need to protect her. On the second
day I just started crying right there in the middle of the classroom while I
was holding onto Piper. Ugh, I was so upset that I was just standing there
holding onto her and the teachers were running around after other kids. I felt
invisible, and I felt what Piper feels. You see; some children demanded
attention behaviourally. Piper is the type of child you can leave in the corner
sitting and she wouldn’t complain. I was concerned that she just wasn’t getting
the attention she needed because she doesn’t ask for attention. So of course
after seeing this a couple of times I was getting a little upset.
After the teacher came up and asked me what was wrong I just
let it out and said my words. I told her that I just can’t have Piper sitting
somewhere while other children get the attention, and believe me the one kid
needed it…he was a terror! But this is something the school needs to think
about as we are paying the same amount of money as the other kids. So I said
you need to take Piper when I come in. I can’t just plop her down and let her
run because she doesn’t run! After that the teacher has taken Piper from me
when I walk in. She doesn’t need to hold her the whole time, she just needs to
take her and put her where she will get the interaction from the other children.
Next we’ve been dealing with Piper crying. She is still
trying to get used to school and she tends to cry most of the time. It could
also be because school is on during the time that she usually naps. So by the
end of school at 11:15 she is done! But we are working through it and I hope
once she gets used to the people and the schedule she will be a lot calmer.
Overall though I believe Piper is getting something from her
school time. I don’t even want to think about next Septmeber when she has to go
to JK. That’s going to be even harder on both of us. But I will deal with that
when I come to that road.
Physically Piper is still the same. She can sit up and she’s
starting to try to clap her hands. I think she has developed more socially than
physically over the past few months. She seems entwined in people’s
conversations and emotions. She laughs hysterically at anyone getting hit with
something or if someone drops something on the floor (sadistic, yes but I’ll
gladly bonk myself in the head with an empty paper towel roll over and over if
it makes my precious girl laugh).
