Back to School

My new locker! (Oops! spilled some OJ in the car)

Today was the first day of school for Mason, and the first day of "Phase-in" for Ash. Mason was ready to go this morning, if he'd had his way we would have left at 7:30. He missed his buddies, was excited about the new work in the room, and wanted to see Miss Rose and Miss Deb. Ashton and his friends only had an hour in the classroom, and all of the parents stay for the hour too. We sit in chairs around the perimeter of the room and observe the kids, who are encouraged to move away from mom or dad and engage in work or with friends when they are ready. For Ash, this was immediately. He didn't even bother to take note of where I was sitting, and was surprised to discover me 45 minutes later when he started working on a puzzle. He morphed from his home persona of little copycat to this confident, masterful kid in the classroom. He worked the room, spending time with each teacher and aide, and checking out all of the new activities on the shelves. He let the newcomers know that he was an old hand at this game. I love that this program gives him the opportunity to be the big kid, because Mason is head honcho at home. I also love to see how well Ash excels in an independant setting. He is happy to be the leader when not being told what to do (physically or verbally) by big bro or more aggresive peers.

Ash chats up Naomi, one of his favorites.

It was a great first day, Mason is bummed that he doesn't get to go back until Thursday. Ashton has another hour in the room tomorrow, and Sean gets to observe this time.