Diggin Daisies was the first after school program that I signed Aiden up for. This was in 1st grade. The program was for any child who wanted to attend and it was about making things for the outdoors. I probably wouldn’t have considered it but because it was suggested to me by his teacher, whom I loved, I decided to give it a try. She understood my son almost as well as I did so I really trusted her. I was super nervous about doing this though. It would interrupt his typical routine and that would always turn into a big deal, but his teacher assured me that she would prep him on that day, and throughout the day, every week and have him escorted down the hall to the class. The first day was rough! The stray from his routine was too overwhelming for him and he had a meltdown. Thankfully I had arrived early that day and took him home. But we didn’t give up. The next week we prepped him again and he was escorted to the class after school. Again he had a difficult time adjusting but by the time I got there I saw him, with dried tears on his cheeks, calmly working on a bird house. It was a really significant day for the both of us. He had adjusted, accepted and even enjoyed this new disruption to his routine. And I realized, with the proper preparation and support, after school programs were completely possible for him. I also wasn’t sure if he would “get” the purpose of the class but I underestimated him. He got it. Maybe not in the exact same way as most of the other kids did but he got it in his way. I was so proud of him.
No comments:
Post a Comment