A Special Day

I went on a field trip today with Carly's kindergarten class. We went to the zoo, saw a show there and looked at all of the animals, had a picnic lunch, rode the train, and then played at the park. Although we have been there many times before, something about it being a field trip made it seem much more special. I enjoyed spending the day with Carly and getting to know all of her friends a little bit better. Since she is in a very small school district she will be with the same 20 kids each year. I really want to know these kids and their parents. It is important to me to be involved as much as I can so that I know what is going on in my kid's lives. The funniest part of the day came from a conversation I had with Tristan, a kindergartner.

Tristan: Carly and Ashton are always pretending to be princesses.

Me: Carly thinks she is a princess.

Tristan: Well, she kind of is.

I think I had better keep a close eye on this one. It was so cute and funny. The kids were so loving and for the most part minded really well.

I also had a chance to meet the special education teacher for the school. She went on the trip as well. She was able to answer most of my questions about transitioning from Early Intervention into the school district. As much as I would like to pretend Anna will not need special education, she will. She will age out of Early INtervention in December when she turns 3 and I am pretty sure she will not be caught up by then. She is doing so much better and when she is by herself I think she is on target. When I see her around other kids her age I realize she is still behind and will need help to keep the pace. I am hoping that seeing her as she is might be some step towards the acceptance of all of this that I have been striving to find. I really liked the special education teacher and she really seems to know what she is doing. I am happy that our district mainstreams kids. I know it might not be best for all kids but I see the special ed kids in Carly's class and they seem happy and are accepted. I can remember my elementary days when the special ed kids had their own room and it might as well have been a freak show parade when they walked the halls at school because that is how typical kids looked at them. It seemed they were only allowed out to eat lunch and go to the bathroom- and they never did those things with the typical kids. Since they were never allowed to be with the other kids they seemed so different which I think only led to further isolation and cruelty. I hope that by mainstreaming kids they will be more accepted in the schools and in communities rather than being locked away where people can just pretend "those" types of kids do not exist. OK- that was a total tangent but oh well.

After the field trip, Carly and I came home and washed my car and her Barbie Jeep. Then we hopped in the car and went and enjoyed a snow cone. We had a great day together and I hope she always wants me to come on her field trips and is as proud to call me mommy as she was today.