Breaking New Ground

Catherine started kindergarten last month and everyone asks me how she is dealing with it. She seems to enjoy it. When she got off the bus the first day I asked her how it was and she said "great." I asked her how the bus was and she said "that was great too." She has never resisted going and we have had no reports of her crying or fussing about being at school. Her speech, coloring, and walking have all improved. She is constantly showing off her new found knowledge: reciting the pledge of allegiance, singing the months of the year, etc. But, she loves trying new things and always has. So, I can say she is fine with kindergarten.

But, kindergarten does not seem to be fine with her. She is an anomaly. Her teachers, the counselor, the school nurse, and the staff there are not sure how to deal with her medical issues. We have had several meetings, some with a huge number of people in them (including representatives from the county office).

At one of the meetings, Robby asked "What do you do with all your other kids with feeding tubes?" The county director looked at us incredulously and said that there are only a few other kids in the entire county with feeding tubes and none of them are anywhere close to being in a regular classroom. She told us that Cobb County has never had a child with a feeding tube in a regular classroom. She said the other children with feeding tubes have such severe medical conditions that they are in a completely different educational setting, that those children have very little hope of learning and have profound cognitive delays.

Thankfully, the principal immediately chimed in and said that those classrooms are not appropriate for Catherine and they will not even consider putting her in there. The principal told us that Catherine has more medical problems than all of the other students at her elementary school combined, but they will deal with them.

Of course Catherine is our "normal" and we are completely used to all of her challenges. So, we think of all these medical issues as no big deal. Plus, compared to where we have been, we are on easy street. Right now she is mainstreamed into a regular classroom and we have seemed to work through a lot kinks. It is our prayer that she can remain there and thrive like all of the other kindergartners.

Catherine still gets semi-bad reports from school regarding her behavior. However, most of those reports are for transgressions such as not listening to the teacher, not sitting still, talking at the wrong time, yelling in the hallway, refusing to do her worksheets, etc. We have taken down princess posters and removed toys as punishment. Today Robby took away her favorite Disney fairy shirt. I am considering letting Sabrina wear it in front of Catherine.

We have promised Catherine a trip to Chuck E. Cheese if she has good behavior for five days in a row. So far, she has not accomplished that goal. But, maybe she will someday.

Kindergarten has been a big change for all of us and we are adapting, but we will make it through!