Surprise! Kindergarten in July

There is nothing I love more than finding out that I need to get my four year old, type A child ready for kindergarten last minute.  We received a postcard in the mail on July 3rd informing us that Isaac starts kindergarten at our second school of choice on July 10th.  Needless to say, I was less than thrilled.  We had already gotten plane tickets to fly back to Michigan July 11th-18th.  Having a kid with pdd-nos miss the first week of school is less than ideal.  Turns out his staggered entry day is July 10th, and all they do is go and figure out where your kid is academically.  Then they don't go back to school until the following Monday, so Isaac will only miss the first three days of school.  Again, not ideal, but not the end of the world.

We met his teacher yesterday, and while she seems very nice and like a seasoned teacher who will have good classroom management, she did not know what pdd-nos was and had not received Isaac's school records and last IEP yet.  Lovely.  Juuuust great.  My first impulse was to talk to the principle to make sure that this teacher was going to be a good fit for Isaac.  She said that while she might not have heard of pdd-nos, she is one of their best teachers and has worked with many special needs kids.  Ok, that somewhat made me feel better. I guess?  Internally my thoughts were, why the hell did we move to North Carolina?  I cried, fought with my husband, and then got a grip and channeled my that mom.  I have spent a good part of this morning researching info on pdd-nos to print out, make notes applicable to Isaac, and give to her.

That only solves part of the equation to make kindergarten start off on the right foot for Isaac, though.  Yesterday, whenever we would walk into the very busy hallway Isaac would start spinning in wide circles, and while we were in the office he started jogging around the the chairs in a circle.  This is one of his tell-tale self-regulating behaviors.  It is not a discreet one.  So later, while enjoying some Rita's lemon ice, I asked him why he was spinning in circles.  He said, "I just missed you."  Just twist that knife right in there, son.  Thanks.
 "Does spinning in circles make you feel better?"
 "Yes."
"I'm afraid you're going to run into someone.  Do you think there is a safer way that you can make yourself feel better?"  
"I don't know."
"Ok, we'll think about that."

So I thought about what might work.  Isaac still uses sensory chews once in awhile, but I don't want him carrying one around, dropping it on the floor, or having one obviously pinned to his shirt.  I asked if he thought a chewy necklace or bracelet would help him feel better instead of spinning and he said yes.  So I ordered this chewlery necklace and bracelet set in the color of his choosing- red.  Hopefully it will help.









Next, I ordered this book:

Arnie and His School Tools: Simple Sensory Solutions That Build Success by Jennifer Veenendall.  I'm hoping it will have some good tips for Isaac to learn how to manage himself in school.  We're not in special ed anymore, Toto.