My Kindergartner.

Reese is a kindergartner! Life just doesn't slow down. She was ready to start school. Especially after watching Kenadee go to school for a whole week before her school started. Way back when we started preschool with Reese we had the goal in mind that she would be mainstreamed in Kindergarten. Back at the end of the school year we started looking at all of our options. We stewed over it all summer long. I just wanted the right answer to come to me. It has been a HUGE stress to me and I think that I have made Troy a little crazy talking about it. We didn't feel great about sending her to our neighborhood elementary. Nothing against the school because Kenadee has done great there! It just doesn't have the kind of kindergarten teachers that we feel like Reese needs.

The school where Reese attended preschool also has a kindergarten class and the teacher is fabulous. We were hoping that Reese could attend morning kindergarten there and then attend the mainstream kindergarten next door in the afternoon. We really wanted this and hoped that the teachers would be on board too. Well that was not so. We were nicely forced to put her in the the all day kindergarten at the school for the deaf. Her teacher is very nice but also very persuasive with her opinion and her experience. She never really responded to our desire to mainstream Reese half day. I was feeling okay about it after the back-to-school meeting with all of the parents. Her teacher made a lot of good points about giving them a good foundation and allowing them to catch up completely before we throw them into the mainstream setting. The next day we had a one on one meeting with her teacher. We had a good conversation and talked about what our plans and goals are with Reese. She made the comment that she wanted to plant the idea in our heads that we keep Reese in her class all day this year and next year have Reese mainstreamed into kindergarten. What???? I left the meeting and had a meltdown all the way home. It is so frustrating to feel like other people get to decide Reese's future. I have realized though that I am Reese's mother, and Troy and I know what is best for her. If we had listened to the experts all along were would we be? In the beginning no one would listen to me when I told them that I thought Reese couldn't hear. It took three doctor appointments to get someone to believe me. Then we had a ENT tell us that with Reese's type of deafness she would never hear. The experts do not always know what is best for your child. She started school and we felt more and more like we weren't doing the right thing. A few things happened that pushed us to finally tell her teacher that we would like Reese to attend her kindergarten in the morning and the mainstream kindergarten in the afternoon. She is not at all happy about this. She is still super nice and sweet but she is trying to talk us out of it. We have our answer though and Troy and I both are willing to fight for what we know is right. Reese is such a smart and bright little girl. She is learning things so quickly. She amazes us everyday with the things that she knows. We feel like if we set the bar high she will keep up. She is not 100% caught up with her typically hearing peers but she is darn close. We both feel very strongly that we need to try this. We are hoping to get things going soon so she doesn't get behind the class. We are so proud of this little girl and all that she has accomplished! She is amazing!!!