A New Year, A New Routine

Change . . . it's defined as many things. But as a noun, one way to describe it is a variation or deviation: a change in the daily routine.

I generally dislike change. Not to say that I don't like to be spontaneous, but I do get comfortable in my daily routine. This new year brings a new routine for Kamryn and I.

Back in late November, our speech therapist mentioned that Kamryn just might qualify for the at-risk program offered through the school district. It's a "preschool for all" program that is funded by a grant through the Illinois State Board of Education. It focuses on providing high-quality educational programs for children who are determined to be at risk of academic failure.

Of course my initial reaction was "No thanks, I'm happy with her preschool. Plus, her speech isn't that bad, she probably won't qualify. My child is smart." I told them no to the free screening. After talking with some friends (who are also moms to girls from China), I decided that I may have made a mistake. I happened to call back the school days before a new screening was about to take place due to new grant they received. (which means they could add a new class)

Later the next week our speech therapist called to say that Kamryn had qualified. Both she and the woman who run this program were a bit surprised because during the screening, Kamryn's speech was actually pretty good. It was her "at risk" factors though that gave her enough points combined with her speech that made her qualify. (being adopted, having had ear tubes, possibly being a premie)








So instead of preschool Tuesday mornings and Thursday from 9-3pm (art class in the pm, bye bye to my long day!), she is now going to preschool 4 days a week and some weeks 5 days for 2.75 hours a day in the afternoon. I really am not ready for her to be gone every day:( But how can I deny her the (free) help if she really needs it? I know, it's not about me. But she was really liking her art class and preschool too . . . see it's a whole new change for us both.

She's adjusting okay. Last week she missed two days because of the weather and even on day two though she asked one morning after running errands if we were going home. I had to say, "No honey, you have school." She let out a big sigh. So how long does it take for something to become a habit? Five weeks? The first few days she cried when I left her, which was hard for me, but she did better as the week went on.

Hopefully this change will prove to be good. I do look forward to her speech exploding like the speech therapist predicts it will do after being in this program.