Term Two '09

Tomorrow will be Amy's last day at Morning Kindy for Term 2. It was her first term at Morning Kindy and she has come a long, long way. She started the term off with an ESW - a teacher's aide who comes in for two hours a session. Having someone at her side, assisting her socially and with her basic needs (eating, toileting) has boosted Amy's confidence at Kindy. For the first few weeks it was agreed by the Kindy teachers, special education, and myself that it would be best if Amy's Kindy sessions finished when tidy-up time began. This is because tidy-up time seemed to be the time of day when she'd lose it at afternoon Kindy.

This meant Amy typically left Kindy at 11.45am for the first couple of months, just as the tidy-up bell was sounded. Amy's first few weeks at Morning Kindy were pretty exhausting for her. She would come home absolutely depleted and would just zone out for the afternoon. Going away up North to visit family in the second week of this term only threw Amy off even more. We basically had to start all over again when we got back from holiday.

She only had one week in which she resisted going to Kindy. However, Amy did start to settle into her new routine a month or so into the term. When she started talking about Kindy at home, I knew that she was settled. Facepainting has been the interest that has motivated her to go to Kindy everyday. Even some nights before Kindy Amy has indicated which character she wanted to be the following day - anything ranging from My Little Pony to Spot.

When a Pirate Day took place in which all the Morning Kindy kids went for a walk to the local playground and then for "pirate food" (ie: hot chips!) at a local cafe, Amy resisted joining the crowd and went as a blue whale. She was adamant that her face was painted blue that morning at Kindy before we all headed out - she did not want to be mistaken for a pirate!

Over the last couple of weeks I've started stretching out Amy's sessions at Kindy so she stays for tidy-up time and then lunch. This has gone really well. Amy has grasped the concept of tidy-up time and walks around Kindy exclaiming "tidy-up time!!" when the bell is rung. Lunch on a sunny day is out on the deck, and is inside on the mat on a cold or wet day. Of course living in Nelson the sunny days outweigh the unpleasant ones, even in Winter, so Amy has enjoyed munching on a bit of lunch outside with the other kids and then having an extra play outside before the hometime bell is rung. She's not so keen to hang around so much when lunch is indoors. Next term I will wean myself out of the lunches as obviously I want to know that she'll be fine when she goes to school and is eating with her peers. I will look into possibly pairing her up with another child/children at Morning Kindy for her lunchbreaks.

It has been interesting observing Amy's little Kindy friendships developing. There still appears to be a lot of parallel play going on Amy's end yet I have witnessed her engaging in conversation here and there. Unfortunately not all the Kindy kids are tuned into her speech and so sometimes her attempts at connecting with others are overlooked. Amy has joined in games such as "Go Fish" and has clearly learnt a lot about turn-taking and gained some valuable social skills such as using others names when playing with them.

Only once all term did I see her try to push a boy out of her way. This is huge progress as at the end of Term Two Amy was on a pushing rampage at afternoon Kindy. Outside of Kindy Amy barks when she wants some space or wants to socialise with others and isn't sure how to and I have seen her do that a couple of times at Kindy. It's subtle and could easily be seen as Amy just role-playing.

This term Amy started going to Riding For The Disabled (RDA). She has been going on Mondays at 1pm for half hour sessions. Amy's been allocated a horse called Cherry and really enjoys her time at RDA. She is led by two volunteers around an arena and every week does something different. She's had to collect objects off the surrounding fence in the arena, put hoops on cones, ride backwards, and learn some basic commands such as "Ride on, Cherry." Her confidence has grown in the few short sessions she's been (we missed a couple of Mondays because of being away, public holidays and bad weather). I think it's very complementary to Kindy - going riding on her own once a week, out in the country after being with forty children in a classroom.

Amy's teacher's aide has kindly lent us a mini tramp which has been great. Amy bounces on it several times a day and it's just such a good thing to have when she's in one of her antsy moods.

All in all, this term has been a fantastic one for Amy. A big thank-you has to go out to all the Kindy teachers, her teachers aide and special education for building on her strengths and weaknesses at Kindy. She's come a long way. I started off this term feeling a little anxious but now know that I can leave her at Kindy for three hours and she is just fine. The RDA volunteers are also very skilled at working with children with special needs. Next term I am thinking of adding gymnastics to the mix and/or incorporating soccer as Amy has expressed an interest in it.