Tommy Loves Daycare!

Daycare is fun! I am happy to report that Tom is crafting, playing, napping and eating at daycare. Yes, eating!

Day 1 
Tuesday was his first day. There were no tears but also not a lot of eating. Ok, there were some tears, but they were all from me. Tom was very happy that day and I got a fabulous email report from his daycare teachers. I can't tell you how nice it was to get an email update with pictures. I was dying to know how he was doing and this update made it possible for me to concentrate at work instead of worry about Tom. He participated in circle time and even took a brief nap. He is a circle time pro from his time in the Preschool Readiness Group at Achieva!

Bike day!

Day 2
I felt pretty optimistic when I dropped Tommy off for his second day and I was not disappointed. He did fabulous! He ate for them! What did he eat? Half a banana, half a baloney and cheese sandwich, peaches and a couple bites of pasta salad. I almost fell out of my chair when I got that update. Tom ate half a sandwich? I didn't even dare to hope that he would eat that well for them. He also played "Ring around the Rosie" and clapped to all the songs during circle time. He took a two hour nap and enjoyed playing with the musical bench in the garden. Tommy was very verbal and also signed a lot.

Day 3
Tom was a bit more reserved when I left today. He now knows that it's going to be a while before I return so he wasn't all smiles like the last two day. He did not cry though. His teachers reported that he was fussier today and clingy towards his teachers. It was another good eating day for Tom and he took another long nap.

I think that is a successful first week of daycare!

Conveniently, the daycare is closed tomorrow for an educational in-service day with blindness professionals. That will allow Tommy to have a relaxing day at home with his grandparents. I'm sure his daycare teachers will be full of questions after working with Tommy for three days. It is just perfect timing that he started this week. It gave Tom the chance to start on a short week and gave his teachers some exposure to working with him just before they have a training day with blindness educators.

Tommy could use a break after three challenging but successful days. This was definitely a big change for him and he handled it amazingly well. Kids are so resilient! I really don't think people give children enough credit for their ability to adapt.

One thing that helped Tom tremendously is that his Early Intervention therapists are now seeing him at daycare. The therapists have been a comforting and familiar presence for Tom in this new environment and have shared lots of information with his teachers.

Tommy was ready for this! The social skills he learns in daycare will only help him in preschool and his daily life.