Summer Daycare

I don't care what anyone says...daycare is awesome! Well, Tommy's daycare is awesome. Even if we had a relative that wanted to watch Tommy full time I would still send Tommy to daycare at least part time. He is an only child and he needs to be around kids.

Tommy on the slide at home. He has so much to say these days.

Last week was dinosaur week at daycare. They have themed weeks and spending a lot of time on one concept with many opportunities for activities and interaction helps Tommy get a a more complete idea of something new. They made dinosaur feet by painting old tissue boxes green and then took turns stomping around with the "dinosaur feet" over their shoes. There has been a lot of stomping and roaring going on at home all week.

Last Friday was water day at school. They sent me pictures of Tommy sitting in a shallow plastic pan of water and one of him holding a sponge and studying it intently. It gives me such good ideas. I never though about setting up a bunch of buckets and shallow containers for Tom to splash in. He would love that! And then I had another thought...water balloons!

I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but Tommy's daycare is run by the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children where he is a preschool student. The daycare used to be run by an outside company but they made it a part of their mission to provide a daycare for sighted and blind children.

"Let's go outside!" That's all he says these days.

It is not easy to find a daycare for a child with special needs. And finding a daycare for a blind child? Forget it! People are afraid of the liability and unsure of their ability to interact with a blind child. There is a real need for daycares that can care for children with special needs.

The best part is that Tommy is interacting with sighted children at daycare. He has to keep up with them all day and learn to play their way. It's a challenge to be sure but I think he will learn a lot this summer. His school does mix the daycare and preschool students for certain classes like music or movement. This summer just presents a more intensive opportunity for interacting with sighted kids, which is great.