School Plan

For that last couple months we have been putting together a school plan for Nicholas. He turns the big ~THREE~ on Friday which means that he is eligible for pre-school in the fall. It also means that he graduates from the Early Intervention Program (EIP). I know he will be so sad to have to say good-bye to the wonderful therapists and teachers from the EIP, especially his Julie, who has become like family to us.

Jeff and I have had several conversations concerning schooling for Nicholas. We discussed sending him to public school, homeschooling, or no schooling at all. We discussed his medical issues, transportation, and readiness. He also thought about his ability to socialize and interact with other children his own age. After weeks and weeks of discussion between the two of us, we finally came up with a plan that we think will suit all of Nicholas's needs.

We will not be sending Nicholas to public school, but he will still receive services from our local school district. His therapists (physical, occupational, speech) will all come to our home and provide services the same way the EIP did. He will see his occupational therapist once a week, his physical and speech therapist every two weeks. He will use a web-cam from home to participate in circle time and free time, which is the perfect way for Nicholas to get in some social time without being bombarded by nasty germs. I will also be working closely with his teacher to create lessons that we can do together at home to help him meet his Individulized Educaton Plan (IEP) goals.

We also enrolled Nicholas in our parish's Sunday School program, which we call Religious Education. That will give him the opportunity to physically interact with his peers once per week and get to know some kids his own age outside of the classroom web-cam situation. It will also help him to better understand our faith and learn more about Jesus, although I think they are already good friends.

We are super excited to start this schooling program we've created for our little guy this fall. I think he is going to absolutely love every part of it!