First Week of Preschool

Noah turned 3 years old last week and started preschool! To prepare Noah for preschool, Noah’s teacher made him a book about school (called a social story). In the story, there are photographs of his teacher and aides, a description of the activities he will do in school with photos (i.e., circle time, block center, playhouse) as well as the snack area and playground outside. One special part of the story is that Noah’s teacher created an area in the classroom for him called, “The Cool Sharks Club” with all his favorite toys (i.e., sharks, alphabet puzzle).  Several weeks before starting school, Noah and I read his social story together every day. We also visited his school three times. The first two times, it was just Noah and I on the weekend when no one was around. We practiced wearing a backpack. We also sat at the front of the school and I read him the social story to help him start to understand and make the connection. I joked with my best friend that only a parent of a child with Autism creeps around school on the weekend to prepare their child.😊 The third time we went to school after the kids had gone home for the day so Noah could meet his teacher and explore the classroom. Because of COVID, parents are not allowed beyond the gate or into the classrooms. Noah’s teacher met us at the front and brought some really fun toys. Noah immediately liked her and sat down in the grass to play with her. I really did not think Noah would go willingly with his teacher to his classroom without me but sure enough he held her hand, walked into his classroom, explored the classroom and then had a blast playing on his playground. He was so excited when his teacher cheered for him going down the slide! After this meet and greet with his teacher, I felt so much less anxious about Noah starting school.

Noah did very well on his first day of school as well as during the first week! He did cry a few times when I dropped him off in the mornings but was happy as soon as he entered the classroom. One morning, his teacher made a game out of going into the classroom, where they jumped into the classroom. Noah loved jumping with his teacher and that strategy helped Noah transition into his classroom. She also brought a shark toy out with her every morning to help Noah separate from me and he just loves sharks!

During his first week, I found myself once again having to readjust me expectations for Noah. While Noah sat and paid attention in Circle Time for an entire 30 minutes (this is huge!), he was mostly observing the first week and needed prompting to participate. Of course, I hoped he would be joining in more but I know he will once he learns the routine and the school songs. Noah is also observing his peers playing but not engaging in interactive play yet.  He is practicing rolling a ball back and forth with a friend with help from his teachers and engaging in parallel play in the play area and on the playground. Again, I would love to see Noah’s social and play skills advance but I know I need to be patient as this will take time.  

After a week in school, I whole heartedly know that having Noah with a teacher who truly understands Autism and can give him a lot of individual attention was the best decision we could have made for him.