Daycare Update

I wanted to share a quick update on the kids and the transition to their new daycare while I had a few minutes.

Overall, things have been going really, really well.  You can check out some photos of their first two weeks at daycare here.

I have to admit that I was nervous about this transition.  My kids just don't do well with transitions.  Period.  I mean, even transitions from the park to home.  So this big of a transition left me a little bit anxious.  

The kids went from a small family daycare to a large, bright, noisy daycare centre with 2-3 times more kids per class than where they were previously.  Not terribly SPD friendly.  I feared that Logan would become super aggressive and that Chloé would want to be held all day long.

But my little guys showed me that I should have given them a bit more credit. 

Overall, the feedback from daycare so far has been that they can't even tell they are not just "normal" kids.  Chloé is apparently the first one asleep a room full of crying babies and is typically the last to wake up (who is this kid???).  Logan joined into the daily routines seamlessly.  Every time I go to pick him up, he's somehow quietly sitting at a table, doing whatever activity they are in the midst of.  Though he didn't nap his first day, he laid on his mattress for 2 hours WITHOUT MOVING!! (and who is this kid???).

I had spoken to the kids' OTs prior to us choosing the larger centre.  They acknowledged that there would be more sensory stimuli to deal with in a centre.  But they said that the extremely consistent routines and constant structured activities of a centre would help the kids manage better.  They also added that, regardless, they will need to learn to function in this type of an environment for when they start school.  That was all that it took to convince me that this was the right setting for them. 

We couldn't have lucked out more.  All of the educators are absolutely fantastic.  One of Logan's educators used to be a resource teacher and was the person who was called to pull kids out of the regular classroom and into the sensory room, to calm them down when things were getting challenging.  She can read the signs that Logan's engine is starting to get a bit fast better than anyone other than his own parents.  She uses his weighted vest, his earphones, gives him squishes on his body and his feet and encourages him to take a break alone as needed. 

His other educator doesn't have any particular knowledge about SPD, but is super interested in learning.  She also feels very comfortable approaching me with any concerns they have about him.  I feel confident that issues will be addressed as they come up, rather than ignored until they are too big to manage.

Chloé's educators are also all very willing to learn and do whatever they can to help.  I met with all three of them on Friday and not a single one of them made me feel that the discrepancy in her behaviour at daycare versus at home was because we weren't handling things properly (sadly, this is often the reaction we get).  One of them even asked if she could come to our house after daycare one evening to see how difficult it is for Chloé to manage by the end of the day, saying she wanted to understand the impact of the sensory input on Chloé. 

I feel that we couldn't be in better hands.  Logan talks about his "new friends" all of the time.  And although I know that he liked his old daycare, he has only once brought up the names of anyone from there since he left.  He seems fully adjusted.