School Rocks!

So a couple months ago Jericho started Pre-K here in Elgin.  In the beginning, Michael and I were worried about certain issues we'd encountered when Jericho was in Hourly Care on Post last year.  He was good for about three months, and then all of a sudden it became impossible to even get him to go into the building.  One year later, we're still not sure why.  We think it had something to do with Michael's work schedule.  Anyway, when it came time to get ready for his first day of Pre-K, we built up the excitement and talked about how cool it was that he was going to "big kids' school" and that he was going to learn so much stuff...and hoped for the best. 

I guess it worked.

Every morning when Jericho comes into my bedroom, he asks, "Do I have school today?"  If the answer is yes, he does a cute little fist pump and goes to pick out his clothes, even though he doesn't have to be at school until 12:15.  When I walk him into the building, he goes right to his hook on the wall to hang his backpack, takes my hand and goes with me to his classroom where we have a quick hug and kiss and "see you later."  Pick-up at 3:00 is even easier.  He's made friends and gets at least one birthday party invitation in his backpack per week. 

There was another issue we were concerned with in the beginning that hasn't really been dealt with until now.  In the beginning of October, I had a parent/teacher conference with Mrs. Kelly.  The conference was only 15 minutes long, but in those 15 minutes it became apparent that Mrs. Kelly wasn't aware he could read.  I wasn't really surprised; he won't read for anyone he doesn't know that well, and he's only in class with about 12-15 other kids for 2.5 hours.  Michael and I were afraid he'd get bored.  But since that conference, the school has expressed an interest in testing him to see what scholastic level he's at with reading, and Mrs. Kelly is working with him for a few minutes every day to keep him practicing and less timid with reading in class.  He's doing really well with his teacher and gets along with his classmates, and Michael and I couldn't be happier!  His behavior at home has improved.  He's a better listener.  He's still a little shy, but we're okay with that.