BIG DAY

Every morning, it's the same routine. Get everybody ready and out the door. Get the boys in the car. Take Grant to school. Try to control Owen in Grant's class (he tries to run the class). Take Owen to school. Drive to work.

Every day - the same schedule. The only variety is - how late are we, will the boys behave, or will one of them (usually Owen) be tough to deal with.

But Not Today. No, today was Good News Day.

After walking Grant in to his class, his teacher pulled me aside.

"We're going to start mainstreaming Grant", she said. My morning-fogged brain suddenly cleared - did she really just say what I thought she said?

"We were going to put him in a 3rd grade class, because there is a really good teacher in that class. But his para said 'Let's put him in the Kinder class. I think he can do the same work as the kids in the class.' He'll be in there 1-2 hours a day. We think he's ready, is that OK?"

"Of course, if you think he's ready" I said. My eyes welled up with tears; I couldn't say anything more or I would have lost it.

"We are really excited - he's ready", she said with a smile.

Can it be? Are we really making progress? In the first few years of school (ages 3-5), we had hopes of mainstreaming. But, over that time, it became clear that his speech was not going to come as quick as we hoped, and his ability to take instruction was not where it needed to be for a classroom environment. In addition, he receives more individual instruction in his SDC than he would in a 2nd grade (his grade level) class. We knew that it was not in his best interest for us to push mainstreaming. It would happen when and if the time was right.

And today, the news came that the time was right. He's making progress. He's learning. He's applying his skills.

It's a beautiful day.