We're in!

If you couldn't tell from the Facebook post, Adam got accepted into (or is it at?) Columbus Academy!!  Yay! We got an acceptance letter from All the Children of the World Academy last Saturday and Adam said that wasn't the school he wanted to go to.  We told him we were still waiting to hear if he got in to the one he liked.  When I picked him up from school, I told him he got in.  I don't think he was nearly as excited as I was.  All he asked was which room he was going to be in.  Ha ha!  I think he wants to be in the room he was in for testing that had a little playhouse thing in it.  He's going to be a little disappointed to find out that none of the K rooms have one of those.

Grounded

Weekends tend to be get out of the house and go shopping days.  Yesterday, Dave and I wanted to run over to Walmart, Target, and the Dollar Store but as usual, Adam wanted to stay home. We bribed him by getting him a slushy on the way there.  We were in Walmart for no more than 2 minutes when Adam took off and disappeared!!  Usually we can see him running off to the toys or hear him giggling or something but he was just gone!  Dave and I circled the area he ran off in and checked in toys a couple of times but still nothing.  I called for him. Nothing.  I am FREAKING out!  Finally, (possibly after I called for him again), a lady comes out of the sheet/comforter aisle and asks if I am looking for Adam.  She said he was hiding on the shelf with the comforters. (At this point I can hear him saying his name or something).  Oh. My. Gosh!!!  Dave takes him to the car while I finish getting what I need.  No one speaks on the way home and he is sent to his room.  He had just gotten his DS back and now it is gone for another 2 weeks.  At dinner, we tried to explain why what he did was wrong.   We asked what he would do if a stranger had tried to take him to their car.  He just doesn't get it. He thinks some karate moves will save him.  We explained that if for whatever reason we get separated at a store again, that he needs to find someone who works there so we can be paged.  

Now, with his DS being taken away again, he acts like he has never been without it his entire life and he doesn't know what to do with himself. He was coloring when I got up this morning. Then he said he was tired of coloring and there was nothing to do.  The boy with a playroom full of toys and Legos who never wants to leave the house.  Summer is going to be, ummm, fun?

Patiently waiting...

A week from today, we should know where Adam is going for Kindergarden!  Hoping he gets into one of the two we applied for since I didn't go to packet pick-up in Westerville. 

What's going on...

Just a quick post to update on what's going on around here.  It is time to start thinking about Kindergarten! Here are the places we have been thinking about.  If we stay in Westerville City Schools, Adam would still go to school for 2.5 hours either AM or PM 5 days a week, which is just a day more than what he has been doing this year.  I think he is ready for more.  There is a place called All the Children of the World Academy that gives a 3-, 4- , or 5-day all day option (~8am - 3pm).  I went to their Open House last week and although I didn't get to stay for the whole Kindergarten meeting, I saw enough to like it.  I have also heard great things about it from area moms.  I will be calling to get a tour and more info this week.  And lastly, there is Columbus Academy.  Crazy expensive but you get what you pay for.  We've seen the end product.  Ha ha! Adam had his admissions screening on Friday.  He did run out of the building at first and refused to put on his name tag or take off his coat but once the other kids showed up, he didn't care when we left.  When our tour and the testing was over, all the kids were sitting out in the lobby on these little risers and Adam was yelling "surprise!" and jumping up and down.  He said it was a lot of fun and the kids were really nice.  He had no idea he was being tested..well, other than being asked what some words meant.  At dinner that night, he put his thumbs up and said he really liked that school (Academy) and the school we went to the night before (All the Children).  Now we wait until March 1st to see if he gets into Academy but in the meantime we'll apply to the others because we know Academy only has so many openings. 

Adam started Sporties for Shorties again today.  He did a really great job and didn't obsess about being next to any certain kid like he did in the summer.  One of his classmates Josie and her little brother are in the class as well so that might have helped.  Then they went on a field trip to the New Albany library for school today.   I think his favorite part was seeing where the books go when you drop them in the book return from outside.  All the kids got to check out one book that the teachers will take back to school for them to look at there.  I think Adam was pretty tired after all that.  I wish there was Sporties for Shorties and field trips everyday - minus the crazy that Adam gets when he's tired.

Contacted Westerville Schools

So I finally contacted Westerville schools to see if I could get Adam into speech therapy through them.  We love Columbus Speech and Hearing but with a new insurance year and $70 a visit, I thought we would try something we're already basically paying for.  I emailed the special needs preschool secretary to find out how to go about getting an assessment.  The first red flag was "after the second screening...if your child is eligible, would write an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and get him ready to start school in our program”.  Umm, start school in your program?  So I asked if that just meant starting therapy through the school or actually taking him out of Central College and sending him there (Adam would NOT be happy about that).  She said normally the child would come to their school but they offered "itinerant" services where I could bring him to the ELC each week.  But I would be contacted by someone soon to discuss any questions I had.

Yesterday I got the call from Ms. O'Leary.  After asking some questions about Adam and his speech and development, she said she was sorry but his issues are too minor.  She said they could come and do a first screening if we wanted but she could pretty much guarantee there would be no second one and he would not qualify.  Apparently, much like the birth to 3/Help Me Grow Program, if your child does not have major delays, you don't qualify.   She said to try again through the schools next year once he is in Kindergarten but speech for preschool is only offered through special needs. As thankful as I am that his Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome has given us very few issues, it's still a little frustrating.  

Snowflake Castle

***I thought I posted this a couple of weeks ago but noticed it said draft so pretend this is Dec 9th***

Friday I took Adam to Snowflake Castle here in Westerville.  It used to be held at the Senior Center but this year they moved it to Everal Barn and Homestead to make it more like the elves workshop and Santa's home.  For $5, your child got to help the elves make a toy and get a picture with Santa.  When we got upstairs to the elf workshop, Adam was like "Is this all there is??"  I'm not sure what he was expecting - there wasn't that much at the Senior Center and this was way cooler. The kids got a choice to build a wooden castle, a wooden bear or a wooden train.  I thought the train was the best but Adam decided on a castle.  He was handed a grocery bag of parts and told to wait until an elf was free.  Once one was free (it was only a couple of minutes) we handed him our bag of parts.  The first thing he had Adam do was stamp the bottom (it smeared but I think it said Snowflake Castle, Santa Cringle, Elfin Mike).  Then he got out the power tools!  Adam got to drill some holes and hammer in some nails to put his castle together! It even snowed once while Adam was drilling.  Magical elf workshop!  Once it was complete, they had an area with smocks and paint to finish their creations.

After that, Adam spent some time watching the model trains.  That was always his favorite part at the Senior Center so I'm glad they were able to set them up here.

All that was really left to do was to check out Santa.  We walked over to the house.  There was only one other family in front of us so the elf went ahead and punched our ticket for the photo with Santa.  Adam was wavering (he really doesn't like Santa for some reason).  I told him I would stand next to Santa and he could stand next to me like we did for some of the Disney characters. Nope! He said he would rather go to the Santa at the mall.  So we headed home.  Halfway home, he tells me to turn around and go back.  I asked why.  He said he changed his mind and wanted to get a picture taken for daddy to give it to him for Christmas. (Aww - that's sweet!)  I explained that they were closing soon and by the time we got back they would say no because they were closing.  Plus, they already punched the photo spot on his ticket and they might not believe that we didn't already get our picture taken.  So - we may be going to the mall this week...

Bag of parts

Learning how to use the drill

Putting the nails in the drilled holes

Hammering

Painting

Done

Trains

Finished front

Finished back

Christmas Songs at School

Christmas party at school

Here is a video of Adam's class singing some Christmas songs.  Adam's lips are bright red from a chocolate and red sprinkled covered pretzel.

 

 

 

"Rudolph" Lego that he made without any directions

Olive right before she fell off the couch the other night.