Next Steps for Peanut

Little Man is established in school and enjoying himself immensely.  In fact, he informed me today that he doesn't like the half day on Monday and can't wait to have long days the rest of the week.  So now it is Peanut's turn.  He has his meet the teacher orientation this Wednesday and then will start school on Thursday.  We made the decision to change preschools this year and I have been wondering if we made the right decision for him.  I know that if we were at his other school he would know so many people there and be able to run right down the hall and into his classroom.  We have been visiting at least once a week at his new school and doing the same thing, but the hallways are different and the faces aren't familiar.  On Friday, Papa Bear took Peanut and Sweet Pea to walk the hallways and play at the park one last time before his first day and he had a chance meeting with both of his teachers.  He got to see his classroom, see where his cubby is and talk to his teacher who was using sign language as she spoke to him.  All of this was reassuring.  But today I got the most confirming sign that we made the right decision.  I had a meeting with Peanut's new case worker on his IEP team, Mrs. S.  She is amazing and a breath of fresh air when it comes to Peanut's speech needs.  She was only assigned to him because she is assigned to the preschool that we choose for him and if we had gone anywhere else, she wouldn't be a part of his team.  In the 24 hours that she has been on his team she has tracked down his new SLP, received permission to be a part of the GW program speech, and added his goals that were written by the GW Speech team as an addendum to his IEP.  We aren't working against each other.  She genuinely wants to help Peanut and wants to be a part of his success.  So my heart still flutters when I think about dropping him off on Thursday, but it is at peace that this is the best decision for him.  Papa Bear and I am really looking forward to watching the progress and seeing all of the strides he is going to take this year.  It is hard to imagine that Sweet Pea and I will be on our own for a few hours every week.  Oh the trouble we plan to get in!