I had a conference yesterday with Kayla’s teacher. Kayla is doing really well in school. Her teacher said she still has some trouble sitting for circle time, but she is improving. She is impressed with Kayla’s knowledge and skills and said she knows more letters and numbers than most kids her age and even some kids older than her. She counts really well and impresses her teacher with how well she can match the numbers with the number of block on some of their materials. She can also match some items with the letter they start with. Her teacher said she is very bright and at times it gets her to forget how young she really is (she is the youngest in the class). I think J and I do this sometimes with the girls, especially Alysa. She is still working on her thumb sucking – reminding her, having her wash her hands, etc. We do that too, but from what I’ve been told, we can’t push the issue until she is five. It doesn’t look like she’ll be giving up her thumb voluntarily anytime soon. She also said that Kayla is very sweet and really likes school (this I knew) and Kayla gives her a hug every day before she leaves to go home.

I took the opportunity of one-on-one time to reiterate some of Kayla’s allergy stuff. It made me feel good to know that the epi-pens are stored where they should be and that the epi’s are within easy reach when they are outside on the playground. She said that they do NOT serve any blatantly dairy snacks in Kayla’s classroom – no gold fish or cheese crackers, no cheese or yogurt, etc. This made me especially happy. I did not request this when she started, so it makes me feel extra good to know they took this extra initiative on their own.

We discussed briefly that she will not be here next year. Thankfully, the teacher’s assistant will be the same, so there will be one adult in the classroom who is familiar with Kayla’s allergy. The assistant is also the one who prepares all the snacks. So over the summer, I will meet with the new teacher and request that her assistant be there to help with the new teacher and to give her a refresher.

Some other wonderful school news that I got yesterday – they have decided to serve water ice instead of the ice cream man! I had given them a list of suggestions on Monday and I got a note back yesterday saying they need suggestions from me on the hot dog and bun brands and that they are taking my suggestion and serving Rita’s Water Ice. Out of their 63’ish flavors, more than half are free of the Top 8 Allergens. You can see their list of flavors and allergen information here. There has been no mention so far of a change in the side dish, so I am thinking they are going to stick with the macaroni and cheese. But…that is much more workable than the messy ice cream. Her teacher realizes that my ability to help handle the other foods will be limited since my main goal will be to watch out for Kayla. I am thrilled with the compromises and accommodations they have made for Kayla.

I am glad to be finishing off Kayla’s first year of preschool with such a good feeling about her school. It will make her start of her second year much less anxiety-ridden, even with her change in teacher.