We found our school!

Meredith will be attending a classroom that is part of the local regional Bi-Co program at the Jordan-Jackson School in Mansfield. Or as we are having fun calling it - the Michael Jordan Michael Jackson School : ) We are so excited! The thing that stood out most to us about this school is the sincere warmth of the staff. It's was really a beautiful thing to see. We loved everybody we met there, most of all her teacher, Sara. We just clicked with the staff. We parked our car in the lot and started walking up to the entrance when a side door opened and a nice lady leaned out and said "you must be the Lewis family, I'm Sara, the Bi-Co teacher!" Before we even walked in the door, things were feeling good. It just felt like a warm comfy shoe being there. The space is HUGE with plenty of room for lots of equipment and group activities. It's clean, organized and feels established - it's been there since 1992. We met 4 of the other students, 3 girls and a boy, ages 5-7. Come fall, there will be 6 total students including Meredith. One girl ran up to Greg and gave him a hug. The children were really happy, lots of smiles and laughs. They were having circle time (with switches and a huge projected "movie"on a wall) when we showed up. Lots of clapping, laughing, singing - all things Meredith will adore. Meredith was full of smiles just watching the other kids have circle time. The staff was super attentive to Meredith, interacted with her a lot and showered her with lots of love and smiles, which us parents eat right up. It was clear they had read through all her reports and seemed quite familiar with what she's been up to. It's a 12-month program with a week off in August - so Meredith will be a busy lady! But since Greg and I work full time, this actually works quite well. She'll go to school 5 days a week and will be picked up at the house in a van or bus around 8:15 and she'll be dropped off at home around 3:15. There is a nurse in the classroom at all times and there are 3 aides. They have a big bathroom off the classroom where they work on potty training with all the kids - even if its just sitting on the potty for a few minutes each day to get used to it. They have nap time after lunch where kids can sleep, stretch out or just rest. We knew pretty much right away on our tour that this place was the winner, so we just came out and told them we wanted to send her here. They were thrilled and a couple of phone calls later, we are almost buttoned up. I feel really good about this transition to school mostly because I really think meredith is ready for it. She's ready for the interaction, the curriculum and all the learning. She's going to do great there! She should start right around her third birthday - June 13th : )