Due to a sudden blast of winter weather, we actually missed school on Monday and Tuesday this week. When we arrived on Wednesday the class was chomping at the bit to see Toddler Girl. Unfortunately, for unexplained reasons, she missed school that day. But Thursday morning she was shepherded into my room by our guidance counselor, wide eyed and stone faced - clearly overwhelmed by the squeals of joy to greeted her appearance in our doorway.
Luckily for her, I am very much a set-in-my-ways, dependable as clockwork, orderly sort of teacher so very little in our room or routine had changed in her month away from us. That first morning was spent in a state of shocked disbelief, but by lunchtime I noticed some signs of thawing and by afternoon it was almost like she had never been gone. She slipped right back into our classroom, filling that Toddler Girl sized hole we had in our midst. We were all delighted to have her back, even Thing One and Van Gogh.
Thursday afternoon the head of the SPED dept. came down to visit with me. She wanted to assure me that Toddler Girl's SPED paperwork was all signed and in order and to fill me in on a few comments Toddler Mom had made while they were going over the papers. In the interest of not totally violating her right to privacy, suffice it to say that there is good cause to believe many of Toddler Girl's issues are directly related to her home environment and the sort of care she got as a baby and toddler. It was heartbreaking to hear all that she has been through in her 5 short years and I have a whole new level of patience with her. I may be the only person in the world who actually gives a damn about her and her development, if everything Mom said to SPED Head is true! I thought I had finally developed that crusty shell that older teachers have, that allows you to love the kids without breaking your heart over them. Toddler Girl has found a crack in my crust and is quickly worming her way in next to my heart.
I can't wait to see what the new year brings for my little classroom family!
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