Field trip

I recently went on a field trip to the art center with Nathan's pre-k class from daycare. He wasn't in a great mood, and the visual arts are not really his thing, so I did not expect this to be a fantastic experience. Add in a baby who had not napped yet, and I was pretty much expecting it would be a disaster all up until lunchtime.

Nathan did not do great in the gallery, more interested in echoing and whining than in looking at art and materials. He could not be persuaded to sit in a circle to pass around plants and seeds or listen to a story. He did not want to try different fruits. He threw pine cones, sang Happy Birthday, generally was not participating in the activities with his peers.

All of this made me think about kindergarten, and about how Nathan does need a lot of extra help to engage and participate. Even with my help, he was present but not engaged, and at times was disruptive.

It was only 11 and I was thinking maybe we should break off from the group, play at the playground, do something less stressful until lunch, but then I heard that the next activity was a hip hop dance performance and I suspected Nathan would enjoy that. We stuck it out for the next 15 minutes until the performance.

Nathan very much enjoyed the music and dancing. After the short performance by children from a summer dance camp, the instructor got Nathan's class on stage to try out some dance moves. Nathan got up on stage, did a little dancing. He sat down for a bit but did get back up, danced (mostly his own dance), and high-fived the instructor. It's still hard for him to copy moves, but he was stomping (his attempt at jumping) when she said to jump, putting hands up when prompted, giving it a go, at least for a bit.

Life cannot be about only doing the fun parts and skipping the rest, but I think for Nathan the key is figuring out how to engage him in the stuff that is less fun and more challenging.

When Nathan starts kindergarten in a couple of weeks, he will be in a special day class most of the day. I hear a lot from other parents about the need for inclusion and the ways in which it benefits "our kids". I think, though, Nathan really needs someone who is skilled working to motivate him to do the non-fun stuff...which for him is much of the stuff! Watching his typical peers succeed with relative ease is NOT motivating for him. At the same time, there are those moments, like some if the moments up on stage with the hip hop dance instructor, where he does engage and does try. I want him to have access to those opportunities and to be able to be included with his peers, but I don't want him to be frustrated most of the day. I think he needs to experience a lot of success, to feel good about school, to feel competent. I'm hopeful that his kindergarten experience will be this way. And I think that it's going to take a special education environment and some really good people to help make that happen.