Chase and the Kindergarten Graduation

Chaser graduated from Kindergarten last Thursday.

Here he is walking the green mile to his seat for the program.

Most kids loved the attention and experience. Chase...well...by the look on his face, I"m not so sure! :) His teacher said they practiced alot, so he knew what he was doing, but he sure didn't know why! I love that they gave him the opportunity to participate in it. He LOVED going to Kindergarten. He would ask his autism teacher all day if he could go to Kindergarten. He would say to her: "Let's go to Kindergarten!" The kids in both the morning and afternoon classes were so good to Chase. They always said Hello and tried to get him involved in things. I know kids won't always be that nice to Chase as he gets older and moves up the grades, but for now, kids are so sweet! And any child who bullies him later on in school will have to answer to me, and they do not want that experience I tell you what!!! Because I will unleash the mama bear and she's Irish! Anyway, I digress, so, he would attend Kindergarten twice a day for a half an hour, and then go back to his autism classroom. I am so thankful the Kindergarten teacher was so willing and open to have Chase in there. Thank you Mrs. Messerli (pictured with Chase)

(Who's kid cries when he's handed his graduation diploma?? Mine! See...Chase knows that it's good to be unique and different, and the boy isn't afraid to show it! :)

(Here he is with one of the teacher assistants, Ms Kathleen, who is totally awesome! She always insisted on Chase saying "Hello Ms Kathleen" to her every morning. I know that was instrumental in Chase being able to finally say Hello to everyone and saying their name after the Hello! (most of the time, if he knows your name :)

(He's done with wearing the grad hat)

Chase with his teacher Ms Holli. Don't let Chase's expression fool you. He truly does LOVE his autism teacher. He was just plum darn sick and tired of me takin pics..what's with the gang sign he's throwin though anyways....She is THE BEST teacher in the world and has made Chase progress leaps and bounds this year. SHE potty trained Chase, not me. There's no way in the world I could thank her enough for that. Do you know how long I worried about how to potty train him? How do you potty train a child who has autism, was 5 years old, showed NO INTEREST in it and didn't mind wearing pull ups all day, and was non-verbal to boot?
This year, Chase has learned to talk, ask for things, perform simple tasks, and use the potty!
Halleluiah, life just got a little bit, nay, a lot easier!
Now, if I could just have my hubs back home safe and sound....
Next month!!!