I finally have a scheduled appointment tomorrow to set up Jordan's 504 plan before she starts Kindergarten in a few weeks. A 504 is different from an Individual Education Plan or IEP - it's less structured but it gives me some legal control in making sure Jordan gets the best educational experience possible. Last week, Jordan had a chance to visit school and take part in Kindergarten assessment. She did a pretty darn good job for a little girl who has been so active this summer, we didn't spend a lot of time just studying words and letters. (She had a hard time between a capital "U" and "V" during the assessment.) She certainly proved she's Kindergarten-ready. All the preschool learning has put her in a great position for school.

Setting up a 504 plan at her school is my way to make sure every teacher who works with Jordan is mindful of one and two handed activities. If there are two handed activities, I need the teacher to think ahead of time on how he or she can alter the work for Jordan. I don't want disruption in the middle of the class where the activity is underway when the teacher and Jordan realize this may be tricky with one hand. I want the teacher to contact me 24 hours in advance to make sure we can come up with a solution if he or she cannot. Jordan will probably have a solution if I don't!

I also wrote a little book that I hope to print and share with Jordan's class and the other Kindergarten classrooms. We'll bring all of Jordan's helper arms to share with everyone and make sure it isn't scary... it's just a part of Jordan being Jordan.

Let me know what you think about the book and if you have any 504 Plan ideas!

Jordan Kindergarten Book by Jen Lee Reeves on Scribd

(By the way - the last line of the book is similar to a book shared to me by a mom in the Little Fins group in Minnesota. The limb difference community is so wonderful when it comes to thinking about starting new stages in life and helping our kids succeed!)