(Video of Sean "singing")
Showing posts with label School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label School. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Fall Festival at School
Aidan and Sean's school celebrated their Fall Festival today (they don't "do" Halloween, but it sure looked like a Halloween party!) The kids didn't have to wear their uniforms, instead they could wear jeans and an appropriate favorite tee shirt. Ella and I arrived to attend the party right as all the classes paraded out to the playground to show off their favorite shirts to each other. The principal led them in a game of Instigator, which they all seemed to enjoy.
When we returned to the classroom, Sean's teacher warned the class that there was someone strange hiding in the room. The principal joined her to see who was inside. It was a witch! A narrator read the kids the book Humbug Witch while the witch acted out the story.
All the kids were so quiet and attentive!
Ella got very scared of the witch and burst into tears so I held her until the story ended. Now when she looks at the photos, she says, "Ella cry!"
After the story, the kids got to drink a glass of the witch's brew and eat the pumpkin cookies they made earlier.
His teacher had a couple of games planned for them to do, so Ella and I walked down to Aidan's class to see him. We showed up just in time to see him have snacks. Then it was time to pack up and go home.
When we got back to Sean's room to get him, the were playing a Hot Potato game using mini pumpkins. Sean did not like the happy laughing and music, so he was sitting alone with his hands over his ears. :( My poor baby. I sat with him to try to relax him and another mom said, "He is just so cute! When I saw him on the first day of school, I said I want to scoop him up and take him home!" (Uh, thanks for the warning, lady!) After the game ended, Sean's teacher gave him a mini-pumpkin to take home and that cheered him up.
The boys brought home lots of fun goodies and candy from the party. They are super pumped to go trick-or-treating!
When we returned to the classroom, Sean's teacher warned the class that there was someone strange hiding in the room. The principal joined her to see who was inside. It was a witch! A narrator read the kids the book Humbug Witch while the witch acted out the story.
All the kids were so quiet and attentive!
Ella got very scared of the witch and burst into tears so I held her until the story ended. Now when she looks at the photos, she says, "Ella cry!"
After the story, the kids got to drink a glass of the witch's brew and eat the pumpkin cookies they made earlier.
His teacher had a couple of games planned for them to do, so Ella and I walked down to Aidan's class to see him. We showed up just in time to see him have snacks. Then it was time to pack up and go home.
When we got back to Sean's room to get him, the were playing a Hot Potato game using mini pumpkins. Sean did not like the happy laughing and music, so he was sitting alone with his hands over his ears. :( My poor baby. I sat with him to try to relax him and another mom said, "He is just so cute! When I saw him on the first day of school, I said I want to scoop him up and take him home!" (Uh, thanks for the warning, lady!) After the game ended, Sean's teacher gave him a mini-pumpkin to take home and that cheered him up.
The boys brought home lots of fun goodies and candy from the party. They are super pumped to go trick-or-treating!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Random Seanies from the Week
Just some bits and pieces about Sean from the past week. Never enough to write a lengthy blog, but fun to remember anyway.
~One of Sean's ears was draining pretty bad last weekend, so we started the week off with a trip to his pediatrician and meds for an infection. (He has tubes, got them last year, they are still in place, this is the 3rd infection he's had with them.) Sean is really good about taking antibiotics, but is not a fan of the ear drops. I'm wondering if it's time to see the ENT again. Sean's usually such a good patient (with the exception of anything that requires sticking tape-like things on him.) He even used to be really good about giving blood, up until the last draw he had this summer. Even as a newborn, he would make a little cry when they first pricked his skin, then he'd just calmly sit through the rest. I remember it being very unnerving to a tech once! Some kids that have to see a doctor so much more frequently have a strong fear of them, Sean's the opposite, he's the pro that knows the routine!
~We showed up for school one morning last week at the same time as a girl that looked like she might be in kindergarten. I asked Sean if he wanted to say hi to her and he did. I asked her if she was in the same class as Sean and she said yes. Once inside, she asked me if she could walk Sean to class. I asked him if he wanted to and he said yes, so they held hands and headed down the hall together. He glanced back over his shoulder with a wave and big smile, "Bye, Mom! Bye, Aidan! See you later!"
~Friday night, Doug and I had a bottle of wine with dinner. Sean peered at Doug's glass of wine and Doug offered to let him smell it. Sean took a sniff and a little light bulb went off in his head. He pinched his thumb and index finger together, then lowered his hand into the glass of Merlot, dipping his fingers in the wine. He pulled them out and licked his fingers, saying "Amen."
~Saturday, after we picked up Grandma from the airport, we all went out to lunch together at an upscale burger/steak place. Sean's favorite thing to munch on at a restaurant is french fries, so we ordered a side of fries for him. They brought out a huge plateful of shoestring-style fries, which Sean loves. Given enough time, he'd eat the whole mound, but he eats very slowly, one fry at a time, dipping each bite in ketchup. Grandma snuck a fry off his plate and nearly lost her hand when he snapped, "No GamGaw! It's MINE! Sean fries!"
~Sunday afternoon, we came home from church and there was a message on the answering machine for Sean. It was one of his kindergarten classmate's moms. She said her son was asking her all day if he could call Sean and talk to him on the phone. She left her number, so Doug called her back and they gave the boys the phone to talk to each other. Mind you, Sean's phone conversations tend to be a mix of words, gestures and babbling, he often talks about what he's doing/playing with/looking at. I'm sure it was an interesting conversation! How funny! I don't even know which kid this is, I think I will have to have Sean's teacher point him out today at pick up time.
~One of Sean's ears was draining pretty bad last weekend, so we started the week off with a trip to his pediatrician and meds for an infection. (He has tubes, got them last year, they are still in place, this is the 3rd infection he's had with them.) Sean is really good about taking antibiotics, but is not a fan of the ear drops. I'm wondering if it's time to see the ENT again. Sean's usually such a good patient (with the exception of anything that requires sticking tape-like things on him.) He even used to be really good about giving blood, up until the last draw he had this summer. Even as a newborn, he would make a little cry when they first pricked his skin, then he'd just calmly sit through the rest. I remember it being very unnerving to a tech once! Some kids that have to see a doctor so much more frequently have a strong fear of them, Sean's the opposite, he's the pro that knows the routine!
~We showed up for school one morning last week at the same time as a girl that looked like she might be in kindergarten. I asked Sean if he wanted to say hi to her and he did. I asked her if she was in the same class as Sean and she said yes. Once inside, she asked me if she could walk Sean to class. I asked him if he wanted to and he said yes, so they held hands and headed down the hall together. He glanced back over his shoulder with a wave and big smile, "Bye, Mom! Bye, Aidan! See you later!"
~Friday night, Doug and I had a bottle of wine with dinner. Sean peered at Doug's glass of wine and Doug offered to let him smell it. Sean took a sniff and a little light bulb went off in his head. He pinched his thumb and index finger together, then lowered his hand into the glass of Merlot, dipping his fingers in the wine. He pulled them out and licked his fingers, saying "Amen."
~Saturday, after we picked up Grandma from the airport, we all went out to lunch together at an upscale burger/steak place. Sean's favorite thing to munch on at a restaurant is french fries, so we ordered a side of fries for him. They brought out a huge plateful of shoestring-style fries, which Sean loves. Given enough time, he'd eat the whole mound, but he eats very slowly, one fry at a time, dipping each bite in ketchup. Grandma snuck a fry off his plate and nearly lost her hand when he snapped, "No GamGaw! It's MINE! Sean fries!"
~Sunday afternoon, we came home from church and there was a message on the answering machine for Sean. It was one of his kindergarten classmate's moms. She said her son was asking her all day if he could call Sean and talk to him on the phone. She left her number, so Doug called her back and they gave the boys the phone to talk to each other. Mind you, Sean's phone conversations tend to be a mix of words, gestures and babbling, he often talks about what he's doing/playing with/looking at. I'm sure it was an interesting conversation! How funny! I don't even know which kid this is, I think I will have to have Sean's teacher point him out today at pick up time.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Who's kids are these?
oh em gee, theses are some goofy school pics the boys took! Aidan, with his zipped-lip grin, is trying to hide his shark front tooth. (He has an adult tooth coming in faster than a baby tooth is coming out.)
And, I can honestly say, I have never seen Sean make this weird chin-jutting, eyebrows-popping face before! LOL
Good thing we only pre-purchased the $10 package!
And, I can honestly say, I have never seen Sean make this weird chin-jutting, eyebrows-popping face before! LOL
Good thing we only pre-purchased the $10 package!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Hippotherapy for Children with Down Syndrome
Sean's teacher emailed me a few photos from the last session he had at the Reins of Hope hippotherapy center.
I'm just so glad to see how much he is continuing to enjoy his sessions there! I grew up riding horses every chance I could during my summer trips to visit my grandmother in the Colorado Rockies. Being able to share a passion for horsebacking riding with Sean is such a dream. In a few years, we will both be able to go on trail rides together through the mountains.
For now, his time on a horse is not a means for sight-seeing, but rather an opportunity to strengthen his core trunk muscles, coordinate his motor planning skills, and teaches him concepts like left, right, stop, go, front, back. It's also a great vocabulary-building tool.
Best of all, it's therapy that makes him happy!
While looking at the new photos, it made me want to dig up old photos from when he first went as a toddler. He was a petite boy, just 30 months old when he began. He went from only walking with a walker to independently walking within a few months of hippotherapy.
A cute video of an early session.
Some photos of Sean after he started walking. He'd get so excited when we pulled in to the stables. He even mastered opening the gates.
If you can get your child into hippothereapy, I'd highly recommend it! If you don't have a child that needs therapy, but have time to volunteer, you can look at The American Hippotherapy Association to find a therapy center near you. Most hippotherapy services are run on a volunteer program and fees for riders can be covered through medical card insurance, the public school system, or on an income sliding scale.
I'm just so glad to see how much he is continuing to enjoy his sessions there! I grew up riding horses every chance I could during my summer trips to visit my grandmother in the Colorado Rockies. Being able to share a passion for horsebacking riding with Sean is such a dream. In a few years, we will both be able to go on trail rides together through the mountains.
For now, his time on a horse is not a means for sight-seeing, but rather an opportunity to strengthen his core trunk muscles, coordinate his motor planning skills, and teaches him concepts like left, right, stop, go, front, back. It's also a great vocabulary-building tool.
Best of all, it's therapy that makes him happy!
While looking at the new photos, it made me want to dig up old photos from when he first went as a toddler. He was a petite boy, just 30 months old when he began. He went from only walking with a walker to independently walking within a few months of hippotherapy.
A cute video of an early session.
Some photos of Sean after he started walking. He'd get so excited when we pulled in to the stables. He even mastered opening the gates.
If you can get your child into hippothereapy, I'd highly recommend it! If you don't have a child that needs therapy, but have time to volunteer, you can look at The American Hippotherapy Association to find a therapy center near you. Most hippotherapy services are run on a volunteer program and fees for riders can be covered through medical card insurance, the public school system, or on an income sliding scale.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Preparing for Kindergarten Transition: All Systems Go!
Time for a long overdue post and it's a long one! The resolution of my months (okay, I admit it, years) of worrying about how Sean would adjust to attending grade school. I had so many fears about how he would be accepted, whether or not he'd make friends, how'd he manage the long school day, would he eat there, will he continue to grow and learn new skills, would he be able to manage his school uniform, etc.
I am so, so, so entirely pleased to say.....
it's all good.
Never underestimate our children!! (That goes for me, too, sometimes mom and dad need reminders as well.)
Let's see, let me tell ya about how Sean's kindergarten experience has been going.
1. Communications with his teachers has gone pretty well. Since we live close to school, Sean does not ride the bus. Therefore, Doug or I see his teachers twice a day and can exchange verbal updates. He has two folders in his backpack, one from the mainstream class and one from the resource room class. Almost everyday I get papers from them. Projects he's working on, class schedules, notes about how his day went.
So far we've only had one disagreement about their procedures. Since all of the children wear uniforms, it can be hard to quickly recognize kids that might need extra help on the playground. We were asked at the beginning of the year if it would be okay if Sean wore a bright orange safety vest during recess until the various recess helpers had time to get to know the kids. They have used them in the past as a way of quickly keeping an eye on kids that might wander off. My initial reaction was "Absolutely not!" I saw it as a way to separate him from his peers and felt it was unnecessary. Then Doug and talked it over and thought, "Well, we want to make sure he's safe there. Wearing the vest would make it easier for them to watch him." We went back & forth on it over a weekend. Finally we concluded a compromise, no vest until Sean shows that he is attempting to leave school grounds and merits the extra "flag" so to speak. The school was fine with our decision and it doesn't seem to be a concern anymore.
Sean had a few bumps on the playground already this year, but they were not due to lack of attention from the recess teachers or his paras. Just normal schoolyard accidents- he took a soccer ball in the head & bent a pair of glasses. He skinned his knee one day and was furious that they put a band aid on him. (He hates stickers or band aids.)
2. Eating at school has gone exceptionally well. The first few weeks I packed his Goodbyn lunchbox with the slim variety of table foods he likes to eat. Currently that list is: plain sliced wheat bread, hot dog buns with ketchup (gross, I know!), fresh oranges cut into bite size pieces without rind, whole banana, applesauce, occasionally yogurt, sometimes blueberries, carrots or fresh broccoli with ranch dressing to dip in, animal crackers, and shredded lettuce salad with ranch dressing. If the school had a meal with french fries or tator tots, we'd let him buy a hot lunch that day so he could eat those. The boy goes to town on tots & fries.
I put money on his lunch account for him to buy a white milk for lunch every day. After the first month's funds were used up, the lunchroom clerk suggested that since he qualified for reduced lunches that I just let him buy a hot lunch every day and then send a couple things in his backpack to go along with what he might eat there. She said that he'd been doing really well trying some of the hot lunches and thought he might try more if he could get it every day. So we've been giving that a go. I'm never entirely sure what all he eats each day, rarely does anything come back in the his backpack.
They have an afternoon snack in the classroom every day and his teacher says he's been doing fabulous with that. She said she started a game with him, "one for you, one for me" and they eat a snack together until Sean has five bites of whatever they have that day. Awesome!
When he comes home, he is immediately hungry and eats a big after school snack, dinner and sometimes a bedtime snack. I think he's weight is being maintained, but haven't had a chance to get him weighed since school started.
3. Adjusting to the school uniform has also been surprisingly not a problem. He willingly wears his uniform every day. He can't tuck his own shirt in yet, but is capable of pulling his pants up and down & using his belt. We have a Myself Belt for him and it works just great for him. We bought Sketchers Z-Strap shoes for him because they are popular in his age group, easy for him to fasten, and fit with his shoe inserts.
We only had one potty accident at school and it was totally our fault. He has a camel bladder and will hold it all night and all morning for a very long time until he absolutely must go immediately and don't stand in his way. We have to prompt him to go in the morning before school otherwise he would gladly hold it until later (were talking no peeing for a good 13-14 hrs.) The morning he had an accident, we'd forgotten to prompt him to potty before school, and when he got there he was suppose to met with his new physical therapist for the first time. She was ready and waiting on him, so he didn't have time to settle in the class. She took him to the gym to work and apparently he told her he needed to potty then couldn't hold it long enough to get to the bathroom. I got a call to bring in spare shoes for him because every thing was soaked. (I had given them spare clothes at the beginning of the year.)
Now we are adamant about making sure one of us has seen him potty before we leave the house.
4. Sean's adjusted to the longer school day fairly well. He is there from 8:10 till 3:30. They only had a 15 min rest period in the school day, but recently cut it as the kids were doing well without it.
His teacher keeps a fairly tight schedule in the class and gave us a list of how the day is spent. 4 hours of his day is spent with the mainstream class and 3 hours is spent in the resource room. Sean's time in the resource room is spent focusing on the academics he needs to work on.
5. A wonderful part of his resource room education is a once a week trip to Reins of Hope for hippotherapy! We are so glad he gets to have this experience again. He did hippotherapy for 6 months when he was almost 2 1/2 until he turned 3. When he started hippotherapy he couldn't walk independently. When he finished it, he could easily walk from the car to the fence gate and into the arena! It is so beneficial for building core muscle strength. I need to ask his teacher if I can sneak out there to see him and take some photos.
6. And, lastly, just a brief recap of Sean's first Parent-Teacher Meeting as a kindergartner. I spoke with both teachers at once and they unanimously stated that they were extremely pleased with how he is doing. They feel he handles the transitions of the day very well and is very willing to do whatever task they ask of him. He's making friends and bonding well with his classmates.
The only concern that came up in my meetings was one regarding his older brother. Aidan has always felt the personal need to take on responsibility for his brother and sister when he is around them. He constantly checks on them and keeps tabs on what they are doing, he tries to direct their behaviors. Well, Sean and Aidan share some recess time together after lunch and Aidan was stepping right in to watch over Sean. Granted, he plays with him and invites his friend to play with Sean as well, but primarily he was telling the adults that he was in charge of Sean. It was obvious to the teachers that Aidan had a lot of anxiety about Sean's well-being. They wanted to reassure him that Sean was okay and that they were keeping an eye on him so Aidan should just enjoy his recess with his friends. Apparently, Aidan was also encouraging Sean to play superheros together, complete with pretend karate chopping each other. Big no-no at school.
Our decision was to encourage Aidan to relax about Sean, trust that the teachers care about him and will watch out for him. We told him that Sean is going to school to learn how to make friends with other kids, too, and that he needs recess time to play with kids his own age. We told him that it's okay to say hi to him and see how he is, but that it's important that he let Sean play with his classmates, too.
I think it helped. I'm confident that Sean is doing well there. I went to have lunch with them one day and stood by the fence watching them play for awhile at recess afterwards. Aidan saw me right away and ran over to say hi. I asked where Sean was and Aidan ran off to find him. A few minutes later, Sean came running over with two girls he was playing with, they said hi to me, then Sean said "Bye Mom!" and continued to play chase with the girls.
Yeah, he's doing alright.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
How I Spent My Summer Vacation: August
Phew, August was a super crazy month!
We kicked it off with lots of fun celebrating Eleanor's 2nd birthday. It was so fun to see her really enjoy everything about birthdays. We went out to lunch that day and got ice cream cones, then had Doug's parents over in the evening for dinner, cupcakes and gifts.
A few days later, we went to spend the weekend with my family where we celebrated her birthday again with them, as well as my nephew's birthday. We went to a great new water park near them and had a fun time together.
We had several weeks of mad-rush-before-school-starts activities. Our bathroom reno was in full force, so we had workmen at the house most days. My mom came out for a week while I caught up on appointments for myself.
Right before school started, we took Sean to see the pediatric cardiologist for a check up on his heart defect. It was a mostly good news appointment. While we didn't hear what we hoped for (that his heart is completely healed), we did hear that there has been a little improvement. He has an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) that used to have an Atrial Septal Aneurysm on it. That's right, I said used to have... it's GONE! So yay for that news! The ASD has not changed in size or in how it is affecting his heart performance. We don't have to bring him in for another heart check up for FIVE years! Woot!
What makes this all especially good news is that it combined with the fact that this time Sean was very very very unhappy to go through the testing. I had to hold him down to get the leads attached to him and the only way we could get him to lay still for the echocardiogram was to have him lay on top on me, while I held him and comforted him. I don't know why he was so against it this time, he was always compliant in the past. I seriously hope he outgrows it before the next check up because by age 11 he will be way too strong for me to hold. He put up such a fight getting the leads on that I didn't have the heart to fight him to get them off right away. He kept the "buttons" on until the next day when Doug and I held him down long enough to rub off the adhesive with some baby oil before giving him a bath. Poor little man!
There wasn't a whole lot of time left to enjoy lazy days at home. The boys had to make the most of their time together, with each other and with their little sister.
Before we knew it, it was time for the first day of school. Oh my goodness, my throat was tight watching my two boys walk into school that day! I want to pull them close and stop time, yet at the same instant wanted to applaud them as they bravely walked in with their heads held high. All my worries about Sean eased when the principal greeted him at the school door with, "Hi there! How are you today?" and my Seanie replied, "Happy!"
It doesn't get better than that.
We kicked it off with lots of fun celebrating Eleanor's 2nd birthday. It was so fun to see her really enjoy everything about birthdays. We went out to lunch that day and got ice cream cones, then had Doug's parents over in the evening for dinner, cupcakes and gifts.
A few days later, we went to spend the weekend with my family where we celebrated her birthday again with them, as well as my nephew's birthday. We went to a great new water park near them and had a fun time together.
We had several weeks of mad-rush-before-school-starts activities. Our bathroom reno was in full force, so we had workmen at the house most days. My mom came out for a week while I caught up on appointments for myself.
Right before school started, we took Sean to see the pediatric cardiologist for a check up on his heart defect. It was a mostly good news appointment. While we didn't hear what we hoped for (that his heart is completely healed), we did hear that there has been a little improvement. He has an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) that used to have an Atrial Septal Aneurysm on it. That's right, I said used to have... it's GONE! So yay for that news! The ASD has not changed in size or in how it is affecting his heart performance. We don't have to bring him in for another heart check up for FIVE years! Woot!
What makes this all especially good news is that it combined with the fact that this time Sean was very very very unhappy to go through the testing. I had to hold him down to get the leads attached to him and the only way we could get him to lay still for the echocardiogram was to have him lay on top on me, while I held him and comforted him. I don't know why he was so against it this time, he was always compliant in the past. I seriously hope he outgrows it before the next check up because by age 11 he will be way too strong for me to hold. He put up such a fight getting the leads on that I didn't have the heart to fight him to get them off right away. He kept the "buttons" on until the next day when Doug and I held him down long enough to rub off the adhesive with some baby oil before giving him a bath. Poor little man!
There wasn't a whole lot of time left to enjoy lazy days at home. The boys had to make the most of their time together, with each other and with their little sister.
Before we knew it, it was time for the first day of school. Oh my goodness, my throat was tight watching my two boys walk into school that day! I want to pull them close and stop time, yet at the same instant wanted to applaud them as they bravely walked in with their heads held high. All my worries about Sean eased when the principal greeted him at the school door with, "Hi there! How are you today?" and my Seanie replied, "Happy!"
It doesn't get better than that.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
A Trial Run with the Goodbyn Lunchboxes
After researching ideas for helping Sean eat at school when he gets in Kindergarten, I decided to invest in a Goodbyn Lunchbox for him to use. I was looking for something that would be easy for him to manipulate, that wouldn't produce trash like disposable packaging, and that would be very kid-attractive. The other option I had considered was Laptop Lunches, which I've eyed for years but hadn't purchased. The pro's to Goodbyn is that it is a single unit piece so we don't need to keep track of lots of lids and boxes, plus Sean doesn't have the fine motor skills yet to open that type of packaging.
I wanted to get our Goodbyn's now so that we can work on using them over the summer and encouraging Sean to eat what we pack in them. I also bought one for Aidan to use on the occasional days he'd like a cold lunch so that he can serve as our peer role model. Siblings are nice that way. ;)
The order arrived very quickly and the boys were eager to start decorating their Goodbyn's. The only guidance I gave them was the suggestion to spell out their names on them, just in case anyone else happens to use a Goodbyn. Other than that, they both just had a blast designing their own boxes.
We went on a field trip with Sean's class to the zoo shortly after getting our Goodbyn's, so the night before the trip I decided we should take their lunches for a Goodbyn test drive. I put together lunches based on what we had in the fridge.
Here's Aidan's (top row: teddy grahams, pears & spoon, dried cranberries. middle row: ranch dressing, water bottle/napkin. bottom row: cheerio snack mix, ham & cheese "man" sandwich, carrot sticks.)
And Sean's (top row: yogurt, applesauce. middle row: water bottle/napkin. bottom row: ranch dressing, sliced bread, carrots.)
If I would of planned it earlier, I would of filled the drink boxes with water and put them in the fridge the night before to use as a cooling element. Luckily the weather wasn't that hot and everything was a good temp when we ate. I did learn that I need to make sure each cubby section is snapped down tightly all the way around, because there was a gap by Aidan's ranch dressing and it spilled over a bit. I also should put a straw in for Sean to use because he thought it was more fun to tip the water into his bread section than it was to drink it. I hope to gradually change him from yogurt cups to just eating yogurt/applesauce directly out of the box so he doesn't have to have help opening those.
The verdict: Goodbyn's hold a lot of food! The boys enjoyed picking things out to eat. Sean did pretty good for a first run: he ate several bites of carrot dipped in ranch, a couple bites of bread, a bite of applesauce, and half the yogurt. He was pretty distracted by all his classmates and the setting so he didn't venture into the meal too excited to eat. Aidan ate most of his food, we packed a bit much for him.
I've found a couple of Goodbyn blogs to follow and gleam ideas from: Goodbyn Lunch Ideas, a British working woman's blog, Leslie's Bento Blog, and Fun with Lunch.
I wanted to get our Goodbyn's now so that we can work on using them over the summer and encouraging Sean to eat what we pack in them. I also bought one for Aidan to use on the occasional days he'd like a cold lunch so that he can serve as our peer role model. Siblings are nice that way. ;)
The order arrived very quickly and the boys were eager to start decorating their Goodbyn's. The only guidance I gave them was the suggestion to spell out their names on them, just in case anyone else happens to use a Goodbyn. Other than that, they both just had a blast designing their own boxes.
We went on a field trip with Sean's class to the zoo shortly after getting our Goodbyn's, so the night before the trip I decided we should take their lunches for a Goodbyn test drive. I put together lunches based on what we had in the fridge.
Here's Aidan's (top row: teddy grahams, pears & spoon, dried cranberries. middle row: ranch dressing, water bottle/napkin. bottom row: cheerio snack mix, ham & cheese "man" sandwich, carrot sticks.)
And Sean's (top row: yogurt, applesauce. middle row: water bottle/napkin. bottom row: ranch dressing, sliced bread, carrots.)
If I would of planned it earlier, I would of filled the drink boxes with water and put them in the fridge the night before to use as a cooling element. Luckily the weather wasn't that hot and everything was a good temp when we ate. I did learn that I need to make sure each cubby section is snapped down tightly all the way around, because there was a gap by Aidan's ranch dressing and it spilled over a bit. I also should put a straw in for Sean to use because he thought it was more fun to tip the water into his bread section than it was to drink it. I hope to gradually change him from yogurt cups to just eating yogurt/applesauce directly out of the box so he doesn't have to have help opening those.
The verdict: Goodbyn's hold a lot of food! The boys enjoyed picking things out to eat. Sean did pretty good for a first run: he ate several bites of carrot dipped in ranch, a couple bites of bread, a bite of applesauce, and half the yogurt. He was pretty distracted by all his classmates and the setting so he didn't venture into the meal too excited to eat. Aidan ate most of his food, we packed a bit much for him.
I've found a couple of Goodbyn blogs to follow and gleam ideas from: Goodbyn Lunch Ideas, a British working woman's blog, Leslie's Bento Blog, and Fun with Lunch.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Preparing for Kindergarten Transition, Phase 4: The IEP
This morning, we attended our IEP (Individualized Education Plan) Meeting to determine Sean's academic placement for Kindergarten. We had planned for a long meeting, but it went surprisingly fast thanks to the fact we had already met once to go over the testing results. Sean's teacher invited Sean to the meeting so that he could meet his new team members and he ended up choosing to snuggle up on my lap, then Daddy's, for the whole meeting. He was so quiet and shy!
We were notified that Sean is to attend the school we chose, with the teacher we chose. He will be at the same school as Aidan and have Aidan's former teacher, who we really are happy with. We also met the resource room teacher and the speech pathologist for the school. Sean's new teacher encourages as much inclusion time as possible for Sean, so he will be in her room at least 50% of the day. His pull out sessions will be for speech and academic focuses. He will start and end each day in the mainstream classroom. He will be there for art, language group, music, PE, recesses, social studies and science. His resource teacher will focus on his writing skill development and early math skills. While he is in the mainstream class, he will have an aide to assist him as needed.
Some of our concerns we addressed: uniform requirements, assistance for lunch, and potty independence. We heard very reassuring feedback on all of these issues.
The school dress code is khaki pants with a belt and a polo shirt tucked in. With Aidan, we were able to find pants that fit him loose enough that he could pull them up & down without buckling & unbuckling, yet the tucked in shirt helped keep them up. I'm hoping they fit Sean the same way. The teachers said that the kids all wear their uniforms as specified throughout the school, but are given the freedom to take off the belts in the resource room if needed. They said ALL the kindergartners need help most of the first year with buckles, buttons, zips, and tucking.
We brainstormed some ideas for adjusting Sean to eating more at school. I suggested that I could purchase milk in cafeteria style cartons to practice with Sean over the summer. He gets a lot of his calories from milk but is very specific about the container he drinks from right now. *ducking head* He prefers sippy spout cups still for milk, but likes juice or water from straw cups. I'm hoping to boldly ban sippy cups this summer and focus solely on straw cups and open cups for Sean and Ella. I think it will just be easier if I get rid of all of them and neither uses them. Well, easier on Sean but not so much my floors.
My other plan is to transition Sean to non-purees for lunches this summer. I think I can get him to eat a lunch consisting of a banana or blueberries, yogurt or applesauce, and hopefully either a small salad or a bread & cheese sandwich cut into bites. The kindergarten room has a mini-fridge I can use for the yogurt. I am planning on ordering these lunchboxes to help him eat independently.
My concern on potty independence is that Sean often waits till the last second to go to the bathroom and I was worried his clothes would slow him down causing accidents. He also uses a potty ring at home because he is so small he needs the added support. The resource room bathroom has a potty ring available, so that will be helpful. Of course, I'm hoping he's like Aidan and just waits to take care of that at home.
The IEP goals for the next year seem very attainable in most areas and the team even suggested that he may meet many of them earlier than a year so we will add more as the year progresses. Reading them gave me some ideas on things to work on this summer.
Due to budget cuts, he does not qualify for summer school at the preschool. His kindergarten teacher suggested a program at their school called Summer Scholars with run for a month in July, 4 days a week, 1/2 day. We are going to look into that for Sean as I think it will be a helpful way to acclimate him to the school. It's possible that Aidan can attend the program also, but we need more information on it.
We wrapped things up in just an hour and took Sean back to his class. I'm feeling much more comforted in this step now and excited to see how he will adjust next year.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Preparing for Kindergarten Transition, Phase 3: Pre-Registration Night
Last night, Sean and I went to pre-register him for Kindergarten. He was very exciting to get to go out with Mommy by himself, but a bit confused about where we were going at 5 pm. I had dressed him in shorts and a polo, and he generally only wears polo shirts to church, so he thought we were going to church (he holds his hands to receive communion as his sigh for church.) I told him, "No, not church, we are going to do some papers for school."
Well, he heard school and started crying, saying no! Apparently he didn't want to go to school twice in one day. I reassured him, "no, we are not going to your school. We are going to a new place."
The district set up the Pre-Registration for all the schools in the gym at the high school, which happens to be right next door to the YMCA. So then Sean starts getting excited and signing/saying "Mama! MAMA! Swim! SWIM!" Poor kid. "No, Sean, not swimming today. We will go swimming on Friday." More tears.
Finally we walked into the gym and he saw all the crowds of people lined up at tables, but what made him the most excited was that he saw his preschool classmate Fischer running around playing with other kids.
And Fischer saw him. He came running over to Sean & saying "Hi Sean! Hi Sean! Hi Sean!" Sean was so surprised to see him & gave him a hug and a "Hi Fischer!" (Fischer and Sean have been classmates for 2 years and Fischer is one of the few kids Sean calls by name.) Fischer brought his big brother over to meet Sean. Sean was interested in the brother's DS game. I chatted a bit to the boys as I tried to fill out forms. Fischer asked if Sean could play with them off to the side with other kids & I said sure.
I sat there, jotting down answers on the forms and frequently glancing up to check on the boys. Sean had the biggest smile on his face, just playing with the other soon-to-be-kindergartners the same silly games of chasing and spinning and pseudo cartwheels. One of the gang.
I moved from the table to stand in line to turn in my forms and the boys found their way back to me. Fischer's mom was done and they were about to leave. Fischer asked if Sean could come to his house for a playdate that night. I told him we had plans later but would like to try another time. His mom said she'd get our phone number and set something up because Fischer would really enjoy having Sean over.
An invitation! To his first playdate. On his own, not just as Aidan's sibling. Not as a babysitting arrangement. My heart swelled.
Next, Sean and I had to go other to the magnet school table and fill out a transfer request. His future teacher was manning the table and tried to talk to Sean, but he was more interested in trying to climb up the stacks of folded bleachers. We discussed the upcoming IEP meeting and she said she didn't know if she'd be there yet.
I called Sean over to say hi to the principal, whispering "shake Mr. P's hand and say hi, Sean" Sean marched up to him, hand extended then got distracted by Mr. P's silky tie so he reached out to touch and shake the tie instead of Mr. P's hand.
Mr. P didn't seem to mind having his tie petted and asked Sean his name. Sean ignored him and wandered off to play on a cart dolly, then came back to ask me if we could go up to the 2nd story balcony.
I said our goodbyes, see ya at the IEP and took Sean upstairs for a walk about then we headed home. This was definitely the least painful step of the transition process!
Well, he heard school and started crying, saying no! Apparently he didn't want to go to school twice in one day. I reassured him, "no, we are not going to your school. We are going to a new place."
The district set up the Pre-Registration for all the schools in the gym at the high school, which happens to be right next door to the YMCA. So then Sean starts getting excited and signing/saying "Mama! MAMA! Swim! SWIM!" Poor kid. "No, Sean, not swimming today. We will go swimming on Friday." More tears.
Finally we walked into the gym and he saw all the crowds of people lined up at tables, but what made him the most excited was that he saw his preschool classmate Fischer running around playing with other kids.
And Fischer saw him. He came running over to Sean & saying "Hi Sean! Hi Sean! Hi Sean!" Sean was so surprised to see him & gave him a hug and a "Hi Fischer!" (Fischer and Sean have been classmates for 2 years and Fischer is one of the few kids Sean calls by name.) Fischer brought his big brother over to meet Sean. Sean was interested in the brother's DS game. I chatted a bit to the boys as I tried to fill out forms. Fischer asked if Sean could play with them off to the side with other kids & I said sure.
I sat there, jotting down answers on the forms and frequently glancing up to check on the boys. Sean had the biggest smile on his face, just playing with the other soon-to-be-kindergartners the same silly games of chasing and spinning and pseudo cartwheels. One of the gang.
I moved from the table to stand in line to turn in my forms and the boys found their way back to me. Fischer's mom was done and they were about to leave. Fischer asked if Sean could come to his house for a playdate that night. I told him we had plans later but would like to try another time. His mom said she'd get our phone number and set something up because Fischer would really enjoy having Sean over.
An invitation! To his first playdate. On his own, not just as Aidan's sibling. Not as a babysitting arrangement. My heart swelled.
Next, Sean and I had to go other to the magnet school table and fill out a transfer request. His future teacher was manning the table and tried to talk to Sean, but he was more interested in trying to climb up the stacks of folded bleachers. We discussed the upcoming IEP meeting and she said she didn't know if she'd be there yet.
I called Sean over to say hi to the principal, whispering "shake Mr. P's hand and say hi, Sean" Sean marched up to him, hand extended then got distracted by Mr. P's silky tie so he reached out to touch and shake the tie instead of Mr. P's hand.
Mr. P didn't seem to mind having his tie petted and asked Sean his name. Sean ignored him and wandered off to play on a cart dolly, then came back to ask me if we could go up to the 2nd story balcony.
I said our goodbyes, see ya at the IEP and took Sean upstairs for a walk about then we headed home. This was definitely the least painful step of the transition process!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Preparing for Kindergarten Transition, Phase 2: The Evaluation Report
Deep breath....
This evening Doug and I went to our Parent-Teacher Meeting at Sean's school. The school has volunteers do childcare in the gym so both parents can attend the meeting, thank goodness because it turned into a much longer meeting than I expected. The kids were happy and excited to play together in the gym. Doug and I headed towards Sean's classroom, where we usually had meetings, only to be re-directed to the conference room instead. Awaiting us was Sean's teacher, the school's physical therapist, speech therapist and occupational therapist. New to us was the district psychologist that I had talked to on the phone once before about the ABAS form. Usually, we only get this kind of gathering when we have IEP meetings.
Tonight they gathered to tell us about the various cognitive and behavioral testing they'd been doing with Sean over the past month. This wasn't a typical sit-down-and-look-at-art-projects meeting. Butterflies swarmed in my tummy as each person went around the room and told us how they think Sean is developing.
Thankfully, they are all very kind people, with wonderful, gentle personalities and truly love their jobs. That made hearing things that I guess I maybe wasn't ready to hear easier. Don't get me wrong, I knew it was coming, I knew we were going to go over the testing... but... the NUMBERS. The numbers get to you even though you know they are probably right. There really wasn't too many things I felt I needed to say, "Huh? Sean can do that. You must of caught him on a bad day." In fact, they all had many positive things to say about Sean's progress. For Sean, he is making progress and IT'S GOOD.
Compared to other children his age without disabilities... eye yi yi. Not in the same ballpark. Miles and miles away from the same ballpark. And miles.
I guess I felt a bit naive. He's not our first child, surely I should remember what typical 5 year olds are like? And seeing Ella just zoom right thru babyhood, making giant steps towards preschooler-ish behavior sure is bridging the gap between Sean's cognitive age and hers. I mean, for Pete's sake, she's just 19 months old and can jump, clearing both feet off the ground a good 4". Sean just started jumping last summer. Um, yeah, hello? Light bulb?
These numbers. Harsh.
Sitting here, re-reading the report, seeing "Chronological age=65 months" and seeing the oldest developmental age listed is 46 months (that works out to be roughly a 3 year, 8 month old child) for a skill area defined as "Personal Responsibility." Personal Responsibility, that's stuff like taking his dishes to the sink, throwing away a tissue, washing his hands. They said he marked high in that area because he is potty trained. All other areas he ranked under 39 months (3 years, 3 months). Language was his weakest area, not surprisingly, he is developmentally around 2 years old.
Sucks in air.
I'm supposed to send my almost 6 year old child to Kindergarten when he can only communicate like a 2 year old?
Hold my hand. Squeeze tight.
It's very overwhelming.
And you know what? Since I can't possibly begin to fathom what it is like for a child of Sean's abilities to be in that environment, you know what I asked about? Something so NOT important, I am sure. I asked how Sean will be able to manage the school uniform requirements of tucking in his shirt and wearing a belt. Sean's never worn a belt, neither had Aidan until his first day of school. We taught Aidan how to buckle his belt in a few days. Within a couple of weeks he'd gotten the hang of tucking in his shirt. I'm worried that it will make Sean's potty independence difficult if he has to struggle with a belt or ask for help every time.
Silly, I'm sure.
I was reassured that the school would not hold the uniform issues against Sean and that they'd work something out.
We talked at length about Sean's food issues and our worry about how it will affect his lunch at school. Those questions will be worked out in detail at the IEP meeting (to be held in April) once the elementary school staff can be involved. Doug and I actually wondered today if one of us would have to go to school every day to feed Sean. I doubt that will be the solution, but that does show you how much we have been worrying about it.
So that's that. We heard the numbers. We have the results written in black and white. Our son now has the official diagnosis of Mental Retardation.
He's still Sean. Those numbers haven't changed him. He's still the witty, silly, lovable, stubborn, consistent, loud, trouble-seeking little boy we know. He's ready for Kindergarten and we will be too.
*I'm throwing in photos of Sean, busy being a kid living life to the fullest, in this post not to throw off your reading rhythm, but as a reminder. A reminder that the piece of paper may say one thing, but the spirit of the child says another. My child is full of spirit, he's fun to be with, he's capable of learning new things. This is just the beginning.*
This evening Doug and I went to our Parent-Teacher Meeting at Sean's school. The school has volunteers do childcare in the gym so both parents can attend the meeting, thank goodness because it turned into a much longer meeting than I expected. The kids were happy and excited to play together in the gym. Doug and I headed towards Sean's classroom, where we usually had meetings, only to be re-directed to the conference room instead. Awaiting us was Sean's teacher, the school's physical therapist, speech therapist and occupational therapist. New to us was the district psychologist that I had talked to on the phone once before about the ABAS form. Usually, we only get this kind of gathering when we have IEP meetings.
Tonight they gathered to tell us about the various cognitive and behavioral testing they'd been doing with Sean over the past month. This wasn't a typical sit-down-and-look-at-art-projects meeting. Butterflies swarmed in my tummy as each person went around the room and told us how they think Sean is developing.
Thankfully, they are all very kind people, with wonderful, gentle personalities and truly love their jobs. That made hearing things that I guess I maybe wasn't ready to hear easier. Don't get me wrong, I knew it was coming, I knew we were going to go over the testing... but... the NUMBERS. The numbers get to you even though you know they are probably right. There really wasn't too many things I felt I needed to say, "Huh? Sean can do that. You must of caught him on a bad day." In fact, they all had many positive things to say about Sean's progress. For Sean, he is making progress and IT'S GOOD.
Compared to other children his age without disabilities... eye yi yi. Not in the same ballpark. Miles and miles away from the same ballpark. And miles.
I guess I felt a bit naive. He's not our first child, surely I should remember what typical 5 year olds are like? And seeing Ella just zoom right thru babyhood, making giant steps towards preschooler-ish behavior sure is bridging the gap between Sean's cognitive age and hers. I mean, for Pete's sake, she's just 19 months old and can jump, clearing both feet off the ground a good 4". Sean just started jumping last summer. Um, yeah, hello? Light bulb?
These numbers. Harsh.
Sitting here, re-reading the report, seeing "Chronological age=65 months" and seeing the oldest developmental age listed is 46 months (that works out to be roughly a 3 year, 8 month old child) for a skill area defined as "Personal Responsibility." Personal Responsibility, that's stuff like taking his dishes to the sink, throwing away a tissue, washing his hands. They said he marked high in that area because he is potty trained. All other areas he ranked under 39 months (3 years, 3 months). Language was his weakest area, not surprisingly, he is developmentally around 2 years old.
Sucks in air.
I'm supposed to send my almost 6 year old child to Kindergarten when he can only communicate like a 2 year old?
Hold my hand. Squeeze tight.
It's very overwhelming.
And you know what? Since I can't possibly begin to fathom what it is like for a child of Sean's abilities to be in that environment, you know what I asked about? Something so NOT important, I am sure. I asked how Sean will be able to manage the school uniform requirements of tucking in his shirt and wearing a belt. Sean's never worn a belt, neither had Aidan until his first day of school. We taught Aidan how to buckle his belt in a few days. Within a couple of weeks he'd gotten the hang of tucking in his shirt. I'm worried that it will make Sean's potty independence difficult if he has to struggle with a belt or ask for help every time.
Silly, I'm sure.
I was reassured that the school would not hold the uniform issues against Sean and that they'd work something out.
We talked at length about Sean's food issues and our worry about how it will affect his lunch at school. Those questions will be worked out in detail at the IEP meeting (to be held in April) once the elementary school staff can be involved. Doug and I actually wondered today if one of us would have to go to school every day to feed Sean. I doubt that will be the solution, but that does show you how much we have been worrying about it.
So that's that. We heard the numbers. We have the results written in black and white. Our son now has the official diagnosis of Mental Retardation.
He's still Sean. Those numbers haven't changed him. He's still the witty, silly, lovable, stubborn, consistent, loud, trouble-seeking little boy we know. He's ready for Kindergarten and we will be too.
*I'm throwing in photos of Sean, busy being a kid living life to the fullest, in this post not to throw off your reading rhythm, but as a reminder. A reminder that the piece of paper may say one thing, but the spirit of the child says another. My child is full of spirit, he's fun to be with, he's capable of learning new things. This is just the beginning.*
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