Monday, April 30, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Kindness is Power
Because it is the end of the school year, I am reflecting on how it has gone and thinking about what we need to work on at home this summer and what we need to start planning for next school year.
(Yes, really. While I am looking forward to swimming in the pool and playing outside as much as my boys already are, I am also thinking about how much time we need to be spending on "homework" for school and speech therapy, about what needs to be done before the end of this school year and the beginning of the next, and also whether or not to add outside occupational therapy in for both of the boys. Welcome to the life of a special needs parent).
One of the things that I have loved about this school year is a club that is offered at the boys' school. It's called "Kindness is Power" or "KIP" for short. I've mentioned it a couple of times on here, most recently on our trip to a local bounce place and also our trip to the local bowling alley.
It is a club designed to help kids like Sawyer and Xander. It offers social interaction and inclusion, two things both of them certainly need in the school setting. We are so thankful they have been able to participate, that the club is there and that is has had such a positive impact on their school year. Sawyer's resource teacher is actually one of the sponsors, which is just another one of the many reasons we love her.
Here is the letter we received at the beginning of the school year explaining what the club is and requesting permission to participate.
(Yes, really. While I am looking forward to swimming in the pool and playing outside as much as my boys already are, I am also thinking about how much time we need to be spending on "homework" for school and speech therapy, about what needs to be done before the end of this school year and the beginning of the next, and also whether or not to add outside occupational therapy in for both of the boys. Welcome to the life of a special needs parent).
One of the things that I have loved about this school year is a club that is offered at the boys' school. It's called "Kindness is Power" or "KIP" for short. I've mentioned it a couple of times on here, most recently on our trip to a local bounce place and also our trip to the local bowling alley.
It is a club designed to help kids like Sawyer and Xander. It offers social interaction and inclusion, two things both of them certainly need in the school setting. We are so thankful they have been able to participate, that the club is there and that is has had such a positive impact on their school year. Sawyer's resource teacher is actually one of the sponsors, which is just another one of the many reasons we love her.
Here is the letter we received at the beginning of the school year explaining what the club is and requesting permission to participate.
Acceptance. Inclusion. Integration. All good things.
Kindness is, indeed, power.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Before & After
There's a whole back story to how we ended up living in our current house (see here). And it's only taken about two years, but we're finally getting around to finishing up a few things on our renovation list. The majority of the inside was completed before we moved in (and, let's be honest, builder's hate to work on their own houses, so some little things may stay on that list forever).
The exterior has taken a bit longer, but is finally coming together. In the last few months, we've done quite a bit. The brick mailbox (pretty much standard in our neighborhood) has been installed. The chain link fence in the back yard has been replaced with a new shadowbox wood fence. The narrow driveway has been extended to allow people to both park in our driveway and also open their doors. And now, the landscaping has been completed.
The very original before ... including the faded green shutters and the random green mailbox ...
The just moved in with minor exterior upgrades (new shutters, new lighting) but original 1970s landscaping still in place ...
And the nearly finished after (please ignore the river rock still sitting in the driveway in this photo, it is now in the backyard around some additional landscaping there) ...
Home sweet home. A little more so each and every day ...
The exterior has taken a bit longer, but is finally coming together. In the last few months, we've done quite a bit. The brick mailbox (pretty much standard in our neighborhood) has been installed. The chain link fence in the back yard has been replaced with a new shadowbox wood fence. The narrow driveway has been extended to allow people to both park in our driveway and also open their doors. And now, the landscaping has been completed.
The very original before ... including the faded green shutters and the random green mailbox ...
The just moved in with minor exterior upgrades (new shutters, new lighting) but original 1970s landscaping still in place ...
And the up-close new landscaping with river rock (because mulch requires too much effort on an annual basis) ...
And the nearly finished after (please ignore the river rock still sitting in the driveway in this photo, it is now in the backyard around some additional landscaping there) ...
Home sweet home. A little more so each and every day ...
Monday, April 23, 2012
A Little Bit Amazing
Every single day, I am so inspired by this kid.
Xander is so incredibly smart, and he overcomes some pretty major obstacles with speech and language and sensory issues to show us just how much he really does know. And I have a feeling we haven't seen anything yet. Not by a long shot.
First and foremost, I must tell you that many of us believe that Xander has a photographic memory. His ability to remember certain things, to recite certain things, seems to suggest it.
Today is just one of many examples. Every Monday his class gets their spelling list for the week, with five or six words that they will be tested on at the end of the week.
After a little struggle phrasing the question in a way he understood, we managed to quiz him on his words for this week. You know, the ones he just got today.
Those words were the following:
pick
let
next
jazz
when
Xander already knows a LOT of words. But these are not ones I would expect him to breeze through when he's reading. He might mumble through them, or attempt to sound them out, or he might simply look up and wait for someone to tell him the word.
When I prompted him this afternoon, he spelled every single one of them. Correctly. On the first try.
It was amazing to watch him. He would look down at his arm, tap out each letter as he was spelling, almost as though he could see the list in his mind. Which, of course, is what many of us believe he does.
So incredibly smart. And he works so incredibly hard, whether it's at school or speech therapy or even homework at home with us. Always trying, always working and always pushing forward.
Xander is absolutely amazing. And we could not be more proud of him.
Xander is so incredibly smart, and he overcomes some pretty major obstacles with speech and language and sensory issues to show us just how much he really does know. And I have a feeling we haven't seen anything yet. Not by a long shot.
First and foremost, I must tell you that many of us believe that Xander has a photographic memory. His ability to remember certain things, to recite certain things, seems to suggest it.
Today is just one of many examples. Every Monday his class gets their spelling list for the week, with five or six words that they will be tested on at the end of the week.
After a little struggle phrasing the question in a way he understood, we managed to quiz him on his words for this week. You know, the ones he just got today.
Those words were the following:
pick
let
next
jazz
when
Xander already knows a LOT of words. But these are not ones I would expect him to breeze through when he's reading. He might mumble through them, or attempt to sound them out, or he might simply look up and wait for someone to tell him the word.
When I prompted him this afternoon, he spelled every single one of them. Correctly. On the first try.
It was amazing to watch him. He would look down at his arm, tap out each letter as he was spelling, almost as though he could see the list in his mind. Which, of course, is what many of us believe he does.
So incredibly smart. And he works so incredibly hard, whether it's at school or speech therapy or even homework at home with us. Always trying, always working and always pushing forward.
Xander is absolutely amazing. And we could not be more proud of him.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Who's Hungry?
All three of them think that they are, even though they just got up from dinner about 30 minutes before the bread came out of the oven.
Sawyer has been hovering around the bread ever since it came out. Xander keeps telling us that it's bread and trying to lift the rack up to carry it around. Connor is just curious because the other two are both curious.
It is, of course, another experiment in our gluten-free-casein-free diet. And it was a fail before we ever started because Mommy did not read the label carefully enough.
Yes, it is completely gluten free. It's part of the "Gluten Free Pantry" brand of box mixes. But, unlike the regular gluten free flour mix, this particular mix for sandwich bread has dry milk in the mix. I didn't notice it at the store, was simply thinking the milk was part of the added ingredients (for which you can substitute either water or alternative milks like soy or almond or coconut). Nope, dry milk in the mix. So gluten free it is, but casein free it is not.
The boys had mixed reactions. All of them wanted a slice of the fresh baked bread. Sawyer had already pinched several bites before I even sliced it. He, of course, tore into it like there was no tomorrow. Bread is his weakness, even gluten-free bread, apparently. Xander tasted and ate the crispy crust edges, but was not overly fond of the bread itself. Connor, who feels compelled to try all of his brothers' new foods even though he is not on the diet, was not a fan. He nibbled and poked holes into a rather expensive piece of bread that no one else then wanted.
We have a few days to work on this loaf, but next up will be the recipe for the dinner rolls, using the flour that is both gluten and casein free.
Hopefully those will work out better. I'm going to have to experiment with this new diet cooking. Most of the things have a really bland taste and an unusual smell. Neither of those are going over well with our boys. Perhaps some sugar or honey into the bread. Or maybe bananas, which the boys both like.
Like so many things ... trial and error. We'll keep trying until we figure out what works best for our boys.
Sawyer has been hovering around the bread ever since it came out. Xander keeps telling us that it's bread and trying to lift the rack up to carry it around. Connor is just curious because the other two are both curious.
It is, of course, another experiment in our gluten-free-casein-free diet. And it was a fail before we ever started because Mommy did not read the label carefully enough.
Yes, it is completely gluten free. It's part of the "Gluten Free Pantry" brand of box mixes. But, unlike the regular gluten free flour mix, this particular mix for sandwich bread has dry milk in the mix. I didn't notice it at the store, was simply thinking the milk was part of the added ingredients (for which you can substitute either water or alternative milks like soy or almond or coconut). Nope, dry milk in the mix. So gluten free it is, but casein free it is not.
The boys had mixed reactions. All of them wanted a slice of the fresh baked bread. Sawyer had already pinched several bites before I even sliced it. He, of course, tore into it like there was no tomorrow. Bread is his weakness, even gluten-free bread, apparently. Xander tasted and ate the crispy crust edges, but was not overly fond of the bread itself. Connor, who feels compelled to try all of his brothers' new foods even though he is not on the diet, was not a fan. He nibbled and poked holes into a rather expensive piece of bread that no one else then wanted.
We have a few days to work on this loaf, but next up will be the recipe for the dinner rolls, using the flour that is both gluten and casein free.
Hopefully those will work out better. I'm going to have to experiment with this new diet cooking. Most of the things have a really bland taste and an unusual smell. Neither of those are going over well with our boys. Perhaps some sugar or honey into the bread. Or maybe bananas, which the boys both like.
Like so many things ... trial and error. We'll keep trying until we figure out what works best for our boys.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)