A Few Windows into Our World.

One of my amazing EAs blowing bubbles with two of my cuties. It's always amazing how bubbles make them SO happy!

Our little one with Cerebral Palsy (who is quadriplegic) was having "tummy time" today. With no prompting at all another little boy plopped down beside her & began to play with her. Eventually the two of the them were side by side on their tummies while he pressed buttons on her musical toy & then showed it to her so she could see the lights flashing. :)

Yet More Snippets...

Before I share another snippet from sweet little C, I need to explain that one of my EAs is very petite. I mean, very petite. We have Jr. High students in our school & she regularly gets mistaken for one. :)

So we're in the Sky Lounge (our indoor playspace) & one little guy with Autism crawls into this caterpillar tunnel we have (from Toys R Us). My EA crawls in to play a game of peek-a-boo with him, cuz, well, she can fit in there! Even before I got pregnant there was no way my 5ft 9in self would squeeze in there.

C peeks into the tunnel to see one of her teachers in there & starts giggling. She looks over at me & says, "*giggle* My teacher is so little! I told my sister Hailey one of my teachers is real little but she didn't believe me. *giggle"

In my afternoon class is one of my favs, A. He's a sweet little guy, but man is that kid hairy! It sounds mean, but seriously, he's full blooded Italian and hairy! His back, arms, legs, etc. which is kinda surprising on a 4 yr old.

So yesterday we were in the gym & I was doing a quick count to see if everyone had arrived yet, "Oh, A isn't here yet." I commented.

One sweet little guy looks around, "Oh yeah. A isn't here. Where is that furry little dude?"

Not ashamed to say I almost fell on the floor laughing. Wait, my EA did fall on the floor laughing. Yes, same EA so I guess she didn't have that far to fall.

Back to Reality.

Well today was the first day back after Christmas Holidays. I always dread this week. The kids have spent the last two weeks eating sweets, going to bed late, being over-excited & just generally having little to no routine or structure during Holiday craziness. This translates into absolute mayhem & meltdowns the first week back at school. They "forget" the routines & rules. They "forget" how to share, how to put toys back on the shelf, even how to take off their own boots. The week back after Christmas is always worse than September. Kids who haven't been aggressive since the beginning of the school year relapse. Kids who never have full blown meltdowns are on the floor of the hallway screaming.

I still remember this week 2 years ago, I thought it was going to kill me & my aides. I shudder every time I think about making it through that week.

So needless to say I went to bed apprehensive & in all honesty, kinda dreading today.

Well surprise, surprise, it went well!

The kids seemed genuinely happy to be back. They were excited about the "same old" toys again. They were very happy to see their friends. It was a busy but good day. A couple of my tougher students even did exceptionally well. I was shocked but I refuse to question it to much. I choose instead to be immensely grateful & hope against hope it sets the tone for the rest of the week. It was the pleasant surprise I needed to energize me for the second half of the school year.

Well, provided the other shoe doesn't drop tomorrow. ;)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Preschool Land! :)

It's All About Context...

In my morning class is a sweet little guy with Autism, I. He is just the happiest, funniest kid with Autism I've ever met. Despite being mostly non-verbal (he has distinctive noises he makes & occasionally will parrot a word we use) he definitely communicates what he wants through eye contact & body language. Plus he's a snuggler, which I love!

Today was PJ Day at school as it was the last day before Christmas Holidays. We were having popcorn for snack before sitting down to watch a short Mickey Mouse movie and I was requesting away, as usual, using his PECS (small pictures he gives us to tell us what he wants).

He decided he was thirsty & reached for his Juice pec. The velcro was really sticky & he was having a tough time pulling it off his book when, clear as a bell, he muttered,

"Aww, sh*t!"

My EA & I immediately locked eyes. "Did he just say...?"

We almost fell off our chairs laughing. Yes, it was inappropriate. No, a three year old shouldn't know that word. But know what, we were so proud! He used it in the right context!

The rest of the day I bragged to other staff about what I said. Yeah, it was also a funny story, but he used a two word phrase, spontaneously & in the appropriate context!

I've never been so happy to hear someone swear before.

More Snippets...

There's a particularly sweet little girl in my morning class, C, whose family is going through a very rough time right now. As a result she's often emotional and displaying classic physical symptoms of anxiety. Yesterday, however, she seemed much more relaxed and happy than usual, so great to see! So we had a chance for some fun little convos:

C: You're so funny, Mrs. R.

Me: I'm funny? What do I do that is funny?

C: You say funny things.

Me: What funny things?

C: "Be careful on the stairs so you don't trip!"

*Apparently safety tips are now "funny"!*

We were sitting at the table colouring together when out of the blue she announced with a sigh, "I just don't understand Chinese boys."

I was completely baffled what she might mean as we do not have anyone of Chinese descent in our classroom (other ethnicities, yes).

I asked her to repeat what she said to make sure I heard it right. I did. So I probed further.

Me: What do you mean, honey? What don't you understand?

C: Well they just talk in funny other words. I just don't understand.

*lightbulb*

Me: Oh! It IS hard to understand other languages, isn't it?

c: *big sigh again* Yeah.

Have I mentioned I love this kid? ;)

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

So we set up our trees in my classes this week. There was a few days of panic where I thought one of my classes wouldn't get a tree this year (I've never had to have TWO Christmas trees for school before). Thankfully one of the secretaries at one school stepped up & lent us a tree for the month! :)

Then it was just a mad scramble to find enough unbreakable ornaments for two trees! ;)

But it all worked out and the trees look great. The kids had SO much fun decorating them (as they do every year). It always makes me giggle to see the trees 3/4 decorated since they can't reach the top. So sweet!

I always love seeing how (particularly) the students with Autism love the tree. Every year my Autistic students will lay under it, looking up at the lights, walk around the tree for ages, rearrange the ornaments, etc. I remember being little and spending hours just staring at the tree daydreaming.

P.S. I apologize that part of this post appears to be underlined. I can't seem to fix it! I'm not exactly a techie!