Baseball - Spring 2012
Hockey - Fall 2012
Keep On Truckin Baby
Love
Mom
Friday, October 26, 2012
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Scientific Equation
Lets be honest, you still have a long way to go and I am not blind to where you are today but the world around you is opening up their eyes and seeing that you hold a whole world of potential inside. Over the last two years you have struggled with colors, shapes, numbers, associations, and other foundational concepts. You have refused to show those around you that you have been taking it all in and that you do understand cause and effect. You have refused to allow yourself to succeed and be pushed to the next level.
All of the sudden you have decided to change. You have finally demonstrated that you do know these foundational skills and that you also know so much more. You are taking after your Uncle Mike and Aunt Suzanna with a passion for science. In less then a week you learned what a beaker, thermometer, scale, hand lens, and ruler are and most of their functions. You also have a grasp on the five senses and how each body part helps you explore the world around you. With this, you still would prefer not demonstrate that you actually know what your head is or that you understand when someone says "blow a kiss" but honestly this is just you being stubborn. It is almost as if you feel the simple goals are below you and until we challenge you, as with science, you do not feel as if you need to answer.
For two years teachers have worked on your identifying the letter B which has made me crazy, and you insane, but in the last two four weeks you have learned uppercase and lowercase letters A-L. You are starting to match sight words to pictures, label pictures in books, and participating in computer programs. You are recognizing money, working on the calendar, and continuing to master your manipulation skills.
On top of this your language continues to grow and with that your personality is showing through. I have a feeling within the next year you are going to keep me on my toes even more then you do now. Yesterday on the playground I told you "gentle" as we were running around. You proceed to look at me and say, "I'll show you gentle" and then pull my hair. Hmmm.... is it true that I only have myself to blame for the little man you are becoming?! At hockey practice you told the coaches to "go play" and "go away" because you wanted to skate with the girls. You tell me "you go" when you do not want me in your room and so much more.
We still have a long way to go. You are still your own worst enemy when it comes to compliance and actually making learning easy. You give your therapists a run for their money and it is a miracle that they have not quite on us yet. If you are able to to learn at this rate and acquire these skills with all the behaviors you are so nicely sharing with us, then image what all you are capable of if you would just sit down and listen! I guess you wouldn't be my little hot mess though if you played by the rules.
I love you baby
Keep on Truckin
Mom
All of the sudden you have decided to change. You have finally demonstrated that you do know these foundational skills and that you also know so much more. You are taking after your Uncle Mike and Aunt Suzanna with a passion for science. In less then a week you learned what a beaker, thermometer, scale, hand lens, and ruler are and most of their functions. You also have a grasp on the five senses and how each body part helps you explore the world around you. With this, you still would prefer not demonstrate that you actually know what your head is or that you understand when someone says "blow a kiss" but honestly this is just you being stubborn. It is almost as if you feel the simple goals are below you and until we challenge you, as with science, you do not feel as if you need to answer.
For two years teachers have worked on your identifying the letter B which has made me crazy, and you insane, but in the last two four weeks you have learned uppercase and lowercase letters A-L. You are starting to match sight words to pictures, label pictures in books, and participating in computer programs. You are recognizing money, working on the calendar, and continuing to master your manipulation skills.
On top of this your language continues to grow and with that your personality is showing through. I have a feeling within the next year you are going to keep me on my toes even more then you do now. Yesterday on the playground I told you "gentle" as we were running around. You proceed to look at me and say, "I'll show you gentle" and then pull my hair. Hmmm.... is it true that I only have myself to blame for the little man you are becoming?! At hockey practice you told the coaches to "go play" and "go away" because you wanted to skate with the girls. You tell me "you go" when you do not want me in your room and so much more.
We still have a long way to go. You are still your own worst enemy when it comes to compliance and actually making learning easy. You give your therapists a run for their money and it is a miracle that they have not quite on us yet. If you are able to to learn at this rate and acquire these skills with all the behaviors you are so nicely sharing with us, then image what all you are capable of if you would just sit down and listen! I guess you wouldn't be my little hot mess though if you played by the rules.
I love you baby
Keep on Truckin
Mom
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Should Have Known
Often times I go back and read what I have written to you in the past. It helps remind me of how far you have come and also where we still need go. A lot has happened in the last two weeks in our world and after reading through the letters to you from last month I should have known what was coming.
The big news and change is that as of this week you are officially home schooled. Yup, I know how confusing this must be for you. We picked up from Virginia and moved over 400 miles away to a place where we did not have a support system or a clue what would be around the next corner, specifically for a school that I thought would meet your educational and language needs. I was filled with hope and promises and I so badly wanted to see you in an environment that understood you and would challenge you.
I remember sitting in one of the very first IEP meetings we had for you in VA and Nancy actually came with me as my second set of ears. I sat there and tried to explain to them the little boy I saw that was hiding behind the walls and my hopes for you in their school. Most importantly though I remember Nancy, with tears in her eyes, explaining to them that they could not let you regress. That you had already made so many gains and they could not let you slip away.
Well, unfortunately they did allow you to slip and I believed that coming to Ohio would provide an educational setting that would only allow your feet to move in a forward motion. As I have told you before though, I have discovered we are in Ohio for so many more reasons and the school is not a part of our future but provided us the leap of faith we needed at the time to embark on this adventure.
Since moving to Ohio our relationship has grown immensely. We have always had a special bond from the moment we met but since our move we have become more in sync then ever. I watched this weekend and could not believe how much you have grown physically and developmentally. You are now a little man, missing four teeth, and growing like a weed.
Your language has exploded thanks to the help of our wonderful speech therapist who has never given up on you and continued to push through your escapades. What we are discovering, as we always suspected, is that your own language and jargon is actually real words that are slowly being shaped into the english language.
Socially, which has always been your strongest area, continues to impress those around you. Today at the park you consistently engaged with your friends asking them to come run with you, come sit in a car, play in the sand, swing on the swings, and race down the slide. You are determined to get and keep their attention and do everything in your power to keep up.
I continue to try to open new doors for you daily. You think you are ready to push them down and speed ahead. Now is the time to close the gap in your academics. You are ready for more and need more in order to keep up in all that you try to do. So, for that reason, your bedroom will now be split and shared as your classroom and your therapists have become members of our family as they spend so many hours here.
Honestly, I am excited and cannot wait to see you tackle the academics that so many have been afraid to push and I am also scared to hold it all in my hands. Reality though, I have tried to hand over the control to the school, actually 4 different schools to be exact, and none of them have stepped up to the plate. None of them them have seen the spark in your eyes. Now that you are starting to believe in your own potential you needed a team of individuals who believed in you and saw all of you that is awaiting to be unlocked. We have found that team and I am thrilled to see what tomorrow brings.
Keep on Truckin
Love
Mom
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