The Not So Dreaded IEP

For those of you who have children with learning differences, you understand the power that an IEP holds over you. Luckily, for us, IEP's have been nothing more than putting into words all the needs and differences Adeline has. Our state/county has a fantastic - dare I ask if there is a better one - 3-5's preschool program. Adeline was met head on and many of her differences have lessened or subsided due to the aggressive and personal approach taken by her development preschool classroom.

Last week, I had the privilege of attending Adeline's IEP meeting. I was a bit nervous at the beginning of the meeting because her teachers and therapists don't beat around the bush when talking about their students. Often these meetings put me right back into the NICU where I so desperately wanted the doctors to tell me that I was going to carry both my babies out of the NICU and that they were both going to walk, talk, and know what love is. Where is that magic 8 ball when one needs it?

I started the meeting by asking each person to share if they thought Adeline had made more, less, or an expected amount of progress. There was a resounding MORE! I was so happy to hear that she is much more than they thought she would be upon meeting her on the first day of school. They remembered when it was hard for Adeline to walk down the long halls with her backpack on or how it was a very slow process to get Adeline to navigate the field to the playground. They happily reported that she runs ahead with some of the other kids now! After sharing many of these examples they all seemed to come back to her personality. Each person commented on her determination, patience, and remarkable perseverance. That is my little girl!

Once done with the anecdotal part of the IEP we moved on to writing goals/outcomes. It is necessary to be specific regarding Adeline's needs and how each need is addressed and measured. Here is what we came up with.

1. Adeline will respond to 10+ verbal directions containing the following concepts during small group activities 4 out of 5 times.

prepositions
negatives
categorization
qualitative concepts (5)

2. Adeline will consistently communicate through the use of 4 to 6 word basic sentences using :

pronouns - he, she, we, it, they
possessive pronouns - his, her, hers, its, theirs
articles - a, the
is/am + verbing
simple past tense

(Right now Adeline communicates using high content words which convey meaning but usually leaves out smaller parts of speech.)

3. Adeline will improve her social and emotional skills during the school day in order to: independently initiate simple back and forth games with 1-2 peers taking 2-4 turns in a 15 minute free play session.

(Right now Adeline is social and engages in play but doesn't initiate play in the classroom. It should be noted that she initiates play at home.)

4. Adeline will improve her fine motor and visual motor skills to imitate a closed circle, a cross, square and correct facial scheme using her preferred dominant hand and holding writing implements in a modified tripod grasp in 4/5 opportunities.

(Adeline just started imitating a closed circle this week!! She is able to correctly place facial scheme using wooden pieces but doesn't have the dexterity to draw one on paper. She switches hands mid activity.)

5. Adeline will improve her bilateral hand skills to cut a 5" straight and curved line to 1/2" accuracy.

6. Adeline will improve her gross motor play by:

walking a 3" beam for 4'
jumping down 10"
jumping forward 12"
rising up from the floor through a half kneel position
running 10' in 12 seconds

(Currently, Adeline needs assistance on the beam, jumps forward 8", down 6", and runs 10' in 16 seconds.)

7. Adeline will consistently speak in an audible voice.

(Currently she uses a soft voice that can barely be heard in the classroom.)

I am pleased the the above goals seem within Adeline's range of achievement. I fully expect her to plug away at the list. By doing so, she will close the gap even more which puts her that much closer to her mainstream peers!

Happy Summer Country Style

We welcomed in the first day of summer at our once neighbor-now barn owners', new homestead. We dined in a 1830's farm house, picked both red and black raspberries, gave the horses some Adeline love, roasted marshmallows for smores, and chased lightning bugs. What more could one ask for?

Pay special attention to the country style roastin' stick. . .

I would be thrilled to call all five of these girls my own. We love Miss J and Miss L dearly!

And yes, that is Miss Adeline asking to hold a lightning bug!! She was the only one not fast enough to catch them on her own.

For those of you who don't get to experience the joy of lightning bugs, here is a video that shows a few flashing their lights.

Happy Father's Day Daddy

For a guy that was raised with very little girl factor, I couldn't have picked a better Daddy for me three very lucky girls!

Adeline's Special Day with Thomas

Adeline was the last of the three girls to experience a special treat with just Mommy or Daddy.  Daddy took The Belle to see and ride Thomas the train in Strasburg.  Miss Adeline was very excited.  She kept asking if the Thomas was going to have his smile, his number one, and his smoke stack.  I am pleased to report that my answers of yes were fully supported by the amazing Thomas replica.  Although I wasn't there, the pictures make Thomas look just like the little train I see floating around my house.

Because I wasn't there, I will let the pictures do the talking. . .

Sesame Place

For an end of the school year treat, we took the girls to Sesame Place.  Savannah still loves Elmo and Lila remains head over heels for Ernie.  Adeline enjoys all the characters.

Savannah still believes and it breaks my heart to know that one day her Elmo will come crashing down.  She asks lots of questions like, "Why doesn't Elmo talk to me." and "What was that string on Big Birds arms?".  I saw the hesitation in her eyes when we got up close and personal with our first character.  Her smile disappeared while she stopped dead in her tracks.  Alex and I held our breath waiting for what was to come.  Her need to believe helped her rally and soon she was right back where she was when we walked into the place.  We asked Elmo when his birthday was and he found away to tell us with his fingers.  Luckily, he stopped by and hugged Savannah during the character parade, something I didn't see happen to another child.

Lila got to see Ernie up close and personal for pictures and then, once again, found a way to get his attention during the parade.  She got hugs and kisses and was so happy.

The park was crowded and the weather was warm.  Somehow we found ourselves inside the gates for more than seven hours.  We were able to swim and do the water park activities.  The twins really enjoyed the pools and going down the water slide with Daddy (they really did love the slides even though their faces make them appear scared out of their minds - double click for a good close ups).  Savannah surprised me and went down by herself!  She is really growing up.

She Rocked the House!

On the heels of my last Adeline post, I am thrilled to share the following.  Last weekend, Adeline was invited to a classmate's birthday party.  It was a soccer/moon bounce party which included many kids Adeline didn't know.  It was housed in a very large sports arena with numerous basketball, soccer, hockey, and birthday games going on simultaneously.  The chaos alone could have made Adeline's party experience dead in the water once walking through the door.

Luckily, Adeline came to play.  First we went upstairs to the moon bounce.  We were the last ones to arrive but that didn't stop Adeline from hopping right into the moon bounce slides and mazes.  She found a friend from school and I didn't hear from her until it was time to go downstairs for soccer.  AMAZING!!

The soccer field was a bit tricky at first.  The AstroTurf was strange.  Super long and poky.  Adeline got over it and ran onto the field to join her friends sitting in a circle.  I will admit her shoes and bottom were the only parts of her touching the strange grass.

Directions were given and Adeline was off.  Other kids were wondering, some were crying (it was smack in the middle of nap time), and others were involved in the organized activity.  I will just stop right here and tell you Adeline was a STAR.  She blew me away.  She dribbled, kicked, and made goals.  She never wandered off the field to find me.  Miss Adeline was focused on her soccer.  Adeline didn't appear younger or out of the norm.  Her kicks were soft and her run was slow but her soccer skills were pretty good.  I guess the eight weeks of YMCA soccer paid off - even though Adeline fought me tooth and nail each and every session.

I am so proud!!!

Here are a couple clips of The Belle hanging with peers - exactly where I prayed she would be.

The Face of a First Grader

I can't believe Kindergarten is over. It went way too fast. Even Savannah said it didn't feel like a full year. It was a full year though. Savannah has learned how to read, write endless stories, tap into her creative side in new ways. She has learned the dynamics of friendship, both the good and the bad.  She has also learned how to stand strong on her own two feet.

This was Savannah's first taste of the real world, much more real than we had envisioned when deciding to send her to this small Quaker school. Even when surrounded by some tough kids and a class with a bad reputation, Savannah soared. I couldn't be more proud. What is even better is that Savannah is very proud of her learning and her behavior!

Yesterday, I had the privilege of watching the fifth graders graduate from this school. They were the Kindergarten's Meeting Buddies (Meeting for Worship). Savannah's class walked into the ceremony and serenaded their Meeting Buddies with, "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow." Boy, did the tears flow. Their sweet voices and sad hearts were evident. Savannah will really miss Sarah, her buddy. Just today I received this email from Sarah, our first communication.

Savannah is so sweet and yes, she is shy but I did what my dad says " I'll hint here and there and let them do the rest!" she is kind and happy and a million other things but best of all... she is Savannah. She is the best at being herself. Playing, smiling, waving and just being Savannah. When we were in meeting I would keep my eye on I.V. but I knew I could trust Savannah. I encouraged I.V. and Savannah to speak in meeting but they were nervous. Then one day... she spoke and made me the happiest girl in the world. My job was done... shy Savannah had spoken!

How lucky am I have had this fifth grade girl watching over Savannah. This is just a taste of why we chose this private school for our big girl.

Can't she just stay in Kindergarten forever?

On the other hand, I see her becoming all that I imagined and more. And like icing on the cake, she still snuggles up to me in her bed on quiet afternoons. Sometimes we just talk and sometimes we fall off into dreamland - like today. I can't put into words how important these moments are. I could stay curled up to her forever. As my Sweetie Pie likes to say, WE ARE THE PERFECT MATCH!!