Magic Marker Monday: First Kinderpiece

I opened up James' backpack this afternoon and found his first artwork from Kindergarden. The title of the first one went right to my heart:

I liked seeing him try different colours:

It's his name!

Looking forward to doing more writing work with James.

Visit 5 Minutes for Special Needs for more Magic Marker Monday.


  

Full Speed Ahead

We had one full schedule today! First we checked out a soccer game, then we joined ELI in it's third annual Wee Walk. It was foggy and cold for both morning events, so it took some encouragement to keep the kids moving and somewhat warm. James, for some reason, had to be chased down and wrestled into a jacket. Thank goodness it was bright red, because he followed his muse at the walkathon.

This event was held at a city park. Lots of vendors were there to promote their services, and they had lots of fascinating things at their tables for the little ones too. Both my kids' eyes got big when they saw the stickers, hand balls, gold fish snacks, and cute little bottles of water. I almost got them to try the jumpy. But then my daughter fussed that *I* had not brought her socks. I steered her to the sticker and beads play table instead.

James did at least four laps that I saw. I lost track after talking with the people from Red Cross and My Gym ... and then panicked when I didn't see him walking the little loop. The red jacket allowed me to quickly discover that he'd decided to take a break in some poor vendor's chair. Because he was in a snacky mood, he'd poured the goldfish treats into the cupholder and was taking his time, relaxing and munching.

The vendor was very nice and said he looked too cute to move. We ended up having a really good time (despite the cold weather) raising $35 to help support some great programs!

Then we had lunch and headed over to a local Air Show. We pulled over to the side of a rural road to watch the displays and have our ears treated to jet fighters roaring right over us. James took this aural assault much better than his sister did, to my surprise.

I think it's the F-15 ... but don't quote me!

While we watched the show, the fog melted and the day heated up. So we went to the gym and spent an hour in a largely empty pool. James asked me to tow him around so he could "kick-kick-kick-kick". He also amused himself for quite a while on the pool stairs, and enjoyed playing with me by having splash wars and jumping off the wall into my arms.

It was tough to get him into bed. He was so tired that he cried and yelled. He didn't want to wear pull ups. I felt bad, but really did not want to be woken up in the middle of the night to clean the bed if he had an accident. So help me, it's how I feel tonight. Once in bed, his sister brought him around with a rousing installment of Random TellyTubby Tales. They usually involve TubbyToast and/or TubbyCustard. They are great plot devices, in a food fight kind of way. Very soon after she wished him sweet dreams, his room grew quiet ... and he was down for the night.

A Different Kind of First Friday

First Fridays used to mean Family Connection Parenting Classes run by James' preschool. Some of these were extremely helpful, and it was nice to connect with other parents of kids on the spectrum. As we crept up on the second year, it became less effective for me, as they covered the same hot topics every year. I started ducking out, feeling guilty.

End of Year First Friday Family Picnic, 2008

Once again, it's a First Friday, and I am at home, drinking coffee and looking at my To Do list, vol. IV, and remembering how happy James was on the walk to school this morning. He was extremely vocal, calling out things like "I'm walking!" and "Ooh look -- dere's a leaf!"

As we rounded a corner, we scared a group of ravens off a neighbour's yard, and they flapped away across the street to land on top of a tall street light. James struggled to capture this with expressive speech "Look! They go ... they go over dere. They go ... up, Mommy! They tall! Up High! Big!" And laughing. How I do love that boy.

Two blocks from school, with the drop-off parking lot in sight: "I'm James (hand on chest) ... and You are Mommy (hand pointing to me)." Wow. He was already getting ready for being in class. We got onto the play yard just as classes started lining up. He ran right over to his aide and gave her a hug. I got what I think of as the Push Off Wave: "Good bye, Mommy!" with the hand and palm flat out, arm straight, as to push me off ... but waving. He is polite.

I walked off, checking him out discreetly; but he was all set to start his day and happy to be there. So I came home. To drink some coffee. And grin. And enjoy a wonderful, bittersweet First Friday.

Day Two of ...

Dry pants in the morning! Blueberry waffle breakfast on the sofa with his sister! Dressing himself! Walking to school together!

James paused more on the way to school, asking where people were. His sister, Nana, and Daddy were the constant ones. He also asked about his Apu and SHAPE asst. Finally I realized he kept seeing Toyota vans -- the kind his Nana drives. How to explain that this type of van is one of the 2 top popular mini vans right now? Change of subject, says I.

We talked about leaves changing colour, trucks, and familiar faces. Because we saw a few. Former classmates from various schools and programs. James got to run about a little on the playground before the line-up chime sounded. We found his Room's line-up animal:

His aide said he was excited to discover a good friend from the second (mainstream) preschool in the kinder class across the hall. We only had a minute to chat, though. James could not wave me "Good-bye, Mommy!" fast enough. Again. Well, at least some of the other Moms will talk to me ...


And on the way back home I got to:

  

Special Exp. / Wordless Weds: First Day

James started his first day of Kindergarten today. He was so happy!



For more great images or to join in the fun, Visit Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs.


and ... Wordless Wednesday

Magic Marker Monday: Waiting

I met with the Full-Inclusion Coordinator at James' new school, so we could go over James' schedule and related information. Because I know she is new to the position and will be swamped with new faces and back-to-school activities, I made a cheat sheet for James, with contact names and information at the top and bullet points of his ... hmmm, how do I put this? behaviours and tips for good coping strategies. I was lucky to have almost an hour with her.

James came with me. And he took almost 150 photos with my new phone's camera to pass the time. I am really becoming a fan of letting the kids use my camera to see what they notice and focus on.

Just see some examples below:

Visit 5 Minutes for Special Needs for more Magic Marker Monday.


  

Daddybration

Last week we celebrated James' Daddy's birthday. I was looking at the pictures and one caught my eye:

James in the past has not been able to successfully blow noisemakers or get enough air into one of the party blowers to straighten it out ... until recently. In this picture, it almost looks to me like he's trying to figure out just where his mouth is and priming it for party noise use. It tickled me to see how excited he got, making them work properly.

Of course, he wasn't the only one getting into the noisemaking act. He had some company:

And oh how he likes being able to keep up with Big Sister. How we loved seeing them showing their love and excitement for their Daddy.