So that's what we'll be doing all summer, watching nature and our garden grow...
Brook has an ear infection...poor girl.
But the grand news here today is their report cards were fabulous. B got all S's and Gage's lowest grade was an 87 w/a yearly average in spelling of 100!
Cochlear sent me these bumper stickers for the Awareness Program and Gage put one on his 4 wheeler!
And they sent these magnetic thermometers that stick to our doors. I have one on the patio (where I practically live) and it said 84 this afternoon while the cool front porch said 76.
and this was on the way back from picking the kids up from school on Fri. where classes were dismissed early due to the incoming snow...
But here's what I wanted to tell ya...I now know what I really sound like...my girl must have really good maps on those processors because yesterday, I heard her playing w/her dolls, walking around w/a stroller, her purse, fake cell phone, fake nails, and as she's talking, I realize how much she sounds just like me. She was in the middle of saying, "Oh are ye, are ye?" when she dropped her phone, you see her here immediately dialing the person back and then she says, "sorry, dropped my dern phone!" Wow, I'm gonna really work on my English, lol...
I've already had first graders write 'git' for get when I called out spelling words one day while subbing...talk about embarrassed, I had to go back and give them another try on that before the teacher came back and found 20 wrong answers, she would have figured that mispronunciation out quick! lol
Oh girls are so different than boys! Gage rarely ever even looks in a mirror, he could go days without passing one and never think twice about it...but not this chick. She received the mirror to so she could check out those pretty new earrings without having to climb on my bathroom counter. She came to me asking why she had two big teeth coming in (a pair of molars in the very back) and then she turned around asking me why her coil snapped back on her head when she barely pulled it off. I informed her she had another magnet inside her head and the coil magnet liked to hug up next to the other magnet and she says, "oh." But she had no idea she had a magnet inside her head too, guess she thought it was just in the coil.
I had to go to the school today when she complained of static, turns out one of her receivers (the FM battery cage for her processor) wouldn't turn on, so off to the "shop" it'll go.
She had her first spelling test today and got them all right so she has NO HOMEWORK tonight, woohoo. (kindergarten spelling words were...I,a,my,go,he). Good job B!
On a side note, ADHD related...not sure Gage's meds are helping as much as they used to. He's been on them for four months now but I've notice a lot of inattentiveness the last couple of weeks!!! Not quite as hyper as before, but I'm walking right behind him, having to force him to follow thru on things. I have the school watching him as well, and grades have dropped as well. Not sure they'll put him on anything stronger since he's so tiny but he's on the lightest dose still.
Why would I take on a fundraiser, at Christmastime, when money is tight for almost everyone...because it's especially hard for non-profits right now...
Why would a band like Todd Simpson and Mojo Child, be willing to perform a concert and let an organization like The Children's HEAR Center gain from the proceeds...because they know that little deaf and hard of hearing kids are asking Santa for things like, cd's, ipods, drums, guitars, because they love music ...
How is it a deaf child can do this?
...because no one told her she couldn't!
and why does he like 'games' like this?
...because he loves a good challenge
If you are in AL and want to attend this charity concert to help deaf/hoh kids like mine, here's where you'll find all the information! click here They are accepting monetary donations as well and you'll find out where to send those from the link above.
Why will I be at the concert Jan 9, 2010?
...because
by the time I spend two weeks at home w/these two kids, I'll be ready for a night out...with people over the age of 8. *smile*
As always, thank you Children's HEAR Center for helping my deaf kids hear, thank you for giving them a voice to sing in the shower, thank you for giving them opportunities, and thank you for giving them independence. Also thank you Todd Simpson who has also overcome obstacles and learned to play instruments by ear, when his dyslexia confused print...and thank you to Wes for handing your child (Todd) that harmonica a few years ago, we are all looking forward to enjoying your music on Jan 9. And thank you Alabama Power who has always supported Children's Hospital and for gladly helping in funding for our event as well, families all around are grateful for your generosity. Finally, thank you Tom Williams Lexus who immediately agreed to help fund this event and for taking time to "talk shop" with a little 8 year old deaf child. Get your tickets now (go to Jan 9, 2010 to order), we expect them to go fast!
Just so we're all clear, I could not read in Kindergarten. I learned my alphabet, I learned rules of the classroom, I learned to play with other children, I learned to color...but I did not learn to read. Brook, is already reading, Gage did as well. This is three months into the school year and wow, I'm shocked. This is without her glasses too! We went to have them(her glasses) adjusted last night and they accidentally broke her specs so we are getting new ones on Wed afternoon. Just before I started filming she had sentences with words like school in them, to me this is astonishing...not to even mention the fact that the child is deaf! So this goes to show you how much they CANand SHOULD be getting out of public school education!
Unfortunately not all of these are captioned...I apologize as they may be from long ago. I thought they may help some parents of newly diagnosed children with hearing loss. I'm not reposting the video I have at the bottom of my blog but it's probably the most inspriational where Gage was spelling answers, totally auditory. Anyway, here are some more speech samples, therapy ideas, etc.
this demonstrates something he's been doing since we added closed captioning to our t.v. He LOVES to spell obviously! kinda wears me out, you know, I can hardly keep up.(HE'S 6)
