Now that we’ve had the most amazing IEP meeting ever, the school has already started implementing the changes we discussed! We haven’t even signed the IEP yet but there’s no doubt we will…especially since we’re already seeing the benefits.
First, let me start with a story. Yesterday, Monkey and I were organizing his toys and I found a set of flashcards. Just on a whim I got him to sit down with me and I showed him the backs of each card where the word was written without a picture. He was able to read 3 of the words!
“Only 3?” one might ask? Yes, only 3 words we have never, not ONCE, tried to teach him…only 3 words he’s only ever seen written down as part of a story we were reading to him. So, only 3 is pretty freaking awesome.
This AM I e-mailed his teacher to let her know that there are 3 more words he can read besides the sight words she is working on. I got this in reply:
That’s great!
He did the most awesome job in writing workshop this morning (in gen.ed. 1st grade) with the assignment I had for him. I’m very happy because I used all the words we have been working on reading in our classroom and he seems to be retaining them (and generalizing this to other settings and materials). I had him basically reconstruct the farm book to teach him the concept of where the pictures go on the writing page and where the words go, and to teach the steps of the writing process they use in first grade. Then he had to construct the sentence in chunks “I see” then “a” then whatever the animal was “cow.” He found all the correct picture/word pairs independently and by the end he was starting to understand the order of words in the sentence. He began reading the sentences we constructed unprompted.
I’m not sure exactly what’s happening but whatever we are doing is working so let’s just keep going!!!
First day in writing workshop and he’s already blowing their minds and showing them he can master academic skills in an inclusive setting…perhaps we did have a clue when we said that math wasn’t the best idea…
That’s awesome!!! you must be sooo proud of C and yourselves for knowing and doing the right things for your beautiful child to succeed!!! XOXO love you, Auntie Debs
Thanks Debs! We need wins like these sometimes to remind us (and them) that we do know him 😉
“Pretty freaking awesome” indeed! Josh doesn’t “seem” to have academic strides, but yesterday…..Jennifer and I took him to the New Balance store to get new shoes. The sales person had a name badge on. Josh spontaneously said “Thank you Kathryn!” That was the name on the badge, and he has no other Kathryns in his life. Even the Kathryn herself realized how miraculous this was. We were stund and baffled and joyous all at the same time. <3
Oh, Angie! I *LOVE* that! Go Josh!
That is so miraculous to hear… 3 words can be the world to us parents of children with struggles! He sounds like he is really emerging and I am very excited for you.