Why, thank you! I didn't realize it until you mentioned it! Wow! Do you realize that that probably equates to 3 or 4 posts containing anything of substance?
Big day for Kendra at school today! So far all the kids have accepted her just as she is. She is the first one out the door at dismissal and Ken and I are waiting as Miss Pam pushes her out in her wheelchair. Then the other kids are right behind her, we have to stop, turn and face them, and everyone of them says, "Bye Kendra" as they walk past her. She just giggles and waves "bye" at each one. They bring her toys, help push her chair from circle time to story corner, and so on. She's just part of their class and they don't care that she doesn't speak to them - she interacts with them as she can and that's plenty good enough for them.
This morning she took her black wallet with her "Go Fish" cards inside it. She loves those cards because they are for toddlers so the numbers are bright and clear, and instead of clubs, diamonds, etc they have different sea critters on them. (8 crabs, 1 Octopus, etc) So when it was her turn for Show and Tell, she got her wallet out of her backpack and opened it up. Then she started taking out the cards, saying the number on the card and naming what critter was on it. The kids were astounded! They were jumping up and down and saying, "Kendra can talk, she can talk!!" After that class got a more than a little disrupted because kids kept leaving what they were doing, running up to her, pointing at themselves and telling her, "Say Kate" or "Say Connor"! They all wanted her to say their names and were encouraging her like crazy, and cheering for her when she got one! I guess it was incredible! Wish I'd have been there! And God bless those teachers for realizing this was a moment of learning for both Kendra and the other kids and, aside from trying to keep it orderly, they just let it all unfold naturally! Oh, what a moment for all of them. I'm bawling again.
