I continue to have nothing to blog about. FB has stolen my blogging mojo. I promise to take some pics this week and post. Gaaaw I suck. I got an Ip*one for mothers day. I freakin' love it. I set up my phone so I could blog from my cool phone....but I have yet to figure out how to post something. Lets see.....I hurt my hand at work. I had to restrain a student after she kicked out a window in my classroom. Yep, the governor cuts my pay for two months, and my students have flipped their shit. Not good. The last month of school sucks. I have been testing students for two weeks. We are not even finished yet. Next week is remediation and then we test the students again. Most of my students will not pass the EOG test....cuz they are below grade level...that is why they are in special ed. I used to get all worked up about it, but it is what it is. I am excited to say that most of my students have demonstrated GREAT growth in reading this year. I assessed them in the beginning of the year and assessed them again in April. I was impressed with the growth most of them made. My inclusion students made the least amount of growth.....food for thought.
The family is doing well. It is still spring here in NC. I am ready for summer. Bring on the heat! I can't wait to go to the pool and hang out there all day with my kiddos.
Thats it. I told you I got nothin'
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Nothing New
I got nothin' to blog about, school is crazy. We are all just trying to make it to summer vacation. Ben is playing lacrosse and baseball, Hannah has soccer tryouts and well Sophie is three years old! So I thought I would post something that I had on our other blog. An oldie but goodie so to speak.
My thoughts last year on how best to reply to those statements about China and its one child policy. This post was in response to someone seeing Sophie with me at the hair salon and ranting about "how china just throws their girls away...." You know the drill. You have heard it before and if not, prepare yourself it will happen to you at the grocery store, park or even at a family picnic.
I guess what really bugs me about our fellow countrymen slamming another country, in our case our daughter's birth country, is their egocentric perspectives and need to impose American opinions, politics and culture upon other countries.
Chris and I were discussing China’s one child policy looking for a way for me to handle “those questions” better. We both agree that limiting the number of children a person can have is a major “human rights” offense. Having said that and after reading this paper and other recent articles on China’s population control policy, Chris made some interesting points. One of which is that China’s policy to limit family growth is in part born out of necessity, we do not agree with it, but there is no social structure to support those who cannot support their families. In the paper from Harvard the writer indicates that in China it “pays” not to have more than one or two children, having more than that will cost the family money in the form of a fine and payment for registration and education of the additional child. As we were discussing China’s policy, Chris pointed out that here in the U.S. the government will actually PAY people to have more children than they can afford to support. No you say?? Sure we do…..we provide subsidies for housing, medical care, mental health, dental, childcare, education, food stamps, etc. The more children you have in America that you can’t take care of the more the government will pay you to help take care of them…you don’t even need to leave the house!
People question how China “treats” their children. Really, how well do we treat our children here in the United States?? Even with “supporting” parents, children in one of the wealthiest countries in the world are neglected, unloved and die every day. Our foster care system…please... it fails children daily.
Every year I encounter children at school who require a flow map to explain who lives with them and how they are related to one another. Every year I wake up a parent of one of my students at 11:00 AM in the morning to come get their sick child, and they are not asleep because they worked second shift either. I have parents who do not have jobs, but can’t seem to make it to a meeting at school once a year. There are parents that have 5 or 6 kids and they are not even 30 years old yet. They can’t seem to figure out birth control but they certainly know how to fill out the free and reduced lunch forms.
I don’t disagree that as a society we should support those who are in REAL need. Poverty in America is a vicious cycle. But we have to be honest in saying that the system fails. It fails to instill hope for something better than a hand out, it takes away desire to succeed and care. Here in America it does pay to have more children than you can care for, it just doesn’t in many other countries.
My thoughts last year on how best to reply to those statements about China and its one child policy. This post was in response to someone seeing Sophie with me at the hair salon and ranting about "how china just throws their girls away...." You know the drill. You have heard it before and if not, prepare yourself it will happen to you at the grocery store, park or even at a family picnic.
I guess what really bugs me about our fellow countrymen slamming another country, in our case our daughter's birth country, is their egocentric perspectives and need to impose American opinions, politics and culture upon other countries.
Chris and I were discussing China’s one child policy looking for a way for me to handle “those questions” better. We both agree that limiting the number of children a person can have is a major “human rights” offense. Having said that and after reading this paper and other recent articles on China’s population control policy, Chris made some interesting points. One of which is that China’s policy to limit family growth is in part born out of necessity, we do not agree with it, but there is no social structure to support those who cannot support their families. In the paper from Harvard the writer indicates that in China it “pays” not to have more than one or two children, having more than that will cost the family money in the form of a fine and payment for registration and education of the additional child. As we were discussing China’s policy, Chris pointed out that here in the U.S. the government will actually PAY people to have more children than they can afford to support. No you say?? Sure we do…..we provide subsidies for housing, medical care, mental health, dental, childcare, education, food stamps, etc. The more children you have in America that you can’t take care of the more the government will pay you to help take care of them…you don’t even need to leave the house!
People question how China “treats” their children. Really, how well do we treat our children here in the United States?? Even with “supporting” parents, children in one of the wealthiest countries in the world are neglected, unloved and die every day. Our foster care system…please... it fails children daily.
Every year I encounter children at school who require a flow map to explain who lives with them and how they are related to one another. Every year I wake up a parent of one of my students at 11:00 AM in the morning to come get their sick child, and they are not asleep because they worked second shift either. I have parents who do not have jobs, but can’t seem to make it to a meeting at school once a year. There are parents that have 5 or 6 kids and they are not even 30 years old yet. They can’t seem to figure out birth control but they certainly know how to fill out the free and reduced lunch forms.
I don’t disagree that as a society we should support those who are in REAL need. Poverty in America is a vicious cycle. But we have to be honest in saying that the system fails. It fails to instill hope for something better than a hand out, it takes away desire to succeed and care. Here in America it does pay to have more children than you can care for, it just doesn’t in many other countries.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Bullets Baby
Some of this and some of that....
- Went to a purse fundraiser today for education.....women+purses=madness and lots of cash for ACES. The handbags were new and gently used. Some designer labels ( I got Hannah her first coach bag....pink)
- Rough week at school. Makes me wonder how she is doing as the year winds down. Working with emotionally disabled children is exhausting. Those who are called to work with this population of children should have free drink cards for every Friday night! My student kicked in a window this week, and I think I did something to my hand during the million times she had to be restrained these past few weeks.
- How cute are these??? Gaaaaw I love etsy!
- Looks like Friday was a big TA day....and no I am not talking about her running around in a bikini when she got her call!!
- FB is addicting.
- I can't wait for summer.
- I am hoping to have some visitors this summer.
- Sunday I will be joining the world of texting. I am not sure if that is a good or bad thing.
- Met up with some girls from our "travel" group...had we stayed NSN. We have fun and chatted.
- I love IKEA. There kids stuff is so nice and inexpensive. Hannah said " mom, this is what I want my apartment in college to look like....clean and contemporary lines...." Yeah, no more HGTV for Hannah.
- Sophie is still in our room.
- Sophie still has ZERO interest in not wearing a diaper.
- Sophie had a speech screening this week. She is about 6 months behind. We will re-screen her in the fall since she is in the midst of a language "boom".
- Ben made the all-star lacrosse team. He will be busy busy the entire month of June playing baseball and lacrosse!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
A Special (ed) Announcement
We had Sophie evaluated by Early Intervention and by our county/state pre-k program. In the past few weeks I have talked with friends about the programs and the procedures. I thought I would share some details with you about EI and the procedures most states follow. I will do the same for pre-k special education services next week. If I mis-inform PLEASE leave a comment and I will make a correction. My hope is to give new parents and parents with children from China the info and tools (secret code:) to navigate EI services.
The program details:
Early Intervention Programs serve children from birth to three years old. They offer educational, speech/language, occupational therapy and physical therapy. Screening and services are free. In some states (NC being one) if you makes lots of $$$$ you may have to pay a small fee. If your child is in daycare service providers will go to your childs daycare, if you are at home with your child they may come to your home or meet at their therapy offices. This might be different depending on your state. In the county that we live in they will go to daycares or see a child in their home. My sister also shared with me that in order to qualify for EI services your child will need to have deficits in a least two different areas (social/edcuational, speech/langauge, OT, or PT). After returning home from China and once everyone is settled in, I believe that it would be worth the time to have a screening completed.
Here is a link to a listing of contact info by state for Early Intervention Services
You do not need your doctor or teacher to refer you to EI. If you have a concern about your childs development you can request a screening/eval.
What usually happens in EI is that a few therapist ( an OT, SLP and an educational consultant) may come out to your home after you complete a form regarding developmental history, any concerns etc. When EI came to our home I was concerned about how sophie was chewing her food, more specifically that she was still "sucking" her food instead of chewing. An OT observed her eating french fries. An educational consultant and SLP asked her questions using visual props. They were at our house for about two hours. Part of the time was spent asking me questions, the other part was working and observing Sophie. At that time Sophie did not qualify for services. We did recieve a report scoring her achievment in each area. If she had qualified a more indepth evaluation would have been conducted in the areas identified in the "screening". After evaluations are completed they are reviewed with the parents and therapist. Next a IFSP ( idividualized family service plan) is developed. The IFSP will state your childs present level and the goal of the IFSP and what the therapist/family will do to reach those goals. IFSP are valid for one year, but can be revisited and changed as the child progresses. A parent may call a meeting to address the IFSP at any time during the life of the IFSP.
The best advice I can give any parent navigating services covered under IDEA is that you are your childs advocate. Start out nice. You can get more with sugar than with vinegar.....but if that doesn't work....You might have to get a little bitchy!
***Susan let me know if I left something out....or screwed something up.
The program details:
Early Intervention Programs serve children from birth to three years old. They offer educational, speech/language, occupational therapy and physical therapy. Screening and services are free. In some states (NC being one) if you makes lots of $$$$ you may have to pay a small fee. If your child is in daycare service providers will go to your childs daycare, if you are at home with your child they may come to your home or meet at their therapy offices. This might be different depending on your state. In the county that we live in they will go to daycares or see a child in their home. My sister also shared with me that in order to qualify for EI services your child will need to have deficits in a least two different areas (social/edcuational, speech/langauge, OT, or PT). After returning home from China and once everyone is settled in, I believe that it would be worth the time to have a screening completed.
Here is a link to a listing of contact info by state for Early Intervention Services
You do not need your doctor or teacher to refer you to EI. If you have a concern about your childs development you can request a screening/eval.
What usually happens in EI is that a few therapist ( an OT, SLP and an educational consultant) may come out to your home after you complete a form regarding developmental history, any concerns etc. When EI came to our home I was concerned about how sophie was chewing her food, more specifically that she was still "sucking" her food instead of chewing. An OT observed her eating french fries. An educational consultant and SLP asked her questions using visual props. They were at our house for about two hours. Part of the time was spent asking me questions, the other part was working and observing Sophie. At that time Sophie did not qualify for services. We did recieve a report scoring her achievment in each area. If she had qualified a more indepth evaluation would have been conducted in the areas identified in the "screening". After evaluations are completed they are reviewed with the parents and therapist. Next a IFSP ( idividualized family service plan) is developed. The IFSP will state your childs present level and the goal of the IFSP and what the therapist/family will do to reach those goals. IFSP are valid for one year, but can be revisited and changed as the child progresses. A parent may call a meeting to address the IFSP at any time during the life of the IFSP.
The best advice I can give any parent navigating services covered under IDEA is that you are your childs advocate. Start out nice. You can get more with sugar than with vinegar.....but if that doesn't work....You might have to get a little bitchy!
***Susan let me know if I left something out....or screwed something up.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Happy Birthday Beautiful!
Sophia June XuCan Born May 4, 2006 in the Shanxi Province, China. We love you Sophie!!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
I Love Suday Mornings
I love Sunday mornings. I love the ease of Sunday mornings. No games, no appointments, home cooked breakfast and the Sunday paper. Life is good!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Teacher Appreciation Week May 4th-8th
I am posting this because I received a note letting me know that teacher appreciation week was just around the corner ( funny because as a teacher I had no idea:) Anyway they (teachers at Sophie's school or the parent association) are asking for students to bring in certain items each day. Of course participation is voluntary. And I should also note that I L-O-V-E Sophie's teachers and was thinking about what to pick them up as a little thank you. I happen to give gift giving quite a bit of thought. No gift cards from this girl. One of my pet peeves is when (a) people tell me what to buy their kid for their birthday. Just for telling me..... I will not be picking that up. I have never received a "gift list" with a birthday invite but I have seen them and that would pretty much guarantee that I would be making a charitable donation in your kids name. Someone somewhere has lost their mind when they thought that was a good idea. Or (b) when people ask me what to get my kids, husband etc. as a gift. If you don't know us well enough to come up with something that we might enjoy, I for one think you are off the hook for picking up a gift !
For the record I inherited my gift giving "gift" from my mother. You can mention in July that you saw something and just loved and she will remember and it will be under the Christmas tree in December. Gifts should be thoughtful and something that you believe the person receiving the gift would enjoy....not something off some stinkin' list!
( * only exception to the list rule would be a bridal or baby registry*)
For the record I inherited my gift giving "gift" from my mother. You can mention in July that you saw something and just loved and she will remember and it will be under the Christmas tree in December. Gifts should be thoughtful and something that you believe the person receiving the gift would enjoy....not something off some stinkin' list!
( * only exception to the list rule would be a bridal or baby registry*)
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