Days 7 and 8

So I'm learning more every day about how Zack thinks and learns and about how I can improve my teaching to better meet his needs. I inspected the coloring "screen" that he puts his papers on top of before he draws or colors, and it makes the crayon lines so he can feel them after he draws. It was pretty cool to have him explain his drawings to me with his fingers. . .his mind is amazing!
We were talking about tigers today during our reading block, and I had the thought, how can he learn the names of things without seeing them? Don't seeing children see things before they learn the names? I can't imagine describing a big cat to a child simply for the purpose of teaching him the word "tiger," so how did he learn what a tiger is? Maybe I'm thinking more about how the opportunity to teach the word presented itself. . .did his family take him to the zoo and describe the animals? Most kids would encounter tigers in cartoons or in movies or in books or at the zoo and would have a need to learn the word, but this wouldn't be the case for Zack. I guess the same thing applies to so many things in our world. . .how do you "know" something without seeing it? Hmm. . .sounds like it goes back to the age old question of which came first, the chicken or the egg? :)
I've been watching how he interacts with the other children, and it seems like the kids in my class are intrigued with him. I'm not sure if they are building relationships with him, though. Do the other kids think they can be friends with Zack in the same way they can be friends with the seeing children? I know with the deaf boys I had last year, the hearing kids loved to learn sign language to try to be friends with the deaf boys--they were some of the most popular kids in our class! So is it different with Zack because he can't do the things the deaf kids could do without the help of his vision teacher? This is something I want to watch more closely, and I may have to go out to lunch and recess to get a real feel for how the kids are interacting with Zack. The classroom does not always present itself to relationship building and play situations, and there are not many times when he is not right next to a vision teacher or assistant. Does the presence of an adult impact how my kids view Zack? I need to get out and watch more to be able to figure this one out, but I think socialization is a huge part of Zack's school experience.
I had a great meeting with the vision team to go over my plans for this week on Friday after school, and it helped me to be more prepared for all of my kids. It may be challenging to find more time than once a week after school to have an extensive meeting with them, but they are great at finding flexibility in their schedules to work through any issues we're having. There haven't been many so far, but I am a little concerned about Zack missing math time for his vision work. I know it's really important for him to learn how to navigate around the school, and I think I need to see that he will get the education he needs whether or not he is in our room during math time. We also have an extended math block for exploration and centers this year, and his vision teacher and I have discussed using this time to cover any important material he missed while he is out doing his therapy. As long as he can get the material then, I'll be happy. I guess it's almost more important that Zack learn some life skills at school since it's really the only time he is with people who are trained to help the blind. He has to be able to take himself places and to learn how to hear and feel where walls are and to walk in a straight line with a cane and to use the bathroom on his own. . .maybe I need to re-examine what I see as "important" for first grade when it comes to special needs kids like Zack. . .