Day 51 and Halloween party

Zack's normal teacher was pulled to be with another student this morning, and so he was in with me with the teacher he had at the beginning of the year. He is a different child with each of them, and I like him much better with my normal/regular teacher! He gets away with a whole lot more talking and questioning when the teacher from the beginning of the year is with him, and I am SO thankful we had the change--I don't think I would enjoy him as much if it hadn't happened! He enjoyed our Halloween party and did all the crafts and activities with a little assistance from his step-mom. He was dressed as a firefighter, and I got to meet his mom and maternal grandparents today. He is definitely a well-loved, thriving and happy kid. I'm proud to see how well he is fitting in with the class!

Snow Day!

So I'm sitting at home nice and warm instead of working with my kids today, but I forgot to mention two really fun ideas brought up by Zack's grandfater at the IEP. Cool idea number one: softball for blind kids and teenagers is apparently all the rage! The bases are each created to make a distinct sound (first sounds different from second, etc.), and the ball has its own sound. The kids play the game completely by sound. . .how can that work? All I could imagine as I was listening was the idea of catching. . .does a sound-making ball coming quickly at you allow you catch it? Is it possible to do that without sight? Are the mitts different? I'm going to see what I can find on Google, but I thought that was cool. Zack's grandfather wanted to talk about it as a possibility for the future with his adaptive PE teacher.
Fun idea number two: wrestling for blind teenagers. The blind students wrestle with sighted kids, and the only rule change is that contact must always be kept. Apparently the one blind wrestler in Greeley is VERY fast!
So, I had to take a minute to stop my cozy reading to share. I'm curious to find out more!

Days 49 and 50

I am breathing a HUGE sigh of relief as I type today. . .it has been an awkward few days, but I think everything has finally blown over. Thankfully, the vision teachers listened to my feelings of discomfort about the situation, and they visited with the teacher Zack was having trouble with and also briefly with the principal. The teacher talked with Zack's step mom (she caught her in the hall on the way to the IEP) and to the vision teacher who was in the class with the disruptions. The next day, the afternoon literacy instruction and classroom management was apparently top-notch. I made a point to mention to my teammate this morning that the vision teacher was impressed with her teaching and management on the day after the incident, and I am SO hopeful it stays this way. I am so thankful the vision teachers stepped up to take care of the situation so that I could simply act as a concerned teacher and teammate and NOT as a supervisor. Hopefully we're all set for smooth sailing the rest of the year. . .I don't want to go down that road again!
Zack's IEP went great on Tuesday, and his family is very pleased with everything. It was nice to hear encouraging words from his parents and grandparents and the vision team about the environment in my classroom for Zack. I am really glad I have learned as much as I have about interacting with students who are blind as I think it has helped me to adapt much better to Zack. I took a quick look at the website, and I'm really excited to look at it. The book list is a great idea--I may go to the library this weekend and see what I can find to help the class continue to learn and respect and build friendships with Zack. Maybe if it snows I can play on it during the day. . .we'll see!!

Day 48

So Zack was with me for all of literacy today, and he did great as far as paying attention, sitting appropriately and interacting with the class. I've noticed he has a habit of echoing or copying other kids and even me. . .his teacher is great at re-directing him to help him understand the question or assignment. Hmm. . .so a situation came up that made me thankful I haven't made the blog public. Zack is working with a different classroom teacher (along with his vision teacher) during the afternoon literacy block (I was teaching it until last week), and things aren't going so smoothly. There are some management issues in the other classroom that are causing some big distractions for Zack and are negatively impacting his learning. His step-mom came in to watch today (she comes a few times a month) and observed during the literacy block with the other teacher, and she was not happy. She and the vision teacher described the problem to me, and I am feeling very much in the middle. As his classroom teacher, the parent liaison and the other teacher's teammate who wants her to succeed, it is my job to pass this information along so she can correct or improve the situation. (I'm assuming it's my job--I would want someone to do it for me rather than go over my head). I'm especially concerned about what will happen if things don't change after she is made aware of the concerns. . .what then? Who presents the concerns to our administration so the teacher can get some guidance and/or coaching and help? I am VERY uncomfortable in this position! Hopefully I'm making too much out of it. . .but then the vision team and parents are upset and concerned. . .this is completely new territory for me and something I did NOT expect with having Zack in my class. . .we'll see! Maybe it will all come out in his IEP meeting tomorrow and I will be off the hook. . .

Day 47

Zack is continuing his impressive independence. . .he is shining when we give him the opportunity! I agree, though--it's rare that we give him a chance to show us his independence. We have his IEP on Tuesday this week, and I'm curious as to what his goals are. He had mastered 19 of 26 braille letters at his first parent conference, and he was at 21 of 26 by the next conference only 4 days later. He's learning how to use his fingers independently on the braille machine, and I'm amazed at listening to him read. I'm noticing that if I don't sit down to blog before I go to bed, I'm not remembering the things I noticed at school that day. Life has been busy lately, and my observations (which I'm sure were valid and would have led me to additional thoughts and questions) are gone from my memory. . .there's a lesson for a teacher-researcher--don't rely on your memory! Maybe I can make short little notes during the day and then add them to the blog. . .I don't have access to the blog at school, so that doesn't help. I will chalk the last few days up to learning a lesson the hard way and start fresh this week.

Day 45

Zack made some huge gains today, and I'm really proud of his independence. He came in with the class from music, and he was the boys' line leader. He and the girls' line leader held hands, so she was his sighted guide. It'll be like that all week, so I'll have to see if it continues working well. Anyway, the teacher who goes with him to specials usually goes to get the vision teacher who is with us the majority of the time. Sometimes Zack goes with her, and sometimes he stays with us. When he is sitting at the carpet with the rest of the class but without his teacher, he tends to be disruptive. He reaches all around him and knocks over things he finds, and he asks questions incessantly about where the teacher is and what's happening. Today was different, though--he sat appropriately with his head up and listened to the math lesson! He counted with us (I modified everything to be very auditory) and didn't ask once about the whereabouts of his vision teacher. I really praised his independence AND the independence of the class and their listening skills, and I told the vision teacher in front of Zack how impressed I was with his behavior. Hopefully strides like this will continue to happen--he has the potential to fit perfectly in with this group of kids and be very socially appropriate.

Day 44

So I learned tons about Zack at his conference when I heard from the lead vision teacher, the speech therapist and the physical therapist--it was great! So according to the lead teacher, Zack's interaction in class and his ability to sit and listen and follow directions have improved greatly since kindergarten. She mentioned some of the ways I have worked to include him (calling on him with the same frequency as the other kids, mentioning his name occasionally to cue him back to our class discussion), and I was thrilled to hear that positive feedback.
The speech therapist's report was probably the most interesting to me. She has been working with Zack on staying on a particular topic to carry on a conversation. As she said this, I realized that he does have much more trouble than a typical six-year-old when it comes to staying on a topic. Also, she said that she is having to really work to get him to stop asking so many questions (apparently appropriate questioning is a skill he worked on last year) because he is only asking questions instead of answering them or having a normal conversation. It was like a light turned on for me when she said that as Zack is incredibly curious and always asks questions to the point where it's more than you're typical child. We all discussed his fascination with adults, and once again, this was something I hadn't identified yet. It's true, though--Zack is much more interested in talking and interacting with adults than his peers. Is this because he always has an adult with him? Where is this coming from?
Next, the speech therapist talked about helping Zack to understand his prepositions by having him place an object around on a tray (or table or something). She thought he was having some trouble with them, but the vision teacher thinks he may be acting up when he's not performing for the speech therapist. Also, she thinks he may have some confusion with his pronouns. He'll occasionally say something about "you doing something" when we think he is trying to say "I am doing something." He does it when he talks about blowing his nose and will sometimes say "you need to blow your nose" when we think he means to say "you need to help me blow my nose" or "I need to blow my nose."
The physical therapist talked about her struggle and creativity in teaching Zack how to run naturally with opposite arm and leg movements. She said she'll occasionally carry him (all 30 pounds of him, I'm sure!) and run with him so he can feel the motion. How cool is that?! I am curious to hear more about what she's doing.
I have another conference with his father and step-mom/girlfriend tomorrow, so I'm excited to hear what other cool things I am going to find out about Zack's education.

Day 43

So Zack was too cute today. . .he loves to carry on conversations, and when I was talking with him at the end of the day, he wanted to know what I was doing after school. He is an amazing conversationalist, by the way--very articulate and friendly. I told him I was going home, and he asked if he could come to my house. :) He makes me smile! As I think about this, it might be a little immature for a six-year-old, but he is also somewhat of a clown. Hmm. . .I'll have to watch more of our interactions to see how he compares socially to his classmates. I only had him for a bit today, but he did join us at the end of literacy (and during math and writing as always). He came in as we were discussing our predictions from a story, and our class filled him in on the story so he could join the discussion. His questions about the story were right on target--he definitely has a sharp mind!
We had an interesting interaction with the class today. One boy in my class today was sitting at the carpet when Zack came over to join us as we were all getting ready to start a math lesson. His vision teacher stepped back to get something, and the child said, "Zack, sit." I immediately told him not to be bossy and to apologize (the child is known for being bossy) and reminded him he was not Zack's teacher. I hope I explained to the child how to treat him in the future and why his command was inappropriate. First graders. . .it's always something!
I have a meeting with the vision teachers in the morning to go over Zack's report card before conferences, and then I have a conference with one of his parents on Thursday and the other on Tuesday. I haven't had much interaction with the mother, a little with the father, and quite a bit with the step mother. We'll see how it goes. . .family dynamics are always interesting in conferences! Because of conferences, though, I won't have my kids again until Monday. . .

Day 42

Short and sweet today! Zack was back at school, but he's still really stuffy and had an ear ache today. I hope he can keep healthy! He sometimes has a harder time working when he doesn't feel good, but what six or seven-year-old doesn't?! He actually brailled a few CVC words on his own and read them today. His vision teacher was so excited I had to come see the commotion, and he read me the words he had just brailled. Apparently the vision teachers have been working on getting him to use his fingers in different combinations (the brailler he has has three keys for each hand, and he pushes one or a combination of several to make each letter), and he did it on his own. I came over to have him read to me, and he asked me, "Are you blind with me?" I think maybe he was asking me if I could read braille. . .it was sweet. I said, "No, Zack, I'm not, but I wish I could understand braille like you can!" I made a point to call on him during the high-frequency word section of our reading this afternoon, and I asked the vision teacher and Zack to pick out the word. He did just fine on it, and the teacher and I talked for a bit at the end of the day. She was very encouraging about how I am including him just like the other kids, and it was great to hear that feedback. I've really been working on thinking about the things I'm reading in the textbook (not talking over his head, expecting the same from him, not making him feel like he's being treated like a baby), and those thoughts from her were just what I needed to hear.
Poor Zack had two kids crying and fighting about being his partner today, so we quickly created a list of the class (split by boys and girls) to make it fair. We'll just go down the list, and whoever is next can be his partner that day. Who would have thought he'd be our number one partner? The kids are getting even better about treating him like an equal, and I'd like to think it has something to do with my interactions with him and the modeling and explaining I've done with them. Who knows--kids are naturally smart and good with one another, so I don't want to take any credit where it's not due!

Day 41

So today was a shortened day at school, and we didn't have math thanks to a bullying presentation. I wasn't able to work with Zack on any math skills or to try out my theory on his ability to count out a quantity using a bowl or other shallow container to help him understand conservation of number and the idea of a number representing a particular quantity. I DID get to have him in my class for all of literacy, though, and apparently it happens every Monday. I missed the pattern in the midst of the daily chaos, I guess! Anyway, I am making a conscious effort to make sure I call on Zack as often as the other kids, but I know I occasionally don't call on him when we are doing our high frequency words because I know he isn't doing these with us regularly and isn't expected to know them. Should I call on him during this time, too? I call on him enough that it isn't obvious, but I know he is learning his braille letters and not focusing on "sight" words during his time (Tuesday-Friday) with the vision teacher. I'll ask the team about it. . .I don't want to treat him differently!
There is a short article in the textbook I've been referring to about a blind adult who recalls learning that he didn't ever have to do his best on assignments in school. His first grade teacher asked the class to help him be safe at recess, so he had extra playmates. His middle school teachers assigned him half of the homework as other kids, and his high school teachers gave him half the reading and often gave him ful credit for partially completed work. The author of the article says it gave him a sense of entitlement that he didn't have to perform at the level of his peers. This entitlement came back to teach him a lesson when he got his first job and tried to do less than what was expected. He said it felt good to finally earn his full paycheck (after not getting a full check due to not completing his work) when he knew he had met the expectations. This made me think about Zack, of course. Am I unknowingly lowering my expectations of his production abilities? I can't think of a particular time this has come up, but he is unable to type in braille at this point so he has different expectations during writing time. Hmm. . .I think this may be another point to ponder and to watch for over the rest of the semester. . .

Days 37 through 40

A big chunk of time has gone by since my last blog, but Zack was out sick some this week. I got to work one-on-one with him on Friday for a while and then did his report card with his lead vision teacher, so I have lots to report on. :)
On Friday, I gave Zack the math test I've been giving to the other students since school started. It's a simple counting test that involves counting 32 cubes, counting out a given quantity, adding and taking away from a group of cubes and asking questions about adding or taking away cubes. He did fine on the counting piece (he started counting by 5s when he hit 25, but the teachers assured me this was him "performing" for me and that he regularly counts to 40 correctly for them), but he struggled on counting out a particular quantity. I discussed it with the vision teacher, and we think that he needs a container to put the cubes into so that he can touch the ones he's counted. He would just keep counting when I asked him to give me a pile of 18 or 12 or 7, never noticing when he reached the number. He was putting the cubes in a deep tray, though, and I think this was impacting his idea of conservation of number. Because he wasn't able to feel the cubes he had counted, he was performing a rote counting task rather than recognizing when he had reached a given quantity. Hmm. . .that may not make sense to anyone but me! It seemed foreign to him to create a quantity, so we're going to try it again with a shallow bowl for him to put the cubes in so the task seems more concrete.
His report card was a little challenging, but I think his vision teacher and I have the kinks all worked out. It was frustrating to grade him on tasks designed for seeing children (like letter recognition or sight word recognition) because he is at a different place in his reading instruction. Apparently braille is much more challenging to learn than visual letters? That may be another chapter I want to read quickly so I can have a better grasp of why that is. Although I don't work with him during reading time at all, it would be nice to understand what she is talking about. Remembering to give all of the testing materials to the vision team has been challenging. . .I can hardly keep up with the testing I have to do! We survived, though, and all of Zack's testing is done and his report card is complete. One day at a time, right?

Day 36

So Zack was sick this weekend, and he was not his usual, bubbly self this morning. I hope he can stay healthy this week so I can keep learning from him! I realized this morning that I completely forgot to give the new homework packet to my vision teacher (the one I've had ready for over a week!). . .you'd think after almost two months I'd remember things like that!
So the latest chapter I've started reading from my vision textbook deals with the psychosocial needs of children with visual impairments, and it's just what I've been needing to see. It talks about there being a continuum of attitudes toward the student who is blind. On one end is a completely negative and depressing attitude in which those around the visually impaired student believe he or she is destined to always be missing out on life and lonely and dependent on others for everything. On the other end of the continuum is the attitude toward the visually impaired student that he or she can do anything and everything and function completely independently without recognition of any limitations. The authors of the text feel that those around the visually impaired student must find a "happy place" along the continuum in order to help the student to thrive. I've only started the chapter, but the discussion about how much those around the student can impact his or her self perception is eye-opening. Those who interact with the student every day (according to the text--Foundations of Education: History and Theory of Teaching Children and Youths with Visual Impairments, 2000, edited by Holbrook & Koenig) play a huge role in the development of his or her self concept. Every time an adult does something the student could do for himself or speaks to another person as if the student were not there has an impact on how the student will perceive himself. On the other hand, every time someone ignores the student's blindness and treats him like he faces no obstacles, the student's concept of self is falsely inflated. Those of us in Zack's life have an important line to walk in order to help him learn to be proud of himself and to be independent and confident. I am going to closely monitor my interactions with him over the next week (which I guess I have been doing already) to see if I am negatively or positively impacting his development of his self image.

Day 35

So Zack amazed me today in that he is already able to count by 10s using his abacus! Most of my kids did not know how to count by 10s, but he was really confident. I used (and made, I think) an abacus in sixth grade, but I don't remember much. Maybe math is an area I should explore more as Zack is in my class for my entire 90 minute math block every day. I think the latest schedule for our vision teachers is finally set, and I'm going to be keeping my AWESOME teacher with me. She was with him all day on Friday, and it was SO nice to have Zack back to normal. He just behaves so much more maturely with her. I think she has much higher expectations and is much stricter with him. Also, she takes care of any discipline issues and doesn't rely on me. It is a huge load off of my shoulders having her in there. She is also the most positive and energetic woman, always doing things for the class and for other staff members. Having her with me all day has just been a boost for my energy and attitude. I will miss not having a vision student next year since she won't be with me! The change was definitely a good thing a month or so ago--who would have known?! So I watched really closely this week when we went out as a class for our extra recess, and Zack ended up swinging by himself (with his teacher pushing him) for the entire 15 minutes. The other kids were preoccupied by a visit from our middle school helper who spent the first three days of the school year with us. They adore her, and she had more than half the class (if not all the class!) following her around the playground. Poor Zack was left by himself, but he seemed very content on the swings. Maybe next week I'll get to see a more normal play time as I'm curious how the kids interact with him. They are so "into" him in the classroom that I can't imagine that him swinging all alone is normal. His social development and interaction is clearly the most interesting piece to me as I'm curious to see his friendships (or lack there of) begin to form.

Days 33 and 34

So Zack got to participate in our class depiction of nickels and pennies in my math lesson yesterday, and it was fun to see him holding his nickel and showing the other kids five fingers. I think he got the concept, but the class LOVED having him participate. He's been the favorite partner the last two days now, and I think he's had at least 2 partners every day. I don't mind--the vision teacher keeps the group on track, so it's good for everyone. I had the first teacher Zack had back in with me for a while this morning, and it's interesting how differently Zack acts with both of them. Some of the noises and talking were back, and I was the primary disciplinarian when the original teacher was back. It is SO much easier for me when the discipline is not on my shoulders. It's not like I ignore anything or treat him any differently than the other children, but some of his speaking during group time is hard on me because I don't know when he is doing it to be disruptive and when he needs information. Lots of times he's asking valid questions about what is going on. . .I can't quite figure out what is so different with each teacher. Maybe it's the way he's asking questions with the other teacher (or maybe he just doesn't ask questions as often with the second teacher who is much more firm). . .no clue, but I am thankful when the discipline issues vanish. :)
I read through a chapter in the text book today about adolescent children who are blind, and there's a completely different side of the story with social situations and adjustment. I don't think I ever noticed just how much of our communication is non-verbal--you can read volumes into a social situation just by watching the body language! Zack's step mom came in to work in my classroom today, and I really like her. Zack adores her and responds well to her, and it's always nice to have some help. I just hope the conferences go well in a few weeks. I am completely uncomfortable discussing Zack's academic progress because I work so little with him during the day. The vision teachers will be the leaders in the conference for sure. I'm guessing the parents are expecting this? They speak with his vision teachers each day instead of me (they do acknowledge me and are friendly, of course--they have been great), so they clearly have much more communication with them. We'll see how that goes!