How does the Extended School Year portion of your ARC meeting usually go? I don't think I've ever really discussed the need, or lack of, for ESY in our ARC meetings. I think it's kind of skimmed over, simply because there is no such thing in our county school system. And since there are a thousand or so kids receiving special ed services, I would have to assume there are a handful of kids who would benefit/need ESY services.
I've read a thing or two over the years about ESY, and wasn't surprised to see the topic in the email newsletter from Special Education Advisor. I'm really on the fence about ESY for Patty. I don't like the idea of sending my kids to school during their summer vacation, that just feels like undue punishment. Not to mention, the program probably wouldn't be at their school with their teacher. I think it might do more harm than good.
But, there are a lot of things that worry me about summer. I'm really concerned about the summer back slide, and the dreaded return of school anxiety that might pop up again in the fall.
What do you think about extended school year?
Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Augmentin leads to Colitis
After his surgery, JT was given a week's worth of Augmentin to combat infection. The antibiotic came with a stern warning that if any tummy troubles emerged, we should get to the ER STAT. We made that trip to the ER a week and a day after his freak accident. Initially we were reassured that it was more than likely a virus and sent home. But, since the tummy troubles persisted for more than four days, we headed to the walk-in clinic.
We left the doctor's office with a lab slip for a stool sample. Let me just say, collecting and bottling a stool sample is a very disgusting experience. But, it was necessary and it turns out that JT did indeed have colitis due to the Augmentin.
Colitis is basically the destruction of good bacteria in your intestine. Once the good bacteria is gone, the bad bacteria goes crazy and causes lots and lots of tummy trouble. Unfortunately the treatment for this is a drug called Flaggyl which doesn't come in liquid form. A local pharmacy was able to take the pill and turn it into a liquid but the medicine is super duper yucky. Combine that with a kid who hates to take any medicine that isn't the bubblegum-riffic Amoxicillin and you have a problem on your hands. Don't think I'm above bribery/threats to get my kids to take their medicine! And thankfully the dose is about a half teaspoon, which really isn't much.
JT never had the "bloody stool" the surgeon had warned us about, but thankfully the ER doctor instructed us to followup with his regular doctor if things didn't improve. If you or someone you know has to take a strong antibiotic, you might want to keep in mind that colitis can strike without the tell-tale bloody stool. If you develop tummy troubles and your doctor doesn't order it, request a stool sample to check for colitis.
We left the doctor's office with a lab slip for a stool sample. Let me just say, collecting and bottling a stool sample is a very disgusting experience. But, it was necessary and it turns out that JT did indeed have colitis due to the Augmentin.
Colitis is basically the destruction of good bacteria in your intestine. Once the good bacteria is gone, the bad bacteria goes crazy and causes lots and lots of tummy trouble. Unfortunately the treatment for this is a drug called Flaggyl which doesn't come in liquid form. A local pharmacy was able to take the pill and turn it into a liquid but the medicine is super duper yucky. Combine that with a kid who hates to take any medicine that isn't the bubblegum-riffic Amoxicillin and you have a problem on your hands. Don't think I'm above bribery/threats to get my kids to take their medicine! And thankfully the dose is about a half teaspoon, which really isn't much.
JT never had the "bloody stool" the surgeon had warned us about, but thankfully the ER doctor instructed us to followup with his regular doctor if things didn't improve. If you or someone you know has to take a strong antibiotic, you might want to keep in mind that colitis can strike without the tell-tale bloody stool. If you develop tummy troubles and your doctor doesn't order it, request a stool sample to check for colitis.
Off to a Good Summer Start
I grabbed a four pack of Dough and was very surprised at the quality. It was lacking that classic Play Dough smell, but the consistency was quite nice and it didn't crumble all over the place which is even better. And four colors for a buck is a great buy compared to one can of the other stuff at 88-cents a piece. And it fulfills our messy summer fun goal!
When the cashier told me my total, I was a little surprised, but just paid and headed out the door. I'm usually surprised by my basket total at the Dollar Tree. Guess I get a little shopping crazy with all those $1 signs everywhere. But, yesterday, JT confessed (as soon as we were in the car) that instead of one Kit-Kat, he had gotten three Kit-Kats! He always tells on his self. Love that about him.
Wanted to share an update to our summer learning that I mentioned in my School's Out post. I'm loving the Moffatt Girls products and not loving the Kindergarten Bridge workbook I bought. I really think the bridge workbook is way too easy. Lesson learned, I guess.
Patty has been eagerly working on the worksheets so far. She's still struggling with inventing sentences and putting them on paper. I'm still trying to figure out how to make that easier for her. Oh, why didn't I ever want to be a school teacher?
I started going through our junk for the yard sale I am determined to have this weekend. I never got everything together last summer to have a yard sale so I am making myself get this over and done with early this year. The plan is to have the sale on Saturday, and Saturday only. I don't want to pay to advertise so I've joined a few Facebook yard sale groups. I'm just not sure how comfortable I am posting my address on Facebook. There is a BooKoo site for our county and I signed up for that, too. Oh, and a friend recommended Craig's List. Do you think BooKoo and Craig's List are safer than Facebook? I'm pretty sure I can delete the listings on BooKoo and Craig's List. Not sure about those Facebook groups.
How do you get everything ready for your yard sale? I focused a few hours on the kids clothes and toys yesterday. Today I have my "hoarding" room to tackle. Not looking forward to that!
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Helpuful IEP Info on Wrightslaw
I spent a great deal of time last summer reading up on IEPs. After all of my research, I still get baffled by them. I can't understand how something so simple gets so complicated. I printed out Chapter 12: Smart IEPs (available in PDF on the website) from their book From Emotions to Advocacy and added the book to my reading wish list. I know Patty's school did an amazing job last year, but school is going to keep getting harder and I want to ensure Patty has the best opportunity to learn.
I had a conversation with Patty's advocate recently (from Protection & Advocacy) and she said something that really made me take note. Well, she always says something that makes me take note, she's one smart lady. But on that day, she told me that first and foremost, Patty is a First Grade student. She's not a special education student in first grade. It really resonated with me. It was a light bulb moment, for sure.
So, even though we have all summer before First Grade, I'm going to be spending some time looking at the things a Kindergartener is expected to know by the end of Kindergarten. How do I plan to do this? Well, I am going to look at her final IEP Progress Report and go from there. To start with. But, since an IEP doesn't cover all areas of learning, I'll also be spending a lot of time looking at the Common Core Standards. I was very lucky to receive a great email from Ms. P, Patty's special education teacher, where she broke down many areas and told me what Patty's weaknesses were.
Those common core standards are a mystery in and of themselves. Although the standards are fairly specific in what is supposed to be mastered in each grade level, the report card we receive doesn't specifically say if your child met the standard. That's a change we'll probably see in the years to come. Have you checked out the standards? I wonder if there is a "common core for dummies" book out there?
Update:
My bloggy friend Joy of I Can Say Mama left a great link in the comments. If you're looking for IEP goals/objectives, this may be just what you need! IEP Goals and Objectives Bank
Messy Summer Fun Activities
So far, we've played in shaving cream and made Cloud Dough, and I have been scouring Pinterest for more ideas.
Though messy, shaving cream never disappoints. If you have a spatula, clean up is pretty easy, too. I wasn't very impressed with the Cloud Dough. It really just felt like flour to me. Maybe I should have added more baby oil?
I can't wait to try this Elephant Toothpaste. And JT has asked to make a volcano. What did we ever do before Pinterest?
Monday, May 27, 2013
When Your Child Is Injured
I have a challenge for you. I want you to think about all the things in your home that could possibly cause injury to your child. Make a mental list....scissors, coffee table, knives.
Did anyone put storm door latch on your list? Probably not. I would never have put it on my list, either. That's a photo of the latch on our storm door right before my husband removed it. He removed it because of the freak accident it caused a week and a half ago.
You see, we were having a pretty ordinary Wednesday afternoon. Then, it feels like all hell broke loose.
Somehow, as JT was running out the back door, the latch got caught in his mouth and caused about an inch long tear through the corner of his mouth and cheek. I heard him crying, then I got to the kitchen and saw blood in the floor and thought, "Oh, he's bloodied his nose." Then I got outside and saw his face and just absolutely freaked out.
Thankfully, Casey happened to be home that afternoon and was standing in the middle of the driveway talking on his phone. JT is a bit dramatic when he's injured, so Casey didn't think anything of the crying until I screamed like a crazy person. I do remember screaming for him, and then just repeating hospital, hospital, hospital. I was in full panic mode. Literally, it felt like I was trying to run and my feet wouldn't move. At that moment, I couldn't remember where Patty was; if she was inside or outside of the house. Luckily, Casey is a better reactor than I am; thank you combat life saver training. He very calmly asked for a towel, I ran back into the house, grabbed a handful of paper towels, and my mom who happened to be at the house went for a towel. Then I managed to get car keys and phone while she and Casey guided JT to the car. It was quickly decided that I would sit in the back and apply pressure while Casey drove like a bat-out-of-hell to the ER.
That was the longest car ride of my life. We live about twenty-five minutes from the hospital, I don't know how long it took us that afternoon. But, we by-passed a line of cars at a stop light, and got pulled over for speeding. It definitely made me rethink waiting for an ambulance. But, as we got on the parkway, I am pretty sure JT was trying to pass out, so I'm glad we were on the way to the hospital. I don't think I could have held it together if we'd had to wait at our house. I can remember climbing into the back seat and JT asking for a band aid. Honestly, he was calm as can be considering the pain he had to be in. I felt like I was falling apart.
The hospital was phenomenal. My hands were covered in blood and the security guard filled out that first little piece of paper for us. Before she had it completed, there was a nurse checking his injury and telling us we were heading strait back to an exam room. Within minutes, a doctor was there looking at the damage. I will never ever complain about emergency rooms, because those folks were super heroes.
The plastic surgeon was paged and JT dozed off as we waited. Then, just before the doctor arrived, JT's head rolled to the left and blood ran out of his mouth. Like, a lot of blood. I didn't know it until the plastic surgeon arrived minutes later to check the wound, but the artery in his cheek had been severed. Have you ever seen an artery spraying blood? It's not something you want to see coming out of your child. It was like something out of a horror movie. Seriously.
I always knew there would come a time when one of the kids would need stitches. But, I was not prepared when the doctor said anesthesia and surgery in the same sentence. Our freak accident went from OMG to Holy Shit in a matter of seconds. Just the thought of having JT taken away from my side, no matter how necessary, absolutely scared me to death. Still scares me to death.
Then, the real work began. The completely wonderful anesthesia team came and scared JT to pieces. He was bleeding and I was trying to hold the gauze to his mouth. I honest to goodness felt like I was going to pass out. After much crying and fear, the anesthesia team called me out to the hall and basically said, we're going to go in, hold him down and give him a shot in his leg, it'll zone him out and we'll take him back to surgery. And that's exactly what they did.
And then the really hard part began. The waiting. It was horrible.
I'm not sure exactly how long he was in surgery. It felt like a thousand days. But, finally the doctor was finished and we were called back to speak with him. That's when the seriousness of the accident really emerged. It's not good when the doctor refers to it as a freak accident and says that a dog bite would have been preferable. The rip tore through his muscle, the one you use to pucker your lips, the nerve, and the artery. The doctor said he took his time so the scar would be less, but that if the lips didn't match back together perfectly, JT would be facing reconstructive surgery. There was mention of permanent muscle and nerve damage. It was a pretty scary conversation. Scariest conversation of my life.
And then there was more waiting. Surgery was over, but we still had anesthesia to deal with. I think that was the worst part of the whole night. It felt like an eternity before we were finally reunited with JT in recovery. And he was fine. I think that speaks volumes for the nurses who were with him. He had one final task before we could leave: urinate. He was still very groggy from the anesthesia, but his stitches looked great. Casey had to pack him to the bathroom because his little legs couldn't carry him. But, he took care of business and we were on our way home soon after.
The accident happened just before 4:30, and we were home around 11:30. Seven of the most gut wrenching hours of my life. I seriously want to wrap him in bubble wrap for the next decade.
The very next morning, I made a visit to the home improvement store. I am certain that if the pneumatic door closer thingy on our door had been functional, the freak accident would never have happened.
I was on a mission. The latch was going bye-bye as soon as Casey got home, and the new pneumatic thingy was going on before bedtime. This is the one I bought, the heavy duty one. I am going to start giving these things out as baby shower gifts. No home should be without one.
JT had his one week recheck and other than not letting the doctor remove the stitches, we got a good report. The stitches will come out on their own, but the scar would be better if the doctor could have removed them. I'm not really worried about the scar. I'm just glad that the muscle and nerve seem to be healing properly.
We were instructed to use scar gel (not Mederma), to massage the scar, and to come back only if there was a problem. I did have just a little bit of trouble finding the scar gel. The not-so-helpful secretary said look for "scar gel" but checking the ingredients told me that the store brand of "scar gel" is the same as Mederma, and that is exactly what the nurse said not to get. I really have no patience for secretaries who think they know enough to give out medical advice. I like to speak with the nurse or the doctor, and most doctor's offices don't allow secretaries to speak to patients about medical matters. Thankfully, the pharmacy had Kelo-Cote and it met the nurses ingredient instructions.
Other than a nasty looking crust of glue, JT's mouth looks almost normal. He let me pull off a piece of the glue last night and it bled just a little. He wouldn't let me near him after that. Here's a picture of him five days after, the first day he was really able to smile again.
Oh how relieved I was to see that beautiful smile!
You see, we were having a pretty ordinary Wednesday afternoon. Then, it feels like all hell broke loose.
Somehow, as JT was running out the back door, the latch got caught in his mouth and caused about an inch long tear through the corner of his mouth and cheek. I heard him crying, then I got to the kitchen and saw blood in the floor and thought, "Oh, he's bloodied his nose." Then I got outside and saw his face and just absolutely freaked out.
Thankfully, Casey happened to be home that afternoon and was standing in the middle of the driveway talking on his phone. JT is a bit dramatic when he's injured, so Casey didn't think anything of the crying until I screamed like a crazy person. I do remember screaming for him, and then just repeating hospital, hospital, hospital. I was in full panic mode. Literally, it felt like I was trying to run and my feet wouldn't move. At that moment, I couldn't remember where Patty was; if she was inside or outside of the house. Luckily, Casey is a better reactor than I am; thank you combat life saver training. He very calmly asked for a towel, I ran back into the house, grabbed a handful of paper towels, and my mom who happened to be at the house went for a towel. Then I managed to get car keys and phone while she and Casey guided JT to the car. It was quickly decided that I would sit in the back and apply pressure while Casey drove like a bat-out-of-hell to the ER.
That was the longest car ride of my life. We live about twenty-five minutes from the hospital, I don't know how long it took us that afternoon. But, we by-passed a line of cars at a stop light, and got pulled over for speeding. It definitely made me rethink waiting for an ambulance. But, as we got on the parkway, I am pretty sure JT was trying to pass out, so I'm glad we were on the way to the hospital. I don't think I could have held it together if we'd had to wait at our house. I can remember climbing into the back seat and JT asking for a band aid. Honestly, he was calm as can be considering the pain he had to be in. I felt like I was falling apart.
The hospital was phenomenal. My hands were covered in blood and the security guard filled out that first little piece of paper for us. Before she had it completed, there was a nurse checking his injury and telling us we were heading strait back to an exam room. Within minutes, a doctor was there looking at the damage. I will never ever complain about emergency rooms, because those folks were super heroes.
The plastic surgeon was paged and JT dozed off as we waited. Then, just before the doctor arrived, JT's head rolled to the left and blood ran out of his mouth. Like, a lot of blood. I didn't know it until the plastic surgeon arrived minutes later to check the wound, but the artery in his cheek had been severed. Have you ever seen an artery spraying blood? It's not something you want to see coming out of your child. It was like something out of a horror movie. Seriously.
I always knew there would come a time when one of the kids would need stitches. But, I was not prepared when the doctor said anesthesia and surgery in the same sentence. Our freak accident went from OMG to Holy Shit in a matter of seconds. Just the thought of having JT taken away from my side, no matter how necessary, absolutely scared me to death. Still scares me to death.
Then, the real work began. The completely wonderful anesthesia team came and scared JT to pieces. He was bleeding and I was trying to hold the gauze to his mouth. I honest to goodness felt like I was going to pass out. After much crying and fear, the anesthesia team called me out to the hall and basically said, we're going to go in, hold him down and give him a shot in his leg, it'll zone him out and we'll take him back to surgery. And that's exactly what they did.
And then the really hard part began. The waiting. It was horrible.
I'm not sure exactly how long he was in surgery. It felt like a thousand days. But, finally the doctor was finished and we were called back to speak with him. That's when the seriousness of the accident really emerged. It's not good when the doctor refers to it as a freak accident and says that a dog bite would have been preferable. The rip tore through his muscle, the one you use to pucker your lips, the nerve, and the artery. The doctor said he took his time so the scar would be less, but that if the lips didn't match back together perfectly, JT would be facing reconstructive surgery. There was mention of permanent muscle and nerve damage. It was a pretty scary conversation. Scariest conversation of my life.
And then there was more waiting. Surgery was over, but we still had anesthesia to deal with. I think that was the worst part of the whole night. It felt like an eternity before we were finally reunited with JT in recovery. And he was fine. I think that speaks volumes for the nurses who were with him. He had one final task before we could leave: urinate. He was still very groggy from the anesthesia, but his stitches looked great. Casey had to pack him to the bathroom because his little legs couldn't carry him. But, he took care of business and we were on our way home soon after.
The accident happened just before 4:30, and we were home around 11:30. Seven of the most gut wrenching hours of my life. I seriously want to wrap him in bubble wrap for the next decade.
I was on a mission. The latch was going bye-bye as soon as Casey got home, and the new pneumatic thingy was going on before bedtime. This is the one I bought, the heavy duty one. I am going to start giving these things out as baby shower gifts. No home should be without one.
JT had his one week recheck and other than not letting the doctor remove the stitches, we got a good report. The stitches will come out on their own, but the scar would be better if the doctor could have removed them. I'm not really worried about the scar. I'm just glad that the muscle and nerve seem to be healing properly.
We were instructed to use scar gel (not Mederma), to massage the scar, and to come back only if there was a problem. I did have just a little bit of trouble finding the scar gel. The not-so-helpful secretary said look for "scar gel" but checking the ingredients told me that the store brand of "scar gel" is the same as Mederma, and that is exactly what the nurse said not to get. I really have no patience for secretaries who think they know enough to give out medical advice. I like to speak with the nurse or the doctor, and most doctor's offices don't allow secretaries to speak to patients about medical matters. Thankfully, the pharmacy had Kelo-Cote and it met the nurses ingredient instructions.
Oh how relieved I was to see that beautiful smile!
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
School's Out for Summer!
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I was so proud to sit in the audience and watch Patty and her Kindergarten classmates at their graduation ceremony Monday. On the way to school she asked if I would be there to watch her not sing. And not sing is exactly what she did. But, she stood there with a happy expression during both songs and that made me so happy and proud! I just can barely believe she's going to be a first grader soon!
Want to hear something funny? Patty woke me up around 6:15 this morning. On a typical school day I would have to practically drag her out of bed at 6:45! I certainly would like to sleep in during summer break, but if she gets up early all summer it'll just be easier when school resumes in the fall, I guess.
I think Phineas and Ferb get 104 days of summer vacation, and we only have 78 so we must make the best of each and every one of them. How we are going to do this? I have no idea. But, JT told me Monday, "I'm so boring." That's what he says instead of "I'm bored". I know I should correct him, but it's just so funny I can't bring myself to make him change it! Since he's a boy, and boys like all things messy, I think I'll be scouring Pinterest to find something messy to keep us entertained each day. Bonus if I can make it a learning experience, too. Did I tell you JT finally learned to recite his ABCs? So relieved!
Oh, and we have the Summer Bridge books that I purchased a while ago. I'm trying to decide if we should dive into those today, or wait until Monday. I also purchased another K to 1st summer activity from The Moffatt Girls, along with their Journal Prompts packet. Patty needs a lot of writing practice so I hope the ready to go prompts will work for us. And there are always sight words to be practiced. I don't want to over do it, but I don't want to under do it. First grade is going to be tough.
One thing I must accomplish this summer is the dreaded yard sale. We are just over flowing with stuff and it's time to thin out the mess. But oh how I loathe getting a yard sale together! But, it must be done. We'd be in serious trouble if we ever had to move into an apartment or smaller house. I have an entire room full of just extra stuff. It's like the room Monica had, where she hid all of the mess. Sadly, my mess can not be contained in one room! My mess creeps across the entire house! More on that later.
Here's to a happy summer!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Happy May Day....I'm still here!
Hi all. I probably shouldn't have let a whole month slip by without at least some kind of post, huh? Sorry is anyone thought I'd fallen off the face of the earth or anything. Sorry again for those of you who are disappointed that didn't happen! ;-}
But, by and large, the truth is, we've had a pretty good month and I just didn't have much to say. I think that's a pretty good thing! Right? Oh, I've had this and that to complain about, but over all, April was a good month for us.
Let's see. In the past month I finished The Invisible Man, Deadlocked, and am now enjoying The Amityville Horror. I am very sad to have learned that the Sookie Stackhouse series is coming to an end! Like, seriously depressed over that little bit of news. I also helped decorate for a cousin's first birthday, a rock star theme that was so much fun!
Now we're heading into May and all that brings...the end of Daisies, I'll miss those adorable little faces over the summer; Kindergarten Graduation, who wants to bet I cry like a baby?; and finally, the thing we've all been waiting for, Summer Vacation! I seriously got tickled the other day when I heard a couple teachers talking about how many days of school are left. I thought only the kids (and moms) did that! Don't you love those little moments when you realize that teachers are just people, too?
Oh, and I definitely have to write a post and share my thoughts about this year's Field Day activities. I can definitely say it was an awesome day. Except for the terrible sunburn on the back of my neck!
Until next time.....
But, by and large, the truth is, we've had a pretty good month and I just didn't have much to say. I think that's a pretty good thing! Right? Oh, I've had this and that to complain about, but over all, April was a good month for us.
Let's see. In the past month I finished The Invisible Man, Deadlocked, and am now enjoying The Amityville Horror. I am very sad to have learned that the Sookie Stackhouse series is coming to an end! Like, seriously depressed over that little bit of news. I also helped decorate for a cousin's first birthday, a rock star theme that was so much fun!
Now we're heading into May and all that brings...the end of Daisies, I'll miss those adorable little faces over the summer; Kindergarten Graduation, who wants to bet I cry like a baby?; and finally, the thing we've all been waiting for, Summer Vacation! I seriously got tickled the other day when I heard a couple teachers talking about how many days of school are left. I thought only the kids (and moms) did that! Don't you love those little moments when you realize that teachers are just people, too?
Oh, and I definitely have to write a post and share my thoughts about this year's Field Day activities. I can definitely say it was an awesome day. Except for the terrible sunburn on the back of my neck!
Until next time.....
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