Special Throw-Up ;)

Some days I sit down and it's hard to make all of my thoughts into a streamlined, understandable idea. So...... here is my day. It's like I'm throwing up ideas ;) It's like breakfast/lunch/dinner bits everywhere!

No L today :( Again. Super sad and super anxious... Parent/Teacher conferences are next week and I have a PILE of assessments that his Gen Ed teacher wants me to get done with him before conferences, but so far this week I have had no little boy to assess!!!!!

Today I feel I was Specially Educated because I again realize that every moment is teachable, and that at any moment, each of my kiddos is going to try to control a situation to come out the way he wants it to. Eek! For example...

M is still making up rules (in his head) at recess and getting ticked when whoever is playing with him does it "wrong".  He is SO language impaired that when I asked him, "Don't you think it is nicer to ask politely for something rather than yelling at someone?" and he replied with, "No."  So I continued with, "Do you like it when other kids yell at you and don't want to play with you?" with which he replied, "Yes!" Ugh... In this situation, he is NOT trying to control everything.  I realized that (unfortunately) M doesn't even understand what the word Nice means. Teach, teach, teach! I wish I could record or take a picture of every moment during the day so that I could label it for M, so when in a similar situation I can pull out those words and pictures and explain something better.  If only, right?

R, who I never get to see anymore because he is in Gen Ed so much (YAY!) seems to always find a way to manipulate the system.  He seems to talk his way out of projects in Gen Ed so that he can attend more Specials with our class instead of doing his work (which is a new schedule we transitioned him into recently).  Today, instead of starting a book report, his Gen Ed teacher suggested he come to our Computer Lab instead, which frustrated me to begin with.  When we go to the Computer Lab, I have the boys play on www.abcya.com for 10-15 minutes so that they get SOMETHING educational out of the screen time.  Well, R thinks this is the worst, stupidest idea (yes, he told me this in other words) that he's ever heard of, and grumbles the whole time, incessantly asking when he can switch to Free Choice.  Today, he kept shouting, "Oh my God!"  After the second time, I asked him to stop saying that because it was inappropriate for school.  We went over what WOULD be appropriate instead: "Oh no!", "Oh my gosh!", etc.  When he continued to say it, I said that he would have to speak appropriately to stay in the computer lab with us, which turned his attitude around.  Once back in my classroom, he saw that he earned Gold Star Prize for being on Gold level.  He chose a squishy material ball that you play with in the water, put it to his mouth, looked me directly in the eyes, and shouted, "OH MY GOD!"  I was frustrated, asked him why he said this, and he couldn't come up with an answer.  My take is that when I controlled the Computer Lab situation (having them play educational games), he felt the need to control something else by shouting something I deemed inappropriate.  I realize now that I was reacting to this statement, which is what he wanted, but I learned from it.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Hopefully L will be back. I actually miss him :)