Kids Say the Darndest Things

One of the things I am quickly learning about my job is to expect the unexpected. I am done trying to assume that my therapy sessions with students are going to go a certain way only to be completely dumbfounded when something else happens.

I usually have a daily list of funnies that have happened throughout the course of the day, but I am going to choose to forego that little tradition today in lieu of what one of my Pre-K'ers said to me that kept me laughing all day long. (Actually, I'm pretty sure I just giggled to myself again just thinking about it.)

This particular student is four years old and comes in for speech from his preschool twice a week to receive services. He is sooooo stinkin' cute: dark brown hair, tiny for his age, huge brown eyes, and a smile that belongs on the silver screen. He doesn't have any /s/, /f/, or /r/ sounds and this particular day, we were working on /r/ because that's what another boy in the group was working on that day. (And even though he is too young to be working on /r/, frankly, it was easier to just compile one word list for the session.)

Anyway, we had been drilling /r/ words for twenty minutes and he had been doing really well at over-exaggerating the /r/ sound at the beginning of his words and saying it correctly. He got totally caught up in all the praise that we were giving him and when he said his last word ("woad"), he realized that he said it incorrectly and proceeded to shout out,

"CWAP! I SAID IT WONG!"

Bahahahahahaha. I didn't laugh at him in the moment because he was so upset, but bless his little heart.... I busted out the second he left and laughed about it for the rest of the day.

Seriously?

Seriously.

Sick as a.... kid

I forgot how often kids in elementary schools get sick. And being on this side of the fence, I am starting to see how germs spread so easily. I have seen the "sickness" passed from one kid to another and then on to the teacher and knew that it was only a matter of time before it found its way to me.

Yesterday, I only had a sore throat. Today, I was a full-fledged sore throat, post nasal drip, runny nose, puffy eyes, headache, coughing, sneezing mess. The good news is that I don't have any body aches and I don't have a fever, so it's probably not the swine flu. But it still sucks.

So why am I so excited about tomorrow? Because my brother, one of my BEST friends, and my brother's friend are all coming to stay the weekend with me! We are going out to eat, going bowling, going to an Imax movie, and going to Wrens for church on Sunday and I am so soooo excited! It will be a super good time as long as I get to feeling better so be praying that the medicine from the Kroger pharmacy starts working really quickly.

Daily Funnies

• One of the kids in my first grade group today was working on his /s/ sound and after repeating each word after me, he added "poop" on to the end. "Say dinosaur." "Dinosaur poop!" "Say muscle." "Muscle poop!" "Say bicycle." "Bicycle poop!"
• One of my favorite kids can't say /g/ so now my name is "Miss Bobs."
• I've discovered that my favorite teacher privilege is cutting in the lunch line.

Seriously?

Seriously.

Snaps for a Social Life

After a second full week of school, I was ready for some down time and something fun to do. My friend Crystal and I were talking on facebook the night before last about the possibility of doing something together Friday night. I had made a prior commitment to eat dinner with some girls from the elementary school where I am interning (we call ourselves the "Under 26 Club" haha). But as it turned out, those plans fell through. So it freed up my Friday evening completely!

Crystal (and her husband, Derek) came and picked me up last night and we went out for Atlanta Bread (my fave!) and then Crys and I saw "The Time Traveler's Wife" while Derek went to go see Harry Potter. Crys cried all the way through the previews and through the last chunk of the movie but I didn't mind so much. The movie was really wonderful and definitely worth seeing! It didn't really end anything like the book did, but it still gets an "A" in my book.

Derek's movie got out about 45 minutes after ours did, so we drove (or attempted to drive, as his car is a stick shift and neither of us really knew how to drive it) through the parking lot to Starbucks where we sat for about an hour just talking. It was so great to catch up! And I was really not ready for them to leave once Derek got back from his movie, so they came back over to my house where we watched "What Happens in Vegas" and played Guitar Hero until about 2 in the morning. It was a fantastic night! And to top things off, I slept until 11:00am - something that I haven't been able to accomplish in a long time. So I am well-rested, pumped for a Saturday of running errands and unpacking a few more boxes, and excited about heading back to Wrens to go to church in the morning.

Daily funnies:

• Crystal crying through the entire preview of "The Blind Side" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-1JEVpdSCo)
• Trying to drive Derek's manual transmission without stalling (it was an adventure!)

Seriously?

Seriously.

Working Out All the Kinks

I am slowly realizing that there are some things that are actually much harder than doing therapy in a school setting: scheduling being at the top of that very short list. I never imagined how hard it is to find time in a regular school week to see 50+ kids for however many times a week they are each supposed to come. Assuming that we would fit them however we liked and letting their classroom teachers know is apparently not a very realistic option. Instead, for the last week or so, we have been talking to all the kids' teachers and figuring out what times the kids go to "specials" and what times lunches are, etc etc.

So long story short (which, this is already long as it is, so I probably shouldn't say that), we finally figured out the master schedule and should be seeing everyone on it by Wednesday. After hours of pouring over IEPs and class rosters, every one of our kids has a slot with their name on it.

Daily funnies:

• When asked what you put on your feet, one of my students responded, "CHEERIOS!"
• Our lunchroom served slices of kiwi with the skin still ON and I tried it. It tasted like a big hairy monkey going down my throat. Disgusting. And I'm pretty sure the face I made further proved to my mentor SLP that I have some tactile issues of my own.

Oh, and also, I am required to attend all the meetings that my mentor teacher is required to attend and this afternoon we had a meeting at the middle school to train on a new computer program. And I totally rock at it.

Seriously?

Seriously.

Second Days Are Not As Exciting

Because my first real day of my internship was such a wonderful day, I fully anticipated that the next one would be as well. But as it turns out, like most things in life, the hype tends to settle down. My second day was just your average day--nothing hysterical or even remotely interesting to report. I have yet to meet my general ed kids because today I had to take a little hiatus from the internship scene.

As most of you know, or will eventually discover, there is this little thing called a "required meeting" that all the interns are required to go to right before all the student teachers leave for their field experiences. The administrators, caring and thoughtful as they may be, don't really care how long you have to drive in order to attend this meeting and don't seem to mind any prior obligations that you may have. For me, it was about 600 miles worth of driving (round-trip) and two full tanks of gas. And while it was good to see all my friends from the program again and eat at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants for what may have been the last time, I am sad that I missed out on an entire day of hanging out with some of my favorite kiddos at the elementary school to attend a meeting that wasn't, well, necessary.

On the flip side, here are my daily funnies:

• My friend Lauryn (who is staying with me for the weekend) and I both admitted (out loud) to loving Miley Cyrus's new single. Don't judge.
• Afternoon naps make for hideous cowlicks.
• Wearing patent leather high heels to school will cause fourth grade boys to open doors for you.

Seriously?

Seriously.

The First Real Day of School

I thought maybe Open House night might count as the first day of school. And as nice as it was to meet all my students' parents, that's really all it was: a meet and greet.

I was asked to come in the Friday before school started for pre-planning. It was not without its interesting moments! I sat through an hour-long meeting on the Code of Ethics (which had its perks because the lawyer giving the lecture was young and handsome and without certain jewelry on his finger). But mostly the day consisted of swapping stories with my mentor SLP (who is really great) and learning my way around the school. I also got to meet a lot of the faculty on Friday and I think I am really going to enjoy working with them this semester.

So I was completely geared up for the first day of school. Alas, it didn't really feel like it after nine hours of being there. I didn't get to see any of my students. However, I did get to read a lot of their IEPs and eat lunch in the school cafeteria for the first time in years. It is amazing how the smell will completely bring you back! All the food looks, smells, and tastes exactly how I remembered it. I probably enjoyed my chicken nuggets, applesauce, and carton of milk much more that I care to admit.

Today was really the day that made me realize that this profession may be exactly where I belong. Our school is very fortunate in that it has two entire classrooms of children who receive A.B.A. on a one-on-one basis all day long. So this morning, I got to introduce myself to each of the children in these classrooms and help them decorate their "speech folders." I have got the GREATEST group of kids. Most are on the autism spectrum, but some have some problems that were due to overcrowding in utero (I think it's so wild that I have a triplet as well as a quadruplet!) Although I haven't seen my students from the general ed classrooms yet, I am expecting my caseload to be around 50.

After lunch (again in the cafeteria and let me tell you--those hamburgers taste exactly the same as they did 15 years ago!), I got to go to a meeting for all of the county SLPs at the Board of Education. It was so weird to sit in a room full of people that were professionals in the school system where I was working and know that somehow, I am a small part of that. The meeting was to discuss the new RTI protocol for the school system, which I found to be very easy to understand! I received my own manual and it is chock full of what to do at every single tier as well as the referral and evaluation steps at each level for each area of children that we serve. I am so excited to put what I learned in the meeting to good use.

Anyway, long day. But I am so fortunate to be a part of this school system and working with the people that I met so far. Here is my daily list of funnies:

• I wore plastic "jelly" shoes to school today = BIG blisters.
• One of my students' reinforcers is to give him his shoes back!
• I witnessed a child EAT a crayon.... and I'm pretty sure I gagged every time I heard it go "crunch" inside his mouth.
• Apparently, I am a hug magnet.

Seriously?

Seriously.

Starting Things Off

First night in new house....

Key gets stuck in lock.

Dog darts out of door.

Chase dog down.

Syrup is too tall to fit in the pantry cabinet.

It's hot in here?

Can't find knife to open boxes.

Use keys to open boxes.

Sweat. (Is it getting hotter in here?)

Go upstairs to look at thermostat.

Thermometer says 86 degrees.

Move all possible knobs on thermostat.

Nothing happens.

Call maintenance guy.

Maintenance guy replaces broken fuse.

AC still not cold.

Maintenance guy replaces freon.

AC is FINALLY working.

Maintenance guy invites me to spend the night with him at his place if the AC breaks again.

Seriously?

Seriously.