That's the noise they made. Sunny and Fresh were 2 guinea pigs that Marilyn picked up on a class field trip to SunFresh Farms. They were very special pets who visited our classroom at least once a week and made their home, sweet home, in Marilyn's Arizona Room. When at school, the kids would get to hold, brush, pet and feed them as long as they had a folded towel in their lap (in case of g.p. accidents). When food was offered, Sunny and Fresh would start a shrill chorus of "WEET!, WEET!" and try to be the first to get the carrot, celery or other veggie delight held by the lucky kiddo. When Summer came, Marilyn and her husband planned an out of state trip and asked me if I would "pig-sit" for a couple of weeks and I agreed. My girls had met the two piggy sisters and were eager to help me take care of them...at least until the cage needed cleaning. 😉 The job came with the usual instructions for care and feeding but M threw a little curve ball at the end of her speech. Turns out, one of the little rodents had a problem with constipation and had to have abdominal massage to rid herself of waste. What?!! Yeah, my reaction, too! Once I got over the initial shock, I did some research and, it seemed, this could be a problem because she didn't get much hay or alfalfa to help things move along. I don't think Marilyn knew how important this was and neither did I. I helped Sunny, or was it Fresh?, with poopy duty (my children FLATLY declined) until I decided to try supplementing their diet with hay and alfalfa each day, per my research. Well, it was successful and the poor g.p. started to become regular and able to eliminate on her own. Whew! The only annoying side effect was the early morning "hey, she's awake!" cacophony that they would start as soon as my feet hit the floor. WEET! WEET! WEET! WEET!
I'll bet you're wondering what became of these precious noisemakers, right? After a year and a half, I needed to find a new home for them. My teacher friend had a colleague who had a boa constrictor that he kept in his classroom. WAIT! It didn't happen that way! I let her take them to him, intending that they could supplement the boa's diet. Sounds cruel, now that I remember it, but at the time I was thinking of nature and the food chain. So, for folks that have now decided that I'm a horrible person, here's how it went: Most of the 7th and 8th graders at this school circulated a petition to "SAVE SUNNY and FRESH!" The boa had to go back to a pedestrian diet of ordinary rats and mice and the "weet weets" lived a few more years-free from predators.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Scented Markers
Do you remember when that wonderful set of smelly markers started showing up in the school supply aisle? It's been more than 20 years! If I close my eyes I can still smell the orange, cherry, watermelon, lime, licorice, blueberry and lemon. I know... I'm missing one from the original line-up but my brain is old. Back in the day, I worked with a wonderful young man who had a seizure disorder that would result in petit mal episodes, after which he would forget what we had been working on. Some days we would go over the same addition problem 5 or 6 times. Anyway, when the smelly markers first came out, we guarded them carefully lest one should end up missing or damaged. They were a new, expensive commodity only to be used for special art projects. One day, after about 160 of 180 days of school, we lost the box of smelly's. Couldn't find it anywhere but noticed that our precious youngster had disappeared as well. Yikes! In full-on panic mode, and fearing that he was seizing somewhere, we started our search of the classroom. Found him tucked in a quiet book corner, trying to make himself very small. Here's the point of this post, and the picture I'd like for you to have in your mind: When we found him, he was intently sniffing the markers one by one and inhaling the scents VERY deeply. We watched him for a few minutes, trying very hard not to bust out laughing, as he carefully took out, sniffed and replaced each of the markers one by one. Eyes closed and with a blissful face, it looked like he was trying to plant the memory of each scent in the safest recesses of his brain. When he finally caught us looking at him, we couldn't stop the giggling...He had the most beautiful rainbow mustache!
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
"That's going to be a chapter in my book!"
Hey there!
If you're reading this you are a Special Educator or someone who supports/loves one. As most teachers do, I recall the funny, and not-so-funny, things that happen in the course of a full career working with exceptional young people. When I relate these stories (names changed, of course) people tell me I should write a book. I've thought about that and recently decided that a blog would be easier. I can jump around as I recall funny anecdotes and am not bound by chronological order. Some of the working titles that I'll be starting with include: "I Don't Wanna Be Number 5!," "Bobby's Backpack," "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem!," "The Pole Dancer," "I Had Popcorn For Dinner," and "Hot Cheetoh Blowout" (parts 1 & 2). Believe me, there are many more as, on a nearly daily basis, I tell my staff, "That's going to be a chapter in my book!"
I will always be grateful to Ms. Marilyn, my mentor, for encouraging me to be a special education teacher, giving me the appreciation of humor in odd situations and teaching me how to problem solve on the fly. Here's the first of many musings:
Bobby's Backpacki
My very first experience with students with Autism was as a para-professional working with Ms. Marilyn. A youngster with the features of a cherub would proudly declare daily, without fail, "We throw Bobby's backpack out the window!" When questioned, he would giggle hysterically but never answer so I had NO idea why he said this. I got used to just nodding and accepting the statement as something he needed to say, especially since I was accustomed to hearing him recite EVERY make, model, color and license plate of EVERY staff members' car in the parking lot and the name of the staff member who drove the vehicle. I figured this was another aspect of his exceptionalism until one day when I walked him out to the bus. The bus driver asked me if we could help her problem solve: every day the cherub would get hold of Bobby's backpack. Bobby, of course, was very sweet and quiet. Never said a word. Cherub would manage to get the backpack away from Bobby and throw it out of the window of the bus while it was moving, even though there were adults on board charged with watching the kids. He had a very sly way of waiting until, inevitably, the adults were distracted by students in their care. Unfortunately, changing Bobby's routine by putting him on the bus without his backpack was cause for heartbreaking tears. Worse were the tears resulting from watching it fly out of the window. No amount of reasoning or consequence was effective in changing the adorable cherub's behavior. He would flash a beautiful, innocent smile and you could tell that he was already somewhere else.
If you're reading this you are a Special Educator or someone who supports/loves one. As most teachers do, I recall the funny, and not-so-funny, things that happen in the course of a full career working with exceptional young people. When I relate these stories (names changed, of course) people tell me I should write a book. I've thought about that and recently decided that a blog would be easier. I can jump around as I recall funny anecdotes and am not bound by chronological order. Some of the working titles that I'll be starting with include: "I Don't Wanna Be Number 5!," "Bobby's Backpack," "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem!," "The Pole Dancer," "I Had Popcorn For Dinner," and "Hot Cheetoh Blowout" (parts 1 & 2). Believe me, there are many more as, on a nearly daily basis, I tell my staff, "That's going to be a chapter in my book!"
I will always be grateful to Ms. Marilyn, my mentor, for encouraging me to be a special education teacher, giving me the appreciation of humor in odd situations and teaching me how to problem solve on the fly. Here's the first of many musings:
Bobby's Backpacki
My very first experience with students with Autism was as a para-professional working with Ms. Marilyn. A youngster with the features of a cherub would proudly declare daily, without fail, "We throw Bobby's backpack out the window!" When questioned, he would giggle hysterically but never answer so I had NO idea why he said this. I got used to just nodding and accepting the statement as something he needed to say, especially since I was accustomed to hearing him recite EVERY make, model, color and license plate of EVERY staff members' car in the parking lot and the name of the staff member who drove the vehicle. I figured this was another aspect of his exceptionalism until one day when I walked him out to the bus. The bus driver asked me if we could help her problem solve: every day the cherub would get hold of Bobby's backpack. Bobby, of course, was very sweet and quiet. Never said a word. Cherub would manage to get the backpack away from Bobby and throw it out of the window of the bus while it was moving, even though there were adults on board charged with watching the kids. He had a very sly way of waiting until, inevitably, the adults were distracted by students in their care. Unfortunately, changing Bobby's routine by putting him on the bus without his backpack was cause for heartbreaking tears. Worse were the tears resulting from watching it fly out of the window. No amount of reasoning or consequence was effective in changing the adorable cherub's behavior. He would flash a beautiful, innocent smile and you could tell that he was already somewhere else.
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