Grandma and Grandpa

It was exciting to be picked up by my grandparents!

(Mallory and Lily too)

They took my to the best Chicago style hotdogs in town, Portillo's...mmmm. 

They are the best. 

Heading to Chicago

A week holiday in Rwanda. 

Was so nice to spend the time here.

Now I am heading to Chicago to see friends and family. 

Cassandra Graduated

Big smiles all around!

Cassandra has worked very hard to get to this point. 

She is taking a year to apply to university and work. 

Primary Graduation

Elvis graduated from primary school. 

That is grade 6. 

Next year he will be in secondary school. 

He is way excited but a bit nervous too. 

He will be just fine :)

Home Grown Lettuce

I picked some lettuce from my garden and gave it to Bella. 

She loved it!

Leila's Graduation

This is Leila. She just graduated from secondary school. 

One chapter has closed and another has open for her. It is scary but very exciting. 

For the next year she will be working with me in the Panoramic Program, helping kids with learning disabilities. Oh, and college searching...

I am grateful God put her in my path. 

Green Bean!

My garden is growing big! 

Lettuce and carrots and...

I found a green bean!

Bella is going to be so happy

Only 3 minutes

We had the secondary teacher put on scarves, glasses and belts all in funny ways. 

We gave them colored pencils that were poorly sharpened and swiggled lined paper

And we told them to do this assignment...

As we blasted the chicken dance song

Lite candles and shook music shakers

My staff walked around 'encouraging' them to do the assignment. 

One person stood in front saying 'The sky is green and the grass is blue' in a low voice.

And at the end no teacher did the assignment correctly...they said it was too distracting.

We then told them...you only felt that way for 3 minutes (one song). People with autism feel like that all the time. Their senses are heightened and it feels like so much is going on. 

We just need to be patient and love them they way they are. 

April for Autism

April is autism awareness month. 

All month we have been wearing blue puzzle piece pins.
(the sign for autism is a puzzle piece and the color is blue)

Autism: always unique totally interesting sometimes mysterious

Today we all wore blue to raise awareness. 

You can wear blue this month to raise awareness too. 

Reading!

He can read!!

I have a student that has learned all his letters, sounds, and started reading with pictures.

This week he was brave enough to read without pictures.

He read the whole book by himself without looking at pictures!

It was so exciting.

Stacey in Rwanda

One of my college roommates came to visit me in Rwanda! 

I was so excited I was jumping up and down at the airport waiting for her

We drank lots of tea. 

We also saw Gorillas! 23 of them - it was awesome. 

I am very thankful Stacey was able to come. 

Practice

The entire primary school is having a concert. 

Each class is doing their own song but there is one song the whole school will sing together. 

This is them practicing the song

Over 600 students in the gym singing (and then add teachers)...that is a lot of bodies

Plants

Bella eats a lot of vegetables. I thought to help Bella out a bit I would plant some for her. 

I planted green beans, carrots, and lettuce. (well I put the seeds and worms in but Brian did the rest...thank Brian) 

After just one week this is what it looks like. 

I might be a city girl but I can learn to garden...

:0

Students were being vaccinated at school today.

We talked about it with one student and he did not seem to mind...I don't think he really understood what was going to happen.

He walked into the room and sat down. I put my hand over his eyes and held his arm. Then the nurse quickly gave him the shot.

Afterwards he looked at me and said, 'The pen bit me.'

It is true...the needle looked like a pen and it felt like a little bite :) I could not help but giggle a little and say 'kind of'.

Where is Tr. Maddy?

Today, I found the best place to work! 

My office is so busy: students and teacher coming in all the time, getting materials, asking for a pen, getting rewards for good behavior, asking for paper, taking a test, getting keys...

I get so distracted and often I go through the whole day without getting any paper work done.

Today I tried something new. I had so much work to be done, I just had to hide....

Under my desk was the only place I could go. I could be part of the action of the office but no one knew I was here.

My butt may hurt from sitting on the tile ground for 3 hours but what I needed to finished is now done!

My Wall....

Last night I got a phone call saying the wall around the house fell down and it was a big problem. I thought it was the bamboo one that we can just prop back up so I did not rush home. 

But when I got home I saw that it was 'a big problem'...

It was the brick wall and it fell right where I park my car. 

The entire wall fell on to the driving way and we could see right into the neighbors yard. 

No one was home and the dog was tied up when it happened. 

I thanked God for the extra work I had to do last night so I was not home when this happened. 

(my car would have been smushed!)

Football!

I had an old football: it had bulges and was coming apart but that did not matter of the students, they just wanted to play. 

Over the weekend I got a new football...

Oh my were the students excited :) 

Questions

I have one student that likes to ask a lot of questions.

Over the holiday he went shopping with his mom and he asked a lot of questions while they were out. At one point his mom asked why he asked so many questions.

He turned to mom and said, 'Tr. Maddy likes when I ask questions.'

His mom called me after the holiday to thank me for always answering all his questions :)

(It is true, I encourage students to ask questions because that is how they learn)

Bella and Technology

Bella decided she wanted to be more technologically inclined. 

So Brian is teaching her how to use the computer :) 

Valentines Flowers

Kwame came to my office door, when he should be in homeroom. 

I tell him to go back to class. 

He said, 'but teacher, I have something for you' with his hand behind his back. 

I walk to him.

He hands me flowers and says, 'Happy Valentine's Day!' and runs away. 

The day before. I was making Kwame do his science that he did not want to do and he looked at me and said, 'I hate you, Tr. Maddy.' 

I said, 'That's ok, we still have to finish.' 

Turns out he doesn't really hate me; 

deep down I am his favorite teacher :)