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September 22, 2007
Beware, Doctor on Campus
You never bring an umbrella to Phoenix, yet this morning rain puddles collected below the window of my hotel room. Now I’m sitting in the downtown library building watching thunderheads build up over Camelback Mountain. As I was driving over I heard a hailstorm warning for Scottsdale on the radio. I grew up here. It rains two days a year. One of those days is today.
The sun was out yesterday, but not in the full force it usually is for September. I was grateful since yesterday I had a packed day both in and outside. I’m here facilitating a series of workshops on preschool to grade three collaboration in a school district here.
I have a bit of a flavor for the district since my mother taught at one of the schools in the district. She had always spoken of her first foray back into teaching after starting her family, my brother and me, with fondness. I now understand why.
The schools haven’t changed much except they’ve grown. This part of downtown Phoenix hasn’t changed much either, nor has the open, accepting, attitude of the staff my Mom would have remembered.
When I arrived Friday morning, their Assistant Superintendent explained there was a ribbon cutting at 10:30 at one of the schools. Over half the participants in my group would need to go. Did I mind?
No, not at all. We’d just take a break about that time, and I’d go too. I’m glad I did. The ribbon cutting was for a pediatric clinic being set up right on the school grounds. Doctors from a program at ASU would staff it daily.
I don’t believe I’ve ever been on a school campus where there was a pediatric facility. We were always grateful to have a school nurse! Funds came from a variety of donations, and everyone in attendance at the ceremony seemed duly proud of their work.
We eventually got back to the workshop and completed the day with a flourish. I’ll be back again to take on the next leg, but in the meantime, some of the children we will be planning for will be served at their new pediatric facility.
Posted by Dr Joni at 06:47 PM
September 19, 2007
What To Do Today?
Saturday morning dawned overcast and rainy. A day in front of the TV set didn’t appeal much to Mom so what could keep four kids busy for the day? Not only what could keep them busy, but what would be fun and actually help them learn something useful?
Hm, two of the kids seemed to having trouble with math at school this last couple of weeks. What activities could we do that would help with math, be fun, and keep everyone out of each other’s hair.
Breakfast was a place to start. As the kids rolled out of bed, Mom suggested several choices for a fun breakfast, but the kids would have to agree on one and help to make it. After some bickering and perhaps a little bribery, the decision was biscuits, honey, fruit, and hot chocolate.
Fine, the youngest child was to choose the fruit and count out one of each for each of the four children. The oldest was to peel and cut up the fruit and measure equal amounts for each child. The middle two would make the biscuits.
The biscuit makers needed to read the recipe first and then figure out how many biscuits they would need to make to fill up four hungry children, Mom and Dad. The recipe made only four biscuits, so they had some work to do to figure out how much they would need and what their decisions would do to the measurements for all the ingredients in the biscuits.
As breakfast moved into high gear, Mom was beginning to figure out what the rest of the day might hold. A game day would be fun. Since math was her theme for the day, Crazy Eights, dominoes, and Monopoly could all be games for the day. All the kids were old enough now to play although the littlest might need some help with Monopoly so she could team with her for that one.
Chores needed to be done first so the games could come after the laundry was folded and put away, but even the laundry could be turned into a game. Everyone could help so they could get to the games. How many red clothes did they have? How many socks? Who has the most shirts in this week? Why were Dad’s shirts’s twice as big as James?
Laundry done, let the games begin. The afternoon drizzle didn’t dampen anyone’s spirit during the Monopoly game even when the youngest feel asleep, Mom played on to the end. While everyone cleaned up the games Mom planned dinner strategy.
Pizza would work, but her math theme persisted. The kids could order pizza, but they had a budget. They had to figure out how to get the size and toppings at $.75/ topping and stay within the $20 budget. The oldest added to the equation by wanting to invite a friend for dinner. How would they feed five, no seven? You can’t forget Mom and Dad?
Okay, so your day doesn’t always go like this and you don’t have four children who cooperate doing the laundry. Neither did I, but with just a little bit of thinking about it, you can make your day and your child’s day into something fun, entertaining, and has some learning value. All it really takes is a little shift in thinking and you’ve got it. Now that you’ve got it, enjoy it.
Posted by Dr Joni at 07:21 AM
September 09, 2007
Disabled? I Don't Think So
I'm a social person. I generally like people and I like to know a bit about them, so it was no surprise a few weeks ago when, while stopping at a garage sale, I ran into someone I knew. We chatted about a variety of things when a lady from next door joined us. My friend knew her and after some brief introductions we began talking about things we had in common. One topic was children, the second was special education.
The mom who had joined us had a special needs child. I have spent years working with children, teachers, aides and other folks who all have connections to the world of special needs. We exchanged telephone numbers. The lady called the other day. Unfortunately I missed the number from the message she left so today my friend and I went to see if we could find her. We did.
I have yet to meet her son, but after seeing his play room, I'm anxious to get to know him. It's a challenge to be a parent under any circumstances. I love my children, but I certainly didn't always have the best and only answer for each of my four. There were times I was left wondering if I couldn't have been more patient or pushed a bit harder. I've had a few health challenges with my kids, but nothing like deal with a severely handicapping condition every day. It takes a great deal more of everything we have in us to make it work.
After musing on that experience, later in the day I had another. A couple weeks ago while driving through Marysville on my way to Sacramento, I saw two people on the side of the road. They were both scooting along in electric wheelchairs. Each chair had two waving American flags stuck in the back. You couldn't miss these two as you drove by.
Today while stopping for a hamburger in Marysville, I got up to wash my hands. Around the corner from our table were two people in electric wheelchairs with flags attached to the back of them. They couldn't be anyone else. The gentleman had already moved away from the table, but I was almost standing in front of the woman. I told her that I had seen them a couple weeks before and was very impressed with their outing.
When I got back to the table my friend Bob had engaged them in a conversation and I sat down to learn more. They were both involved in a day-care facility that got people out and about. The facility served breakfast and lunch and they'd just had a picnic over by the lake the week before. We admired their mobility, and the woman told me how grateful she was to the doctor who had helped them both get the chairs.
As I watched them leave and then whiz across the street, I was once again amazed at the resiliency we can muster when we need to. Both the Mom I'd met earlier in the day and this couple were not about to let someone else's view of disability or adversity get them down. They were taking life on and making it something worthwhile.
I talk about learning all the time. These folks were teaching in the very real since of the word, how the rest of us might view "disabilities." They certainly showed me how to do it!
Posted by Dr Joni at 06:27 PM
September 08, 2007
Learning at the Door
I just answered my doorbell to a most charming young man. With a little prompting from his dad, he introduced himself as James. He said his school was having a bar-b-que and would I like to buy a ticket.
Knowing this was a great opportunity for a little learning for a young salesman , I asked a couple of answerable questions. "When is the bar-b-que?" I asked.
"It's October, Saturday, six," he replied without coaching.
"And how much are the tickets?" I said, asking a second answerable question.
"$10 for adults and five for children," I believe he answered. I sort of stopped listening after the adult part since I have no children at home anymore.
Of course I had absolutely no choice but to buy a ticket. How can I resist when it's a child and for a school function? His dad gave me a quick rundown on the school, how it was doing and their building plans while I found the $10 for my ticket.
I have no idea if I'm even in town that day, but whether I am or not a school gets support and a child has an opportunity to be successful. What a nice way to begin a day.
Posted by Dr Joni at 11:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 03, 2007
Yatzee Anyone?
Ever play Yahtzee http://www.hasbro.com/default.cfm?page=ps_results&product_id=9625? Five dice, add up numbers, see who can have the highest score? I don’t know how many times I’ve played it was kids of all ages-5 years-old to 75. I haven’t always won and this weekend was no exception, but I have played a lot.
After several walks to the creek from the cabin where I was visiting and another walk down the road to see the jewelry makers who had already left for the day, one of my favorite 7 almost 8-year-olds asked me if I’d like to play Yahtzee. Of course. I love games.
Ada does too, so the dice rattled and hit the box as she threw the dice for the first time. She studied them a moment, deciding what strategy to use. If she had three sixes should she go for sixes, three of a kind or a full house? Maybe there was even a Yahtzee in the making. I could almost feel the wheels turning as she decided. Sixes it was, and she gathered up the other two dice to see what else she could throw.
When we got to the scoring, I remembered again why I liked this game so much for the younger set. She added the first two sixes easily. Big second graders do two number addition with no problem. Then came six number three and four. Hm, that was a little trickier, but again I felt the wheels turning. If you could add six and six, it shouldn’t be hard to add 6 to twelve or six more to eighteen. Hey, that was a pretty good score.
There’s lots of addition in Yahtzee, before the afternoon was over we’d played two games. I’d lost both by the number score, but what I’d won was wonderful afternoon of watching a child figure out how to add numbers and finding it fun! I’m not sure if she even cared whether she won or lost. She’d just enjoyed the game and found there was some real meaning in learning.
Now if I could just figure out a game for subjects like economics or Japanese for the older set. Monopoly maybe for economics, but Japanese…..
Posted by Dr Joni at 11:28 AM