Messy Party

 We had a messy party this summer.  It was my dream.  

We started with every kid grabbing a huge sheet of paper and toe painting.

Once everyone arrived we opened all the activities.  This is a water table full of cornstarch and water with kool-aid coloring droppers to squeeze in.  

 Fun included shaving cream covered slides that landed on the mat or slip and slide.

We filled our sandbox with 20 packages of spaghetti.  It was my favorite.  Awesome!

Toward the end we filled the pool with bubble solution.  I used the glycerin, dawn, water recipe to make 10 gallons of bubbles.  At the very end we turned on the hose and cleaned them all up.  I had everyone bring a towel, but also had a box of extra towels just in case.

Of course, no summer party is complete with out ice cream sundaes and popsicles.

A Break and A New Start

It has been a while (again) since I posted.  I do not think I am a born blogger.  It was a very fun summer.  A week in Denver, a week in DC, a trip to Michigan Adventure, lots of swimming, playing, parties, and fun.  We had an awesome messy party in the backyard (she stayed clean) and fun times with friends and family.  

C took August off of all therapies and just had fun and started karate.  She is going twice a week and seems to love it.  She has a very hard time following directions and trying new novel motor movements.  She is a great jumper and kicker, but struggles with the concept of punching, or making a fist.  We practice all the opening stretches at home and she is getting better at those.  The place she has class is awesome and there are helpers that help the whole class, but spend a lot of time with my kid.  She has made tons of progress.  I worry other parents don't like how much attention she takes, but they have all been very supportive and keep telling me it just takes time to get the hang of it.  Some of the other kids are frustrated she doesn't do everything they do.  I love that her teacher punishes her for talking or not following directions just like she punishes the other kids.  I hope this is good for her, I think it is.  

Once we started to get the hang of karate it was time to go back to school.  This year back to school meant a whole new school and schedule.  I am the proud mama of a kindergartener.  She has two classes.  One with 8 kids and 4 adults with lots of support and help and one with 22 kids and 2 adults where she is expected to participate in the standard curriculum.  The first day of school Kevin and I both dropped her off and picked her up.  When we dropped her off she cried a bit and was just apprehensive about the whole thing.  She was seriously glowing when we picked her up.  She was up early the rest of the week thrilled to go to school.  Her team seems amazing.  

It is so hard for other kids to include her and realize she is different.  I am volunteering in art class with her big class.  The kids didn't know who I was and some of them were explaining to me what C can or can't do.  It was such a weird moment.  I need to get used to these moments where other kids complain C doesn't have to do what they are doing, or find her hard to get to know.  I have not mastered handling these moments at all.  I explain things she enjoys and things that are challenging and how everyone is different.  It is hard to understand when you are 5.  

I just hope they are nice to her, and she makes friends and learns and has fun and loves school.  I know every one will not be nice forever and hope she has the self confidence to not worry about what other people think or say, but I want everyone to be nice for a few more years.  I know problems create problem solving and I don't want to keep her in a bubble.  It is just that so many things are so hard for her I want some things to be easy.  

She chose her Halloween costume this morning.  You can look forward to adorable rainbow fairy pictures in the future.  She is so excited she wants to wear her wings everywhere.  She is studying herself in the mirror in her wings as I type.  I better go play.