My Clever Girl

Last Friday I was able to take Kayla to the book fair at school. When I arrived at her classroom her teacher informed me the speech therapist had just pulled Kayla, and 3 other students, out for small group speech. She said it usually lasts about 20 min so I could either wait, or it was no problem if I took her out to go to the book fair; she could just go with the second group to speech.
I was going to just go get Kayla, but I ended up chatting with her teacher and I'm so glad I had that chance to hear a little about the things Kayla is doing in school. At one point one of the 2 teacher's assistants came out to the hallway for something and then stopped to chat for a minute as well.

She asked Kayla's teacher if she told me what Kayla did earlier that week. Ms J. hadn't told me about it so Kathy did.

Every day the kids hang their backpacks up, obviously corresponding to the giraffe with their name on it. Kayla did this last year, and this year, and knows the routine. They have since moved some of the names around, I think spread them out because there are enough hooks that they don't have to be crowded together. There isn't a name to the right of Kayla's hook anymore.


Anyway, on with the story.

As I said, Kayla knows this routine, she knows where her backpack goes. Last week when Kayla came in she hung her backpack up on the hook next to her name, the one that is empty. Kathy kneeled down and said something to the effect of, "Now Kayla you know you can't hang your backpack there. Your name isn't over there." (This wasn't said in a mean or reproachful way, or anything like that. It was more of a matter-of-fact "Kayla you know where your backpack goes" type of tone.)

Don't you know that Kayla looked at her, looked at her giraffe, then unpeeled the giraffe from it's spot on the wall and stuck it above the hook where she had hung her backpack and went inside the classroom? As if to say, well my name is there now so my backpack can stay!

I don't know why this shocked me that she would think that way, instead of just moving her backpack over to where she knows she's been hanging it all year, as I would have expected her to have done, but it did. I was surprised.

To know that she used problem-solving skills, logical thinking, figured out there was more than one solution, to realize that she realized she could move her name over to that spot instead of just moving her backpack over, just made me so proud of her.

I know I even had tears in my eyes thinking about what she did and I'm not sure why. I know there are many, many things she isn't doing that typical 4 yr olds are doing. I know she has delays and will always have some delays, but sometimes she just does something so unexpected, like a reminder to me not to underestimate her!

I'm glad I was able to be there that day to hear that story, otherwise I might have never known. These are the things I wish they would send notes home about what Kayla is doing, but they don't. All we get is a generic form for the week ahead that says what they are going to be doing -find 3 red items, bring your 3 red items to school today, we're going to large motor group, we're going to the library. None of that is personal though and I wish they would put some personal notes about what she did that day.

I know I can have that written in her IEP - that I want a communication notebook. I did mention it last year at our very first IEP and they said they could do that. At the beginning of the year they would send little things home "Kayla did great in large motor today!" but that eventually stopped and now this is what we get this year. We have parent/teacher conf next week so I can ask again for a communication notebook, or something, so they can share these stories with me.

I don't want to miss out on hearing these clever things she is doing!

Oh yeah, I finally figured out how to attach the little widget on my left side bar to link to our Buddy Walk fundraiser site!