October Fave Five 2

Friday!!

And for my children and I, a day off!  For some reason, our district gave us this day off plus, of course, Monday (Columbus Day) so we are most ecstatic!  Our first long weekend since school began on Sept.8th.  I am actually writing this on Thursday nite because in the morning I am going power-walking and then food shopping.  Later that day, my youngest and I are heading to Old Navy for the sales..she needs new sweaters for school and I could use a new something!  After that, we are biking to a fave spot near our home to take some pics!  So....I won't be on the blog much tomorrow...however, I will take time in the evening, to visit your fave fives.....leave me a comment and I'll be over to visit!

As always, I have had many things that made my past week special or memorable.  Here are my top favorite five things:

Painting of Benninton Battlefield Monument
on an artist's "palette"
Bennington, Vermont

• A SATURDAY DAY TRIP TO BENNINGTON & ARLINGTON, VERMONT with my 2 daughters.  We stopped at the Bennington Battlefield Monument and Gift Shoppe and this was on display on the side of the shoppe.  I thought it was most interesting that it was painted on a "palette".  For more pictures of our day trip, click here.

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• READING!  Finished the above best-seller (The Help) over the weekend, and started another best-seller.  House Rules is about a boy with Aspergers Syndrome (a diagnoses high on the Autism Spectrum).  Of course, since I deal with these kinds of children, I am most interested in this novel.  Yes, it is fiction....but it is well-written fiction by one of my fave authors and she has definitely captured the characteristics well in her writing.  The Help was absolutely superb and I might do a book review on it sometime soon...it was one of the best novels I have read in quite some time.  And let me tell ya:  if I had been living in the state of Mississippi in the 1960's I would have been ashamed to be of the Caucasian race...this novel will really make you think, react, and pray.

• A NEW TEA!  Now, I am actually a coffee drinker and my close friends know this. However, I also love a good cup of tea in the autumn or winter months, and especially during the evenings while reading....this new flavor is just delicious and is not too over-bearing or bitter.  I don't add anything to it....I just enjoy it steeped for about 3 minutes in a boiling mug of water. My youngest daughter says it smells like a candle..... Mmmmm......

• PROGRESS IN THE CLASSROOM! Oh, how I wish I could show you a photo of P---- and A------ playing "ring around a rosie" in the classroom on Wednesday morning.  P is a little boy I work closely with this year. A is the boy my co-worker works closely with.  We also take turns working with both of them together. Both of these precious 5 year olds have been diagnosed with Autism. They are high on the spectrum but lower than Aspergers.  A is mainly non-verbal although he can talk.  He chooses not to.  P  is most likely going to be diagnosed with ADHD. (can you imagine autism with hyperactivity so severe that not much learning can take place due to constant movement?!!)  We are seeing soooo many signs of this.  The parents agree.  P rarely socially engages with others.  He talks very well, but again, chooses not to.  He has above average kindergarten reading and math skills.  He rarely makes eye contact and never stops moving. If his body is quiet, his mouth is making verbal utterances. If his mouth is quiet, his body is moving. Fast.  He is definitely a candidate for medication.  However...he is fun, sweet, kind, and quick to learn.  He did something very rare on Wednesday morning.  He grabbed A's hands to try to spin him around and sing "Ring Around a Rosie" (I cued him to sing).  And A responded with smiles and giggles....very rare for him to react!  Another little boy in the class, who is with us for articulation issues, joined in.  Soon, I joined in to model to A how to "all fall down". And...he did!!  I was so proud of P for engaging A in an appropriate manner. The "typical" kindergärtners had just left for the day and the little boy with Down Syndrome was busy playing with other toys.  So, to have P and A join in with a game, together, with no adult prompting was a huge step in their social development.  I think the 3 of us adults in the classroom all had tears in our eyes.  Moments like these really make my career in Special Education worth all the hassles that go with the job!

• CHOCOLATE-WALNUT FUDGE from The Chocolate Barn (Shaftsbury, Vermont).  On our way back down the mountain from Arlington to Bennington, the girls and I decided to swing in to the best smelling barn we've ever been in!  It is everything chocolate (and maple) and they make the candy right on the premises.  YUMMY....we hadn't smelled a store this good since the Chocolatier on Rue Cler in Paris last spring!  I ended up buying a box of fudge and well.....fudge, coffee, books, tea.....makes for a great week and a definite fave!

Well, those are my FIVE FAVEs.....but...I also must mention 1 other thing! ..

The 2nd meeting of my small group was tonite and it went so well!  There are 10 of us...all moms who all have tweens or teens and we are all "gleaning" from each other and edifying/encouraging each other.  I just love the discussion, the friendships that are forming, and the fellowship! I have plans for something "fun" (other than our regular meeting times to discuss the book), coming up in December....there is such a sense of community within our group...we all feel safe with each other and the feedback I am receiving is very good.  I am so thankful that I took this step of faith! (no pun intended!).  God is good, all the time and all the time, God is good!!

Coming up next will be a short post about love languages and spiritual giftings in teens.  Look for this under the "Intune with Teens" label........

and....a huge thank you to Susanne from Living to Tell the Story for being our FFF hostess each week.

HAPPY WEEKEND, EVERYONE