Day 22: Giving A Little More

Today I took some special pictures of the kids for our celebration next week and have been adding up the last bit of change.  Today what got me were the three bags of money and butterflies that came in.  One was from a little boy that brought in $20 from bringing in his neighbor's trash cans.  He has the sweetest, kindest face.  He was more than happy to do a little more.  The other two bags came from a little girl. She looked up at me with her beautiful eyes and smile and said, "I emptied my piggy banks."  It always stings my heart a little when they do that, but I am also blessed by the joy on their faces.  There is no end to their generosity and compassion.

Day 21: How Are We Different?

I am always a little sad when I come to the end of the unit on special needs that I teach my five-year-old class.  I pour my heart and soul into the unit.  I have added more experiences every year and yet I feel I have done such an inadequate job of giving everything I can to the kids.  There is so much I want to communicate to them.  All of the lessons I have learned so far took me 15 years to experience.  I don't know why I think I can teach them in four or five weeks.

Working with children and young adults with special needs has changed my perspective on all people and definitely helped me to understand myself in a different way.  You see we are all different but we are also all the same.  Everyone has a need to be loved, accepted, and valued.  It doesn't matter what our challenge or disability is.  We also have a need to be part of something bigger than ourselves.  When you know that someone needs to be valued and have purpose, you look at them differently.  You respond to them differently.

For so many years I struggled with self-image and through all of the friends I have made in this ministry I have realized that it doesn't matter.  If I struggle with self-image then I am focusing on myself, just as much as a person that struggles with arrogance does.  If I am going to communicate love and acceptance to others, then I have to believe it first for myself.  If I truly believe that we are ALL created in God's image, then that includes me as well.

Every year I hope and pray that my students leave my classroom believing and knowing they are loved, accepted, and valued.  I hope they can understand that God can show His power through any weakness they may have.  My hope is they will never spend their energy feeling self-conscious but will walk confidently knowing that they were made in God's image and God has a plan for them.

I know the things we have experienced over the last five weeks will fade from their memory but I hope the children are still changed.  I hope some of their questions have been answered and the walls so many of us have built will never be built in their lives.

This year marks 50 years of the signing of the Civil Rights Act and next year will mark 25 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  So much has changed in 50 years.  It is easy to focus on what has not happened that needs to, but our country and its attitudes are radically different than they were 50 years ago.  I hope my students will never know the injustices of the past and will be able to embrace people, their abilities and disabilities, in a way that is both empowering and honoring to the people God has created.

Day 20: Invisible Disabilities

On Friday we talked about "Invisible Disabilities" during our class time.  Sometimes people have disabilities that cannot be seen.  We had already talked about dyslexia and autism.  I told the kids that I have a disability that cannot be seen and asked if they could guess what it was.  

I eventually shared with them that I have diabetes.  In fact, I have a number of family members with diabetes.  They all exclaimed, "Oh yeah, you aren't supposed to eat very much sugar!"  I said, "Yeah, it is kind of a bummer."

I shared about some of the pitfalls of diabetes and how I have to watch how low and how high my blood sugar gets.  Thankfully, I have a pretty mild case right now but I have to be careful.   I shared with the kids that most of us have challenges in one way or another but God can use those challenges to show His power.  

We concluded our time by watching a DVD from Joni Eareckson Tada's "How To Be A Friend To Someone With A Disability."  They learned more about their program and how the wheelchairs are collected, refurbished at prisons, and then redistributed to people that need them.  The kids were also able to see a video of some of the kids that have received wheelchairs.

We will be learning a few more things about disabilities this week but mostly, we will be preparing for our big celebration.  I cannot wait to tell the parents and kids how much money was raised!

Day 19: Monkey Noises, Velcro, and Bubbles

I am always blessed when I have Marti Smith visit my classroom!  She is an amazing mom to one of my students and amazing to me as a friend.  As an occupational therapist, she is the best!

Marti visited my classroom today to share with my students about children that have sensory processing issues.  First of all, she let the children experience some of the things they experience.  She had her daughter and personal assistant share about the foods she likes.  While she was talking she played monkey noises that were quite distracting. Then she talked about the different noises in the room that we might not notice but a child with sensory processing issues might not only notice but be very distracted and frustrated by.

Marti then put on some gardening gloves that had Velcro attached to them.  She went around the circle and shook hands with kids and touched their faces.  She asked the children how that felt to them and then shared that some children have a hard time with touch and it may be very uncomfortable or even painful to them.

Through role playing Marti talked about how everyone has their own personal bubble of space they are comfortable with.  Some children may have a very small bubble of space and not understand they are invading yours and some children may have a very large bubble of space and not want you to invade their bubble.  She and the kids had great dialogue about how to effectively communicate what you are comfortable with.  She shared that it is better to tell a friend what you do want them to do rather than what you don't want them to do.  For example, "Could you keep your hands to yourself" rather than "Stop touching me!"

One of my favorite things Marti shared was, "People will tell  you who they are but listen and watch when they show you who they are."  In other words, people will let you know what they are comfortable with.  You just need to watch, listen, and pay attention.

Marti gave great suggestions on how to be an encouraging and supportive friend.  At the end the kids all invaded any bubble Marti might have and gave her a group hug!  Marti was a huge blessing today and gave the kids great insight into relationships.

Day 18: How To Be A Friend to Someone With a Learning Disability (from Joni Eareckson Tada)

Today we continued our discussion about learning disabilities.  Since my students are learning to read they can appreciate the struggle it can be sometimes.  Some of them are now about to read well without sounding out words and some of them are on the verge of being able to read smoothly.  Because this is so fresh in their minds they can relate to the child that struggles with reading or other learning disabilities.  The kids have been great about encouraging each other as they are learning to read.

Several of my students brought up stuttering.  Several of them know someone that struggles with this.  One of my children shared that her brother struggles with it.  She sweetly said, "I never speak for him.  I am just patient and listen."  I shared with her about a friend of mine that shared a story with me years ago.  He struggled with stuttering as a child and he shared all of the emotional struggles that went along with it.  Eventually he was taught to talk in a four-box pattern.  At first he sounded robotic but after practicing with this method he became very quick at it and no one could tell he was speaking in a pattern.  I certainly couldn't tell.  He shared with me how much this meant to his life.  I think of Moses who struggled with speaking and how God used him in such powerful ways.

I shared from Joni Eareckson Tada's book, On A Roll For Jesus!.  She includes a list of suggestions on "How To Be A Friend To Someone With A Learning Disability."  Some of the suggestions encourage us to not tease but be encouraging, be respectful when they are trying to work, don't speak for someone but be patient and encouraging, and to never call anyone names.

The kids opened up a lot when they shared times they have been teased or called a name and how much they didn't like it.  We talked about how they all deserve to be treated with respect.  They had great suggestions on how to do that for each other.

As I closed the day, I spent two hours hanging up butterflies.  I can't think of a better way to end the day!

Day 17: Learning About Learning Disabilities

The kids brought in another $400 today!!  They are still going strong and still get very excited when it is their turn to hang up butterflies in the school.  I have stopped telling them how many wheelchairs they have raised money for.  They will be very surprised at the total!

We had a special treat today.  One of the children's mothers works for Salus Chiropractic.  They came to our school yesterday and today to bless the teachers with lunch and massages. They are also donating money for the "Wheels For the World" fundraiser.  They are such a kind group of people and I must say, give great massages!  Thank you, Salus Chiropractic, for partnering with us on "Wheels For the World", and for spoiling us on top of it!

In class today I shared with the kids about dyslexia.  I have a large lowercase "d" that I flip to a "b", then a "p", and then a "q".  I shared with the kids that it is normal for them to still get confused between a "b" and a "d" but one day they will stop doing that.  I shared that some children will continually flip letters and it makes it very difficult to read.  I then had them sit at a table with a piece of paper that is divided into 12 squares.  They were quickly given instructions on things to write and draw in each section.  The task was pretty difficult.

Afterwards we had a group discussion and I asked the kids if they thought the exercise was difficult or frustrating.  Most of them said it was.  I shared that children with learning disabilities feel this way quite often.  We had a great discussion about whether we should make fun of someone that is struggling or encourage them.  We talked about different ways we can encourage each other.

Day 16: Working Through A Disability

The kids and I talked about what it would be like to be visually impaired.  We watched some clips from "Little House on the Prairie."  When one of the main characters, Mary, became blind, she walked through a lot of emotions.  We had a great discussion after Mary accepted her impairment and then started ministering to young children in a school for the blind.  The kids talked about how God showed His power through her weakness.  They commented on how happy she looked after she started working with the kids.