Goals

How many two year olds do you know who have goals?

Next month, we have Jonathan's IEP meeting. An IEP (Individualized Education Plan) is essentially a road map or 'contract' for establishing educational goals and tracking those goals. The IEP not only establishes these goals (and some kind of metric to measure those goals) but also helps establish the ways in which these goals will be met. Generally speaking, the goals are built by information on the the educational assessments previously done, and on both parental and teacher feedback on where the child is and where they need to go. The IEP is like the Bible for special education students. It guides all.

Crafting a good, quality IEP is not an easy task. It requires an understanding of the child's strengths and challenges, how they learn best, how to capitalize on those strengths and minimize the impact of the challenges on overall performance, and how to address the areas of weakness in a way that is most effective.

Parents come to the table with the Child Knowledge. We know our kids. Alas, we don't always know the best way to address the issues and implement them in the classroom. We don't always know the words to describe the subtle problems and issues, and frankly... if we could fix our 'broken' children, we would.

In a perfect world, teachers and therapists have the education and skills. They are suppose to know what to do and how to do it. And we parents look to them to help craft the perfect IEP... the IEP that will provide everything the child needs to progress... no, EXCEL!!

.

Do I set expectations too high, perchance???

So with Jonathan's IEP coming up, I have started thinking about what kind of goals we should be establishing for him this next year. I have been brain storming a list of "good goals" for his IEP.... and I found that this was not an easy task! It is so hard to articulate what his goals should be in a meaningful way. It is so much easier to just say what I want....

I want him to say "Hi mommy!" when I walk in the room.

I want him to share with me his interests and show me things he likes, not just get me to do things that he needs or wants.

I want him to play with me, not just by me.

I want him to have friends. Real friends that he likes to see and wants to play with.

I want him to try and tickle me. And chase me. And chase and tickle me.

I want him to be able to use his imagination and play creatively.

I want words.

Lots and lots of words.

Am I asking for too much?

Rockabye

We have a fairly standard bedtime ritual in our house, one that is no doubt very similar to most households. After bath and teethbrushing, we get J-man a drink of milk, read stories in the rocking chair, turn out the light and rock him a little bit and then lay him down in bed. One of these days.... no doubt soon.... we will do away with our rocking time. But, for now, it is my favorite time of day.

Tonight, after the lights went out and we snuggled together in the rocking chair for a bit, J-man started wiggling and turning (my signal that it is time to lay him down in bed). As I picked him up and started to his bed, he said... clear as day... "Bye-ie".

He told me BYE!

It both thrilled me and sent a pang into my heart. But thrilled me more.

My Baby Growing Up

Oh, my little baby is growing up and it is killing me!

With all of the changes over the last few weeks, I see him growing up right before my eyes. Now, don't get me wrong... he is behind the curve on a lot of things other kids his age do, and he has to be taught things other children just learn. But his rate of 'picking stuff up' has accerated. And therefore, I have been trying to raise the bar on him and introduce some stuff that he has yet to really learn.

Number 1: Drinking from an open cup.

Confession time. Jonathan has only ever really drank from a sippy cup on his own. I have held a open cup for him, but the few times he has been given a cup on his own he couldn't really figure it out. First, of course, he would just turn it over and spill it. So then, of course, the solution to not having a house covered in milk was to just put just a little bit into the cup. But then, you see, he has to grasp the cup and be able to lift it and tip it up (correctly positioned on his mouth) enough that he gets the milk, but not too much so he is covered in it. And he needs to have his mouth in the right position... not in the middle of the cup like he is trying to lap it up. And he needs to understand the whole point to this. So, motor planning and language skills....Hmmm, not exactly up his alley.

I have tried to figure out solutions to the open cup problem. I know it needs to be a smaller cup, with generally a smaller radius so his hands can go around it and he can have better control. Also, smaller cups allow me to put less liquid in it and have him still get the liquid quickly and with less effort (reward for his hard work). I tried dixie paper cups... but it didn't work. Dixie cups are far too crushable. I have 'cup shopped' for the last several months to no avail.

And finally, a solution presented itself today: IKEA

Specifically, the IKEA's Children's Toy department where I found a tiny little glass.

Perfect for his hands. A little Toddler shot glass (and no, we don't give him Diet Coke).

And, as you can see, success! Maybe now we can move on to Dixie cups.

Number 2: Toilet Training

The J-man is no where near ready to toilet train. And frankly, his mommy is a little at a loss for how to even start introducing the idea. He just recently discovered his "bits and pieces", if you will. Since starting at the preschool daycare, he is going to be exposed more and more to other children potty training, and it was time to buy a potty chair. Grandma and I went shopping and picked up his first potty. He loves it, thinks it is great. But as you can see, he isn't quite sure what it is for.

We are ready... sort of... when he is!