1. Social Butterfly: This year one of Morgan's goals was to talk more during snack time and hold more conversations. Even though she was not a part of making this goal and we never specifically told her she needed to work on this she seems to just know. This year her teachers have all told me that she is a little social butterfly during snack time. She is talking all the time and trying to be a part of all the conversations. In fact, about a week ago we took Morgan to a birthday for one of David's co-workers children and she marched right into the room full of complete strangers, went straight up to some other little girls there and said "Hi, what's your name? I'm Morgan." We were so proud of her!
2. Reading: Morgan has always loved books and loves to be read to. One thing she has not done before than many kids do is "read" to herself. I would try to encourage her to look through a book and talk about the pictures, but she never would. She used to always insist that I read everything to her. That is until now. You can tell that she is immersed in reading all day at school. She is now mimicking what she sees at school with her peers and "reading" to herself. In fact a few weekends ago she asked to set up a tent and read to her animals. Too cute!
3. I.pad: Yes, we now have an i.pad at home. We were all issued one at school and told not to leave it at school when we are not there (for security reasons). Since we can bring it home we are allowed to use it for personal use as well. Well, Morgan LOVES the i.pad and if I had realized earlier the value it would have for her we would have bought one a long time ago. Because of some of the challenges Morgan has physically with both gross and fine motor skills things that most 4 years can do like walk to the TV, put in a DVD, start the DVD, etc... she couldn't ever do. Not because she didn't understand how but because the physical actions of all that got in the way. Now, if she has my i.pad she can on her own open Net.flix, scroll through to find a movie she wants, and start the movie. She also knows how to close that and choose a new activity like the magnetic alphabet. Another thing that most children can do simply at the fridge with the old fashioned real magnets, but for Morgan always posed a challenge. It was difficult to have her be able to stand at the fridge and actually reach it, her walker wheels get in the way, the wheelchair can't get her close enough, etc... But now she can do the same thing just on the i.pad. She loves to open up that ap and ask me, "Mommy, how do you spell...." and then we sound out the word together and she spells it. One of her favorite aps is the B.ob books. She plays these all the time and is doing amazing with them.
4. Doing chores: Lately Morgan has been very interested in helping out at home. Again, this always poses a challenge of trying to figure out how she can help. The other night when we got home from school I needed to empty the dishwasher. Morgan was still in her wheelchair so she drove over and asked if she could help. Her favorite thing to do is to help out with the silverware. Usually I hand her one piece at a time and show her where to put it. That night though I decided she is now big enough to try it on her own. I pulled out the silverware bucket and put it on the counter by our silverware drawer. Morgan then sorted them all out. She did a great job and got all the forks, knifes, and spoons separated correctly. The only challenge was the big spoons (serving ones) vs. the little spoons. Now, if we can just work on the rest of the dishes maybe mom can get a night off.
5. Writing her name: Morgan has recognized her own name since she was about 18 months old. Since the time she was about 2 she has known that her name starts with an M and for a while now has also known the other letters of her name and the order they go in. For Morgan it again has been more of a motor challenge than cognitive challenge when it comes to writing her name. Her para and her have been working very hard on this for the past year and now she is starting to get it. When I opened her homework folder that other evening I found this inside:
She is really getting it!
6. Horses, Horses, Horses: What can I say, this girl really loves her horses. Not a day goes by when she isn't talking about horses, playing with horses, and/or reading about horses. They are her world. This past Tuesday Morgan was "Star Student" for the day. That meant she got to bring in something special from home for the "guessing bag" and to lead calendar for the day. Morgan of course brought a toy horse. She chose the one she calls Monty. When it was time to describe what was in the "guessing bag" to her friends in class Morgan was so excited she just shouted out "It's a horse!" Yesterday, I went out to my school with Morgan to observe an after school robotics club that a parent of one of my students puts on. She allowed Morgan and her youngest son (who is also 4) an extra set of L.egos to build their own "robot". Well, Morgan wanted nothing to do with that. She kept telling him "We need to build a stable. Let's make a horsey too." It was too funny, he kept looking at her like she was crazy, he wanted to make the robot. This morning Morgan decided that she wanted to pull out her rocking horse "Giddy-up" and go for a trail ride. She didn't want to ride alone so she insisted that Big Monty and Big Morgan (a doll she named after herself) needed to ride too. And of course Morgan is all about safety first. She insisted that before they climbed on their horses that said hello with a gentle petting and that they put on their riding helmets.
Going for a trail ride.
And that folks is all the randomness that has kept us all so busy for the last month. Hopefully now that we are back into the full swing of school and our routine is starting to get back on track I can get back to blogging more often. No promises though.
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