Kellen went through elementary school in a general education classroom. He had many opportunities and experiences in this setting. One of the most valuable was going to outdoor education camp for a week when he was a sixth grader. I had been looking forward to having Kellen go to Camp Thunderbird which is about a 90 minute drive from home, but as the time got closer, I started to worry. This is what I wrote when he returned:
January 2003 Unfortunately, by luck of the draw, Kellen's class went in January! Not much fun to do outdoor education in cold, rainy weather. We worked it out so that Kellen's one on one paraeducator could go up with him. I really appreciated it as it meant that she had to make arrangements for her own children on the week that they were gone. I just couldn't see him going up with a substitute who didn't even know him.
Last Friday I started to panic. Kellen has never been away from home for a whole week on his own unless he was at my parent's house. I started to think about how he doesn't yet shower independently, how he would keep track of all of his stuff, the 8 mile hike they take, etc. etc. I felt comfortable with his teacher and aid and confident in them, but at night he would be with two high school counselors that had never met him.
After school I went and talked with his teacher for last minute instructions.
She reminded me that he would be in a cabin with kids from other schools, and not just kids from his class. I had forgotten about that! That news made me burst into tears. I had visions of them excluding him or being mean to
him. She assured me that she would make sure that two boys who are good friends of his and are mature (isn't mature sixth grade boy an oxymoron?)would be assigned to his cabin. She also told me that she would meet with the other boys in his group to let them know about Kellen and how they could be a good friend to him this week. She also promised to call me every night after the kids went to bed! They made him a daily schedule so he could know what to expect when he got up there.
On Sunday night we got Kellen all packed up. It was traumatic for him. He had a fit that we were packing up his pillow. After all, it belongs on his bed! For awhile Dave had to keep him out of his room while DQ and I wrote his name on all of his clothes and packed him up. I wrote a list of everything we packed and printed off four copies--one for me, one for his teacher, one for his aid, and one for the counselors. Is that anal? I wanted to make sure he came home with everything, but I also wanted them to know what he brought so they wouldn't have to dig through all of his stuff to see if he brought a poncho, etc. They could just look on the list, see that he brought a poncho and tell him to go put it on.
I made his teachers care packages full of all kinds of stuff. I put chocolate, cookies, gum, disposable cameras, creams and lotions and girly pampering stuff. I know that being up there all week is not exactly a picnic for them and I wanted them to have some fun stuff for after the kids went to bed. They were really appreciative!
On Monday morning our family drove Kellen to school to see him off. He looked so forlorn looking at us through the rainy window of the bus. In fact, his facial expression was a hit with all of the other parents. I was really surprised that his sister had tears in her eyes. She was very proud of her brother.
Kellen went through elementary school in a general education classroom. He had many opportunities and experiences in this setting. One of the most valuable was going to outdoor education camp for a week when he was a sixth grader. I had been looking forward to having Kellen go to Camp Thunderbird which is about a 90 minute drive from home, but as the time got closer, I started to worry. This is what I wrote when he returned:
January 2003
Unfortunately, by luck of the draw, Kellen's class went in January! Not much fun to do outdoor education in cold, rainy weather. We worked it out so that Kellen's one on one paraeducator could go up with him. I really appreciated it as it meant that she had to make arrangements for her own children on the week that they were gone. I just couldn't see him going up with a substitute who didn't even know him.
Last Friday I started to panic. Kellen has never been away from home for a whole week on his own unless he was at my parent's house. I started to think about how he doesn't yet shower independently, how he would keep track of all of his stuff, the 8 mile hike they take, etc. etc. I felt comfortable with his teacher and aid and confident in them, but at night he would be with two high school counselors that had never met him.
After school I went and talked with his teacher for last minute instructions.
She reminded me that he would be in a cabin with kids from other schools, and not just kids from his class. I had forgotten about that! That news made me burst into tears. I had visions of them excluding him or being mean to
him. She assured me that she would make sure that two boys who are good friends of his and are mature (isn't mature sixth grade boy an oxymoron?)would be assigned to his cabin. She also told me that she would meet with the other boys in his group to let them know about Kellen and how they could be a good friend to him this week. She also promised to call me every night after the kids went to bed! They made him a daily schedule so he could know what to expect when he got up there.
On Sunday night we got Kellen all packed up. It was traumatic for him. He had a fit that we were packing up his pillow. After all, it belongs on his bed! For awhile Dave had to keep him out of his room while DQ and I wrote his name on all of his clothes and packed him up. I wrote a list of everything we packed and printed off four copies--one for me, one for his teacher, one for his aid, and one for the counselors. Is that anal? I wanted to make sure he came home with everything, but I also wanted them to know what he brought so they wouldn't have to dig through all of his stuff to see if he brought a poncho, etc. They could just look on the list, see that he brought a poncho and tell him to go put it on.
I made his teachers care packages full of all kinds of stuff. I put chocolate, cookies, gum, disposable cameras, creams and lotions and girly pampering stuff. I know that being up there all week is not exactly a picnic for them and I wanted them to have some fun stuff for after the kids went to bed. They were really appreciative!
On Monday morning our family drove Kellen to school to see him off. He looked so forlorn looking at us through the rainy window of the bus. In fact, his facial expression was a hit with all of the other parents. I was really surprised that his sister had tears in her eyes. She was very proud of her brother.