I don’t really post too much personal information about myself or my family. You know…it’s all very safe and confined to pretty much my designs or what challenge I’ve taken on for the month. I guess it’s an insecurity thing…don’t want people to judge me. But I’m starting too really like this blogging thing that I do. A place for me to document our lives and the little “going-ons” that happen as well as share my scrappin’ skills (ha! LOL).
It’s very cool to know that I’ve touched some people in some way…you visit me, I visit you and get to know a little more about your life. I’ve received some really cool emails as well as comments from quite a few people and I just would like to say Thank You for taking the time to not only stop by, but to leave me a little LOVE now and then.
So I’m going to slowly peel away the layers and share a little about our life.
You see the picture above (my yellow for the day)...that't my baby girl, Arianna, getting ready for school. Arianna is in a Special Day Class or SDC for short within the district. Yes....we are parents of a child with special needs. Arianna has some developmental disabilities and language delays that we noticed when she was about 4 years old. I probably knew them sooner but was still in the denial phase. So in the 1st grade her teacher suggested that we have her tested for special education services. And lo and behold she received it. But I wasn't ready to fully take her out of the mainstream classroom., so there she stayed for a year with some "pull-out" services from the Resource Teacher. As we entered 2nd grade and classroom ratio went up, Arianna was not able to keep with her peers. With limited language and a lack of understanding multiple directions, the school team suggested that we put her in Special Day. WHAT?! I was not ready for that.
But can I tell you that it has been a blessing in disguise. Low class ratio, more one to one support and peers that were similarly at her level.
And now we enter Jr. High with a whole new set of goals and life transitions. She attends a wonderful school with large parent participation from both the mainstream and special education system. She receives Art and Music lessons weekly; something that I know is purely lacking in many of our Public Schools. And one of the best parts is, she receives Bus Transportation from our home to the school; which is about 30 minutes away from us. You may think “What’s the Big Deal about the Bus?” Well…it took us 5 years to finally let her ride the bus, because in all honesty…I’m a chicken. I couldn’t let go…But this is a big deal because it’s a Life Skill that we need to teach her. To understand how to take public transportation, how to ask for directions, and to give her some self of autonomy.
We have had our share of ups and downs, more that I would like to count but I can’t imagine my life without her. Would I have been this passionate about education, would I have been an advocate for change in the system, would I have learned to have more patience? I think not. So we continue to move forward, teach her new skills and just live life to our fullest potential.
If you’ve made it this far…I thank you for reading and listening…and getting a chance to know a little bit about our life.
'Til Next Time
