Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Summer draws near

We are less than a month out from school ending. The past few weeks have involved many an IEP meeting and also we had Keith's triennial and then his IEP transition meeting and Iryna's IEP transition meeting. Brace yourselves: the twins are moving up to MIDDLE SCHOOL! Where has the time gone?! It's amazing to me that they have been mine since 2008. I am so blessed.

Another fun thing about this next school year: both twins will be attending the same middle school, but in different classes! Iryna is in an L1 and Keith is in an L2. They will have the option of taking an elective course, which will likely be choir since they both enjoy singing.

Last week, we changed Keith's disability to Intellectual Disability instead of Multiple Disabilities. We did the same thing for Iryna a year ago.

Silas' IEP meeting last week went well. He is gearing up for 1st grade. My youngest is in 1st grade!

Calvin will be in 3rd grade. He is my only 504 kid. His teacher still describes him as a "model student."

Last week was TOUGH for Iryna and, consequently, her teachers. She was physically harming her teacher and the aid repeatedly all day. There was pinching, kicking, hitting, head-butting, screaming, saying "poopy" over and over, throwing desks, etc. I received phone calls two days in a row. I didn't know what to do! I went to pick her up the first day from school. Iryna was beside herself. She cried on the way home. We talked about how we all make mistakes and that we need to be praying for forgiveness for the things we do wrong. She prayed and asked God for forgiveness. Then she said, "I feel a little better!" That was a wonderful experience for us to share together.

Now that it is warmer, we have put away the winter clothes and pulled out the summer clothes. Iryna LOVES shorts. She's obsessed with them. So I have been hanging the shorts carrot in front of her - if she doesn't hurt her teachers all day, she can wear shorts the next day at school. And so far, it has worked! Of course, if seems odd that I would have to essentially bribe my daughter to be nice to her teacher - a teacher that Iryna loves! - but it's working, so we're going with it. Let's hope it is motivation enough to make it until the summer starts.

I wonder what it is that makes Iryna feel out of control in her classroom. She doesn't act this way at all in the home. Maybe her teacher isn't firm enough? Maybe she doesn't feel safe. I don't know. I certainly don't have all the answers. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is so hard. And she is frustrated with her own actions, too. Poor baby girl. :( But, her birthday is coming up and that is a super happy topic for Iryna right now. She has selected a Matryoshka theme and we are running with it! (I am just happy it isn't another Mario theme, like the past several years...)

Anna has decided to try the BYU high school online program for the fall. She has been needing a more structured homeschooling curriculum and with our adoption process of 5 more kids, I won't have as much time to dedicate to our daily courses. I am hopeful it will be a good fit for her.

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