Misc. Monday

For a long time I have wanted to work with children who have special needs. I didn't know in what fashion but I knew it was a passion of mine. I ran into a friend who I used to see at Beads & Beyond, and she asked if I still wanted to work with children with special needs and suggested I apply for a Para-Educator position. Anyway, to make a long story short, I just finished my first week, at Kennedy High School, in the Severe and Profound Class.

I am actually a one on one with a girl, who we will call Annie, from 9-2, M-F. There are 5 children in the class with Annie being the only girl. 4 of the 5 are in wheelchairs, and I would say only one is what I would call Severe and Profound. 2 of the 5 live in a group home, while the other 3 live at home with their parents and siblings. I believe you can really tell a difference in the children who live at home, they are much more responsive.

The technology they have out there for these children is amazing. Annie can't move her hands, arms, or legs but is not considered a paraplegic because she is still somewhat mobile. We have made cookies, folded paper, and we even baked a cake today for one of the other boys because it was his birthday today. We use a switch for her to activate the utensils...long story on how it all works but it is cool!!!

We are going bowling on Friday, so I will take my camera, but I will have to see if I can post them on my blog, if not I will at least show you some of my co-workers. We have a great Staff.

My Top 12 Quotes-since I started this job:

“Try and fail, but don’t fail to try.”- Stephen Kaggwa

“Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” -Oprah Winfrey

“You are doing your best only when you are trying to improve what you are doing.” -Unknown

“Little by little one walks far.” -Peruvian proverb

“Be what you are. This is the first step toward becoming better than you are.” -Julius Charles Hare

“It’s not who I am underneath but what I do that defines me.” -Christian Bale

“Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves–to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today.” -Stewart B. Johnson

“The happiness of too many days is often destroyed by trying to accomplish too much in one day. We would do well to follow a common rule for our daily lives–Do Less, and Do It Better.” -Dale E. Turner

“Do your best every day and your life will gradually expand into satisfying fullness.” -Unknown

“I will prepare and some day my chance will come.” -Abraham Lincoln

“A problem is a chance for you to do your best.” -Duke Ellington

“Everybody’s human–everybody makes mistakes. If you laugh it off and keep going and try to give it your best the next time around, people respect that.” -Unknown