Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Little Miss-I-do-it-my-own-way








Well, things have changed and I just received an email from the Special Ed coordinator at school who has decided on a new strategy to help Zoé get more engaged in her therapies.
I think we've reached a plateau. Zoé simply doesn't want to be told what to do, when to do it. Her speech therapist had already told me that the honeymoon was over for Zoé. She used to like speech, but she's had it with oral motor therapy, with grape-flavored latex gloves shoved in her mouth, she's had it to repeat words in Ms, Bs, and Ps.
And it is just the beginning...
David left on Saturday morning for Germany and I will be alone all week. It has been pretty challenging. Zoé can be the sweetest little girl and then a little devil when it comes to letting me nap 10 minutes on the couch. She climbs all over me, opens my eyelids, tells me to wake up. No rest for me these days.
At school she's started "hitting" the therapists when she doesn't want to do the activities planned for the session.
I am now faced with the challenges of how to tell her why we do all these things. Why she gets speech twice a week, why she gets PT twice a week, why OT twice a week, etc.
When I say "hit", she doesn't do it with brutality, but she shows them that she's in control.
Anyway, she's crossed the line and I need to work on it big time.
On Mondays I do a little French circle time in her classroom. I've decided that what I teach, Zoé already knows and that it's better if she's out of the room with her PT, while I teach her friends. She usually comes in for the last 5 minutes.
So Zoé walks in and I show her a yellow card and asks her to tell me the color in French: amarillo!!!!, ok, Zoé we are doing French. I show her a white card she says: blanco!!!!! I ask her to count to five and there again: uno, dos, tres...I stop her immediately. The teachers are cracking up and I know Zoé is fully aware of the impact it has on me....she ain't no dummy.
Anyway, we finished the class and I had to tell her once we were home that I wouldn't have her in the room while I taught French if she wasn't going to cooperate.
Zoé also gets a Spanish circle times on Wednesday and absolutely LOVES it. She is a talented linguist and I don't want to hinder that love for languages, but it just doesn't work when I am in the class with her.
Welcome to the almost terrible fours...
I am dreading what is ahead. For the most part motherhood is the best thing in my life but the most challenging one too.
I do think a 9 to 5 job where you come home and don't have to bring that job home is the best thing ever. For me it's a 6 am to 8 pm, nonstop when Zoé is home. Last night she woke me up at 3:00am, to tell me her alarm clock didn't show 7!!!
I bought her a princess castle alarm clock, and told her when it shows 7:00, she can come and wake me. So I got a 3:00 amd and 5:30 am wake-up call!
I am beat...
Zoé has lost her video and TV privileges. She didn't behave well at school, so instead of a "time out" (I hate this word!!!), I cut off the TV and video. She'll only get to watch on weekends. End of discussion. She realized last night when we had a pillow fight that that was more fun than watching TV alone!!

Yesterday Zoé got to ride Kiwi in her princess dress. Go Cinderella!

We are looking forward to Halloween, and to go Trick or Treating. (Look at the pictures from houses in our neighborhood!!)

Voila for now, dear readers. I am off to pick up Zoé for a fast lunch before she goes to speech therapy.

Hope this finds y'all well.

2 comments:

Fiamma said...

Dear Ms. Berman,
I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy reading your blog. Zoe is so adorable... and I love her do-it-my-way ways!
Here we are reocvering from the snowstorm and from midterms... and I'm attempting to figure out what I should do with my life post BA...
Lots of love to all, I just wanted to pop in to let you know that i love reading your updates and seeing pictures of the little miss.
Fiamma

Sarah said...

Thanks for your note, Fiamma.
I wasn't sure you still read the blog and you just made my night! Glad to hear you made it through the snowstorm. I surely didn't miss NYC when I saw that on the news. We can still hear crickets here....pretty amazing indian summer we are having. I wear t-shirts and shorts every day. You should look into a Californian university post BA: Stanford, Berkeley, Davis.
Much love coming your way.
Would love to see you soon on the West coast. Regards to your family.
Ms. B