Positive school statements

From an email from Ms. Winters:
Just a few random thoughts - I have really noticed that Nikko is responded better to his name either by looking or stopping what he is doing.

Also, he loved glue sticks!! If you set us a little area for him- give him paper, glue sticks - he will go to town! Yesterday he loved gluing cotton balls to the snow picture mural we were working on and today he loved gluing on the sequencing snowmen pictures and then coloring them.

Also thought that we would have sign class video taped for you guys if you want? Then you could watch at your leisure - and maybe he would like to watch too? It would not be a big deal.

What a great message to get, huh? I think Nikko has been responding to his name as well, but it might be harder at home since my louder voice, which tends to get a metal din to it when I get stern [at Ronin], can be abrasive and thusly not desirable to respond to. And glue sticks... That's very interesting. I would love to set up a craft area for him to work on stuff, maybe at the dining room table while Ronin is in his high chair, because Audre is a complete terror on the ground and would rip up everything in sight. She might draw, too, but would probably destroy the boys' artwork.

I also mentioned to Mrs. I regarding Nikko's stimming and she replied:
I'll look for the visual stimming but the times I have been with Nikko - I haven't seen it. Maybe the classroom has too many things to look at. As to the auditory - he also is inconsistent at school - sometimes covering his ears and other times not. However its been much less than the beginning of the year. I'll talk to Kathy about maybe making a picture of a bell so you could prep him for when it is going to ring. Sometimes the unexpectedness is what really throws the kids. Sensory defensiveness is usually inconsistent as our brains are not always at the same alertness level from day to day. Gradual exposure, reassurance, and prepping are the best approaches I know to tell parents. As Nikko gets more language we can then reassure him more. Hang in there!

We are very lucky that Nikko's teachers are very observant with his behaviors. I had heard that Mrs. I was the head of her department at some point, and that to get her on a daily basis at Westbrook was a really good thing.

Nikko's been having power struggles with me again today regarding the living room lights. Finally I was so fed up with him turning off the lights that I turned off the TV and let us sit in semi-darkness so that he could see we couldn't do anything in the dark. I went to the boys' room to put away laundry, muttering to myself, and when I looked up I saw that Nikko turned on the living room lights and left them on. Was that a learned lesson? But today, same as yesterday, I was just having the hardest times with Ronin. When he gets into a tantrummy rut, things are so ugly. He's only two, but my frustration levels shot up so high that I broke down and cried at the table because his whining (Make me happy, mommy, I want to be happy mommy, make me happy mommy) was relentless and nothing I was doing was making him happy. I'll try AGAIN tomorrow, not to yell or show my frustration. Somehow. :/ It might be a snow day tomorrow because the accumulation is supposed to be 3-5 inches, so I'll check the Westbrook District 57 site tomorrow morning.

Oh yeah, one last thing... before his bath, Nikko sat on the toilet and it was the first time that he ever went pee while sitting on the toilet. Ever! I was so proud of him. Guess his bladder was full enough that he figured it was a safe place to go, instead of on the floor like yesterday morning...