Still Loving School
Now that I’m back to work full-time (I’m a teacher at Gar’s school, Easter Seals), Gareth is at school all day every day. He loves it and being there all day has been really good for him. I worried about putting him in school all day, but it has really worked out in many ways. I get to see Gareth quite a bit during the day, and his teachers and nurse are really great about getting me when something exciting is happening with Gar and are wonderful at keeping me informed about how things are going. Gareth has been very motivated to do more at school in all areas; his motor skills are improving nicely and he’s becoming quite the social butterfly (with both the boys and the girls, though he continues to be a regular ladies’ man!)
Gareth’s day at school is filled with all sorts of fun. He likes art projects and has brought home many a masterpiece for us. <%popup(20051121-messingpainter.jpg|640|427|Messing Painter)%>| <%popup(20051121-cutting.jpg|640|497|Cutting with his adapted scissors)%> Gareth really enjoys hanging out with his friends, and the kids at Easter Seals are terrific with Gar. They are now so comfortable with him that they play with him like any other kid–they even use his pictures or hold out their hands to give him choices to communicate. <%popup(20051121-tire swing.jpg|640|429|Gar and his friends on the tire swing)%>| <%popup(20051121-garjalen2.JPG|640|480|Gareth plays a game with help from a friend)%> Gareth likes outside time, and the bike path is one of his favorite places to play. He’s doing so well with his adapted trike–he pedals really well and can even make himself go uphill now! Gareth also enjoys riding some of the other toys outside on the playground. <%popup(20051121-car2.JPG|640|480|Driving in my car)%> | One of the most exciting things about Gareth’s time at school is his newfound enjoyment of physical therapy! Gareth has always given his poor PT a hard time during therapy sessions, but this seems to be a thing of the past. Woo hoo! Here he is enjoying some climbing fun with his PT, Jorene, to work on building his strength. <%popup(20051121-crawlingup.jpg|640|518|Starting up the hill)%>| <%popup(20051121-madeit.jpg|548|640|Made it to the top! )%>
Show and Tell is one of Gareth’s favorite times at school. He helps us write clues for his item and we program the clues on his computer. During show and tell he then tells his classmates his clues and then reveals his item. Gareth chose the bongos he and Trav use for a drum video game as his first show and tell item. He was so excited about show and tell I thought he was going to burst! 
<%popup(20051121-clues.jpg|640|501|Sharing the clues)%>| <%popup(20051121-drum.jpg|640|420|Showing the bongos)%>