But It Comes With a Toy...

6:30 AM
Boy: Will Olivia be here today?
Me: Probably.
Boy: Will Jake be here today?
Me: Probably.
Boy: Will Landyn be here today?
Me: Well, what do you think?
Boy: Yeah, he always bes here.

7:45 AM
Girl: Honey! Come here, Honey! Honey!
Boy: I'm NOT YOUR HUSBAND! ...I'm Peter Pan.
(A few minutes later, the boy was yelling, "Tinkerbell!!!" and the girl replied, "Excuse me, I have to die now.")

8:00 AM
Boy: Welcome to Burger King and we're out of fries.
Speech Therapist: Well, what should I get then?
Boy: You can have onion rings.
Speech Therapist: Okay, how much do I owe you?
Boy: $100
Speech Therapist: Um, I think that's too expensive for me...
Boy: But, it comes with a toy!

****
I've been at the daycare a lot this week, substituting for a vacationing coworker. But in the meantime, my servant-attitude has been on the fritz.
For some reason, I've been unmotivated, impatient, and looking at the clock more often than usual...

I make excuses like I'm not getting enough sleep and the kids have been especially difficult the last few days. And there is some truth in both statements.

True, a boy with Downs who has been potty-trained for over two years is wetting his pants twice a day for no reason. And, true, my little Creative Genius keeps losing the battle with impulse control and BITING anyone who upsets him. And, yes, there is a young one who gets "stuck" on certain phrases until you think his repetitions will bore a hole in your head.

....But this is my job, and God has made it clear He has things to teach me through the challenges in that classroom. Plus, despite the pandemonium, I have found myself giggling several times about something the kids have said. Why shouldn't I focus on those positives?

Although special education can feel like a meal that costs $100--at least it comes with a toy.

Now Featuring Photos! (The Work of my Student Genius)

Privacy laws restrict me from posting photos of my students' faces. Sooooo, I'll settle for telling the story of the Boy with the Vision through pictures of his projects.

First of all, let me note that most children pre-kindergarten are just learning to trace basic shapes, count to twenty, recognize their own names on paper, and experiment with scribbling letter-like forms. Some of them are able to copy what a teacher writes on the board, but recognizable letters and the classic "kid spelling" of things usually comes later, after kindergarten teaches them basic phonics.


That is, unless you have a special 5-year-old with an unbelievable spatial-visual memory. If that were the case, maybe he would have the ability to draw accurate maps of places he has been in town, build block towers which resemble actual buildings, and re-create logos and advertisements from grocery stores, fast food restaurants, and others using the correct font and 3d effects.


What makes it more amazing is the fact that this child has social difficulties and an emotional-behavioral disorder that complicate teaching him things. He doesn't like to have assistance with anything, and any idea which isn't his is a bad idea. But, no one had to teach him how to do any of the following things; it all came from his memory.



For instance:

Now, anyone who lives/has lived in Fort Wayne may recognize this structure without a comparison picture. But for everyone else:

In case you missed it, check out the signage my little guy built in front of the main building. That's right. He went as far as duplicating Science Central's LOGO and taping it to the blocks for maximum accuracy.

Now, here's a formation which has become a permanent shrine in the block corner. Ever since the boy joined our class (just before he turned five), he has been obsessed with "Holiday Fest."
It looks like this:



He told us things like, "You drive THROUGH Holiday Fest." and "It lights up at Christmas." But it wasn't until we noticed the center building looks just like One Summit Square that we figured out Holiday Fest = Downtown Fort Wayne.


Here's the back of the block version:

From back left to front right, National City/PNC Bank, Courthouse, One Summit Square, and Lincoln Tower Bank. (You may have noticed the real Downtown has these buildings in a different order. But when you drive South through the buildings on US24, they appear just as the boy built them.)

Finally, here's a sample of his Logo-writing:

Earlier the same day, as the kids were turning a cardboard box into a "Drive-thru," he reached out the window we had cut in the side and wrote "Burger King" so that it appeared correct to the "cars" that would come. This means he wrote it upsidedown from his vantage point.

I would have taken a picture of the McDonald's or Taco Bell signs he drew (complete with 3d Bell), but he wouldn't cooperate. (sigh) Even with his superpowers, he is still a kid.

****
Anyway, all of this to say, my job isn't always difficult. Sometimes I get to pick little brains and let them WOW me with just how incredible they are. With that, I'll sign off by posting a final example of student art I like to call, "Who Needs a Canvas When Miss Amanda Has a Back?"

Parenthood: Less Fun Than it Looks

This article sums up everything I could have written on the subject of parenting, at least until I acquire a child of my own. But after coming face to face with the statistics about general happiness in parenthood, it's a wonder more people in my position choose to have kids at all!

Research shows: "Parents are less happy than non-parents, parents of infants and toddlers are especially not happy, single parents are less happy than married parents, and mothers are less happy than fathers. Except, that is, when it comes to single fathers, who are the most unhappy of all."

I've long been suspicious that raising children is the same trial-filled, refining-fire type of arrangement marriage is. We fall in love with the idea of cute baby feet and baby coos the way we fantasize about being "Mrs. So-and-so" or decorating our own home. And then we realize it's HARD.

But, as I've said many times in this blog already, "hard" isn't "bad." Difficulties inspire growth and make us more like Christ. So, I conclude with the author of this article: happiness isn't the goal anyway. And, since that's the case, bring on the babies. (Er...someday.)

Read it here. It's good:
http://www.crosswalk.com/11634447/

The Things We Do....

I've heard this phrase a lot lately. Somebody tells a story about cleaning up a nasty mess, and the listener remarks, "The things we do for our kids!" Or a husband relays a tale about struggling to plan the perfect date, and we exclaim, "The things we'll do for love!"

Now I agree those acts of service can be beautiful, sacrificial things. BUT, are they really the best examples of "the things we do for love?" And if so, are we content with that?

I'm asking because I babysat for friends last night--for about 6 hours--and I didn't charge them for my time. Then, I helped another friend load her moving truck this morning. And, sometimes I'm tempted to shake my head and think, "The things I get myself into for my friends!"

But, you know, those thoughts are awfully self-righteous. Where do I get the audacity to feel smug about my tiny gifts of service when Christ demonstrated an agonizing, completely-sacrificial love for me on the cross? The everyday examples of "things I do" are shallow and even comfortable in comparison to real service.

On the other hand, what about the wife who remains by the side of her brain-injured husband even after a tragic accident? How about the family that forgives the drunk driver that took away their loved one? We tend to elevate those people as saints or angels, with incredible capacities for selflessness. We consider their examples extraordinary, rather than playfully saying to them, "The things we do for love!" The truth is, we don't don't those things...

What a shame. Because those people are the most Christ-like of all.

If the diapers I change, the dishes I wash, and the food I cook are the only ways I give to others in an average week--and if a couple hours of moving boxes or babysitting tempts me to grow an ego--then I'm embarassed by the sheer smallness of the things I do....

Math, Daycare Style

Okay, what's 15 kids times 400 decibles, plus 3 teachers and 2 volunteers, combined with an assortment of disabilities, tendencies, and tricks, divided by a 7-hour-shift? Answer: A loud, exhausting day. Points if you got that right.

Now, what happens when you take the same equation and SUBTRACT 8 of the children... Extra credit if you answered: the decible level goes UP, and you must factor some blood and lots of urine.

If you've ever heard a teacher complain about the first day of school after a long weekend, this is why: it's hard to teach children about patterns, logical thinking, and arithmetic when our grumpy, sun-burnt, class of seven dishes out more noise and tearful drama than a full group...

Yes, wet pants, skinned knees, and the sudden inability to talk without yelling or play without hitting. It was a long day. But I'm hopeful for a good Thursday/Friday, after we extract the last bit of Independence Day from their systems... And I take comfort in knowing our next holiday is more than a month away.

(Now, what's 10 weeks of summer break, minus the three weeks since it started...? Please tell me Daycare Math doesn't affect the timeframe for Back to School...)

Love is Blind

Today, I was listening to the radio on my way home from work when I heard a review of the new Twilight movie Eclipse, given by "the nation's only blind movie critic," Jay Forry. Really! He can't see, and he has been critiquing movies for a long time...

First of all, what a concept, huh?! But, in an era where directors think they can add explosions and sexy women to every BAD movie and create a smash hit, Mr. Forry comes along and lets audiences know whether a movie really is worth "seeing." Any guesses what he thought about Eclipse?

No good.

Indeed, he says the dialog is juvenile, the plot goes no where, and the "action" everyone is talking about comes in a heap at the end. And, though I must admit I haven't seen the film myself--nor do I plan to after the catastrophic first two--I'm absolutely positive I would agree heartily.

The only thing with which I disagreed was Forry's statement, "This movie is fine for the target audience--meaning teenage girls," because--for some reason--teenage girls are not the only ones squealing over this movie. A disturbing number of 20, 30, and 40-somethings are raving about the thrills, the action, and....the "romance." And, this last point literally makes me sick.

I've long said truth is the most important thing in the world to me. (Jesus even said, "I am the Truth," so I think myself clever for finding a way to describe everything I care most about in a single word.) But, if I had to be more specific, I would say the truth about love is the most important thing to me. And there is nothing close to love in the Twilight movies.

These days, people--and especially women--are mistaking obsessive desire and animal-like sexuality for love and romance. And I'd like to know why said women, who would fight for equality in the work place, the right for an education, and plenty of other feminine causes without hesitation, turn around and support a movie in which a selfish, untalented, and codependent lead female allows pretty-faced and empty-headed "men" to compete for her....? Can anyone explain this to me?

Just like today's "romance novels" (which are porn-in-writing) have nothing to do with true, kind, patient, and sacrificial love, our modern romantic movies (sex on screen) are destroying the nation's understanding of what a good relationship looks like. And some of them, like Twilight, are being marketed to young girls.

Ladies in your 20's and 30's, and especially you mothers-of-teens in your 40's, you should be helping your hormonal daughters see the frivolity, even the dangers, of absorbing something with as little substance as Eclipse; not drooling over Edward and Jacob alongside them....

To quote Mr. Forry one more time, "[The second movie, New Moon] is so melodramatic it's funny, and some of the story lines are just ridiculous... [it's] all about Taylor Lautner running around without a shirt in the cold weather."

And I LOVE the fact that a blind man can see that.

(By the way, Jay Forry's website is found at blindsidereviews.com)

Freedom: a Fourth of July Post on the First

Americans talk a lot about freedom. It's one of those ideals that everybody--Christian and non-Christian, old and young, black and white--seems to recognize as a good thing. It's the trump card when debating moral issues, politics, and, really, anything--because everybody knows freedom is important. People literally are dying to be free.

But, as we get ready to celebrate our country's freedom by lighting a million bottle rockets and eating potatoes and pie until we similarly explode, it occurs to me how sadly unfree many of my fellow countrymen are.

Sure, we can use our own discretion in making the majority of our decisions. But, as a nation, we can't shake the bonds of credit card debt. We are slaves to food more than ever before. We bend and break under the pressures of work, childrearing, getting enough exercise, and keeping in touch with friends until we finally convince ourselves we need a vacation (or a medication) before we can stand one more minute of our own lives. Is this what we brag about when talking of our country's "privileges?" We're proud that--in our superior country--we are free to bury ourselves in excess and then take all the Prozak we want?

That's not true freedom.

But if living in a democratic-republic doesn't make one free automatically, then how do we liberate ourselves?

I just finished the book Saint by Ted Dekker. (It's really good, though you should read Sinner first.) And one of the over-arching themes of the story is the concept of truth. What is truth? How much can brainwashing affect ones belief in things which are NOT true? For instance, could someone be drugged and tortured until they forgot their own families? Faith in God? Their own names?

Then, in the final chapters of the book, the story's wise guru-type man repeatedly looks at the broken and confused protagonist--who has been lied to and manipulated for years--and he assures him: The truth will set you free.

Of course, the main character doesn't know what that means at first, but it made my heart swell. It's perfectly logical. Amazingly accurate. The most real and unshakable kind of freedom comes from knowing the truth.

Just as the lead character finds himself physically and emotionally exausted by all the deceit, many Americans are desperate for the truth. We are TIRED at the end of each day, and we think it's because the paperwork never ends, and our house is always dirty, and our kids don't behave...
But is that the truth? I don't think so, because God says truth will set me free. Whatever is wearing me down--holding me in chains--and making me want to run away must stem from something else. When I'm frustrated and overwhelmed and crawling on my hands and knees--it's because I'm being lied to.

If that's the case, then let's make the decision to take an honest look at what controls our existence, and then we can let the truth tell us how to fix it. One truth may be, "I'm irritated with my kids, which is okay. But how I handle my anger is the real source of my exaustion." (By the way, have you noticed that sin is tiring? That's why God offers us "rest" from our "burdens")
Maybe you need to hear the truth, "Service-minded people are happier than self-minded ones." OR "Laughter is the best medicine....not Prozak."

I don't care what you grab hold of, as long as you subscribe to a piece of truth today. It will set you free.

(P.S. Happy almost-fourth-of-July! Be thankful you live in a country which allows you to seek the truth, if you are brave enough.)