FALL UPDATE

 

Hard to believe we are already 

one month into the school year! 

Here's what's been happening:

1. School seems to be going quite smoothly despite the fact the boys do not have the same special ed teacher they had for the past 6 years.  We are very grateful that they have special ed aides that returned from last year as well as their speech teacher.  And the new special ed teacher was an awesome sub for them many times over the years so we know her and feel comfortable with her.  She is doing a great job in her new role!  

2. Ben participates in Special Olympics bowling and loves it.  His first game each week tends to have lots of gutter balls.  Then by the time the 2nd game rolls around, he figures out how to throw his bowl and he ends up with a score between 60-80 for the game.  He loves being independent during this activity- I try to sit off in the background and just let him maneuver and figure out best he can.  I think he likes having an activity that is just his own, not one he shares with his brother Jonah.

3. Jonah is loving being on the school football team.  It's the same format as last year.  Jonah attends 30-45 min of practice/2x week and then makes his touchdown run at the beginning of half time each game.  So this kid has awesome scoring stats!  As was the case last year, we are amazed and so happy for the coaches' and teammates' excitement and willingness to help Jonah be on this team.

4. Ben has his annual IEP meeting in a few weeks.  This one will be a bit more involved because Ben is now 14 so we have to start talking about transitioning to high school as well as the emphasis switch to job/living skills vs academic skills.  How did we get here so fast, right?

5. On 10-29, Jonah has nasal surgery to correct the blockage on his right side.  Expected recovery is 3-4 days so hopefully this all goes 

nice and smoothly for him (and us 👀 ) 

6. Fall camping is coming to a close.  "Boys only" weekend coming up and then our last time for all four of us in 2024 is at the end of October- 

again, how did we get here so fast, right? 

Below is a photo from our camping at Kohler-Andrae State Park in mid-September.  We had beautiful warm weather so, yes that is Jonah swimming in Lake Michigan in September!  Ben just waded in the water.  It was a fun week!