Max helped get his Valentines ready to take to school today. I did the punching out, card assembly, and addressing; Max added the stickers and his signature. We gave his classmates some little punch out cards that came with Pixie Stix. I bought the cards without Max's input, but knew that I wanted to get something that he would recognize. No cartoon characters or animals this year, but they've been talking about heart shapes all week in school, so these fit the bill. I also try to choose Valentines that are somewhat interactive for him & his classmates -- like those that come with scratch-n-sniff labels, stickers, temporary tattoos, play dough, or candy -- as there are non-readers & non-sighted kiddos in there. Max was all about the CANDY this year!
Side note: I was slightly concerned that he would be reluctant to give them ALL away and not be able to keep one for himself, so at the last minute I added one that said "To Max, From Max." I don't know if that made things easier or harder (or neither). Details like this always remain mysterious to me unless I make a point of asking his teacher about them. Oh, to be a fly on the wall! He's a different kid at school than he is at home. I wish they had one-way observation windows -- or, better yet, web cams! -- in his room.
For Max's teacher and classroom aides, we gave plastic heart-shaped containers of M&Ms. I had Max decorate them with stickers and then sign his name in permanent marker on the back of the container. The first "signature" was pretty funny because he really enjoyed the permanent marker sliding across that slick, curved surface; he got all side-tracked putting that nice, dark line of ink on there and sort of forgot to write his name. It was actually a fairly challenging task, with all those teeny-tiny stickers and tricky surfaces, but he happily stuck with it for quite a while! (and only tried twice to free all those M&Ms)
When I saw Max after school, the very first thing he said to me was "CANDY!" in big, exuberant signs on his cheek and a satisfied, sugary grin. :)
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1 comment:
Hello,
I stumbled upon your blog from Google I suppose. My son, who just turned four, was diagnosed with microcephaly at birth (let's not go to circumferences, I'm still in denial). His head is small and he has developmental delays. In many aspects he looks like your son (even the facial gestures, no kidding!). I have not yet read all your posts to learn Max's story, nor do I know about your beliefs and values, but it's consoling to find other parents who are struggling with similar issues as yourself. My son doesn't have any physiological symptoms; his issues are more learning difficulties, speech development delay, problems with fine and gross motor skills.
All the best,
May
still in denial
...but if you stop by, check my entries tagged "from the back of my closet"
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