Category: Uncategorized

They got me! (off topic)

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It isn’t often that a commercial makes me sit up and say, “Oh Yeah!”  But this one for Apple IPad has.

As a retired educator I can tell you that Autism is on the rise.  I had a child with Autism in my class many of the years that I taught and for those children access to a computer was key to their learning process.

Teaching a child with Autism is not easy.  I can’t sugar coat it.   Some days were truly exasperating.  But for every day that my patience was tried there were four more that made me cry for joy.  Those were the days when I could find my way into their focus.

I imagine Autism to be like looking at the world through a pinhole, your focus is perfect but limited to what is just visible through the tiny hole.  That’s where I came in.  I had to be able to find that focus and then introduce all the rest of the world into it… one frame at a time.

For example:  I had a student who was brilliant at writing and loved it.  This child could write all day, if given the choice to do so, but seemed unable to write on topic   And spelling?  It was not happening for this little person.

One day I asked, “Do you watch the news on TV with your parents?”

Child:  “Yes.”

Me:   “Do you know what a news reporter is?  You know, the person who tells you about what happened that day?”

Child: “Yes.”

Me:  “Well, I need you to be a reporter when you write.  I need you to tell me the facts that you know about [the topic] in your writing just like the reporter on TV does.  He never tells you about what happened to him.  He only tells you about the topic.  Then when you get done reporting you can write about whatever you would like me to know!  Do you think you could do that for me?”

Child:  “Sure!”

It worked.  Later in the year, after extensive professional testing and evaluation, access to a computer was recommended for this child to help with the spelling issue.  This was a very freeing tool!  Once the child did not have to worry about spelling, then the writing really began to flow!  It was amazing to see a child of predominantly one word responses express so much information both “on topic” and off.

So, although I am not a MAC person, and I write to you on a PC, I nevertheless get excited about the IPad and its potential to free the minds and learning experiences for Autistic children everywhere.

Have a look!

Note:  To read about the personal experience of one of the children in this YouTube video read here:  http://www.blogher.com/my-son-topsecret-apple-ipad-project

A very happy loaf of bread

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I don’t usually post twice in one day, but this just never happens, not in my kitchen anyway…

I baked a loaf of Gluten Free bread today from a mix by Bob’s Red Mill called “Homemade Wonderful Bread.”  But, as per usual I doctored it up.

To the mix I added the following:

1/2 tsp. salt

3 tbs. pure honey

6 guinea hen eggs ~~~ (BTW, 2 GHE = 1 XLHE of course, you can use three hen’s eggs, but you won’t get the beautiful golden “egg bread” color)

1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free quick cooking oats

1/2 to 1 cup golden raisins (use to your taste)

Note:  I subbed in organic soy milk per amount asked for in recipe

I followed the directions on the bag for preparation, but proofed my yeast in the warmed milk and honey.

The bread rose, and rose, AND ROSE!  Here’s what happened!

It was supposed rise for a whole hour, but looked really fine in about 4o minutes.  So I took it out of the oven and then heated to 375 degrees.  I placed the loaf back into the heated oven, closed the door and came back to take a quick peek about one half hour later.

SHOCK!  When baking bread you expect it to rise some more with baking, but this was doubling in size once again! The loaf finished baking in only 47 minutes so I removed it from the oven.

So here you see my VERY HAPPY LOAF of

GF Oatmeal Golden Raisin Bread

So how happy is homemade GF Oatmeal Golden Raisin Bread?  Well I cut off a slice and found that it was…

THIS happy!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Letting Go

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I stand at the window and watch as bin after bin is loaded into the big panel truck.  I tell myself it’s OK, that I don’t care…

But I do.

I feel the tears start and then I get angry at my inability to hold them back.  I have held onto the contents of those bins for almost three years now and I finally find that I have the strength to let go of the past.  Twenty-five Rubbermaid storage bins, crammed to the top with games, puzzles, musical instruments, books, flash cards, critter keepers, and more than I can name.  All of it collected by me (or given to me by my students) loved and cherished by every class of children I ever taught.

We shared a journey wherein we learned together and had fun getting there!

I watch the truck pull out of the drive, roll on down the road, and know that the stuff of my career is finally gone.

I think:  “Bob will have his garage back and we’ll have an empty spare room for company when they come to visit.”

All of my special things will be sold for far less than I paid for them, then trying to be pragmatic I tell myself, the proceeds will help those in need.  Now in my mind’s eye I imagine a child holding her parent’s hand, looking at the things I once owned and I see the child smile on hearing the word “Yes.”

Does it hurt any less?  Maybe just a little.  It is a melancholy feeling.  The task of getting rid of all of this has hung around my neck for so long…

I held out…

drowning with the weight of it.

After all, I tell myself, I have a new life here and my days are full with other tasks now.  I feel myself smiling through my tears and know that my decision was a good one.  I breathe in freedom and expel a sigh relief that I could let go.

It is freeing.