The Zelda Chronicles...

...as promised, here's the 5th year Zelda update. As relayed earlier, Creed is exploding on all fronts - and the same goes for his sister. Zelda attends one of the best public elementary schools in town every day from 7h45 - 2pm. Yes, we drop her off in her PPCD classroom (that's Public Preschool for Children with Disabilities) every morning at an extremely un-godly hour. She happily jaunts down the hall with her long white cane as the other kids stare, some dare to say 'hello', and as the parents jump out of her way while apologizing profusely. The beauty of the situation is - that in this overly white, upper middle class environment where all the mothers are perfectly dressed in their exercise attire each morning and the dads wear rumpled khaki suits, Zelda knows no visual stereotypes. Diversity, (or lack of) at this point, may only be absorbed through what she hears. So, I guess her mom and dad need to stop being so judgemental and critical!

Anyway, her PPCD class is one of inclusion and it blends with the Pre-K class each day, therefore preparing her for the foray into public kindergarten next year. Andrea, her TVI, works with her on Braille, reading and writing, three times a week. Lonnie, her O & M, works with her to navigate the halls, the playground and general cane usage two times a week. She sees Miss B once a week with a group for Speech and then once a week privately and her language is improving by leaps and bounds. At 2pm everyday, she rides the bus to join Creed and her longtime friends at Ecole, where she continues to be immersed in French and hangs out in the garden for extended day play.

AND, the biggest milestone is now Zelda is peeing in the potty. Wow, wow, wow! We were trying to remain calm and less impatient but with the help of the PPCD team and her beloved teachers at Ecole, she now is potty trained. Except for the poop factor - that deserves a whole other entry. And, I need to write a book. Yes folks, information on how to potty train a blind, stubborn little girl - not much about it anywhere and believe me, I have searched!

Hmmm...let's see, other big news: Zelda will now play by herself and with others in a bouncy house - you know, those giant inflatable things kids have at their parties. Up until last week, she always whined and often screamed for Evan to go in with her but at a recent Ecole potluck, she climbed in herself, jumped, fell and giggled with the other kids. Whew!

She likes to do laundry and put things in the dishwasher...she is even starting to get dressed on her own which is more than I can say for her twin brother.

And, when asked what she wants to be for Halloween, she declared, "Halloweena!" We're working on that one and hoping that it's her first outward display of her imagination.

She sings and continues to identify music and for her 5th birthday at PPCD (where they request no sweets or food, but an activity), Zelda chose the Rolling Stones and had a dance party to 2 of their songs from "Exile on Main Street".

This week, we attended the walk from the Texas State Capitol to City Hall for National White Cane Day...she was by far the tiniest ( and cutest) kid there! GO ZELDA! And I must admit, it really is hard to remember these kids as babies - they are growing, learning and exploring by leaps and bounds. It just gets better every day...

Ze plan, ze plan...

we have had an educational plan for Zelda this year and it has thus far, worked really well...As you know, both Creed and Zelda started at Ecole, their French immersion Montessori school last year. We love the school and they love our kids but this past September we decided to add a bit to Zelda's academics by putting her in PPCD (Public Preschool for Children with Disabilities) each morning for 3 hours. We drop Z off at Gullet Elementary and proceed directly with Creed to Ecole. Three hours later, la petite Z hops on her very own bus that takes her over to join Creed and her other amis at Ecole. So far, it has worked out swimmingly. Zelda receives the extra speech therapy and structural learning as she was at times experiencing frustrations with too many unseen choices in the academic part of the Montessori day. The PPCD program has 2 teachers for 6 students and she has a lot of directed activities as opposed to free time. When, she gets to Ecole, she has socialization, lunch, reading, nap and then hangs out with the other kids for extended day. She still has the French immersion and is doing quite well with it.

Now here's the problem...this 3 hr PPCD program is only for this year at Gullet. So, the hunt has begun for her next level PPCD program which unfortunately will go until 2pm and unfortunately at another school...then over to Ecole. The twins won't start kindergarten until fall 2011 as their birthday misses the cutoff in September. I am thus far feeling exhausted by the prospects of always trying to find the appropriate school for Zelda but at the same time knowing that once she's there, she will be a superstar. The other part of "Ze plan" is getting Creed into the same school and on the same bus when the time comes. For now, he's a happy camper at Ecole - understanding everything that's said to him in French but not really speaking it. La petite Z, on the other hand, out of the blue will say things like..."Il fait chaud" and "J'ai faim."

Ca continue...

Playground question...

Is it okay to kick some 3 yr old's ass?

Every day, we receive a report of Zelda's activities in her PPCD classroom - this is the public school program that she attends for speech and structural learning before she continues on to Ecole each day to join Creed. She's there from 7h4am - 10h45am and then a bus takes her to Ecole.
The report says things like: "Super listening today!" "Nice verbalization!"
And then yesterday: "A three yr old boy from the class next door pushed Z down on the playground, stole her glasses and hid them. We talked to her about it and she seemed ok."

This morning I told her that if it happens again to say "Hey!" and to hold her head up the way she does, smile and say "I'm gorgeous!"

I think it's time...