Perspective

I mentioned recently that I got a promotion. The autism program in which I have worked for the last six years is expanding and has opened a brand new classroom. I am so excited to launch this new K-1 class, although I have to admit that building a special education class from the ground up has been nothing short of exhausting.

It seems as though we have met nearly every barrier possible, and things that should have taken a day to get done are taking weeks. From furnishing the room and buying curriculum that fits in the budget to attempting to build a positive relationship at our new school site, it seems as though it has mostly been an uphill battle.

I have tried to keep a positive attitude because I am doing what I love, and I see God's hand all over the place: in the timing of this new position, in the all-new staff team that has come together and seems to fit wonderfully, and of course in the sweet faces of the little ones we serve.

But, in all honesty, in my own mind as well as in a few emails written out of frustration, I've had a bad attitude. Just today I came home steaming that we still don't have internet hooked up in our room, and I still don't have a printer and computer that work together, and I still don't have a code to use the copier. I find it easy to complain about having to clean out all the unneeded items that were left behind by the last people to use the room, or the bugs in the carpet, or the bathroom not being cleaned to my standards.

Then today a friend from Zimbabwe tagged me in this photo on facebook.

This is a temporary school that we built two years ago. Although the village prays it will someday be rebuilt into a permanent structure, I can guarantee you that they are not complaining about the internet connection or printers, the bugs in the carpet, or the dirty bathroom.

Although I want the best for my students and will always advocate and fight for them in order to get them the support and respect that they need and deserve, I so easily forget how much we have to be thankful for.

As I teach this year, using the tools that may seem limited compared to other classrooms in the U.S., I will remember the precious children meeting in makeshift buildings and under trees, the siblings who take turns attending school because they share one pair of shoes, and the students who passionately practice writing their letters with a stick in the dirt. I pray that they will have teachers who love teaching as much as they love learning. I hope they will have encouragers and supporters to fight for them and to celebrate their victories. I pray for them the very best.

On a Less Serious Note...

Today I am officially 1/3 of the way done with graduate school. To top it off, I just received my test scores from three of the five ridiculously hard tests that I have to take in order to teach special education in California, and to my amazement, I.passed.them.all. (Four crazy tests officially down, one to go)!

All that said, it hasn't been done without many sacrifices. So it was much appreciated when Ry gave me this personal note of encouragement.

Okay, I'm motivated. Now carry on.

Winter Fun in the Classroom

One of my favorite things to do in the classroom is think of new ways to use old and normal things, making learning a little more interesting and a lot more fun. Of course, I work in a special needs classroom so I have a little more wiggle room for these activities than in a lot of classrooms, but for you moms, I thought this idea would be fun to do at home too.

I use our big breakfast table a lot. One of my favorite things to do is wrap a big dark blanket around the table (making it as dark inside as possible), have students crawl inside this make-do tent, lay on their backs looking up, and use the bottom of the table to display pictures or sight words. The kids get to use a flashlight to practice their words or tell me what they see. This activity can integrate OT (tracking and proprioceptive input), speech, sight-word/vocabulary drills, and many other concepts if you get a little creative. Most importantly the students are having fun learning, and every student in the class loves this activity (which rarely happens).

Recently I thought of a fun new way to use the table tent....as a relaxation station. I tried this out yesterday and will keep it up until Christmas break, and the kids LOVE it (and so do us teachers..we all took turns crawling inside for what we call mini vacation time:).

First, I turned the table over and covered the bottom in wrapping paper, then added some white lights. (Make sure lights are anchored to the legs/table rather than just the paper, or the weight may pull on and rip the paper when turned over.)

Next, I turned the table over and hung tons of ornaments and snowflakes, all in calming colors. (The table is standing on a mat to make lying down more comfortable and is pushed against the wall so kids won't trip over the cord from the lights).

This is how the table looks from the outside, once the blanket has been completely wrapped around.

We have been working on vocabulary words like snow, gloves, scarf, etc, and I constantly am working with our students on skills such as dressing themselves, buttoning, and tying shoelaces so it was easy to incorporate the calming station into what the kids are working on.

Before the students were able to enter the "Winter Wonderland" they came to my station where I had gloves, a scarf, hat, jacket, and snowboots for them to identify and then put on. I told them they had to put on their winter clothes because it was snowing inside. This was great incentive for them to dress themselves- zippers, buttons, and all. Once they were done, they were allowed to lay under the table for several minutes. I also had some calming Christmas music playing very softly just outside the tent. It was so cute to sit outside and listen as most of the kids would dialogue with themselves. Lastly, students left the Winter Wonderland, took off their winter clothes, and put back on their own shoes and sweaters.

Our kids loved this activity, and I am sure yours will too- at home or at school.

Let me know if you try it out!

A Day in the Life

Today I...

Lectured a student about not peeing outside (atleast not at school) until I was blue in the face...and for good reason.

Witnessed a sweet eight-year-old girl with autism comfort an upset classmate (which is huge, by the way). She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and hugged their cheeks together and just held him- and he didn't pull away. After sitting like this for a few moments she turned to him and oh-so-gently began cleaning out his ear with her finger. Oh well. It was sweet while it lasted.

Climbed to the top of the jungle gym to help one of our students. When I started to go back down a little boy (who is not in our class) held my arm and asked me if he could help me down. He walked just in front of me and guided me down step by step- because apparently I am too elderly and frail nowadays to get my senile self off the jungle gym ;)

I live the sweet life.

Perfect Timing

This has been somewhat of a chaotic, insane, out-of-control week. I showed up for work this morning expecting nothing less than another crazy day.

Then this morning one of my students presented me with this: 

  and very sweetly wished me a happy birthday.

As you might remember, my birthday is in May :) 

Her mom also wrote me a note, as her daughter had convinced her that it was in fact my birthday, and she told me how hard she had worked on making me this card.

It was a sweet moment.

Turns out that it did end up being a chaotic, insane, hard day.

But it was nice to have this little reminder of how sweet life can be in this crazy world.

And how God uses these little ones to be His hands and feet through the simple things.

Life is good.

Being a Billionaire

In all honesty, many of the things I write on this blog are things I think about while driving/praying on my 30 minute commute to work.

Today on my drive home I was listening to the radio, and there was a short news piece about a couple of famous young women who are now billionaires.

I've gotta tell ya, my $20,000 a year income cannot even wrap its mind around what a billion dollars even means. And billions of dollars? Can't comprehend, other than I know it means being able to live without the constant worry of what extra jobs I can pick up this week to pay my bills.

So, away with this thought my brain went.

If money was not an issue, what would I do? How would my life be different?

Of course there are the little things. I would pay off my car and student loans. I would throw out several shirts that are ready to go and replace them with new ones. I would go out for a sushi dinner more than once a year. I would fly to Colorado to see my family more often.

On a bigger scale though, I gotta be honest. If I didn't have to worry about money, I would keep the same job I have now, working with autistic kids.

I would continue to volunteer at Youth for Christ, but instead of squeezing in time with my girls when possible, I would buy a house in their neighborhood and quit my extra tutoring jobs so I could be home with my door open when they get out of school. I could bake them cookies and help them with their homework every day. I could hear the little details about their everyday lives instead of once or twice a month updates.

Then summers. Oh, the things I would do with my summers. Since I work at a school, and I wouldn't have to work summer school, I could travel the world. But first I would get my master's degree in Community Development. I would spend the summers building schools in rural areas where there is no formal education, but I would do it in a way that they are community sustainable. (I have ideas, let me tell ya).

And as I continued driving, my ideas expanded. Then I realized that my dreams are not that far away from reality. In some areas I would be able to do the things I love "better," but I wonder at what point my reliance on Christ would turn to reliance on money.

Since I can remember, growing up in a single parent home, each month was lived by faith. There were days we didn't know if we would have dinner, and somehow God always provided.

Yeah, it would be awesome if I had the money to, with the swipe of a card, just pay for the Rural School Project in Zimbabwe.  But then I would be missing out on being part of an international community. The members of New Life Church and I would miss out on the act of stepping foward in faith each month to meet the government regulations and time line in the building process. The communities around Binga would miss out on offering their time and talents and sweat in order to give their children an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty. And the kids would miss out on the opportunity to experience through this project the faithfulness and power of Christ, through whom all things are possible.

And all of these things, they can be hard, but they are good. These are the things money can't buy.

I ended my drive with a prayer that if God ever entrusts me with more money, that I will be faithful with each cent I am given, and if he doesn't, that I would do the same. I prayed that I always remember that no matter how much or how little I have, it all belongs to Him. And I thanked Him for always proving himself faithful.

What would you do if you never had to worry about money? How would your life change?

The Way to a Girl's Heart

Remember when you were little and you would carefully hand select assorted flowers and weeds and then present them to your mom like they were a diamond necklace?

Well, today one of my students spent his recess carefully sifting through the weeds on the playground.

Then he said, "Happy Saint Patrick Miss Allen," and he proudly gave me this:

It's the sweetest bouquet a boy has ever given me.

Diamonds are so overrated.

The Perfect Fit

The elementary school where I work is located in an area of Fresno called Highway City.

Fresno in itself has many poor communities. Based on poverty/population ratio, it is actually the most impoverished city in the United States, and Highway City is one of the poorer areas of the city.

I feel as though the Highway City area is often overlooked because it is on the very western edge of town. Most people have no reason to go into the area, making it easily forgotten.

Today, though, the children of Highway City were remembered.

The local business called Granville Homes donated loads of coats for kids. Teachers have been taking notes as the weather has turned colder as to which students are in need of winter coats. And today every single one of those kids recieved one.

In our little autism classroom three of our students were blessed with big warm beautiful coats. The kind of coats that are well made, warm, and will last a long time. And it just so happens that the coats they were given were in their favorite colors. All three of them. One could call it a coincidence, but I will say that God cares so much about these little ones, that not only does he want them to stay warm and healthy, he wants them to feel beautiful and so very loved.

Our kids don't quite understand where these coats came from, but there was priceless joy as they put them on and pranced around the room.

So, thank you Granville Homes. Your gift of love was the perfect fit.

You Capture. Fun.

To be honest, this week has been a really rough week. Between my grandma passing away, and having to say goodbye to many of my students who will be at new schools next year, I have been an emotional wreck. Because of this, I will have to cheat a bit for this week's You Capture.

When I think of fun, I think of Thursdays. On Thursdays I invest a little extra time with some of the students I work with through Youth for Christ. A couple weeks ago I took 2 of my girls to the park to fly a kite, which kids and kites are the funnest things ever.

These girls, Payeng and Dulce, have been part of my life for several years. They were very shy when we first started getting to know each other...



...but as time has passed it has been a blessing and a complete joy to watch them grow



into beautiful,



joyful,



and fun







young women.

Wow, I am blessed.

Things That Children May Pee In

I have to open this post by saying that I absolutely LOVE my job. I work in special education, and the children I work with really do bring joy to my life.

With that said, some days are days where you have to either laugh or cry. Yesterday was one of those days, and I chose to laugh. One of the many events that took place yesterday inspired this post.

Here are some things, that I know first hand, that children may pee in.

This one I credit to boys being boys.

This one makes sense but doesn't at the same time. It is in the bathroom, but come one, the toilet is so close!

This is the pot that we cook pretend meals in. The pretend soup has been forever tainted.

In defense of the child who peed in the pot (previous picture), it was located here. Hey, I guess the kid was just making himself at home.

I think this one is the funniest, but maybe because it happened to a friend of mine and not me.

And last but not least, we all thought it was so cute when one of the students sat on this therapy tube and said "toilet". We thought it was so creative for him to use his imagination that way, as many autistic children are literal to the core. It wasn't so cute a couple days later when one of the other students, who heard it called "toilet", did take it literally.


So there you go, you have been warned.

Good as Dead

Today, as I was working with My Little Sweetheart, a man walks into the classroom.

A man holding a rose.



Who claims his name is Bob.



Apparently the love of my life, the father of my child.



My co-workers are as good as dead.

The Good, The Bad, and The Bob

Yesterday I went back to the doctor. Once again, the results are the same. My doctor views surgery as a last resort, so we are pumping up my meds. The good news is she wants to give them time to work, so I won't have testing again for 4 months. Four months without doctor bills will be oh so nice!

I appreciate all your continued prayers, and although the test results haven't changed, I have recently had less pain, so that is definitely a praise.

On a lighter note, I took yesterday off work for my appointments. Today, when I returned, my coworkers informed me that My Little Sweetheart spent the day announcing that I wasn't at work because I was in the bedroom with Bob. Yes, I gasped too.

My coworkers are actually enjoying the Bob scenario, and tease me about it as much as possible.

We have decided the father of my child was inspired by one of these familiar faces:

Bachelor #1
Bachelor #2
Bachelor #3

So, who do you think it is? Personally, I am rooting for Bachelor #2.

Bob

Yesterday, as I was working with one of my students, whom I call my Little Sweetheart (really, he has the sweetest little soul ever), my mom called. I usually don't pick up calls at work, but when he heard the phone ring I told him my mom was calling, and he insisted I answer.

And then I let him say hello.

The conversation went something like this, "Hello Miss Allen's mom, my name is *Little Sweetheart* (except he actually said his real name, first and last, I was so proud). Uh-huh, Uh-huh. Hello Miss Allen's mom, my name is *Little Sweetheart*. Uh-huh, Uh-huh. Hello Miss Allen's mom, my name is *Little Sweetheart*."

After I few rounds I told my Little Sweetheart to say goodbye. So, of course, he said, "Goodbye Miss Allen's mom, my name is *Little Sweetheart*."

Okay, can you see why I love this kid?

Anyways, the story does not end there. Little did I know, by my innocent little phone call, a new obsession was created.

Not only with my mom, but with my dad, my dog, my baby, and my Bob (in case you were wondering, I do not have a baby or a Bob).

Really, all day, I had a shadow repeating, "Miss Allen's mom, Miss Allen's dad, Miss Allen's dog, Miss Allen's baby, Miss Allen's Bob."

But I still love the kid...Even after he got on the bus with this picture:


And exclaimed, "Hello Bus Driver! Miss Allen's baby and Miss Allen's Bob!"

So, Bob, if you are out there, I don't know who you are, but apparently you are the father of my child.

Summer Beginnings

I have officially and successfully completed my first week of teaching my own class! Although I have been working in schools on and off for 12 years now, this is the first time I have had (or wanted) the responsibility of being the lead teacher.

I have to admit, I think that being a rookie they are putting me through "initiation" in the sense that they chose all the kids with the biggest behavioral issues,grades 1-6, and intrusted them in my care. My supervisor and various other staff have popped their head in off and on, I believe to make sure I am still alive.I have to say the week went amazingly well, especially considering the age range and the different levels of ability of the students in my class.

There were lots of highlights this week, but my favorite moment of the week (its up there in the top five favorite moments of my life) was when one of the students, one of the very special students who has challenged me and stretched me beyond belief (I have worked with him in the past), told me in not so many words that he loved me. He called my name, and I walked over to him, and he wrapped his arms around me and said "love." And I cried a little. If the action and the word were not used together, I would have doubted he knew the meaning of what he was saying, as feelings and emotions are a hard concept for autistic kids to grasp. But I felt so loved in that moment, so I believe he meant it.

Also, as always, there have been funny moments. One student, who I have never worked with before, likes to bring "surprises" in her backpack. So far she has brought popsicles (melted and leaking), various items of clothing that obviously do not belong to her, two cameras, and a flashlight (one of those huge ones that security officers use). Hmmmmm...I wonder what I will find next week. I am half afraid that I will open it up and something will jump out at me. Honestly, I think it could happen.

So, my week went well, and my supervisor will be relieved to know I am still alive.

When I am not at the school, the rest of my time has been devoted to working with the summer interns at Youth for Christ. I now have the official title of "Summer Intern Director". I have 7 awesome interns who are running 4 awesome programs. I'll be posting more info about that soon. I think it will be a great summer of great ministry.

Tomorrow I will be taking some of the Jefferson kids to volunteer with Hope Rises to prepare some water purification devices called "WaPIs" The WaPIs will be going to communities in Swaziland where my Jefferson students have penpals. Pretty cool connections. I am praying that the kids will become locally and internationally aware and involved.

So, my summer has had a good strong start, which will hopefully carry through! Until next time!

-Rebecca

If only it were that simple...

Last week one of the kids in my class gave me some great advice on love. He was absolutely crushed when he found out that I'm not married and I don't have any babies, so he thought he would help me out. The conversation went something like this:

"Miss Allen, do you have any babies?"

"No."

"Miss Allen do you have a husband?"

"No."

"Why don't you have a husband? Did he die?"

"No, I've never had a husband."

"Well, why not? You should have a husband" (said with tears welling up in his eyes)

"Good question."

"Can I tell you how to get a husband?"

"Sure."

"Well, first you need to find a boy. Then he needs to like you. Then he needs to like you A LOT. Then he needs to like you enough to marry you."

"Wow. That's some good advice. Then what?"

"Then you live happily ever after..."

Hmm....I'll keep that in mind :)