Our Journey Begins....

Today was our first step onto a different path. Leora and I were excited to spend the day together and enthusiastic about our plans. One of the goals of this journey for me is to create a less stressful atmosphere for both me and Leora. We started the day much more slowly than a typical school/workday. I slept until 9am and Leora watched videos and played Roblox. We didn't have to rush through our morning routines. There was no frantic calling to "hurry up!" By 11am we were sitting calmly in the optometrist's office.

The orientation session for the vision therapy that we have committed to completing was a chance to learn about the expectations for the next 32 weeks. Leora was not exactly engaged in the conversation today. That is pretty typical for her. She often takes time to warm up to a situation. I worry that this will make the first several sessions difficult but Laurie, the therapist, seems knowledgeable and aware of that possibility. Leora was calm and mostly attentive throughout the hour-long orientation. Laurie was clear that Leora had to take responsibility for her part in all of this or she won't see the changes and improvements that we are all hoping will develop.

After a quick lunch, I sent Leora outside to pick a rock from the daycare's loose parts bin. Then I handed her some sharpies and told her to close her eyes and to think about something calming. I told her when she opened her eyes, I wanted her to draw on her rock. Maybe it would just be a random design of colours and shapes or maybe it would be a word or a picture - whatever came to her mind when she thought about something calming. Leora drew a lovely little beach scene and that set the stage perfectly for our next activity - finding a "sit spot."

I learned about "sit spots" while attending the first in-person Professional Development Day for Childcare Workers & Early Childhood Educators in our area. The idea of a "sit spot" is to find a place in nature that will help you be mindful of your surroundings. It will hopefully become your favourite place to go and be quiet, stop fidgeting and simply start observing what goes on around you. Studies have shown that visiting a "sit spot" on a regular basis can reduce stress, help you relax and notice your emotions and thoughts. I really wanted to introduce this concept to Leora in hopes that we could develop a ritual with our "sit spots" each week that would benefit both of us. I want to take a few weeks to explore a few different locations before we settle into one particular "sit spot" but today we went to the beach. Leora really wanted to climb out onto the rocky outcrop that juts out into the lake so we went before it would get too icy for the adventure to be safe. Leora found a place for her rock art and spent 25 minutes watching the waves and examining the rocks while I enjoyed my own space on the beach. Leora talked a lot about how calming the water is for her and how "it just feels like home!"

We returned to our house to begin the more traditional schoolwork for the day. Leora had brought home her math workbook with about 15 questions to complete. These were from assignments that she had fallen behind on during the past week. This task was the most difficult part of our day. Leora used words like "I can't" and "Why don't I understand?" and it broke my heart. I focused on reframing and reassuring. "Not yet but we'll keep trying" and "You're still learning" were my main messages to Leora and I broke up each question to focus on the step and the next step rather than the whole question. When the tears began, I pulled out my secret weapon, a giant pop-it with the multiplication table on it. Leora's face lit up. The tears stopped and the pressure was off. The focus now became about learning the multiplication rules that were being taught rather than about whether or not Leora could remember every multiple of 3, etc. My hope going forward is that Leora and I can spend more time playing math and language games like the Math War card game and Scrabble, etc. I have no problem helping Leora to catch up with classroom work - especially since I know that she will benefit from the one-to-one learning, but I also want Leora to experience learning in a more relaxed approach. I may add this to our Wednesday plans instead of choosing between catching up on schoolwork or playing games. Leora needed some downtime after completing the worksheets, so I set her loose while I made supper.

We eat an early supper on Wednesdays and that usually means getting take-out but now that I am not providing childcare on Wednesdays, I can take the time to cook our meal before we head to our Girl Guide meeting.

I was leading our meeting this evening, and in honour of Remembrance Day, our theme was Women in the War. Along with the regular traditions of our Girl Guide meetings, we did several activities that helped us to learn how women have played key roles in the wars and within the Canadian Armed Forces throughout history. I think Leora's favourite part of the meeting was the impromptu soccer game that happened in the dark church yard where we hold our meetings. My favourite part was hearing all the ideas from the members while we imagined writing a letter home if we were sailors deployed on a ship in the Persian Gulf. "I'm getting tired of dehydrated food!" Great imaginations!

All things considered, I think our first day of this new experience was successful. I'm looking forward to next week and that must be a good sign. ~K