Something a Little Special

I have mentioned in previous posts, that my oldest daughter, Sarah, has special needs. She has been out of school for almost 4 years now (that seems impossible!). Her high school transition class develops skills to use post-high school.

The problem, to me, is finding areas to utilize these skills once the kids get out of school. Indiana has not done a very good job of funding programs for post-high school kids and a lot of them end up sitting at home with nothing to do. I think this is terribly sad.

Sarah has several jobs. One of her favorites, is volunteering in our high school transition class each and every school morning at La Sals. (Sals is an acronym for Something A Little Special--we just added the "La" to make it sound fancy!).

La Sals is a coffee shop in our high school. It is run by the special needs transition class and has volunteers from general education students, as well. We serve Starbucks coffee, lattes and cappuccinos, sweet tea, hot tea (lots of flavors to choose from), and hot chocolate. The students are served until the first bell rings and then faculty can place orders for delivery during the rest of the day.

I love watching how the transformation from the beginning of the school year to the end of the school year is for these special kids. The self-confidence they develop is just amazing. Something else that is truly amazing is how much more it has helped our special kids become accepted at school. That was a side-effect we didn't expect when we began this project 2 years ago.

We weren't allowed to "paint" the walls, so we just used the same technique that we did on the other walls to create a tile effect...the "tiles" are actually textured wallpaper squares.

One of the aides in the classroom is awesome at faux-finish painting...see our exposed "brick" walls?

The other classes jumped right on this project...the industrial tech class cut stuff to hide electrical posts and came up with ideas to help with lighting, signing, etc.

The entrepreneurial class did a business plan for us and those kids initially helped out to get the project up and running.

When we received the go-ahead from the administration, we were warned that we had to come up with our own funding. It is amazing how many items were donated for our cause.

Tables were donated by a local businessman and the chairs, which are all mis-matched have all been painted black.

As funding for schools in general is very tight, the teacher has been very creative in ways to fund projects for her class. When my daughter was in middle school, they started making gingerbread ornaments. I thought, okay, I'll buy these ornaments to help support the cause (I wasn't really that keen on the idea). Then, I saw how cool they were and bought tons of them. It was suggested that the class set up at the local Christmas Bazaar that fall. They had a stellar day and needless to say, a tradition began.

The kids don't make as many gingerbread ornaments as they used to and their projects have evolved over the years. Currently, with the jewelry craze, the kids put together jewelry. Girls will bring in their prom dresses to have jewelry custom-designed to match. Sterling silver and swarvoski crystals are used. The classroom aides will come up with a design and the kids will copy it.

Here are some ID card beaded chains and earrings on display (the shutters were also donated) in the classroom. Some mornings, a teacher or student might come in and say they forgot to put on their earrings, and buy a pair to go with their outfit!

The librarian had been to Italy and had taken photos of streets. She brought the photos in for us to see...immediately we thought the industrial tech class could help again....they enlarged the photos, they've been mounted behind windows, a teacher who can sew made awnings, and our "windows" look out onto italian streets!

Occasionally, we have teachers from other school districts hear about our project and visit this classroom to see what all has been done and to see if they can replicate it in their own transition classes. It takes a dedicated teacher (she comes in at 7:00 a.m. every morning, and we're usually there right after) to get everything started and have ready for the kids to serve at 7:30...she is not paid extra for coming in. It takes good volunteers to pull this off too! But, since my daughter and I were in on this project from the very beginning, there is no way we want to stop helping. It's our baby too!

I must admit, this is not a very flattering picture, but my youngest daughter, Katie, her friend, and the teacher's son (he doesn't normally wear a tie to school, there was a basketball game that night and the team members must dress up during the day!) help out every single morning. We have one special needs student who is able to come in to help...she was most likely in the cafeteria drumming up business when this picture was taken! The kids our our high school must give 40 hours of community service as part of their graduation requirement. These 3 kids have come in every single morning this year...and we calculated they reached their 40-hour minimum in October! I really think they enjoy helping and occasionally, when we're at home, Katie asks me if I'd like a hot chocolate-- let me just say, she can make a mean cuppa cocoa! (Our secret is using Swiss Miss with milk instead of water--the kids think this is the best hot chocolate they've ever had!) Of course, we make specialty cocoas with Starbucks syrups. My favorite is with hazelnut and then add chocolate shavings and carmel bits to the dollop of whipped cream! (No calories in this!)

It's amazing that with a little bit of encouragement, these kids can do some really cool stuff they can be proud of! This classroom certainly lives up to its motto "Changing disabilities into possibilities"!

Drive Your Tractor to School Day! Small Town Living at its Best!

Today, the high school FFA members drove their tractors to school. (For those of you who don't know, FFA stands for "Future Farmers of America). We live in the country, but not on a farm. I grew up on a farm and we are surrounded by farmers, so I don't really feel like I''ve left the farm.

It makes me giggle to hear other people complain about how slow the tractors are, etc. I get upset with people who drive too slowly, but never with tractors or other farm equipment when I get behind them. I always remind myself that farmers are feeding us, and who doesn't like food? I love "drive your tractor to school day" because all the kids travel into town to the "Co-op" and then parade together to the school. To me, it's just one of the wonderful things about living in a small town.

Recently, someone sent me an email about small towns, which pretty much sum us up!

SMALL TOWNS

Those who grew up in small towns will laugh when they read this.Those who didn't will be in disbelief and won't understand how true it is.

You can name everyone you graduated with. (Pretty much, we had 142, my son, who is a senior has around 120 in his graduating class)

You know what 4-H means. (Proud 10-year 4-H member, as are my kids). Can you say the 4-H Pledge? "I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, my health to better living for my club, my community, my country and my world".

It was cool to date somebody from the neighboring town. Oh yeah!

The whole school went to the same party after graduation. Our graduations are held at Miami University, just over the state line in Oxford, Ohio. Everybody goes to BW3's, afterwards, 'cause it's the only thing still open that late!

You didn't give directions by street names but rather by references.. Turn by Nelson's house, go 2 blocks to Anderson's, and its four houses left of the track field. True, so true.

You couldn't help but date a friend's ex-boyfriend/girlfriend. There are only so many to choose from, so usually, before you get out of school, it happens.

Your car stayed filthy because of the dirt roads, and you will never own a white vehicle for this reason. Actually, I have a white vehicle, but it is hard to keep clean, but doesn't show the dust as bad as black vehicles do!

The town next to you was considered 'trashy' or 'snooty,' but was actually just like your town. Except, our neighboring towns are trashy or snooty! (Just kidding!)

You referred to anyone with a house newer then 1955 as the 'rich' people. Our house was built in 1925...we're not the "rich" people by far!

Anyone you wanted could be found at the local gas station or on Main Street. (Or Woodruff's, our local supermarket....it is impossible to just "run in real quick" to get something because you always run into people you know!

You saw at least one friend a week driving a tractor through town or one of your friends driving a grain truck to school occasionally. Hence, the tractor day today!

The gym teacher suggested you haul hay or pick rock for the summer to get stronger. (but only to the boys)

Directions were given using THE stop light as a reference. Except we now have 2 stop lights! (This is not our town, but you get the idea)

When you decided to walk somewhere for exercise, 5 people would pull over and ask if you wanted a ride. This always happens....it's best to drive into town and walk the track!

Your teachers called you by your older siblings' names. I was the oldest in my family, but it did happen to my younger siblings.

Your teachers remembered when they taught your parents. Yes, we still have teachers at school that were my teachers that my kids now have.

You could charge at any local store or write checks without any ID. In fact, yesterday, my husband went to town to get gas and realized after he pumped the fuel, he'd forgotten his wallet at home....of course, he was allowed to go home without paying on the promise to return right away, which of course, he did!

There was no McDonalds. No, but we do have a Subway, J's (local family diner) and Pizza King (the best pizza ever!)

The closest mall was over an hour away. We do have a small mall 20 minutes away, but to go where all the good stores are....you guessed it, an hour away!

It was normal to see an old man riding through town on a riding lawn mower. My neighbor drives his scooter into town all the time!

You've peed in a corn field. Many times...hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go!

I would not have wanted to be raised any other way!!!! It's the best. When we lived in Indy, I passed the same people on my way to work every day...no one ever waved. Here, you can actually pass people on the road and everyone waves whether you know them or not! What's not to love about all of this~!!!

Relay for Life Fundraiser

Our local Relay for Life event will be held in May. Preparations begin early. Our local Library spearheads a fundraiser that caused quite a stir in our small community a couple of years ago and certainly raised some eyebrows. We had an art-bra contest. Community members and organizations decorated bras. We had around 22 entries all together. The community voted on their favorites by adding money to collection cans and the top 12 vote-getters received a coveted spot in a calendar for the following year. The bras were auctioned off during the event. All proceeds went to the American Cancer Society. It was a lot of fun! I am posting two of the bras.

This first one, was the one I submitted, entitled "Nobody in here but us Chickens"....my tribute to small-breasted farm girls. Call me crazy, but it is proudly perched atop my refrigerator. How many people do you know have bras displayed in the kitchen?

We love to use our local resources, so the business class in the high school took the bras around town and photographed them for the calendar. My chicken bra was photographed surrounded by bales of straw with live baby chicks! The kids really got into this project!

I believe I have mentioned my oldest daughter, Sarah, has special needs. She graduated in 2005, but we still volunteer daily in her high school transition class. The kids in this class learn daily living skills as well as skills to use post-high school in the work force. Two years ago, the transition class opened a coffee shop in the school. This student-run business serves Starbucks coffee, hot chocolate, tea and occasionally smoothies to the student body in the morning before school and make deliveries to teachers, etc. throughout the day. I will post more on this coffee shop soon. Anyway, this class entered a bra entitled "Tea for Two". The students strung beads and one of the aides in the classroom sewed them onto a bra. The beads resemble teacups. This was a community favorite and earned the January spot on the calendar.

This bra was purchased at the auction and then donated back to the classroom. You can't tell from the picture, but the stand is covered in coffee beans and there are two spirals arising from the cups of tea to resemble steam. It is proudly displayed in the coffee shop/classroom.

This year, the Library relay team is going to do another auction and calendar. We're decorating hats displayed with hat boxes. Our fundraiser is called "Every Hat has a Story". I have in mind what I'm going to enter, and will let you see the finished product soon.

Does anyone else have fun/crazy/eyebrow-raising fundraisers in your communities?

Snow Plows and Mailboxes Do Not Mix!

I came home from work to this nice mess....the snow plow got our mailbox and several others on our road. This is the second time this week we've been hit! The first time, it knocked off our address sign and then this! The really bad thing is we got hit last year, as well. So, guess we know what our first priority is once the ground thaws!

Well, it's certainly been an interesting week with snow around here! I didn't get out earlier this week to take pictures of the "big snow", but it's supposed to get into the 40s today and the snow is already melting all over the place!

The kids were out of school 3 days last week and then it was somewhat warmer on Saturday, only for it to melt and get really cold and turn to ice! Then, more snow on top of that! My son's wrestling team was to have had their Sectional tournament last Saturday about an hour south of here...but it was postponed due to the weather. All other tournaments in the State of Indiana had theirs but ours. They decided then to split it into a two-day event on Monday and Tuesday. The wrestlers were let out of school at 2:00 to travel to the event (I left work early so I could go, too) and we got all the preliminary rounds in. It was after midnight when we finally got home. The final rounds were to be completed the following night. It started to snow mid-morning on Tuesday and it dumped between 4 and 6 inches of snow throughout our area. The meteorologists called it a Snow Bomb. There was just this small band of snow on the radar, but it hovered over our area and just snowed and snowed and snowed. Needless to say, the kids had an early release from school and the wrestling tournament was postponed again! Wednesday, 7 of the 8 schools involved in the tournament were closed, but they went ahead and had it anyway. Again, left work early! But we made it back down to the tournament and 7 boys from our school are advancing to the Regionals in Richmond on Saturday (tomorrow), including my son! So, this afternoon, I'm making macaroni and cheese in the crockpot and a big veggie tray...some of the other team moms are bringing food too. Some of the boys have to make weight so don't eat much before weigh-in, but they can eat afterwards so we want to be sure and have some good food ready for them.

We still have quite a bit of snow, but it's really melting quickly. Yesterday, we had thick ice on all the trees and it was really beautiful, it's all melted now. I really wanted to get some pictures, but just didn't get it done.

These are a couple of my birdhouses that I left out after the holidays...I think they're "wintery" with the greens, so will leave them out a little while longer. I'm really getting antsy thinking about spring, especially when the weather gets a little warmer and we've all been cooped up inside.

Everyone have a nice weekend, I think it's gonna be relatively warm next week! Whoo Hoo!

Kelly

Kid Art~Masterpieces of the Home

Sometimes the kids bring home pictures from school that just speak to me....I thought I'd share a few of my favorites that I've kept and had framed.

This first one was made last year by my oldest daughter, Sarah, for Mother's Day. Sarah is my kid with special needs. She is 23. She is mildly autistic and is moderately mentally handicapped. In short, it's like having an 8-year old with 23-year old hormones! She is in love with the Jonas brothers and Hannah Montana. She loves boys and is not afraid to tell them so. (I must admit, she has very good taste in boys). Our community is very small and very close knit. One business person in town told her she was famous because everyone knows her. (I don't know if that's good or bad :) )....No, I know--it's good. She is much beloved by most people and everyone always humors her. People are constantly asking her who her "boyfriend" is....it's always changing, but she knows that he's the one she's going to marry! The boy generally changes weekly. We take her with us everywhere we go. She usually takes along a bag of "stuff to keep her busy". One thing she does out of the goodness of her heart is color pictures for everyone. Sometimes she approaches complete strangers (at ball games) and says that she's colored a picture for them. She tells them it's for their "frigerator". It always brings a smile. She has her moments....but don't we all? Overall, she is just a very sweet and thoughtful person. Who could ask for more?


My son, who is now 18 and a senior, made this picture when he was in 4th or 5th grade. I just fell in love with it (even though cats are probably my least favorite animal). One of the things that endeared it to me is, if you look closely, the cat is holding a football.....his favorite sport! We decided to frame this one and he entered it in the 4-H fair that summer...he received a state fair entry. The Judge at the State Fair didn't like the fact that the drawing has silver accents and we chose to put it in a gold frame.....the gold went better in my house, and I didn't care about the silver, it was made by my son! Sometimes you have to overlook things like that!

My youngest daughter drew this fabulous snow-girl when she was in 1st grade. She brought it home somewhat crumpled up from school, but we pressed it and there was just something about it that spoke to me....naturally, I had to have it framed, as well. Even though it is definitely a winter drawing, I leave it up year-round!



I've saved my favorite for last....This tulip was made by my youngest daughter when she was in 4th grade (I think). She absolutely did not like it at all....she thinks it looks like a birthday cake. I can see why she thinks that, but I immediately saw it was a tulip...she was shocked that I actually knew what it was supposed to be! Being the flower-lover that I am, of course I knew what it was! This painting still remains her least favorite, but my very favorite....so far.....you never know what masterpieces they may bring home! This was also a painting that I encouraged her to enter in the 4-H fair (against her desire), and it received division champion and state fair entry.

Of course, all the kid art in my house is state fair quality in my eyes! They're all masterpieces. ...even the coloring book pages that end up on the fridge. Lots of people have Sarah Art on their fridges and if she gives you one, and then we visit, it better be hanging up or she'll ask about it!

Cherish all the masterpieces from your budding artists....they are truly priceless and some of the many things that make a house a home.

Talk to you soon,
Kelly

Late Night Design Session

I had a couple of arrangements that needed to be delivered first thing on Thursday. I procrastinated getting my components picked up, then the weather got icy, so I ended up getting these things done in the 11th hour...it's a good thing I work well under pressure!

The kids were to return to school after the holiday break yesterday (Tuesday), but we had ice and school was cancelled. My daughter's basketball game that was scheduled last night was re-scheduled for tonight. So after I left the office, I went and got all the components and then went straight to the game. It was after 10:30 when we got home, so whipped together these pieces. The first one has hydrangeas, artichokes and ferns...I almost hate to part with it!



The English Garden Urn smells sooooo good! It has hyacinths and roses as well as several other blooming and green plants. After I picked up the flowers, I was afraid to leave them in the car for fear of them freezing during the game, so I decided to just take them into the game with me! The hyacinths smelled so good in the gym....I think I looked pretty silly taking them inside, but I figure everybody thinks I'm half crazy anyway so I'm just giving them more reason to think so! Hey, you do what you gotta do!


I'm going to add some curly willow to this in the morning...I need to cut it off my tree, but it's clear in the back yard and it's late and dark and cold....I'll just wait and get some in the morning....unfortunately, it''ll be early (and dark and cold)!


Well, it's almost midnight so think I'll sign off and go to bed.
Until next time...

Kelly

New Year, New Beginning

It's been many months since I've last posted...where has the time gone? It seems like I just got started blogging and then before I knew it, was too busy to come up for air.

Not to mention, since we FINALLY got high speed internet in our area...now it doesn't take an hour to load images, which really, who has time for that?

I just finished packing up my Christmas decorations and now my house looks naked. I've decided to leave the wreath on the front door until I can get a new one made for spring.

I think this can be left up for a while...

Since it's right after the holidays and we're all slowing getting back into a routine, I thought I'd try posting again. Try a new routine...not just read blogs but spend some time and work on mine!

Read any good books lately?

My friend gave me this after a basketball game and said it was the funniest thing she'd read in a while. I finished it in record time and have to admit, it was pretty funny! Living in the sticks of Indiana, I guess we're pretty NC around here...but that's just fine by me!

Winter projects....

Since it's cold and we're staying inside by the fire to keep warm, I'm going to be making more caterpillar bracelets. I made several last spring and summer, so thought I'd get a head start. This is a good project to work on while I'm watching (or rather, just listening) to t.v.

Here are several different ones I made earlier:

A work in progress.....

Well, I guess that's it for now. I'll try to post more regularly--hopefully at least once a week. I really like this on-line diary. It will be fun to look back over the year to see what all has been accomplished. (Or not!)

Keep warm!

Kelly