Trying New Things: 31 for 21

Yesterday I took Cora to her first real class. It's a short weekly class that goes through the end of October called "Music, Marching and Make Believe" through our local Parks and Recreation Department.  I've been wanting to sign her up for a class for some time, but today was the day we bit the bullet and actually went.

Since Cora won't be starting preschool right away, I still wanted to start getting her feet wet with  a little more structure and expectation than our usual activities of attending local music shows, going swimming, and taking trips to places like the science museum.

And I have to admit that I was a little bit nervous.  That's got to be normal, right?  I mean, I knew that I'd be with her the whole time, but still...  that unknown can still give you butterflies.

I told Cora we were going to class today and we signed "school" to get prepared.  Once we arrived she cooperated and let me take off her jacket, socks and shoes (ss I silently murmured thank you that no meltdown accompanied this activity).  She was a bit shy, as I expected, although she chose a spot to sit on a little red hand-print and let the teacher put a name-tag on her back.  She chose to sit in my lap at first, as the teacher blew bubbles for all the kids that were sitting in their spots.

She pretty much rocked it.  She sat in her spot when asked (although this may have been largely due to shyness), she caught and rolled the ball to the teacher, she danced holding my hand and "froze" during the song, and she scooted up to the teacher to give her back her dancing scarf when it was time to clean up.  She even let me help her walk up to the teacher and patiently waited for a hand stamp at the end of class.  And even after we got her shoes and coat back on, she scooted back to the mat, ready for more.  I couldn't have really asked for better.

But oh, there were a couple moments when I worried.  While the teacher explained, "If you sit in your spot and look at me... then you can pop some bubbles/catch the ball."  And there were several instances of "first we will do this..., then we will do that..."  I just didn't know how Cora would respond.  Although her receptive language is generally pretty impressive and she understands a huge number of words, these kinds of concepts can be hard for her.  I'm not sure if she doesn't yet fully understand, or if she just isn't interested in playing along when it's me doing the playing.  But when you break ideas or instructions into smaller parts or use visual cues she does just fine. So that's what we did.

And of course, I knew that this class will be about marching, walking and dancing, none of which Cora is yet very comfortable with yet, especially in a new social situation.  But perhaps this will be a great motivator for her and will get her on her feet more often.

The whole thing was really good for both of us.  It's great for Cora for obvious reasons, but it's also great for me to push myself to encourage Cora to do things that that make me nervous.  I was so proud watching her start to hold her own in a room full of 2 and 3 year-olds (even if she didn't really talk or walk like the rest of them).  And it was great for me to start the process of learning to allow her some independence, to trust her abilities, and to watch her surprise me.

Trying new things on her own two feet.

Mind Blown

Confession time: 

As much as I love and appreciate hearing about the successes and accomplishments of my friends' children, especially those with Down syndrome, sometimes it's hard to feel great about them all.

When I see the fully mobile kids running around, it's hard not to be a little bummed that Cora isn't quite there yet.  When I see videos and facebook posts of the kids Cora's age speaking so well, I admit that sometimes I don't want to click on the links.  I think it's wonderful, I do.... but seeing other children do what she can't yet do isn't always what I want to focus on.

So sometimes I get hesitant about posting Cora's accomplishments. 

Brag time:

But right now, I am so flipping BLOWN AWAY that I can't hold it in.   My girl can totally sight read!

I suspected that she may have learned a few sight words more than a year ago, when she started pointing to the words in Goodnight Moon instead of the pictures.  But then she stopped.  We've been working on some reading programs for a while now, but not always consistently. 

We got the iPad app, "Special Words" based on the See and Learn program for teaching children with Down syndrome.  We got it months ago and Cora wouldn't use it at all.  The child that has been able to correctly point things out in pictures for well over a year refused to play matching games.  But today I tried again.  And today it seemed to click with her.  After successfully matching pictures for some time I tried having her match words to words.  She got that.  So I skipped ahead to the hard stuff:  Having her match a picture to the written word.  Well, she did it.  Again and again.  After showing me 21 words with ease, she decided she was done.

And I was floored. 

I know that kids can learn sight reading.  I know that kids with Ds can learn.   And I know that Cora has been exposed to these words for quite some time, in so many different formats.  So it shouldn't be that hard to believe that she recognizes the written words.  But I am still in shock.

My 2-1/2 year old can sight read better than she can walk or talk, and that is just amazing to me.  I think sometimes I make the mistake of not recognizing how very capable she is, and a lot of that is probably due to making comparisons.  I know wholeheartedly that comparing her to typical kids is not only not very fair, but is not realistic.  And even though comparing her to other kids with Ds may not be fair either, it's hard not to do.  It's hard not to see what other kids are doing and note that Cora isn't doing many of those things. 

Sometimes I don't give her enough credit for what she can do.  Sometimes I think more about the fact that she doesn't use much spoken language and overlook how amazing it is that she knows and uses hundreds of signs.  There is no doubt that she is a smart girl.  Sometimes I don't recognize how very capable she is, and for that I am sorry.  I know that in this life, there will be many people that will underestimate my daughter, and I don't want to be one of them.

I am sorry, my dear little Beanie for underestimating you.  And I am so grateful that sometimes you choose to show me just what you can do.  You are one sneaky, smart, and amazing girl.