Well I thought that we would know by now where Ephriam is headed with school. However the school has decided to throw a curve ball at me. They finally came up with the label of a Cognitive Disability. He is boarder line for going to the multiple disabilities room but they think that he would better fit into just a Cognitive Disabilities room. The district rep and I are going together to talk a look at this class room sometime in April (more likely then not after spring break) and then we will meet up again to do his IEP for school age and hopefully then know where he will be going. Each of these different programs is located at a different school so the good thing is that he will be able to ride the bus again the bad news is that the kids will be at different schools. We will see what will happen. The good news is that if he goes to the Cognitive Disabilities Room he will have a bit more freedom. I am hoping that this will lead to great things things for Ephriam. I will post more about it when I know more. Right now we just keep praying that we make the right decision for Ephriam to best benefit him.

FW

We got to make our own pizza for dinner. Before this we were running around like crazy.

Watching our favorite show Yo GABA GABA.

Ephriam decided in the end to skip the little bowl he had and just bring out the whole popcorn bag.

Kendra LOVES to read book. Just the other day she read the words “the, to, for” without me reading them to her first. Yes she is 3 and reading! She knows all the words to her favorite books. If you couldn’t tell one of her favorites is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. In this picture she has just gotten this book for Christmas. She ‘reads’ it EVERYDAY. I hope that she continues to read and love books for the rest of her life.  I am very proud of her.

How Great Is Our God from Chris Walker on Vimeo.

We then moved on to his kindergarten transition meeting. We, Chris and I, have three choice to choose from for Ephriam’s education next year.

1. Stay in half day preschool

2. Go to Regular Kindergarten. Having one teacher to almost 30 students. There are lots of worksheets and sitting activities.

3. Go to the Multiple Disabilities (MD) room. Where there is one teacher 2 teacher aids and only 10-15 kids. Here all their learning is hands on. They are able do lots of one and one and the lesson plan for the day is based on Ephriam’s IEP and the kid next to him has his own lesson plan. Even though they maybe working on reading they will be working on the level that they need so some are learning to know what the letters look like and other are reading sight words. They are move around a lot and play a lot. They take field trips and go to the YMCA once a month to swim for an hour.

We feel that if we keep Ephriam in preschool that he would not be getting enough of what he needs. He is needing more interaction and a full day of school verses a half day. Chris and I also feel that if he goes into a regular kindergarten classroom that he will just get lost in the suffle and not get the help that he needs. In the MD room he would be best for Ephriam at this point. It seems like the push in the right direction for him. He will also have the opportunity to out grow the room too. If he were to start talking over night then he could go to a regular Kindergarten room or even be pulled into the regular Kindergarten room for a certain subject. So it isn’t a permanent placement.

However before we can say this is where Ephriam needs to be he has to go through the standardize  testing to see where he fits in. So all of us are getting back together on March 25 for and hour and make a final decision. Our goal is to do what is best for Ephriam. He needs to be where he will fit best, not feel overwhelmed, and get the help he needs.

So I will have more information on March 25th but for now Chris and are leaning on the MD room.

If you have question and know my e-mail address please e-mail them, if not please feel free to ask them here in the comments.

FW

Glittering Nana up!

Now it is my turn!

Kendra and her Bitty Baby Twins  and Ephriam with Woody (he got Buzz too)

Opening more presents!

Transformers for Ephriam’s Birthday!

Bumblebee!

Waiting to eat.

All the pretty girls. They are all cousins too!

Da’ Boyz! A couple of more cousins!

Kendra enjoying her dance party with Jordyn and Payton.

Park and Ephriam booging down.

The Clan on the Dance Floor.

Ephriam and Daddy.

• Since we last posted both Kendra and Mommy got the flu. Kendra was out of school for the whole week but was able to say hello to her teacher the last day of that week. She is fine and healthy now.
• We took the Polar Express Train ride with our cousin Luke and some of his friends. It is unusually  warm but we had a great time.
• Thanksgiving we stayed at home with Mom and Dad and watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV. We also helped Mom and Dad get a few Christmas decorations out and decorate the house.
• Kendra took her first trip to pick out our Christmas tree. This year was only Ephriam’s second year to go but we had a blast as a family frolicking!
• We made new friends at church with the Macks. They have moved here all the way out from California so that Mr. Mack could be the assistant track and field coach at UC. We love playing with Travis and Caleb. We also look forward to our small group nights.
• We got to take a trip to the Cincinnati Zoo Lights. We had a great time looking at the lights and even stopped for a moment to have our picture taken with Santa.
• We have now made it through 3 out of 4 Christmas celebrations. Our last one will be in a couple of weeks when we do Christmas with Grandpaw, Nana, Uncle Bubby, and Aunt Katie.
• While Mommy was having a 7 day stretch of school and work we were out to cause mischeif. We wrote on the wall with chocolate chapstick, covered ourselves with soap, Ephriam pooped and them wiped it on his humidifier, and Ephriam also rubbed lotion on him till he had a beard and all over his bed. By the end of the week Mommy was just glad to spend time with us playing.

We are hoping that their will be a few pictures for you to see tomorrow. Mommy says that as long as we nap it should be fine. For now we need to try to sleep.

• Since we last posted both Kendra and Mommy got the flu. Kendra was out of school for the whole week but was able to say hello to her teacher the last day of that week. She is fine and healthy now.
• We took the Polar Express Train ride with our cousin Luke and some of his friends. It is unusually  warm but we had a great time.
• Thanksgiving we stayed at home with Mom and Dad and watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV. We also helped Mom and Dad get a few Christmas decorations out and decorate the house.
• Kendra took her first trip to pick out our Christmas tree. This year was only Ephriam’s second year to go but we had a blast as a family frolicking!
• We made new friends at church with the Macks. They have moved here all the way out from California so that Mr. Mack could be the assistant track and field coach at UC. We love playing with Travis and Caleb. We also look forward to our small group nights.
• We got to take a trip to the Cincinnati Zoo Lights. We had a great time looking at the lights and even stopped for a moment to have our picture taken with Santa.
• We have now made it through 3 out of 4 Christmas celebrations. Our last one will be in a couple of weeks when we do Christmas with Grandpaw, Nana, Uncle Bubby, and Aunt Katie.
• While Mommy was having a 7 day stretch of school and work we were out to cause mischeif. We wrote on the wall with chocolate chapstick, covered ourselves with soap, Ephriam pooped and them wiped it on his humidifier, and Ephriam also rubbed lotion on him till he had a beard and all over his bed. By the end of the week Mommy was just glad to spend time with us playing.

We are hoping that their will be a few pictures for you to see tomorrow. Mommy says that as long as we nap it should be fine. For now we need to try to sleep.

Love,

E&K