I
started working at Stepping Stones again on January 3rd as
a full time paraprofessional in the pre-k ABA (Applied Behavioral
Analysis) classroom. There are 5 kids, 3 paraprofessionals (Brenda,
Rebekah, and me), and a head teacher (Starr). The room runs like
clockwork- well as much as if can when working with kids.
Before
stepping through those beloved front doors again, I spent a lot of
time in prayer asking God for passion, guidance,
love and overwhelming
joy…. and He is giving me just that. I wake up every
morning excited about going to work. I am passionate
about praying for the kids and teachers I work with. I absolutely
love the kids at the Center, even when they are being defiant
or lazy. And, I just cant help but be joyful working there.
What
makes the biggest difference in my working there, is how I start my
mornings. I wake about 2.5 hours before having to be at school to do
yoga, get ready, make breakfast, and have my “me� time. My “me�
time is key.
During
this time, I read, pray, and get my heart focused. I have seen a huge
difference in my attitude, focus, and overall course of the day when
I begin each day by committing
it to the Lord.
I
get to work around 7:30, just in time for door duty. This is one of
my favorite parts of my job. I get to stand at the door with 2
amazing women who work in 2 other classrooms. We welcome and greet
parents, as well as take their child down to the lunch room for
breakfast if need be. So basically what I am saying, is that I get to
see all the precious little kids come in each morning. That means,
nappy bed head from the night before, early morning smiles, facial
expressions that show they aren’t too keen on the bright lights in
the building, and lots of “i love you’sâ€� and “have a good
day’sâ€� from the parents.
Once
I get to my classroom, we take the kids to the potty and change them
out of their pullups into big kid’s underwear. We have them schedule
trained and working on having them fully potty trained. We take them
to the potty every 30 minutes to an hour and record every time they
are wet or dry, and when they pee-pee in the potty. Everything is
recored in our classroom- from the process of washing hands, to
putting on and taking off shoes, to learning to drink from a normal
cup.
During
the one-on-ones, Brenda, Starr, and I will each grab a child and go
somewhere quiet so they can focus on their discrete trials. “A
discrete trial is a single cycle of a behaviorally-based instruction
routine. A particular trial may be repeated several times in
succession, several times a day, over several days (or even longer)
until the skill is mastered.� These trials include, but are not
limited to, learning letters, numbers, colors, shapes, etc. We use
reinforcers, different types of candy or cereal, when they give a
correct answer- it keeps them focused and wanting more… clever!
While the 3 of us are doing one-on-ones, Rebekah does handwriting and
art with the other 2 kiddos.
Teaching
is all in the morning, which leaves the rest of the day for nap time,
more pottying, snack time, and playing in the classroom and outside.
It may not seem like we do a lot, but our class is severely hands on-
not to mention, autistic kids rarely take naps; instead, the make
random animal noises and other jibber jabber, bounce on their cots,
and try to get up and run around the room. Ha! I love it.
So,
I realize that this blog is pretty informational and could possibly seem quite boring- maybe this story will make it all worth while: A
few days ago, I was taking one of the boys to the potty. (side note-
this particular child is pretty sneaky and makes super swift
movements.) He pulled his pants down and I positioned him in front of
the toilet. As I did so, he leaned down and swiped his hand on the
toilet bowl. I leaned over to see if what he put his hand in was
water or left over pee from another boy who had just pottied… as
soon as I figured out it was pee, he wiped his wet hand in my hair.
That’s right folks, I got pee in my hair… PEE…
in.my.hair…
We
laugh a lot in our class. You have to. I truly believe a person would
go insane if they didn’t laugh at the craziness that happens in a
classroom. I seriously couldn’t ask to be in a better room. God
has truly blessed me by this second chance. I love these children and
am committed to helping them in any way I can. I truly wish my finite
words could describe my love and affection for these precious gifts
from God.
My prayer is that these children grow up to be able to live life independently. I pray they are able to work and fend for themselves. I pray they are able to understand who God is and accept Him as their Savior. I pray that people will be able to see past their disability and see who they truly are.
…. and to think, I used to view this job as a mere paycheck….
