8 Months Old

Date: 3/25/2014

Age:  8 Months

Weight: 18 lbs 8 oz

Height: 29 in

Head Circ.: 42 cm

Eating: He eats 2-3 oz milk mixed with equal parts oatmeal cereal every 2-3 hours. He eats a serving of fruit baby food in the morning, and a serving of a vegetable at night. 

Sleep: He starts his night-time feeding at 8:30 and goes to bed right after that. He usually wakes up  anywhere from 5:30 to 6:30 am.

Likes: Banging toys on the floor, laughing, holding his feet, playing, being naked, Tigger

Dislikes: wearing jeans, eating peas, taking baths 

Milestones:  Holding the crawling position for a long time (still working on the moving part), sitting and reaching/playing

"Wait, you really think I'm going to sleep for you tonight?"

"Ha-ha-ha that's a knee slapper, Mom!"

"Ha-ha stop, stop! You're killing me!" 

"Oh wait, you're serious?"

"Ha-Ha, okay okay I'll TRY to sleep for you guys...."

"oooohh I got you! Sike!"

World Down Syndrome Day

Our first WDSD has come and gone. It was emotional, happy, warming, educational, positive....and so much more! Bottom line,it was the best day ever.

I don't think I was prepared to walk into school yesterday. I mean, yes, I planned WDSD for the district and knew that it was going to happen, I just never stopped to think what it might look and feel like to me. It was amazing. I know that to some people it might have just been picking out a blue or yellow shirt in the morning instead of the black one, or putting on a pair of crazy socks instead of plain ones. No big deal.. right? Wrong. It was a huge deal to me. To see all these wonderful people I work with, and the students, walking around with blue and yellow made my heart warm. I had a permanent smile all day from all the support and love. I received pictures, SO many pictures, on my phone of how friends and family were celebrating WDSD. I am not going to lie... I cried. But, they were happy tears!

The only picture I managed to snap of staff wearing yellow and blue!

Each school in the district added their own flair to the day. The high school that Joe works at did a bake sale to raise money for Beautiful Beginnings (which... side note... I have some amazing news about! But I will save that for later!). Some  of the district wore crazy socks for the "rock your socks" campaign. Honestly, I didn't care how anyone celebrated. It was just the fact that there was celebration going on at all that made me so happy. Down syndrome was recognized yesterday, and it was recognized in a big way!

Bake sale! 

Rock your socks!

I think my favorite part was teaching the kids. If you read my post from earlier this week, I created a few mini lessons to help teachers educate their class on Down syndrome. I am a daily substitute at the school I work for, so I do not always know what room I am going to be in. Yesterday, I was in for a second grade teacher. I was so excited to teach the kids all about Down syndrome. I started the discussion at morning meeting. I asked the kids simply if they knew why they were wearing blue and yellow today. I had to laugh at the response I got.

student 1: "It's because of cancer."
Me: "No, not cancer. Anyone else know?"
student 2: "It's for the needy kids, like if they need money."
Me: "Nope, nice try, but not for the poor either."
student 3: "It's for autism."
Me: "Okay, well while that is the closest answer, it is still not right."

Needless to say, they had no idea that they were wearing blue and yellow for Down syndrome. I don't know if that should have made me sad, but it didn't. I was just excited to be the one to teach them all about Down syndrome. I was working with a blank slate, and that was perfect for me.

I told them all about Anthony. The kids ate up everything I said. They were so interested in our discussion and wanted to learn everything about Down syndrome. They made connections to my story, and had questions galore. I loved it.

Then I showed them the video about Down syndrome that I wrote about in my last post. I stood back, and watched the students as they took it all in. Their eyes were glued to the Smart Board. After the video we talked about it some more. We also talked about our differences and how because we are all different it makes the world such an amazing and interesting place. They really did learn a lot, and I'm not saying that just because I was the one teaching them. Ha! 

At the end of the day, I did the marshmallow activity with them. They were so excited to get to eat the marshmallows at the end, and I was excited to see if they were going to learn anything from it. I told them that although it might be a silly activity because they have to try to talk with a marshmallow in their mouth, it actually was serious. At the end, we discussed how they felt and how difficult it was to not be understood. Some of the students got what I was trying to teach, and some didn't get much deeper than the marshmallow, ha! Oh well, as long as it reached even just one student, it was worth it!

Me: How did it make you feel? Was it hard to talk with the marshmallow? Could you understand your friend? 
Student 1: "Yes it was so hard! I was embarrassed."
Student 2: "Well, my teeth felt cold from the marshmallow."
Student 3: "Yeah it was hard because a marshmallow was in my mouth and I wanted to eat it but I wasn't allowed yet."
Student 4: "I wanted to say stuff but it was hard to move my mouth to get the words out."

Me: Knowing how you felt after doing that activity, how might you do things differently when you meet someone that has a hard time talking?
Student 1: "I kind of already did that right now Mrs. Mango."
Me: "Yeah? How?"
Student 1: "Well my friend was trying to tell me about her favorite character from Frozen and I couldn't understand her. So, I asked her to say it slower. I still couldn't understand so I repeated what I thought I heard and asked her if that is what she said."

Wow! Amazing!

Anthony came to both of our schools to say hi and thank everyone for their support! 

I hope everyone had a great WDSD! Thank you for celebrating with us, and for spreading awareness! It really did make a big difference! Next year lets try to reach even more people!

What are your plans for World Down syndrome Day?

World Down syndrome Day is right around the corner.. this Friday! This day snuck up on me, and I did not have time to prepare like I would have wanted to. However, I didn't want it to pass by without doing something to spread awareness. I decided that since I work in an elementary school, I wanted to have the teachers and students take part in celebrating this amazing day with me. I am so fortunate to work for such an accepting school filled with staff always willing to lend a helping hand. I created a flyer and a few documents of suggested activities that I will email out to the teachers this week. While it is fantastic that the staff is willing to celebrate and spread awareness with me, I didn't want to stop there. Acceptance starts with the kids. I truly believe that if this next generation grows up with the knowledge of Down syndrome we will have succeeded in creating a more accepting world. Children are not stupid, they realize that we all have differences and I don't think that we should teach them to ignore our differences or be scared of them. Instead, if they are taught about things like Down syndrome, then they will learn to understand and respect everyone as an equal. All children want the same thing, to be loved, to have fun, and to make friends. What are your plans to celebrate World Down syndrome Day? 

I have copied the documents I am sending out to the teachers in my school this week. (I wasn't sure how to attach them to this blog, so they are just written out one after another below.. each separated by the blue line) Feel free to adapt and use!!

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World Down Syndrome Day

March 21, 2014

“When children grow up in an atmosphere of diversity, they are

much less likely to develop biases toward others who seem different

from them. This does not mean that children in inclusive

classrooms do not notice differences. These children develop a

sophisticated understanding of self, of others, and of difference. If

their natural curiosity and attempts to understand their world are

met with respect, encouragement, honesty, and with words that

make sense to them, children will learn to view differences with

acceptance.” - Amy Thrasher, M.A., CCC-SLP

March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day! The date (3-21,) represents the three copies of the twenty-first chromosome found in Down syndrome. Our school will join others around the world in celebrating and learning about Down syndrome. We hope to create a global awareness on this day, while advocating for the rights, inclusion and respect of people with Down syndrome.  To participate in celebrating World Down Syndrome Day, please have your child wear something blue or yellow (the colors of the Down syndrome ribbon) on Friday, March 21^st.
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Books and Videos

1.       I found a great story called “My Friend Isabelle” by: Eliza Woloson.

This story focuses on the friendship between two kids. Throughout the story the characters talk about what they like to do that is the same, and different. The little girl in the story has Down syndrome, but it is not mentioned. I found a video on YouTube of the story being read and animated. At the end of the video the actual mother from the story talks about her daughter with Down syndrome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEB2bk29AMQ – My Friend Isabelle video version

2.       There is a video I found on YouTube called “Just Like You- Down syndrome”

This video is narrated by a few teenagers, some with Down syndrome and some without. These pairs of friends talk about what they have in common, and what makes them different. The video is great for answering any questions you might have about Down syndrome.  It also explains chromosomes in an understandable way. A must watch! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsObn1yVrVA  -“Just like you”

These videos are great ways to start a conversation about Down syndrome. After reading/watching either of these videos, you can have a class discussion about the differences and similarities of all the students in the room. For an activity related to similarities/ differences I have attached a worksheet titled “What Do We Have in Common?” The students should leave the discussion knowing that even though everyone is different in some way, we all want the same things; to have a good time in school, to make friends, and to be respected. Life would be pretty boring if we all were the same!

 

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What Do We Have in Common?

Directions: Read through each item and put a check in the “Me” column if it is something you have or like to do. Meet with each student in your class and have them initial in the “friend” column (on your paper) next to one thing they have or like to do. See if you can fill up the whole chart. What do you have in common with your friends? What are your differences?

Do you/ Have you …..?	Me	Friend
Have brown hair
Like to play outside
Like to draw
Have blue eyes
Like to read
Like to play basketball
Been on a plane
Have a brother
Been to Disney World
Can ride a bike
Like the beach
Like dinosaurs
Like the movie Frozen
Like the color green
Have a cat
Like to play card games
Like video games
Like to swim
Like to eat broccoli
Like bugs

 ________________________

Down syndrome Hands-on Activities

Demonstrating Speech Delays

To introduce the activity:

People with Down syndrome might have low muscle tone in their mouths.  This makes it difficult for them to say everything they are thinking. Sometimes it is hard to understand what that person is saying. If you ask them to slow down, or repeat what they said it might help you to understand.

Imagine how hard it would be to know what you want to say in your head but you can’t get all the words out just right.

Activity

1.       Group the students together. Two to three students in each group.

2.       Hand out a large marshmallow to each student.

3.       Tell the students to think about their favorite movie.

4.       One at a time, have each student in the group take a turn to describe their favorite movie. Before they begin talking, they have to stick out their tongue and place the marshmallow on the end of it. They have to describe their favorite movie while keeping the marshmallow on their tongue.

5.       Discuss as a class the difficulty in trying to talk with a marshmallow. How did it make them feel? Were they embarrassed that they couldn’t talk the way they wanted to? Was it hard to understand their friends?  Knowing this, what will you do differently now when you are talking with someone that has trouble speaking?

Demonstrating Fine Motor Challenges

To introduce the activity:

People with Down syndrome may have trouble with their fine motor skills. This could include tying their shoes, grabbing a fork to eat or writing. They do exercises to help strengthen these muscles in order to accomplish everyday tasks. The following activity will demonstrate how difficult it can be to have to work harder at skills that come easily to most children.

Activity

1.       Have each student place a sock on their writing hand.

2.       Ask the students to pick up a pencil with their sock hand and write their name, or even a whole journal entry.

3.       Discuss with the class how difficult it was to write when they couldn’t hold the pencil the way they wanted to.

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Down syndrome Question and Answer

*Adapted from the NDSS*

1. Question: What is Down syndrome?

Answer:  There are trillions of cells in the human body. They are so tiny you can only see them through a microscope. Inside these tiny cells are even tinier parts called chromosomes.Chromosomes contain the directions that tell your body how to grow. These directions tell your body what color your eyes and hair will be, how tall you will be,and even what you will be good at, like singing or running! Most people have 46 chromosomes in each of their cells. People with Down syndrome have 47, and because of that they may look and learn a little differently.

2. Question: Why is it called Down syndrome?

Answer: Down syndrome was first studied and described by a doctor named John Langdon Down.

3. Question: How do people get Down syndrome?

Answer:You cannot “catch” Down syndrome; everyone who has Down syndrome was born with it and will always have it. Down syndrome affects people from all around the world, and both boys and girls can be born with it. One out of every 691 babies born in the United States has Down syndrome.

4. Question: Do kids with Down syndrome like the same things as other kids?

Answer: Yes! When you get to know someone with Down syndrome, you will find that they have unique personalities and interests just like everyone else! If they want to, they can be on sports teams, make art, play instruments and join clubs at school.  They want to have fun and make new friends like all kids do.