End of First

As the end of the school year approached,

Charlie's teacher sent home a calendar outlining 26 spirit days to close out the year,

One day for each letter of the alphabet.

Charlie had fun counting down the last of the year by ABC's.

Two of his favorite days were R (Read-in where you got to bring a beanie baby)

And V (Visor day).

Then there was the day of the End of School classroom party, when I showed up in his class with the Littles to surprise him.  When we arrived, Charlie was concentrating on a craft he was trying to put together.  He excitedly invited Ephram to help him.  Then there was a piñata and popsicles.  And the playing in Charlie's cubby.

Charlie made cards for all of his teachers and aides.  They were really cute.

Finally it was the last day!  Charlie joined his class in the school's animal parade.  He was so happy, and I was so proud of him for finishing the first grade.

Movin' in the Right Direction

Charlie's school does a separate concert for each grade over the course of the year.
The first grade concert was at the tail end of the year, on May 21st.
Their theme was "Movin' in the Right Direction".

All of us went to see Charlie sing with the other students in his grade.
Charlie was so excited when he got to his classroom and saw it filled with his classmates.
He practically skipped inside.

We did not, however, get there soon enough to get seats.
(We were there 15 minutes early.)
A nice man gave up his seat for Andy when he saw that Andy was holding a toddler.
And I camped out next to Macie's stroller in the back.

Then the students came in, across the sky bridge and to the auditorium, with Charlie in the last spot.
He was so excited because he had been chosen to lead the "entire first grade" off the stage at the end.
I was excited because he was in the very front right hand corner,
Very easy to see.

And he did a fantastic job!
He sang every word,
Enthusiastically did all of the actions.
Here are links to two of the songs from the program.
This Little Light of Mine
Movin' in the Right Direction (Reprise)

He was even quiet during the speaking parts,
And attentive.
Let's face it, this was an extraordinary accomplishment for Charlie.
We were very proud of him!
(And he was very happy to enjoy his dessert at the end.)

Recycled Trash Sculptures

Charlie had a special homework assignment for Earth Day this year.

To use recycled materials to create a sculpture.

He had a lot of fun assembling it.

Andy was there to help him figure out how to put things together and to prompt him for ideas.

Charlie loves anything that he does with his dad.

It was about this time that Ephram decided that he wanted to make one, too. 

Luckily we had saved up plenty of recyclables for a second sculpture.

Charlie's sculpture kept growing and getting more complex.

And then it was finally done.

(Ephram wanted to roll around on the floor for a picture too.)

All that Charlie had left was to give it a name and write a few things down.

We were sure this was going to be a Star Wars rocketship of some sort.

But, nope... he went with Andy's favorite instead.

This turned out to be a super fun project for the whole family!

Cool Cat Charlie

In February, Charlie finally got his turn to be the Cool Cat.

Every week in his class, a different student is spotlighted.

During their week, they get to put up a little poster about themselves.

They can also put up pictures from home.

AND they get to share something with their class every day.

Charlie loves, loves, loves to perform and to be the center of attention.

He was so ready to be the Cool Cat.

I am 7 years old.

I live in Snohomish.

These are the people in my family: Me, Mom, Dad, Ephram and Macie

When I grow up I want to be: A Lego designer and a magician

I am a star because I am good at building Legos, drawing pictures and writing stories. 

I show kindness by making nice notes to everyone.

Some of my favorite things:

• Color: Green
• Animal: Wookiee
• Food: Lasagne
• Book: Magic Tree House
• Sport: Soccer
• What I like to do at school: Math
• What I like to do at home: Write

Three very interesting facts about me:

1. I am adopted.
2. I love Star Wars.
3. I am autistic.

Charlie had so much fun picking out a group of pictures to take to school.

Then it was time to choose what he was going to take to share his first day.  Legos?  Nope.  Magic Kit?  Nope.  Most prized posession to share was...

The dictionary.  It cracks me up how much he loves this cheap little dictionary that he bought with his own money from the $1 bins at Target.

Charlie also took his Perplexus, his magic kit, his sketchbook and decided to sing songs to his class for two days.  His songs were original, written and performed without any practice.  

The kids in his class wrote notes to him at the end of the week.  The most popular citation in these notes was to the magic kit and a certain trick he performed where he made a ball disappear.  Some of the other kids said they liked his pictures, liked his drawings, his Perplexus, and that he could sing well.

Cool Cat was a very positive experience for Charlie, and it was a positive and controlled way for him to share a bit about himself with his peers.  He can't wait for Cool Cat next year!

Charlie the Speller

Here is Charlie with his very first ever spelling test.

He got a "4", which is a perfect score.  We always knew Charlie was a good speller, but it turns out that he also really likes the accomplishment from getting a perfect score on a test.

And, since I am posting this over two months later, I can tell you a little more.  Charlie has brought home six more spelling tests.  All of them are perfect.  In addition, his teacher starting doing dictations about a month ago to review past spelling words, and all of those have been perfect too.

Some autistic children are gifted with an exceptional talent in one area.  Charlie doesn't have an off-the-charts IQ, nor is he considered a prodigy in anything.  But, I am so impressed with his language-ability.  Spelling comes naturally to him.  This is probably because of the hours he spends reading almost every day.  He loves, loves, loves books.  When they tested at school, he tested at 3rd grade, 6 month for his reading level.  He can read just about anything and even goes to a dictionary if he doesn't understand a word.  He surprises me because he can also recap any story that he has read in his own words.

Mostly, though, I'm glad that he knows that feeling of getting lost in a book.  One of the best feelings in the world.  When Charlie reads, his body calms down.  He says that it makes his mind quiet.  He truly loves it.  And, if my son needs to work so hard to live in this world that is different than the one in his head, I am glad that he has this escape.

First Grade: First Day

Finally, school was just one day away.
Charlie has a smart teacher.
She must know just how antsy with nerves and excitement kids get before starting first grade.
(First time many of them are leaving their parents for full day school.)
She had given the kids a couple of things to do in preparation.
These things saved my sanity the day before school started.

First, Charlie was to chose one of his favorite items and put it in this bag.
Then he had to come up with three clues to write on the card that would help the class guess what was in the bag.
Charlie chose a book - a Magic Treehouse book, to be specific.
And he came up with the clues, and wrote them, without any help from me.
Did I mention how his language skills impress me?

Then, the teacher had given the kids a little paper to open the night before first grade.  Inside was a cute poem and a little bag of confetti.  The poem instructed us to sprinkle the confetti under his pillow.  It said this would help calm him, help him sleep through the night, and wake up ready to start school.  It worked.  (Ephram tried it too, and it worked for him as well!)

In the morning we started at 7:00.  The bus was supposed to come at 7:52 and we wanted to be ready by 7:45.  (Charlie takes his time in the mornings.)  He got up, got dressed, ate his breakfast and was super-super excited.  Time for a few pictures.

And then, suddenly the bus pulled up.  Charlie took off running for it.  He has wanted to ride a bus, so badly, for years.  I couldn't get his attention, so I just took a few pictures of his back as he ran straight on board.  He didn't even turn around to say goodbye.  Ah well, I should be happy to have a son that is that excited about school, right?

Ephram, Macie and I managed to make it through our day at home.  Although we did often wonder about Charlie, and I did find myself answering Ephram's inquisitive looks frequently.  Then, it was time for the bus to bring him back.  We went outside to wait for him because we didn't want him to be worried on his first day.  Ephram had to wear his own backpack, full of books, to greet Charlie.

And I couldn't help taking a picture of these cute ones.

Turns out I had plenty of picture taking time.  It took the bus an hour and five minutes to get to our house that first day.  Didn't matter for Ephram, he was having a blast.

Finally, we heard the roar of the bus.  Ephram stood diligently where I told him to while the bus pulled up and stopped.

And then Charlie appeared in the door.  Ephram let out a gasp of excitement.

I heard Charlie's giggle in response.

It was like they were being reunited after months or years apart.  All of my requests that Ephram stay away from the street went out the window as he took off running to grab his brother in a huge hug around the legs.

I got a picture of the dash, but not of the hug... at that point I was trying to make sure the boys weren't standing in front of the bus.

Charlie was babbling with stories all afternoon and all night.  First day of first grade was a huge success!