Gift Idea for Teacher Assistant

I know what I will be sipping my Diet Coke and iced tea out of this summer. :)

...and I'm totally stoked about the candy.

Look at this cute little pocket on the card,

---with a note tucked inside.

It's very nice when parents are thoughtful enough to remember aides during Teacher Appreciation Week. This made my day! :)

Easter Traditions

One tradition my family has had as long as I can remember is an annual family picnic, held the Saturday before Easter. As far as I know, it started with my grandpa Smith. Grandpa worked for Utah Power and Light, so part of his job included maintaining and working on power substations in southern Utah and the surrounding area. Because of his travels on the job, grandpa was good at scouting out remote picnic spots for his family.

The very first picnic I remember was when we went to Beaver Dam (AZ) and had our picnic in a field next to an abandoned motel. Teresa (my sister) and I had a grand time playing in and out of the deserted building as well as in the old, empty swimming pool. It was at that picnic spot where I saw my grandpa eat a raw hamburger patty. Nasty. It’s funny, but I don’t remember the family grilling burgers after that year. Somewhere along the line, each family started bringing their own chicken to the Easter picnic, along with a side dish and/or dessert to share.

Another activity that was added to the picnic tradition when I was a teenager was a treasure hunt, with each family bringing a bag of candy to contribute to the treasure buckets/bags for the kids. My aunt Karen, who’s always been a good sport, would take all of the kids and teenagers on a hike after lunch, while the Easter Bunny prepared clues and a treasure.

One more reason the Easter picnic tradition is important to me is, in 1982, Don and I took advantage of having the entire family together to announce our engagement to be married. 

Here are a few photos from yesterdays festivities...

Real World Problem Solving

During math this morning, one little boy was having a particularly hard time following directions, so Mrs. B. asked him to sit next to me. When math time was over and the students were asked to put their worksheets away, I looked down to see him hurriedly adding this to his paper...

The worksheet (about 3D shapes) was meant to help students learn the difference between a cone and a cylinder, but this little boy observed more. In his "real world problem solving" he recognized a need for something that nobody else seemed to notice. I choked back tears as lyrics from the children's songbook from church came to my mind:

I'll Walk With You

Lyrics: Carol Lynn Pearson

Music: Reid N. Nibley

If you don't walk as most people do,

Some people walk away from you,

But I won't! I won't!

If you don't talk as most people do,

Some people talk and laugh at you,

But I won't! I won't!

I'll walk with you. I'll talk with you.

That's how I'll show my love for you.

Jesus walked away from none.

He gave his love to ev'ryone.

So I will! I will!

Jesus blessed all he could see,

Then turned and said, "Come, follow me."

And I will! I will!

I will! I will!

I'll walk with you. I'll talk with you.

That's how I'll show my love for you.

Autism Is...