Teaching was my true calling, though I didn’t realize it until after I graduated from the Univeristy of Arizona with a Bachelor’s degree in Busniess Management. I worked in Human Resources for a year and I knew that career was not for me.
When my oldest Ana María was born, I began to teach her things I thought she should learn. By the time she was in preschool, she could write her full name, yep, I taught her to write her entire name “Ana María” in her assignments and everything else she brought home.
On Valentine’s Day I realized her valentine cards were the only ones written by a child. Every single card that came home was written in either cursive or neat handwriting obviously done by an adult. I was beaming with pride.
I do realize that I’m blessed to be home and guide my kids through the process, I cannot imagine coming home from a long day at work and having to sit for a few hours with both girls to do homework. There’s more time in the day to learn by play when a parent is able to be home. So I do count my lucky stars.
Fast forward to a Down syndrome diagnosis. Sometimes the unknown is a lie unfolding. I can honestly say I knew nothing about Down syndrome when I was told that Jordan Grace would have Down syndrome, I assumed the worst because the doctor said life would be hard, she wouldn’t be able to feed herself, or do anything for herself, he made it sound like she would be unteachable.
When Jordan Grace came along, I didn’t acknowledge the diagnosis. I wasn’t in denial, I knew she had an extra chromosome, but she wouldn’t be defined by it. I was determined to get to know her for who she was, to know her personality and to learn what she needed from me, from us, from the world, before anything else.
So I began to study her, sort of, I followed her lead, if she was curious in how a toy worked, I’d let her discover, if she was interested in eating toys, I made sure I got her the ones that were safe to taste. As she grew and grew, she began to show me she was capable of anything.
Today, we have so many fun resources, she loves to learn, she loves to explore and she loves school. We have realized that she learns by watching others and imitating. She’s a fast learner and is interested in EVERYTHING.
Here are some fun things she enjoys and work for her. Of course everyone is different and learns differently. My best advice is to know your child, know their interests, their loves and know you are their first and most important teacher.
These felt ice cream counters are wonderful. I found them in the dollar section at Target. They have velcro to separate the ice cream scoop from the come. She counts the sprinkles and then matches it with the number on the cone.
These pom pom balls are colorful and small enough to grab with different motor skill tools like these helping hands pack. She matches the color ball to the color ikea cup.
These are felt shapes paired with lace to string all around. I got these at the awesome dollar section at target but I found these similar ones on amazon.
She loves to color on anything and everything if I give her a pencil or crayon, so we are huge fans of any wonder or water magic tools. This Melissa & Doug water reveal pad is wonderful for tracing the alphabet.
Jordan Grace LOVES books so much, Elmo Clap Your Hands is fun and interactive. She places her tiny fingers in the Elmo puppet and hugs the babies and herself. It’s so adorable to watch.
One of her very favorite things to do is “cut, cut” she used to say that before she could say “scissors” each Sunday when we go to Mass I have my bag of tricks, in it is always paper and scissors. It keeps her entertained. For Christmas we gifted her this awesome pack to teach her how to follow lines and cut straight.
Hope you enjoy our ideas and tricks. Lots more to come.
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