We have been getting in-home early intervention in one form or another for both kids since January 2010. Most recently, an occupational therapist has come every 2 weeks and a physical therapist has come every week. Stephanie (OT) and Rochelle (PT) would do the visits during Derek's time with the kids and it was great to have these activities incorporated into their weekly routine.
Because the kids have made such great progress over the last months, Stephanie & Rochelle have been trying to break up with us for awhile now. Of course this is wonderful, but S&Z technically qualify for EI until this summer and I think there are some speech-related things that we could work on at this point in time. Stephanie & I ended up deciding that we should move away from home visits and instead join one of the EI playgroups, which are available for kids 18-36 months.
I've been really excited to start, and the group coordinator gave us permission to try it out a month early (they turn 17 months tomorrow). Due to some pesky colds+fever we weren't able to start until this morning. Our group gets together every Friday from 9:15-11:30 at the Martha Elliot Community Health Center, which is a Children's Hospital Boston community health clinic. The MECHC building is fairly new and the EI space is really nice. Our teacher is a woman named Aditi. She's great and she has the patience of a saint! There were only 4 kids there today, and for one kid it was his last day because he turns 3 next week. It sounds like there will normally be 6 kids, which seems like a good size to me. In addition to Aditi, they always have a student teacher as well.
When we arrived today the other kids were playing and there was a sensory table set up in the middle of the room. The table was filled with rice and Silas in particular loved this activity. After the kids got settled they started an art project at a round table and chairs. Today it was cornstarch mixed with water in different bowls and containers, along with paper and q-tips. Zoe was a big fan of the cornstarch "paint"! This was surprising to me, because (like her mother, auntie & great-auntie), she typically doesn't like to get her hands dirty. She was immersing her entire hand in the bowl and "coloring" on the table. She & 22-month-old Jacob sat there playing for the longest time.
After the art project it was snack time. The kids sit around the table with little plates and Aditi helps them work on signs and gestures to indicate what they would like to eat. The kids are given small amounts of food so they ask for "more" and there are also choices (today it was raisins and banana) so they point to which snack they would prefer. They also drink water independently out of dixie cups, not sippy cups. We were really impressed with how well S&Z did with everything in this setting!
Silas loved playing with nearly 3-year-old, Dimitrius. Jacob and Dimitrius were marching around in a circle at one point when it was time to switch to the next activity, and Silas got right in there with them and they were like 3 musketeers. It was the cutest thing! Aditi has lots of built in cues for when it's time to stop one thing and switch to another, and marching to the gross motor play room is one of them.
The gross motor room is AWESOME! There are floor to ceiling windows and it's flooded with morning light. There are lots of play clothes, riding toys, balls, and a slide with kid-friendly stairs. Because we live in a single-floor condo, one of things I'm hoping they can learn in playgroup is how to navigate stairs. They both did so great - the stairs and slide were definitely their favorite part of this playroom.
At this point it was close to 11am (group ends at 11:30) and both Zoe and Silas were starting to crash and burn. The session normally ends with circle time and songs, so Aditi started this a little early so that S&Z could see how it works. We ended up leaving about 20 minutes early. Considering Zoe has another big fat molar coming in along with the incisor next to it, and they're just getting over colds, we were impressed that they made it almost 2 hours today...
I am so excited that they have officially graduated to the next stage of EI! This is gonna be great!
Because the kids have made such great progress over the last months, Stephanie & Rochelle have been trying to break up with us for awhile now. Of course this is wonderful, but S&Z technically qualify for EI until this summer and I think there are some speech-related things that we could work on at this point in time. Stephanie & I ended up deciding that we should move away from home visits and instead join one of the EI playgroups, which are available for kids 18-36 months.
I've been really excited to start, and the group coordinator gave us permission to try it out a month early (they turn 17 months tomorrow). Due to some pesky colds+fever we weren't able to start until this morning. Our group gets together every Friday from 9:15-11:30 at the Martha Elliot Community Health Center, which is a Children's Hospital Boston community health clinic. The MECHC building is fairly new and the EI space is really nice. Our teacher is a woman named Aditi. She's great and she has the patience of a saint! There were only 4 kids there today, and for one kid it was his last day because he turns 3 next week. It sounds like there will normally be 6 kids, which seems like a good size to me. In addition to Aditi, they always have a student teacher as well.
When we arrived today the other kids were playing and there was a sensory table set up in the middle of the room. The table was filled with rice and Silas in particular loved this activity. After the kids got settled they started an art project at a round table and chairs. Today it was cornstarch mixed with water in different bowls and containers, along with paper and q-tips. Zoe was a big fan of the cornstarch "paint"! This was surprising to me, because (like her mother, auntie & great-auntie), she typically doesn't like to get her hands dirty. She was immersing her entire hand in the bowl and "coloring" on the table. She & 22-month-old Jacob sat there playing for the longest time.
After the art project it was snack time. The kids sit around the table with little plates and Aditi helps them work on signs and gestures to indicate what they would like to eat. The kids are given small amounts of food so they ask for "more" and there are also choices (today it was raisins and banana) so they point to which snack they would prefer. They also drink water independently out of dixie cups, not sippy cups. We were really impressed with how well S&Z did with everything in this setting!
Silas loved playing with nearly 3-year-old, Dimitrius. Jacob and Dimitrius were marching around in a circle at one point when it was time to switch to the next activity, and Silas got right in there with them and they were like 3 musketeers. It was the cutest thing! Aditi has lots of built in cues for when it's time to stop one thing and switch to another, and marching to the gross motor play room is one of them.
The gross motor room is AWESOME! There are floor to ceiling windows and it's flooded with morning light. There are lots of play clothes, riding toys, balls, and a slide with kid-friendly stairs. Because we live in a single-floor condo, one of things I'm hoping they can learn in playgroup is how to navigate stairs. They both did so great - the stairs and slide were definitely their favorite part of this playroom.
At this point it was close to 11am (group ends at 11:30) and both Zoe and Silas were starting to crash and burn. The session normally ends with circle time and songs, so Aditi started this a little early so that S&Z could see how it works. We ended up leaving about 20 minutes early. Considering Zoe has another big fat molar coming in along with the incisor next to it, and they're just getting over colds, we were impressed that they made it almost 2 hours today...
I am so excited that they have officially graduated to the next stage of EI! This is gonna be great!
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