The end of the school year is approaching. The hardest part is behind us: test week. And especially with this beautiful weather, an invitation to wonderful class outings, a school restaurant day and a street fair follows! So put on your sunglasses, because we are headed for a sunny report!
Delightful class trip
Thanks to the good cooperation between the IMG and Pulderbos,
Ella-Marie was able to join the class trip. One of the most
important goals in special education is to ensure that children can
stand up for themselves and their friends. And that became
immediately clear when Ella-Marie saw her friends. What. A.
Welcome!
It started just a few miles before arriving at the 't Grom.
Apparently, Ella-Marie and mom were driving just behind the van
with the classmates. Arms were thrust through the windows and
people waved heartily to each other. Once parked, everyone ran up
to her and gave hugs. The children looked through the wheelchair
and saw their classmate in particular. And just as she had secretly
hoped, they all asked if they could push the wheelchair.
It was a wonderful day, where Ella-Marie was mostly enjoying
herself. A smile on her face, enjoying the schoolmates, just being
herself again and for a few hours a normal student of the IMG.
Toward the end of the afternoon, Ella-Marie began to get a little
quieter. Reality was back: she would soon go to Pulderbos and the
classmates would go home. So the farewell was heartbreaking but at
the same time very beautiful. One of the children said: "Don't cry,
we are in your heart and you in ours". Mom Annelies also had to
swallow very hard. The ride from Sint-Katelijne-Waver to Pulderbos
was one with lots of tears. Fortunately, the guidance in the
rehabilitation center managed to distract her somewhat. At bedtime,
the tears and anger returned. Again turning your heart into a
stone, taking courage, keeping the bigger goal in mind and
continuing on the road....
And yes! We are going to have a lovely brag. Top teacher Ann gives a test after every class outing. It makes the IMG kids pay just that little bit more attention to the explanations. Ella-Marie also got to take the test and did so in teacher Conny's classroom. And yes ... Ella-Marie got a 9 out of 10!!!
Restaurant Day
Sunday, June 18, was circled with a dot in Ella-Marie's
calendar. FINALLY she got to go back to her school for real once
again. Try to remind yourself how, as a child, you were especially
NOT happy that you had to go to school on weekends. Funny how
perceptions can change.
"Daddy, how nice it is to be able to see my playground again! And I
hope all my teachers are there!" We couldn't leave for the school
soon enough. Once we got there, it also quickly became clear why.
Ella-Marie's teachers approached her from behind their work
positions. With a big smile, she received all the compliments (yes,
she actually looks quite good) and was happy to answer the many
questions. It shows once again how hard the school also sympathizes
with their students. A large portion of fries and curry sausage, a
few tombol salads and a sugar waffle later, we left for home again.
Ella-Marie was exhausted, but oh so happy. She was back home for a
while, on her IMG.
Braderij
Near-world city Heist-op-den-Berg offers you several events. Each one fun to experience, but the fair ... oh dear the fair.
A day that is circled in the calendar a year in advance. With sales before the actual sales, drinking and eating establishments, carnival, fun and so much more. The most painful thing after a weekend fair is the deep bottom in the wallet. But it is such a fun gathering, where all of Heist comes together and celebrates the beginning of summer vacation.
Ella-Marie had expressed some trepidation about the fair. The wheelchair remains a difficult part of life to accept. But once she arrived on Mountain Street, the epicenter of the festivities, everything turned out to be fun and beautiful. The hat to block out the burning sun was doing its thing perfectly, the music was just not too loud and the fair was calling for fun.
It took some searching, but 2 fun activities were found. After sister Olivia went through the fun-house with great bravado and swung a few somersaults on the giant trampoline out of her legs, the four of us went in search of the ideal string with the magic duck on it. It was unfortunately not found, but the feeling Ella-Marie had was super. "Just" participating in an activity, sitting on the counter of the carnival stand. It also invited to knock over more blocks with a ball, where (with a little help from sister Olivia) a perfect score was achieved twice.
On Friday, it was already fries. Not surprisingly, we ended with a visit to the Chinese restaurant. There again they were very friendly and everything was done to provide a place for the wheelchair. In general, it is clear that people are really considerate of those who have difficulties.
Parent Contact
Perhaps even more festive than the fair, was the parent contact
with another top teacher: Conny. We received a very comprehensive
report on Ella-Marie's progress. Despite the fact that they were
not able to work together for very long, it was clear that the
teacher had a clear picture of our daughter.
Objectivity. That is the first thing we try to keep in mind when we
receive feedback about Ella-Marie. Of course this is not always
obvious, we all know that our child is perfect :-). But in all
objectivity, we can still say that there is definite progress. The
language area was in the left hemisphere. And that language area
now does not have to contend with the countless epileptic stimuli
every day. That is also why we see faster progress in reading and
writing. That writing is then mainly about error-free writing, the
motor part is not quite top notch, because really clean writing we
do not see immediately appear on the paper.
But so what? Name me one doctor who can write beautifully! :-)
We will start again with the basics of math and we will maintain that during the vacations as well. In Pulderbos, she will be taught by some teachers who come to help voluntarily. Surely, there again, too, "hats off" to the people who dedicate themselves to the children who need help the most!
To conclude the conversation, Elke from the psycho-pedagogical service joined us. Also from that direction we got really good news. Ella-Marie is really liked by everyone in Pulderbos, among other things because she really does her best during the moments of work and secretly we also believe that Ella-Marie is just a really nice and sweet girl (although the objectivity can be stolen from us :-) ).
Eye on the future
There is still progress in rebuilding Ella-Marie's physical and mental preparedness. An end date in Pulderbos is still out of the question. However, the IMG is going to make sure that Ella-Marie's class will be on the ground floor . Whether Ella-Marie will enter the school gate in Heist on Sept. 1 at the beginning of the school year, no one knows. The feeling is that it will be difficult. And that feeling creates a dichotomy. On the one hand, it is unfortunate that Ella-Marie will not yet be able to start her class. But on the other hand, it is great that the Pulderbos still sees progression. As long as Ella-Marie stays with them, she will make progress. And we only welcome that progress!