Quote Wall #1

Love this quote this week.

If you want to build a ship, 

don't drum up the people to gather wood, 

divide the work, and give orders. 

Instead, teach them to yearn

 for the vast and endless sea.

-Antoine De Saint-Exupury, author of Le Petit Prince

Overheard in the Speech Room, Take 2

Another gem for the day: Working with a couple of six-year-olds on basic "wh" questions (who and what)

Me: "Who flies an airplane?"
K: (in all earnestness) "A duck!"

I guess we have some more work to do!

Overheard in the Speech Room

Working with children of all ages leads to some pretty interesting conversations. Today, while working with one of our kindergarten students, my fellow speech pathologist noted that he was missing a significant number of teeth - more than most kindergarten students, and the remaining chompers were cavity-ridden.

Concerned, she asked him, "Buddy, what happened to your teeth? Did they fall out or did someone pull them out?"

With the perfect innocence of a kindergartner, he said, that he wasn't sure. He was opening a jar of jelly and a tooth just fell out of his mouth (as if the act of opening a jar could cause a tooth to just fall out). My colleague said, "I'm just a little worried about what happened to all your teeth."

And then he said, with worry on his face, "I just don't know how many I have left!"




We've been laughing about that all afternoon. "I just don't know how many I have left!" This is just another reason I love my job!

Needs

So, it's been a while. Sorry to all 3 of my readers who have been waiting expectantly. Let's just say that I lacked the mental and emotional fortitude to even think some days. Much better now. I seem to have found my gumption in one of those boxes that I'm still trying to unpack.

I've decided today that I only have one real need this school year. I have a full time CFY, so I'm good in the help department. I have an office that has a few more supplies and is slightly more organized than last year. All I need now is a good pair of extendable ears.

I know they look a bit disgusting, but they would be the perfect addition to a speech pathologist's bag of tricks!

I have so listen to and observe so many children, and they always know when I'm there to see them. And that makes them nervous (because, let's face it, knowing that you're being watched makes anyone nervous!). And then I'm not really observing a naturalistic context.

Brent, if you're listening, I want a set for Christmas. Thanks!