Sometime during the first few weeks of school, Elli's special education teacher sent home information about a Special Olympics event they wanted to bring their young elementary students to in the spring. I had no hesitation -- I used to volunteer at the regional Special Olympics event at my college and knew that the kids who participated loved every minute of it.
Elli loved the medal ceremony. She won third place on her team and really enjoyed showing her classmates the medal when she got back to school.
The event was a basketball clinic, in which students visited three different stations. They tried out different basketball skills, such as throwing into the hoop and passing the ball. Each school kept points and at the end, they handed out medals to each school's group.
You can barely see her, but Elli's got her game face on as she makes a basket.
Elli thoroughly enjoyed herself. Her aid wrote that she pretended to be shy until the principal at the 2nd-3rd grade got her laughing.
Mr. Messer brings Elli out of her shy act.Apparently she really hit it off with the team from that school, which makes me feel much more at ease about sending her on in the fall (we've been debating repeating 1st grade).
So this is a big THANK YOU to those who makes events like this happen for kids with all kinds of disabilities. It was definitely a highlight for the year!
Elli loved the medal ceremony. She won third place on her team and really enjoyed showing her classmates the medal when she got back to school.
You can barely see her, but Elli's got her game face on as she makes a basket.
Mr. Messer brings Elli out of her shy act.
