Moog Workshop and Evy's first day of school- Summer 2012

From June 12th through the 16th, we attended The Moog Center's Parent Workshop, and had a wonderful time! Even though we were already very familiar with the school, we thought attending the workshop would be perfect for Evy since she would be starting school the following week. It was a great introduction for her and I, and gave us both an idea of what her days at school will be like. I also got some helpful tips for me! The other children that attended won't actually be in Evy's class since most of them were visiting from out of state, but we both still made some friends. It was so nice to talk with other parents about both the joys and struggles that we endure throughout this sometimes tough but very rewarding journey!

Paityn was also able to come along and hang out with the hearing impaired kids her age. I think it was really great for her, because sometimes I think she questions whether or not Evy will really be able to talk and play with her. It's hard to explain to a four year old that these things take time! But after having some quality play time with her hearing impaired peers, I think she got a glimpse of what her and Evy's near future will look like!

I am so thankful to be a part of the Moog Center! The staff is wonderful and what they teach deaf children and their parents is truly amazing! Last week at the workshop I realized just how lucky we are to have Moog so close. So many families have moved here just to be a part of the program and other families often spend time in 2 different homes in order to be here for school during the week and then drive home on the weekends. I am so appreciative for the services and wonderful teachers that are available to us everyday, all while being surrounded by our family and friends!

Every morning I dropped Evy off in her classroom at 9am where she would play and do activities with her peers and teachers. Then for an hour she would work 1 on 1 with her therapist. Initially at drop off during the workshop, there were some tears and she didn't want to see me leave. But after a day or so, she got comfortable with her teachers and the daily routine, which made it much easier for us to drop her off today for her first day of school! Here's us heading inside on the first day of workshop.

I could tell that Evy had worked really hard at school on the first day. That night I went upstairs around 7pm because I thought it sounded too quiet. Evy had been playing with her sister, but when I went up, this is how I found her. Passed out in the hallway...

I think it's safe to say that she was exhausted! We enjoyed the rest of our weekend and before we knew it, the big day was here!

Today was Evy's first day of school! For Summer school, Evy will go every Wednesday and Thursday from 9am - 12 pm. Here's a picture from this morning!

We dropped her off and she walked right on in to the classroom! They said it's usually best for the parents to make a quick exit so that none of the kids get upset. So that's what we did, and Evy was fine with us leaving. The class starts off by working as a group and having "circle time" then each student does a 1 on 1 activity with the teacher. At some point during the day Evy also gets pulled out of class for an hour of 1 on 1 with her therapist.

 Today, it just so happened that Evy was due for an audiology appointment as well (she has audiology about twice a month right now). I thought it might be a longshot to expect her to cooperate after her first day of school, on top of it being nap time... but I was wrong! She did an amazing job in audiology today and they were able to get a lot of good information. When they see Evy for audiology they work on mapping for her implants. This requires Evy to sit in a highchair and listen to a series of "beeping" noises through her implant. They have trained Evy to look to her left everytime she hears a beep and when she looks, they turn on a little duck that moves. Even though she has one implant on during the session, while they are testing, all the background noise is turned off and the only thing Evy can hear are the beeps.

 Considering where we were 5 months ago, Evy has gotten SO much better at this process! She used to only work while sitting on our laps, and even then she got fussy and didn't cooperate for long. She was also very scared for any unfamiliar person to touch her ears or get too close to her. I took a couple short videos of Evy's session today to remind myself of her progress because I am truly amazed at how far she has come!