December 5, 2024 • 32 mins
Picture this: It's ugly sweater day at school, and a well-meaning comment goes hilariously awry, serving as a gentle reminder of how we need to be thoughtful with our words. As we transition into the festive season, our latest episode tackles the unique challenges faced by parents and teachers of children with special needs, offering practical advice to create inclusive and personalized holiday celebrations. We discuss strategies for accommodating diverse preferences, like encouraging students to bring their favorite snacks, and reassure parents that it's perfectly okay if their child prefers skipping Santa for something more enjoyable.
A touching moment in a movie sparks memories of a child named Xander, leading to a heartfelt discussion on the bittersweet realization that some experiences may not fit the conventional mold. We explore the emotional journey of parenting children with special needs, emphasizing the importance of open conversations and finding comfort in the love and support of family. This episode invites listeners to reflect on how holiday traditions may evolve and how the genuine joy and excitement of children like Xander, especially for school and the support of dedicated teachers, bring light into challenging times.
Forget material gifts; it's the experiences that count! We wrap up this episode by sharing personal stories about the significance of creating memorable experiences that resonate with each child. With anecdotes like Xander's thrill at Wild Adventures, we explore how meaningful moments can outshine traditional gifts, urging parents and educators to focus on what truly brings joy to children. As we muse over the unpredictability of life, we draw parallels to Tom Brady's football strategy and encourage listeners to embrace what makes their children happy, ultimately fostering lasting memories that go beyond the fleeting allure of material possessions.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
welcome to the next episode.
Does that make sense?
The next episode of the life inthe IEP tribe podcast?
sure we'll go with that.
I think we're like on numbersix now, the newest, the
freshest.
No, we'll just say that we'renow starting episode six of the
(00:29):
Life in the IEP Tribe podcast.
Nope, I'm not going to do it.
Okay, so you guys can't seethis, but I have this board that
I use and it's got all thisreally cool like built-in stuff
and I really want to push thebuttons, but I don't know that
it's necessarily the best use ofour time and equipment.
(00:55):
So how are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Laura, I'm doing all right.
How are you doing?
Speaker 1 (01:00):
You know I'm pretty good.
So we're recording this midweekand you know, oddly enough,
it's been a long time since Ihave felt this awake at almost
530 in the evening, in themiddle of the week.
Usually we hit Wednesday andI'm already Friday, tired Right
(01:20):
Like I'm whooped, but no feelingpretty good.
It's been a good week with ourkids.
Our kids have been awesome.
Of course, we can't talk aboutthem as far as who they are and
whatnot, but I will tell youthis story though.
So we were hanging out in myclassroom and in our school that
we work at, they do these themedays right, right For the
(01:43):
holidays, and so some of thesekids that we've had we've had
them for multiple years, thisisn't their first time with us
and you know it's not.
They're not new to the group oranything like that, so they're
pretty familiar with all theparas and us.
And so we had the ugly sweaterday and one of our paras who I
(02:09):
mean she's been in this game along time and knows this
particular student has known himfor many years Well, I mean as
many as he can be, because he'sin elementary school.
But she looks at the studentand says, oh, student's name, I
love your ugly sweater.
A boy, his smile turned upsidedown and he's like, ah.
(02:39):
And as soon as the parrot said,I thought to myself this
probably wasn't the best use ofwords.
I mean, as the parrot said, Ithought to myself this probably
wasn't the best use of words.
And she had to rush over andconsole him because he was
convinced that this teacher ofhis called him ugly.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
I heard that his lip poked out pretty far and started
yeah, if he would have tried towalk.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
He would have tripped on it and, but he got over it
pretty quick and and she feltbad and we all laughed.
I mean it was really.
I mean we didn't laugh at acrying kid, Probably so.
Anyway, nobody got laughed at,Nobody got poked fun at, but it
was a funny situation.
Yes, and so as we move intothis holiday season, you know we
(03:22):
were chit chatting and there'ssome things that we think would
be beneficial from the parentside of the IEP and as far as
approaching holidays with ourchildren that have special needs
, and there's a lot that comesalong with that.
So my question for you, Laura,to get this thing kicked off, is
(03:43):
what are some great ideas forthe holidays?
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Okay, no pressure.
I know you talked about fromthe parent side, but I think
there is a couple of things likefrom teacher's side as well and
as we know that our studentswith disabilities, they have
different likes and dislikesthan the norm and for teachers
(04:10):
we found it difficult to figure,okay.
So what do we do for some ofthese celebrations?
You know what do we have?
So we take the Grinch's, whatis it called hubulation, and
they have the roast beast andthey have these cute Grinch
(04:31):
flavored thing, you know, notflavored.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Ew.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
That sounds horrible.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
I feel like I just licked an ashtray?
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Yes, yeah, anyway.
So Grinch themed foods?
Yes, yeah, anyway.
So Grinch themed foods.
And you start like puttinggreen pudding in front of our
children and that's not going togo over very well.
Or you try to give them grapesand bananas and strawberries,
although it might look likeGrinch head with the Santa hat.
They're not going to get it andbe like no.
(05:04):
So sometimes having parties isdifficult this time of year for
the teachers, and I know onething that we've done in the
past is, hey, just have yourchild bring in their favorite
sweet or salty treat, becausenot all of them like sweets
(05:24):
either, and you can't just havea pizza party.
They don't all like pizza, andso or they don't like the brand
of pizza that we got.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Oh, that's a thing, that is a thing.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Or chicken nuggets.
We can't just go and get youknow a box of chicken nuggets
and ask the kitchen to cook themfor us, so that can bring some
struggles.
So what we've as teachers, whatwe've found works is asking
parents for donations to do that.
Or at the end of the schoolyear, last year we had a
breakfast, because all our kidslike breakfast foods, it seems
(05:58):
like, especially if they'recarbs, and so having a breakfast
party, and so you know, havinga breakfast party, but that.
So with that, I also want tostress to parents don't worry
about the norms when it comes tobuying for your child or doing
(06:20):
the things that your friends aredoing with their kids.
And you know your kid might notwant to go see Santa, and
that's okay.
That's okay Because really andI know, jared, you and I've had
this conversation about Xander.
You know well, we wish he coulddo this or we wish he would
enjoy that, but he reallydoesn't care.
(06:41):
He doesn't feel like he'smissing out on anything.
But he really doesn't care.
He doesn't feel like he'smissing out on anything when we
might feel like he's missing out, he's living his best life and
none the wiser of or maybe thewiser not caring.
So I think that would be myfirst suggestion is just don't
worry about what everybody elseis doing, or try keeping up with
(07:07):
what everybody else wants to do.
If your kid has no interest inhaving an elf visit them every
year, it might be terrifying forsome kids.
There's this thing in my housethat keeps moving around every
day and that's okay, I think.
Just feel out what your kidswant to do and make new
(07:28):
traditions if you need to.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
So, teachers of special education classes, feel
free just to reiterate, feelfree to focus in on the things
that your kids do enjoy, versustrying to get them to enjoy
things that they may not, justbecause of their classes, do it.
And then, as for parents, youknow it's kind of tough.
So just the other night we were, um, watching I guess we're a
lot of you know we were watchinga movie the other night and it
(07:53):
was, uh, what was it?
Called?
Wonka, that's what it was, andif you haven't seen it, it's,
it's pretty.
I enjoyed it, you enjoy it.
And uh, it's a story aboutwillie wonka before he has his
chocolate factory, and it waspretty cool.
I guess the movie came outmaybe a year or so ago.
But while we're watching thismovie, I I found myself like the
(08:13):
young man that was playingwillie wonka.
I'm looking at him and I'mthinking to myself well, he
looks familiar.
I'm just watching and watchingand then it hit me as we're
watching this movie, I got tothinking, oh, oh, my goodness,
he looks like Xander, like thehair and the face and everything
.
I mean he just looks likeXander.
And then I so I guess we'regoing to have some real
(08:34):
conversation for a second here.
So then my mind starts to kindof kind of wander and I started
thinking about Xander and andhow you know, we're watching
this movie and he's.
He's never going to be a partof a musical production, he's
not going to be any type ofentertainer from a traditional
(09:00):
standpoint right.
There's a lot of the norms thatwe see around us that he's not
going to get to participate in.
And then for a moment it's kindof heartbreaking because you
think about the things that youenjoy as a human being, you
think about the things that youenjoyed as a kid, and to have
(09:23):
the thought cross your mind thatmy child, that I would do
anything for, is never going toexperience some of these things.
And this isn't me saying that ifyour kid has special needs or
whatever, that they're doomed toa life of misery.
(09:46):
That's not what I'm saying.
What I'm saying, though, isthat, if we look at our child's
situation realistically, basedon evidence, based on normal
progression of child growth,some of our students, some of
(10:10):
our children, are not ever goingto be average.
They're not going to be what isconsidered normal, and one of
the things I'm super thankfulfor is that we have this
relationship where we can talkabout these things and we can,
you know, share with each other,and knowing full well that,
again, xander's not a burden.
(10:33):
We love him.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Right.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
And that we're not saying we're giving up on
anything that he may possiblyaccomplish in the future.
But again, if we're going totie it to evidence, there's a
lot of things that he's notgoing to experience and it's
really great to be able to havethose conversations and to hear
each other and then be reminded,like you said, I don't know
(10:57):
that there's a part of his lifethat he dislikes.
I mean, think about all thethings that we go through in
life and you know we grunt andgroan every morning because we
got to get out of bed and go towork, right, right, I mean,
that's just, that's normal life.
I don't care what you do.
You can love what you do andstill not feel like getting out
of the bed and going.
He doesn't have that.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
No, he is up.
And sometimes, before his alarmgoes off, he is up and ready to
go.
And he's sitting out here 20,30 minutes before the bus gets
here and smiling and gigglingand all sorts of things.
He's ready to go.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Right.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
And so at 19,.
As a high school, a 19-year-oldhigh school student should not
be this excited to go to school.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
No, but he does, he loves it and we have been
fortunate that Xander's hadgreat teachers over the course
of his life.
He's grown up in the samecounty and been in the same
school system since he started.
But it's hard, and so then westart to think about, we start
to kind of feel sorry forourselves and that's what it is
(12:06):
at the end of the day.
But that's okay.
Find somebody you can talk toabout.
That right.
There needs to be safe spacesand if you don't have a safe
person, you can email us If youknow us, you can call us If we
work together.
We can have the conversationface-to-face, but know that it's
okay to experience thosefeelings and share them with
(12:27):
somebody.
It doesn't make you a badparent.
And so it reminds me.
I'm going to share a story realquick and then I'll stop
hogging all the airspace.
I talk a lot, I really do.
I mean sometimes anyway.
So let's see, I don't rememberexactly how many years ago it
was, but Zander was little.
He couldn't have been, I mean,maybe preschool age, maybe a
(12:51):
little bit older.
But Zander, when he was little,I mean his motor went 100 miles
an hour nonstop from the timehe opened his eyes in the
morning till the time he closedthem when he fell asleep.
He just went, went, went andstopped.
There was no speeding stopped,there was no speeding up, there
was no slowing down.
And my parents do this reallycool thing to where they try to
(13:16):
set up experiences for ourfamily around the holidays.
Instead of people just gettinga bunch of gifts for each other,
they'll try to find somethingthat we can all do together.
Bunch of gifts for each other,they'll try to find something
that we can all do together,whether it's go, stay at a cabin
or get an Airbnb somewherethat'll hold the family and
really spend time together andhave a great time.
Well, this one particular year,my parents rented a cabin at a
(13:41):
state park that's roughly aboutan hour and a half away from us
two hours, sounds right, yeah,somewhere in that vicinity.
And this particular Christmas itwas myself and Brandon and then
Xander.
So it's me, xander and hisolder brother, brandon, and we
(14:02):
went to go meet the family outat this cabin in the state park.
We went to go meet the familyout at this cabin in the state
park and you know we get outthere and like my brother's out
there with his family and hiskids and my sister's out there
with her kid, and people werestaying the night.
So everybody's going to stayfor a few days, but it wasn't
(14:34):
going gonna work for us, likethere's no way that brandon and
xander and I and that's with myfamily, who has been nothing but
supportive this time I mean, mygoodness, we need to put some
pictures out xander hanging outwith his grandfather, who is his
best friend, like, without adoubt.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
So so it's not even a gram that is gone here, there
and everywhere with the kid.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
That makes sure that he's taken care of.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, my family has been such a great
support system.
Yes, but there's no way we'restaying there more than the
course of that day, Becausewhile some kids can just go play
on the playground and theirparents sit and watch or walks
can be taken down by the river.
You know, I have a son that isquick, as as quick as can be,
(15:20):
and you know you turn your headand he's gone.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
That's no fear.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Right, he's taken off and and so it got to where it's
like I was spending more timecorralling him than spending
time with my family.
And so I get back in the carand I'm making that drive home
and can't help but think tomyself you know, it's not that I
, it's not a matter again ofhating the situation, hating
(15:46):
what's going on, but the ideathat at that time that my son
can't just go play on theplayground with those other kids
, and he has two cousins.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
That are born the same year that the two cousins
played together and grew uptogether and Xander grew up up
he's the same age and that, yeah, that there wasn't that
connection there that wasbetween the other two is hard
and and so and we talk aboutthat, that kind of stuff pretty
often.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Um, so if, by some chance, you're a parent of a
child and you find yourself inthese situations, number one,
know that it normal.
It's normal to have feelingslike that.
You love your kid, you wantthem to experience all the
things that you can think ofthat you enjoyed experiencing.
You want them to be able tohave that same opportunity.
(16:38):
So it's heartbreaking whenthere is sometimes reality
presented that it's not going tohappen, when there is sometimes
reality presented that it's notgoing to happen.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
So it's okay to feel these feelings, but it's so
important to talk to peopleabout it, find somebody safe to
talk with and know that it'sokay to have these desires for
your kid and sometimes theseexperiences that they had no
(17:08):
interest in or could notparticipate in when they were
young, where you would see thetypical child participating in
them.
Sometimes, like a lot of othermilestones that they have, it
may just be delayed.
Sanders still likes to go seeSanta Claus, where when he was
little he didn't have a wholelot to do with him, but he still
(17:31):
likes him now.
In fact, the high school hasSanta come see his class, and so
sometimes that, although youmight not experience these
things as a little when they'relittle, they might like them
when they get a little bit older.
So you might just have to delaythese experiences and find the
(17:51):
things that they do like.
Xander loves to travel andXander loves to look at
Christmas lights and say youknow, sometimes we'll just drive
around and let's look at thelights or the trolley tours of
the lights.
That's one of the things thatwe like to do and that the whole
(18:12):
family can do, but that heenjoys too.
It may not be something you orI grow up doing, but now we've
started this new traditionbecause it's something that he
enjoys, that everyone can enjoysomething that he enjoys, that
everyone can enjoy.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
Well, and something that I want to add too is that
so this particular state parkand cabin that we went to,
however many years ago, I'mgoing to go visit again this
Christmas season.
So it's going to be almost gosh, I don't know.
Probably 14, 15 years, almostto the day, right and trust and
(18:50):
believe that boy's going to beon that playground.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Well, we've gone one other time.
Since your first experience,this will be the second time
that we've gone Yep, that'sright and the second time he
went and he had a good time.
We spent the night.
He slept in the room in thebunk beds with his best friend,
paul.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
So we were able to spend the night.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
And just to tie to what you're saying, though, is
that all those things that atthat point, I was like, oh, he's
not going to experience this,he's not going to enjoy this?
Well, he's enjoying the crapout of it now?
Right, and that's okay, andthat's a good thing, right?
There are things that we wouldkind of challenge our fellow
(19:49):
parents in this journey isreally take some time to kind of
figure out what is it that yourkid jives with, and be cool
with that, because I don't knowhow much money we've spent on
toys and Trinkets yeah this andthat You're like okay, well, the
(20:12):
kids should like this.
Just for him to smile and saythank you and put it down.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Right, maybe that evening or the next day pick it
up and look at it.
But there's no sense in buyingthings just to buy things.
And I know for Xander and thismay not be for everybody, but
for Xander Xander doesn't go andcount how many presents that
his brothers get, nope, and howmany presents he gets, because I
(20:42):
know keeping things even iskind of a big thing for a lot of
families.
And there's been times thatXander has had the same amount
of presents as his siblings.
And then there's also beentimes where, you know, we've
spent a little bit more money onXander because instead of
buying him the toys and theitems, we took them somewhere
(21:06):
and so it was like a family gift, but it was really his gift.
Like last year we went to WildAdventures because the kid loves
some roller coasters and heloves some Christmas.
So if we could have, he couldsee all the Christmas trees.
You ask him Santa, what do youwant?
What do you want for Christmas?
A Christmas tree?
You have a Christmas tree, astar?
You have a Christmas tree, astar, you have a star.
(21:27):
A present, a present, a redpresent.
So he can't even, you know.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
He's just like whatever.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
He just likes the holiday, he loves watching the
movies, he loves the experienceof it and really doesn't, you
know, isn't upset with what hedoes or does not end up with
under that tree and even withthat whole, the whole idea of
experiences, I think it's reallycool that you mentioned the
(21:57):
lights.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
I mean, that's something that doesn't cost you
know anything more than gas,like you and the kid or your
family, you, you know, whatever,whatever that family dynamic is
get in the vehicle and go lookat some lights, and that you
know that doesn't doesn't cost athing in it, but it's an
experience.
It's.
So what we have found isexperiences make all the
(22:19):
differences in the world, andand so, yeah, so we're like,
we're like super jazzed to seewhat it is that, how he responds
to, what he gets this timearound, and we would love to
hear any I don't knowsuggestions or ideas, or you
know, what does your kid love todo?
(22:39):
Maybe you're a teacher?
What student that you mighthave with special needs?
or an IEP, or you know whateverwhat do you find that they
really jive with and they reallyconnect with and really enjoy?
Because, at the end of the day,I mean stuff, just stuff, fades
(23:00):
away anyhow, right?
I mean I don't know that I haveanything from Christmas when I
was a kid, right, I don't knowthat there's anything that was
so magnificent.
I held on to it, right, for myentire life.
I'm sure I have Christmasornaments Now you do because you
will keep things and store, notlike a hoarder, but you hang on
(23:24):
to stuff.
I tried that before and Iforget where I put things.
I remember one time it was afun christmas story.
So these kids always do these,the schools do these like santa
shop where the kids can go buystuff for their families, their
siblings and their parents andall that.
So we were living inpennsylvania at the time and my
(23:46):
parents had given me money andand I went into this whole Santa
shop and went shopping forwhatever.
And I remember specificallybuying my brother, who's six
years younger than me, a coupleof Hot Wheels cars and so he had
(24:11):
.
He came into a room and I wastrying to hide them until
Christmas and so I he ended upfinding them.
I don't know how I found, if hesaw me put them, where I put
them or if he, I don't know buthe ended up finding the Hot
Wheels cars and I got so mad athim I'm like, all right, cool,
you're not getting them.
Of course I didn't know, but heended up finding the Hot Wheels
cars and I got so mad at himI'm like, all right, cool,
you're not getting them.
(24:32):
Of course I didn't mean it,because that's just mean.
But I swear to you, I have noidea where I put those cars.
Still to this day, I don't knowwhere they are.
I don't know where they went.
He probably found them.
Well, you know, know.
Now you say that he probablydid because he's a sneaky little
cuss.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Yes, he probably found him and went and played
with him and hid himself yeah,that makes sense, but I did I.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
I felt pretty crappy about that, but I don't really
remember why I told that story.
Oh, we're talking about stuffand having things from.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
But yeah, presents and I mean presents are good and
present kids love to openpresents.
We're not saying don't get, getyour child presents, we're not
saying that at all.
But you know, give them thosememories and those experiences
too.
If you have a child like oursthat he just wants to go and do
and I know we have a friend andcoworker too that had said her
(25:33):
son loves experiences and lovesto be outside so a lot of their
gifts are outside items.
Even it doesn't get as frigidhere as it does in other places
and so they can use thoseoutside toys a lot longer there.
But even if it's cold, I knowthey'll take them outside to
(25:54):
play.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
Yeah, well, yeah, where we live, it's like it's
winter for, like I don't know, aweek and a half or something
like that, but I'm notcomplaining.
So, with that said, do you haveanything else you want to add?
Laura, let's do a recap.
If you're a SPED teacher, knowyour students Like take the time
(26:16):
to see what they like, and ifthey don't care, then don't put
the time in Like it's okay tofind the things they like and
invest in that your time andwhatever you want to invest in
that, so that you can help themhave an experience.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Speaking.
Yeah, I guess I do havesomething to add Speaking of
that, like we did last year.
Traditionally, you know,teachers get little.
You know goodie bags and somedifferent.
You know candies and toys andover the years we found out that
our students really don't careabout those things.
So last year we got a classpresent, we pulled our money and
(26:52):
got them a trampoline for theclass and instead of sending
home goodie bags, we'll probablyeither sit at the bottom of
their backpack or make their wayinto a donation box or bottom
of a toy box.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
I'm telling you, xander comes home with stuff
every Halloween and Christmasand like if we didn't eat it,
right, it would be there thenext Halloween or Christmas.
He does not care.
But luckily for him he's got adad who will eat just about
anything.
So I help him with the candywhen I can.
So, okay, so one, find out whatthe kid's like.
(27:34):
Invest in that.
Watch the smiles.
Number two if you are a parent,it is okay to one be kind of
bummed if you realize thatthere's some things that your
kid is not going to be able toexperience right now.
But know that if they're notinterested in it now, they can't
(27:55):
be disappointed, right, they'renot going to sit there and be
upset about something that theydon't care about.
So what do they care about?
And so we talked about Xander,xander's experience.
X xander, you can drive himaround the block and he's all
about it right, especially ifyou take him in a convertible
with paul yeah, yeah, yeah,we're gonna.
(28:16):
We might have to show thatpicture because that kid was all
about that ride, going outgetting some some soda pop with
his, with his paul, but reallydo take the time to to enjoy
whatever is there.
So, football story, and thenI'm probably going to be done,
(28:38):
there's an application to it, Ipromise.
So I I've been a football fanfor as long as I can remember.
I was raised a dolphin fan.
Um, as I can remember, I wasraised a Dolphin fan.
Yes, it hurts, it's hard, but Iam, and so I've been fortunate
enough to follow the Dolphinsduring the Tom Brady era in New
(29:00):
England.
And that guy, golly, I'm prettywell convinced that he sold his
soul to the devil, becausenobody wins games like that.
I mean it's ridiculous, butanyway.
So Tom Brady retires, comesback, plays again, wins a Super
Bowl and anyway, anyway, doesn'tmatter, he wins a bunch of
(29:23):
Super Bowls.
Can't stand the guy.
That's not true.
I don't even know him, but I'mgoing to go on with my story.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
You wish he was a dolphin.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Every game I watched.
I'd say I hate this guy.
I wish he was a dolphin.
But there was this interviewand he was talking about how he
was successful as a quarterbackand his response was really cool
.
He said I took whatever thedefense gave me and then if the
(29:50):
big play was available, I'd takethat.
But I always took what theygave me.
I never tried to force anythingthat wouldn't work.
I never tried to force a playjust because I wanted that play
to happen.
I looked at what was in frontof me and I took what they gave
me.
So again, this is coming from aquarterback that's played in 10
(30:12):
Super Bowls 10, 9, and 1-7,which is ridiculous.
Nobody does that.
But that same concept can bringan awful lot of joy to our
classrooms, to our families, andthat is look at what you have
right in front of you and takewhatever is given.
(30:36):
If little Jimmy just wants HotWheels, then get little Jimmy
Hot Wheels.
If little Jimmy don't careabout Hot Wheels and he wants to
just run around in the backyard, find something that he can run
around the backyard with.
If he doesn't care aboutrunning around the backyard and
he just likes to go for a ride,just take him for a ride, and
(30:56):
that can be a part of the gift,because what you're building is
an experience that's just goingto grow.
You're building on theseexperiences over the course of
life, and one of the greatthings about experiences is
memories.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
Might be inside out, making those core memories.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Yep, yep, same thing, and those are the things that
are so incredibly important.
So, recap, and then we're done.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Recap the recap.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
Recap the recap If you're a teacher, go Curtis.
Speaker 2 (31:24):
Know your students, get to know them, learn them.
If you're a teacher, go curtis.
Know your students, get to knowthem.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Learn them if you're a parent same thing.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Just focus on what they, what they like, what they
enjoy tom brady love them, youhate them.
No, you hate them.
But she was a dolphin, she wasa dolphin.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
So, with that said, we're gonna wrap up this episode
.
Uh, thank you for hanging outwith us.
I want to say thank you to ourone listener Mom, I love you,
and that's it.
We'll talk to you guys nexttime.
Have a good day, oh, and aMerry Christmas, because I don't
know if we're going to do thisagain before then.
No, oh wait.
No, we'll do it.
Yeah, why was I?
(32:02):
You know, what I don't know.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
We've got a couple more weeks right.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
We need to go ahead and bush stop.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
I think we've at least got two more episodes
before.
Yeah, all the festivities andcompany goings and things,
meetings, word.
welcome to the next episode.
Does that make sense?
The next episode of the life inthe IEP tribe podcast?
sure we'll go with that.
I think we're like on numbersix now, the newest, the
freshest.
No, we'll just say that we'renow starting episode six of the
(00:29):
Life in the IEP Tribe podcast.
Nope, I'm not going to do it.
Okay, so you guys can't seethis, but I have this board that
I use and it's got all thisreally cool like built-in stuff
and I really want to push thebuttons, but I don't know that
it's necessarily the best use ofour time and equipment.
(00:55):
So how are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Laura, I'm doing all right.
How are you doing?
Speaker 1 (01:00):
You know I'm pretty good.
So we're recording this midweekand you know, oddly enough,
it's been a long time since Ihave felt this awake at almost
530 in the evening, in themiddle of the week.
Usually we hit Wednesday andI'm already Friday, tired Right
(01:20):
Like I'm whooped, but no feelingpretty good.
It's been a good week with ourkids.
Our kids have been awesome.
Of course, we can't talk aboutthem as far as who they are and
whatnot, but I will tell youthis story though.
So we were hanging out in myclassroom and in our school that
we work at, they do these themedays right, right For the
(01:43):
holidays, and so some of thesekids that we've had we've had
them for multiple years, thisisn't their first time with us
and you know it's not.
They're not new to the group oranything like that, so they're
pretty familiar with all theparas and us.
And so we had the ugly sweaterday and one of our paras who I
(02:09):
mean she's been in this game along time and knows this
particular student has known himfor many years Well, I mean as
many as he can be, because he'sin elementary school.
But she looks at the studentand says, oh, student's name, I
love your ugly sweater.
A boy, his smile turned upsidedown and he's like, ah.
(02:39):
And as soon as the parrot said,I thought to myself this
probably wasn't the best use ofwords.
I mean, as the parrot said, Ithought to myself this probably
wasn't the best use of words.
And she had to rush over andconsole him because he was
convinced that this teacher ofhis called him ugly.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
I heard that his lip poked out pretty far and started
yeah, if he would have tried towalk.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
He would have tripped on it and, but he got over it
pretty quick and and she feltbad and we all laughed.
I mean it was really.
I mean we didn't laugh at acrying kid, Probably so.
Anyway, nobody got laughed at,Nobody got poked fun at, but it
was a funny situation.
Yes, and so as we move intothis holiday season, you know we
(03:22):
were chit chatting and there'ssome things that we think would
be beneficial from the parentside of the IEP and as far as
approaching holidays with ourchildren that have special needs
, and there's a lot that comesalong with that.
So my question for you, Laura,to get this thing kicked off, is
(03:43):
what are some great ideas forthe holidays?
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Okay, no pressure.
I know you talked about fromthe parent side, but I think
there is a couple of things likefrom teacher's side as well and
as we know that our studentswith disabilities, they have
different likes and dislikesthan the norm and for teachers
(04:10):
we found it difficult to figure,okay.
So what do we do for some ofthese celebrations?
You know what do we have?
So we take the Grinch's, whatis it called hubulation, and
they have the roast beast andthey have these cute Grinch
(04:31):
flavored thing, you know, notflavored.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Ew.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
That sounds horrible.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
I feel like I just licked an ashtray?
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Yes, yeah, anyway.
So Grinch themed foods?
Yes, yeah, anyway.
So Grinch themed foods.
And you start like puttinggreen pudding in front of our
children and that's not going togo over very well.
Or you try to give them grapesand bananas and strawberries,
although it might look likeGrinch head with the Santa hat.
They're not going to get it andbe like no.
(05:04):
So sometimes having parties isdifficult this time of year for
the teachers, and I know onething that we've done in the
past is, hey, just have yourchild bring in their favorite
sweet or salty treat, becausenot all of them like sweets
(05:24):
either, and you can't just havea pizza party.
They don't all like pizza, andso or they don't like the brand
of pizza that we got.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Oh, that's a thing, that is a thing.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Or chicken nuggets.
We can't just go and get youknow a box of chicken nuggets
and ask the kitchen to cook themfor us, so that can bring some
struggles.
So what we've as teachers, whatwe've found works is asking
parents for donations to do that.
Or at the end of the schoolyear, last year we had a
breakfast, because all our kidslike breakfast foods, it seems
(05:58):
like, especially if they'recarbs, and so having a breakfast
party, and so you know, havinga breakfast party, but that.
So with that, I also want tostress to parents don't worry
about the norms when it comes tobuying for your child or doing
(06:20):
the things that your friends aredoing with their kids.
And you know your kid might notwant to go see Santa, and
that's okay.
That's okay Because really andI know, jared, you and I've had
this conversation about Xander.
You know well, we wish he coulddo this or we wish he would
enjoy that, but he reallydoesn't care.
(06:41):
He doesn't feel like he'smissing out on anything.
But he really doesn't care.
He doesn't feel like he'smissing out on anything when we
might feel like he's missing out, he's living his best life and
none the wiser of or maybe thewiser not caring.
So I think that would be myfirst suggestion is just don't
worry about what everybody elseis doing, or try keeping up with
(07:07):
what everybody else wants to do.
If your kid has no interest inhaving an elf visit them every
year, it might be terrifying forsome kids.
There's this thing in my housethat keeps moving around every
day and that's okay, I think.
Just feel out what your kidswant to do and make new
(07:28):
traditions if you need to.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
So, teachers of special education classes, feel
free just to reiterate, feelfree to focus in on the things
that your kids do enjoy, versustrying to get them to enjoy
things that they may not, justbecause of their classes, do it.
And then, as for parents, youknow it's kind of tough.
So just the other night we were, um, watching I guess we're a
lot of you know we were watchinga movie the other night and it
(07:53):
was, uh, what was it?
Called?
Wonka, that's what it was, andif you haven't seen it, it's,
it's pretty.
I enjoyed it, you enjoy it.
And uh, it's a story aboutwillie wonka before he has his
chocolate factory, and it waspretty cool.
I guess the movie came outmaybe a year or so ago.
But while we're watching thismovie, I I found myself like the
(08:13):
young man that was playingwillie wonka.
I'm looking at him and I'mthinking to myself well, he
looks familiar.
I'm just watching and watchingand then it hit me as we're
watching this movie, I got tothinking, oh, oh, my goodness,
he looks like Xander, like thehair and the face and everything
.
I mean he just looks likeXander.
And then I so I guess we'regoing to have some real
(08:34):
conversation for a second here.
So then my mind starts to kindof kind of wander and I started
thinking about Xander and andhow you know, we're watching
this movie and he's.
He's never going to be a partof a musical production, he's
not going to be any type ofentertainer from a traditional
(09:00):
standpoint right.
There's a lot of the norms thatwe see around us that he's not
going to get to participate in.
And then for a moment it's kindof heartbreaking because you
think about the things that youenjoy as a human being, you
think about the things that youenjoyed as a kid, and to have
(09:23):
the thought cross your mind thatmy child, that I would do
anything for, is never going toexperience some of these things.
And this isn't me saying that ifyour kid has special needs or
whatever, that they're doomed toa life of misery.
(09:46):
That's not what I'm saying.
What I'm saying, though, isthat, if we look at our child's
situation realistically, basedon evidence, based on normal
progression of child growth,some of our students, some of
(10:10):
our children, are not ever goingto be average.
They're not going to be what isconsidered normal, and one of
the things I'm super thankfulfor is that we have this
relationship where we can talkabout these things and we can,
you know, share with each other,and knowing full well that,
again, xander's not a burden.
(10:33):
We love him.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Right.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
And that we're not saying we're giving up on
anything that he may possiblyaccomplish in the future.
But again, if we're going totie it to evidence, there's a
lot of things that he's notgoing to experience and it's
really great to be able to havethose conversations and to hear
each other and then be reminded,like you said, I don't know
(10:57):
that there's a part of his lifethat he dislikes.
I mean, think about all thethings that we go through in
life and you know we grunt andgroan every morning because we
got to get out of bed and go towork, right, right, I mean,
that's just, that's normal life.
I don't care what you do.
You can love what you do andstill not feel like getting out
of the bed and going.
He doesn't have that.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
No, he is up.
And sometimes, before his alarmgoes off, he is up and ready to
go.
And he's sitting out here 20,30 minutes before the bus gets
here and smiling and gigglingand all sorts of things.
He's ready to go.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Right.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
And so at 19,.
As a high school, a 19-year-oldhigh school student should not
be this excited to go to school.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
No, but he does, he loves it and we have been
fortunate that Xander's hadgreat teachers over the course
of his life.
He's grown up in the samecounty and been in the same
school system since he started.
But it's hard, and so then westart to think about, we start
to kind of feel sorry forourselves and that's what it is
(12:06):
at the end of the day.
But that's okay.
Find somebody you can talk toabout.
That right.
There needs to be safe spacesand if you don't have a safe
person, you can email us If youknow us, you can call us If we
work together.
We can have the conversationface-to-face, but know that it's
okay to experience thosefeelings and share them with
(12:27):
somebody.
It doesn't make you a badparent.
And so it reminds me.
I'm going to share a story realquick and then I'll stop
hogging all the airspace.
I talk a lot, I really do.
I mean sometimes anyway.
So let's see, I don't rememberexactly how many years ago it
was, but Zander was little.
He couldn't have been, I mean,maybe preschool age, maybe a
(12:51):
little bit older.
But Zander, when he was little,I mean his motor went 100 miles
an hour nonstop from the timehe opened his eyes in the
morning till the time he closedthem when he fell asleep.
He just went, went, went andstopped.
There was no speeding stopped,there was no speeding up, there
was no slowing down.
And my parents do this reallycool thing to where they try to
(13:16):
set up experiences for ourfamily around the holidays.
Instead of people just gettinga bunch of gifts for each other,
they'll try to find somethingthat we can all do together.
Bunch of gifts for each other,they'll try to find something
that we can all do together,whether it's go, stay at a cabin
or get an Airbnb somewherethat'll hold the family and
really spend time together andhave a great time.
Well, this one particular year,my parents rented a cabin at a
(13:41):
state park that's roughly aboutan hour and a half away from us
two hours, sounds right, yeah,somewhere in that vicinity.
And this particular Christmas itwas myself and Brandon and then
Xander.
So it's me, xander and hisolder brother, brandon, and we
(14:02):
went to go meet the family outat this cabin in the state park.
We went to go meet the familyout at this cabin in the state
park and you know we get outthere and like my brother's out
there with his family and hiskids and my sister's out there
with her kid, and people werestaying the night.
So everybody's going to stayfor a few days, but it wasn't
(14:34):
going gonna work for us, likethere's no way that brandon and
xander and I and that's with myfamily, who has been nothing but
supportive this time I mean, mygoodness, we need to put some
pictures out xander hanging outwith his grandfather, who is his
best friend, like, without adoubt.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
So so it's not even a gram that is gone here, there
and everywhere with the kid.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
That makes sure that he's taken care of.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, my family has been such a great
support system.
Yes, but there's no way we'restaying there more than the
course of that day, Becausewhile some kids can just go play
on the playground and theirparents sit and watch or walks
can be taken down by the river.
You know, I have a son that isquick, as as quick as can be,
(15:20):
and you know you turn your headand he's gone.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
That's no fear.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Right, he's taken off and and so it got to where it's
like I was spending more timecorralling him than spending
time with my family.
And so I get back in the carand I'm making that drive home
and can't help but think tomyself you know, it's not that I
, it's not a matter again ofhating the situation, hating
(15:46):
what's going on, but the ideathat at that time that my son
can't just go play on theplayground with those other kids
, and he has two cousins.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
That are born the same year that the two cousins
played together and grew uptogether and Xander grew up up
he's the same age and that, yeah, that there wasn't that
connection there that wasbetween the other two is hard
and and so and we talk aboutthat, that kind of stuff pretty
often.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Um, so if, by some chance, you're a parent of a
child and you find yourself inthese situations, number one,
know that it normal.
It's normal to have feelingslike that.
You love your kid, you wantthem to experience all the
things that you can think ofthat you enjoyed experiencing.
You want them to be able tohave that same opportunity.
(16:38):
So it's heartbreaking whenthere is sometimes reality
presented that it's not going tohappen, when there is sometimes
reality presented that it's notgoing to happen.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
So it's okay to feel these feelings, but it's so
important to talk to peopleabout it, find somebody safe to
talk with and know that it'sokay to have these desires for
your kid and sometimes theseexperiences that they had no
(17:08):
interest in or could notparticipate in when they were
young, where you would see thetypical child participating in
them.
Sometimes, like a lot of othermilestones that they have, it
may just be delayed.
Sanders still likes to go seeSanta Claus, where when he was
little he didn't have a wholelot to do with him, but he still
(17:31):
likes him now.
In fact, the high school hasSanta come see his class, and so
sometimes that, although youmight not experience these
things as a little when they'relittle, they might like them
when they get a little bit older.
So you might just have to delaythese experiences and find the
(17:51):
things that they do like.
Xander loves to travel andXander loves to look at
Christmas lights and say youknow, sometimes we'll just drive
around and let's look at thelights or the trolley tours of
the lights.
That's one of the things thatwe like to do and that the whole
(18:12):
family can do, but that heenjoys too.
It may not be something you orI grow up doing, but now we've
started this new traditionbecause it's something that he
enjoys, that everyone can enjoysomething that he enjoys, that
everyone can enjoy.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
Well, and something that I want to add too is that
so this particular state parkand cabin that we went to,
however many years ago, I'mgoing to go visit again this
Christmas season.
So it's going to be almost gosh, I don't know.
Probably 14, 15 years, almostto the day, right and trust and
(18:50):
believe that boy's going to beon that playground.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Well, we've gone one other time.
Since your first experience,this will be the second time
that we've gone Yep, that'sright and the second time he
went and he had a good time.
We spent the night.
He slept in the room in thebunk beds with his best friend,
paul.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
So we were able to spend the night.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
And just to tie to what you're saying, though, is
that all those things that atthat point, I was like, oh, he's
not going to experience this,he's not going to enjoy this?
Well, he's enjoying the crapout of it now?
Right, and that's okay, andthat's a good thing, right?
There are things that we wouldkind of challenge our fellow
(19:49):
parents in this journey isreally take some time to kind of
figure out what is it that yourkid jives with, and be cool
with that, because I don't knowhow much money we've spent on
toys and Trinkets yeah this andthat You're like okay, well, the
(20:12):
kids should like this.
Just for him to smile and saythank you and put it down.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Right, maybe that evening or the next day pick it
up and look at it.
But there's no sense in buyingthings just to buy things.
And I know for Xander and thismay not be for everybody, but
for Xander Xander doesn't go andcount how many presents that
his brothers get, nope, and howmany presents he gets, because I
(20:42):
know keeping things even iskind of a big thing for a lot of
families.
And there's been times thatXander has had the same amount
of presents as his siblings.
And then there's also beentimes where, you know, we've
spent a little bit more money onXander because instead of
buying him the toys and theitems, we took them somewhere
(21:06):
and so it was like a family gift, but it was really his gift.
Like last year we went to WildAdventures because the kid loves
some roller coasters and heloves some Christmas.
So if we could have, he couldsee all the Christmas trees.
You ask him Santa, what do youwant?
What do you want for Christmas?
A Christmas tree?
You have a Christmas tree, astar?
You have a Christmas tree, astar, you have a star.
(21:27):
A present, a present, a redpresent.
So he can't even, you know.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
He's just like whatever.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
He just likes the holiday, he loves watching the
movies, he loves the experienceof it and really doesn't, you
know, isn't upset with what hedoes or does not end up with
under that tree and even withthat whole, the whole idea of
experiences, I think it's reallycool that you mentioned the
(21:57):
lights.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
I mean, that's something that doesn't cost you
know anything more than gas,like you and the kid or your
family, you, you know, whatever,whatever that family dynamic is
get in the vehicle and go lookat some lights, and that you
know that doesn't doesn't cost athing in it, but it's an
experience.
It's.
So what we have found isexperiences make all the
(22:19):
differences in the world, andand so, yeah, so we're like,
we're like super jazzed to seewhat it is that, how he responds
to, what he gets this timearound, and we would love to
hear any I don't knowsuggestions or ideas, or you
know, what does your kid love todo?
(22:39):
Maybe you're a teacher?
What student that you mighthave with special needs?
or an IEP, or you know whateverwhat do you find that they
really jive with and they reallyconnect with and really enjoy?
Because, at the end of the day,I mean stuff, just stuff, fades
(23:00):
away anyhow, right?
I mean I don't know that I haveanything from Christmas when I
was a kid, right, I don't knowthat there's anything that was
so magnificent.
I held on to it, right, for myentire life.
I'm sure I have Christmasornaments Now you do because you
will keep things and store, notlike a hoarder, but you hang on
(23:24):
to stuff.
I tried that before and Iforget where I put things.
I remember one time it was afun christmas story.
So these kids always do these,the schools do these like santa
shop where the kids can go buystuff for their families, their
siblings and their parents andall that.
So we were living inpennsylvania at the time and my
(23:46):
parents had given me money andand I went into this whole Santa
shop and went shopping forwhatever.
And I remember specificallybuying my brother, who's six
years younger than me, a coupleof Hot Wheels cars and so he had
(24:11):
.
He came into a room and I wastrying to hide them until
Christmas and so I he ended upfinding them.
I don't know how I found, if hesaw me put them, where I put
them or if he, I don't know buthe ended up finding the Hot
Wheels cars and I got so mad athim I'm like, all right, cool,
you're not getting them.
Of course I didn't know, but heended up finding the Hot Wheels
cars and I got so mad at himI'm like, all right, cool,
you're not getting them.
(24:32):
Of course I didn't mean it,because that's just mean.
But I swear to you, I have noidea where I put those cars.
Still to this day, I don't knowwhere they are.
I don't know where they went.
He probably found them.
Well, you know, know.
Now you say that he probablydid because he's a sneaky little
cuss.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Yes, he probably found him and went and played
with him and hid himself yeah,that makes sense, but I did I.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
I felt pretty crappy about that, but I don't really
remember why I told that story.
Oh, we're talking about stuffand having things from.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
But yeah, presents and I mean presents are good and
present kids love to openpresents.
We're not saying don't get, getyour child presents, we're not
saying that at all.
But you know, give them thosememories and those experiences
too.
If you have a child like oursthat he just wants to go and do
and I know we have a friend andcoworker too that had said her
(25:33):
son loves experiences and lovesto be outside so a lot of their
gifts are outside items.
Even it doesn't get as frigidhere as it does in other places
and so they can use thoseoutside toys a lot longer there.
But even if it's cold, I knowthey'll take them outside to
(25:54):
play.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
Yeah, well, yeah, where we live, it's like it's
winter for, like I don't know, aweek and a half or something
like that, but I'm notcomplaining.
So, with that said, do you haveanything else you want to add?
Laura, let's do a recap.
If you're a SPED teacher, knowyour students Like take the time
(26:16):
to see what they like, and ifthey don't care, then don't put
the time in Like it's okay tofind the things they like and
invest in that your time andwhatever you want to invest in
that, so that you can help themhave an experience.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Speaking.
Yeah, I guess I do havesomething to add Speaking of
that, like we did last year.
Traditionally, you know,teachers get little.
You know goodie bags and somedifferent.
You know candies and toys andover the years we found out that
our students really don't careabout those things.
So last year we got a classpresent, we pulled our money and
(26:52):
got them a trampoline for theclass and instead of sending
home goodie bags, we'll probablyeither sit at the bottom of
their backpack or make their wayinto a donation box or bottom
of a toy box.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
I'm telling you, xander comes home with stuff
every Halloween and Christmasand like if we didn't eat it,
right, it would be there thenext Halloween or Christmas.
He does not care.
But luckily for him he's got adad who will eat just about
anything.
So I help him with the candywhen I can.
So, okay, so one, find out whatthe kid's like.
(27:34):
Invest in that.
Watch the smiles.
Number two if you are a parent,it is okay to one be kind of
bummed if you realize thatthere's some things that your
kid is not going to be able toexperience right now.
But know that if they're notinterested in it now, they can't
(27:55):
be disappointed, right, they'renot going to sit there and be
upset about something that theydon't care about.
So what do they care about?
And so we talked about Xander,xander's experience.
X xander, you can drive himaround the block and he's all
about it right, especially ifyou take him in a convertible
with paul yeah, yeah, yeah,we're gonna.
(28:16):
We might have to show thatpicture because that kid was all
about that ride, going outgetting some some soda pop with
his, with his paul, but reallydo take the time to to enjoy
whatever is there.
So, football story, and thenI'm probably going to be done,
(28:38):
there's an application to it, Ipromise.
So I I've been a football fanfor as long as I can remember.
I was raised a dolphin fan.
Um, as I can remember, I wasraised a Dolphin fan.
Yes, it hurts, it's hard, but Iam, and so I've been fortunate
enough to follow the Dolphinsduring the Tom Brady era in New
(29:00):
England.
And that guy, golly, I'm prettywell convinced that he sold his
soul to the devil, becausenobody wins games like that.
I mean it's ridiculous, butanyway.
So Tom Brady retires, comesback, plays again, wins a Super
Bowl and anyway, anyway, doesn'tmatter, he wins a bunch of
(29:23):
Super Bowls.
Can't stand the guy.
That's not true.
I don't even know him, but I'mgoing to go on with my story.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
You wish he was a dolphin.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Every game I watched.
I'd say I hate this guy.
I wish he was a dolphin.
But there was this interviewand he was talking about how he
was successful as a quarterbackand his response was really cool
.
He said I took whatever thedefense gave me and then if the
(29:50):
big play was available, I'd takethat.
But I always took what theygave me.
I never tried to force anythingthat wouldn't work.
I never tried to force a playjust because I wanted that play
to happen.
I looked at what was in frontof me and I took what they gave
me.
So again, this is coming from aquarterback that's played in 10
(30:12):
Super Bowls 10, 9, and 1-7,which is ridiculous.
Nobody does that.
But that same concept can bringan awful lot of joy to our
classrooms, to our families, andthat is look at what you have
right in front of you and takewhatever is given.
(30:36):
If little Jimmy just wants HotWheels, then get little Jimmy
Hot Wheels.
If little Jimmy don't careabout Hot Wheels and he wants to
just run around in the backyard, find something that he can run
around the backyard with.
If he doesn't care aboutrunning around the backyard and
he just likes to go for a ride,just take him for a ride, and
(30:56):
that can be a part of the gift,because what you're building is
an experience that's just goingto grow.
You're building on theseexperiences over the course of
life, and one of the greatthings about experiences is
memories.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
Might be inside out, making those core memories.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Yep, yep, same thing, and those are the things that
are so incredibly important.
So, recap, and then we're done.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Recap the recap.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
Recap the recap If you're a teacher, go Curtis.
Speaker 2 (31:24):
Know your students, get to know them, learn them.
If you're a teacher, go curtis.
Know your students, get to knowthem.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Learn them if you're a parent same thing.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Just focus on what they, what they like, what they
enjoy tom brady love them, youhate them.
No, you hate them.
But she was a dolphin, she wasa dolphin.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
So, with that said, we're gonna wrap up this episode
.
Uh, thank you for hanging outwith us.
I want to say thank you to ourone listener Mom, I love you,
and that's it.
We'll talk to you guys nexttime.
Have a good day, oh, and aMerry Christmas, because I don't
know if we're going to do thisagain before then.
No, oh wait.
No, we'll do it.
Yeah, why was I?
(32:02):
You know, what I don't know.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
We've got a couple more weeks right.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
We need to go ahead and bush stop.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
I think we've at least got two more episodes
before.
Yeah, all the festivities andcompany goings and things,
meetings, word.
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