The Phillips Phamily: Kanyon at School (and Christmas kick off!)

Baby Tre got home to some very excited cousins! We are so happy to have him join the gang!

This has been a little bit of a tough year for Kanyon at school. We don't really know exactly what the deal is....probably a combination of lots of things.... but his school team never stopped trying to change, rearrange, adjust, and think of new ideas to help things go smoother. It seemed like we'd "solve" one problem and a new one would pop up. It was tiring for everyone and a lot of work for his teachers and especially his aide that is with him all day.

Despite the challenges of this year, the boy is learning SO MUCH!

This paper came home one day....they said he wrote all of this all by himself! He just sat down and started writing words!

Mrs. Alex (his aide) is so good to send me pictures of his day. I love it so much.....I get a sneak peek into his day. Here he is working at the table with some of his buddies. They don't have assigned seating in his class so everyone just sits wherever they choose. This was his table of choice with this group of guys for a while. His class this year is full of the sweetest boys. The girls have always taken good care of him....sometimes mothering him and tending to him the special way little girls can. But this year it seems like the boys have joined the party with Kanyon and they have been so sweet, helpful, and all around good buddies for him.

His teachers say when its his turn to do something at the board he does NOT want Mrs. Alex to help him. IF he accepts help (big IF) he only wants it from one of his buddies.

Every day he tells Mrs. Jenni, the school secretary, the date to practice. He also reads his book to her and she is very generous to give up her comfy seat for the reader! We love Mrs. Jenni! She isn't "just" the secretary. She has played a really big role with Kanyon at school.

Alex sent this picture of his class practicing for the Christmas program. Sweet Kade got down on his knees so that Kanyon could reach his shoulder. Heart melter, I tell ya.

His school team asked me to come spend day with them to see Kanyon's day, see what I thought and if I had any ideas on things we could do/not do differently. It was fun to be with them all day and see Kanyon through an entire day of school. I left that day amazed at how hard Kanyon works all day. It was a reminder to me of how many things he has to navigate and process that require so much effort. Not only does he have a lot of physical work to keep up and move around though the school all day but for him to process ALLLLLLLLL that goes on even in just one sitting for a few minutes is SO. MUCH. Every minute he is there he is being pushed to the limit. I'm thankful for his team, especially for his aide who has to keep all the plates spinning all day. He really is The Grand Kanyon.

One of the trouble spots in his day was leaving lunch. He gets to go to lunch with his class, but after lunch his class heads back to the classroom for reading and Kanyon goes into his blue room (the room in the school that is just for him) for his reading time. He HATES to miss out and was always so sad (read:screaming and crying) when he had to separate from his class. So the solution they came up with was for one kid to help him clean up his trash and walk him to the front by the office and read a book with him until Mrs. Alex got there. It worked! He loved it, the kids in his class loved it, and there was no screaming!

The day I was there, Sammy was his partner.

We got to go to Music...not Kan's favorite, but he lasted almost the whole class that day.

Mrs. Murphy took him to recess and Kanyon thought it was HILARIOUS when she decided to trade jackets with him! She's wearing his and he's wearing hers! They are so good at taking a tricky situation, like Kanyon not wanting to put his coat on, and turning it into something silly and fun.

In winter, the safest and most efficient thing to do for recess is use the school's wheel chair. For one, Kanyon's snow boots are super heavy and the walk from his room to the playground is long. That alone would take up his recess time. Then once they are outside the ground is icy and slippery so its hard for him to walk on that stuff. The wheelchair gets him to the playground quickly and keeps him safe. Plus it gives his buddies a job because you know they love to push the chair! The day I was there, Jack was the lucky friend who got to drive the wheelchair.

I was glad to spend the day at school and see the whole gig first hand. I am super thankful that we have a school that INVITES me to do this. They are team players and I appreciate their desire to do whatever it takes to help Kanyon and to actually WANT my input. We are very very very thankful.

Jaylie June decided she wanted to make a recipe.....so she did! Her recipe was very descriptive and her finished product a lovely fruit kabob on a toothpick.

I'm teaching her how to make Nanny Lou's bread! She's kneading away....

We took our friends The Snyders with us up the mountain at the ranch to cut down Christmas trees. It was a fun afternoon. We (finally) found the perfect tree and I think each of the kiddos ended up cutting down their own too.

Evan and Lane...sweet boys were busy playing all afternoon then made themselves some lemonade.

We LOVE this tree in town!!! Isn't it the best!!!

This is Jaylie's horse. She even made a saddle with stirrups out of paper.

Taking the horses and bulls hay is Jaylie's favorite winter job.

Brrrrrrrrrrr

Quinn's thumbprint version of Kawhi Leonard

Kory and Juney shoveling the driveway for our sweet neighbor Ms. Alice.

Fun in the snow in our front yard...

making a hill for sledding

They LOVE to do this and it seems sooooo NOT fun to me. They pull each there around the house like a horse and buggy.

Quinn and the ever present winter job of chopping ice at the water tanks. They said that when he finished chopping he tried to put the ax down and his glove was frozen to the handle so his hand slipped right out and his glove stayed. Brrrrrr!