The Ups and Downs of T-Ball

Ben enjoyed playing t-ball with his class again this year.  He loved hitting the ball and running the bases and he tolerated standing in the field waiting for a ball to come.  Here are some photos from a game where he chose not to follow the rules and hopefully learned an important lesson.

Hitting the ball is lots of fun.

 So is running the bases.

 Playing in the dirt can be lots of fun too!

 So can pretending to catch the ball with your hat and pretending to sweep your arm down to tag a runner out.  (even when you are playing short stop and no where near a base).  

 

 When Mom and Dan notice when you are messing around with your hat and not paying attention to the game,  Mom and Dad take will take away your hat and make your really sad.  

Coaches can help feel better about losing your hat (and protect you from balls being hit your direction.

 Brothers can help you feel better too.

 And sometimes it takes brothers and friends to cheer you up. 

 But in the end, playing t-ball with your friends and getting to run on the field makes you forget all about your mean parents who took your hat. 

GO KNIGHTS!

Can't Fool This Kid

One of the things I love about the iPad is that it helps kids get motivated to learn.  It is also a ton of fun and slightly addictive  I have read more books on my Kindle app this year alone than I read in the last 10 years combined.

The games can be addictive too.

My personal favorite is Bejeweled Blitz.

 Ben's favorite is Tiger Woods Golf.

The problem with Ben's favorite, is that it happens to be his Dad's game.  The way these games work, you do tournaments to increase your average and skill, etc.  Randy had his player in pretty good shape.

Until Ben found the game that was hidden in the folder.

He was sitting quietly in the stroller at one of his brother's many games completely engrossed in the iPad.  I asked him a couple times what he was playing.   I finally got up and looked.  Randy's  player was at 70 over par.  Not good when you have your player just where you want them.

So they created a player just for Ben.

 You see he does not care if he is in first or last.  He just wants to play.   I just love that about him.  Every time the big boys try to get him to change how he doing something so he can win, I remind them too.

Ben just wants to play.  He is having fun.  Let him have fun.

But back to the iPad......Every now and then I move the golf game on the iPad, so that Ben will spend more time with his learning apps, and less time playing golf.

This morning was one of those days.

After burying the golf game deep in one of my photo app folders, I gave the iPad back to Ben.

Next thing I hear is "Looks like you are going to need a pitching wedge from this distance".  The little stinker found it, in less than 10 minutes.  Looks like I need to employ a more devious tactic next time. 

But part of me is proud of him.  What a great problem solving skill this little game of ours has taught him. There are so many great things he learns from the iPad, like matching, math, reading, and having fun.   In general the iPad has been nothing but a wonderful tool for Ben.

Spread the Word to End the Word

Today I took a trip far outside my comfort zone.  I went to the Elmwood Murdock Elementary school with Ben, and we did 3 different Spread the Word to End the Word Presentations to the K-6 Students at the school.  I have not spoken in front of any group for about 20 plus years, so it was a little bit intimidating at first, but I had John's 4-H Powerpoint that I changed up a bit, to help guide what I was going to say. 

First we introduced the kids to someone with an intellectual disability (Ben), told a bit about the Special Olympics, and them asked them to take the pledge.  

The kids were great, and Ben was a ham working the crowd giving fist bumps and high fives. 

  In the pledge I challenged the kids to do two things.  1. Don't use the word retard(ed) to refer to anyone or anything, and 2) to tell others not to use it either.  When I asked if there was anyone in the room that would like to sign the pledge banner the hands went up very quickly. 

The kids did a good job of paying attention, and asked some great questions. 

We ended up with a banner that was pretty full of signatures. 

The offical day for the Spread the Word to End the word campaign is tomorrow, but Ben has therapy so it worked out better for us to go to school today.  I would like to thank Mr. Frederich and all the teachers for letting us come and making us feel so welcome.  I would also like to thank Monica from Monkey Musings for doing a presentation like this last year an blogging about it.  You gave me the inspiration, and courage and permission to use your idea and I am thankful that you did.  It was way eaiser than I thought it would be. Now I would like to challenge other blogging parents to think about doing a presentation at your school. 

 If you would like to pleade to Spread the Word to End the Word on-line please click here.