Grace spent a about half of her school day in the regular 2nd grade classroom. Her regular ed teacher was "Johnson" (Grace calls everyone by their last names only.) And, every morning, Johnson would do the "I'm watching you signal", using her first two fingers in a V pointing at her eyes and then to Grace's. Then, Grace would do it back at Johnson!
Mrs. Johnson did a fabulous job of including Grace in the class. For instance, she told us that when it was time for a math game with flash cards, she would have Grace hold the card out for the child to give the answer. If it was a boy and he got the answer right, he would get to take the card from Grace, who would then pat him on the back and say "Good job, Mister!" And, if it was a girl who got the answer right, Grace would hand her the flash card and say, "Good job, Toots!" What a hoot!
Here's an email note we got from Johnson on the last day: "Hi Paula, I just want to say thanks for sharing your wonderful daughter with me this year. I can't tell you enough how much I enjoyed having Grace in my classroom. The morning hugs and the Johnson, I'm watching you signal always started my days out great! I'm sure going to miss her! Have a great summer! Stacy aka "Johnson"
And to finish it off, here's a video clip that her wonderful spec ed teacher, Christianson, took of Grace reading. This is a huge encouragement to me, as I have not heard her read yet. She won't read for anyone but Christianson, not even Johnson!
