Summer Break Approaching

Another school year is drawing to a close!  We still have a few weeks to go, but summer break is right around the corner and I'm excited. I love how all activities go on break and life slows way down, I love the hot weather and long hours of sunshine, and I (mostly) love having all 3 kids home all day long.  My energy level is lower on school breaks, but my stress level is also a lot lower. 

The school year went well, for the most part.  I really like the kids' school and have been happy with their teachers and the school staff.  There are always going to be some challenges when your student has special needs, and we went through a number of challenges, but I was happy with the way the school handled things.  (I'm being very vague on purpose, but would be happy to talk to anyone offline in a lot more detail.  I have lots of opinions about IEPs and behavioral charts and mainstreaming and all things special ed, so if you're going through the process and want to chat, hit me up!)  Josh seems reasonably happy, considering school will probably never be his favorite thing, and we are seeing him learn and grow - those are the main things I want for any of my kids in an educational setting - so I'm happy. 

One thing that I think is worth mentioning is how VERY much a kind word can mean to the parents of a special education student.  The system is designed so that parents get tons of feedback on academic and behavioral performance.  If these are areas of struggle for your student, you're going to be getting lots of negative feedback all year long.  I do want to know how academics and behaviors are going, so that we can try to problem solve; I don't ask that every communication from the school ever reminds me of what a precious snowflake my child is;  I know teachers are busy and I don't want to add to their long list of tasks;  and I know that none of this is personal, and it's not meant as an indictment on my parenting or as a grade on my child's entire worth as a human being.

But when you're getting weekly feedback that is mainly focused on problems, it feels like an oasis in the desert when the teacher communicates that she loves having your child in her class, she finds the way he incorporates tornadoes into everything endearing, his smile is infectious - anything positive to balance the negative.  We did get positive feedback from teachers this year, and it really meant a lot.

(I'm trying to remember that this goes both ways, and that teachers and administrators hear a lot about problems, and are never thanked and encouraged enough - if you are a teacher or school staff person reading this, thank you for all you do!)

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I have two goals for the summer, and I would love input on either of these things:

1.  Read stories - I just read this great book called "The Read Aloud Family" by Sarah Mackenzie, and she strongly encourages reading chapter books aloud to your kids.  We do a lot of reading with the kids, but haven't delved much into the world of chapter books - what are your recommendations for the 5-7 year old set?

2.  Get outside a lot - I would love recommendations of family-friendly hikes in the Lake Tahoe area, and lakes with beach area that are within a 1 hour drive of northern Nevada.