Special K Needs

     The special needs kindergarteners were extra sweet today. 

     One of the boys had a cane, for lack of a correct word, with a red ball at the end of it, which he used to find his way around in the school.  Such a little guy.  He seemed completely blind with dark rings around his light blue eyes.  When he came into the gym I wondered what this could be all about until he was given a hockey stick and was told to find the red rubber ball.  So, while the rest of the children were playing a chaotic game of hockey using a bright yellow ball and running back and forth between goal nets, this little guy carried a hockey stick as big as himself and slowly followed around after a red ball, taking swings at it whenever he thought he was close enough.  Often he was ready to smack at the ball but was standing so closely to it that the hockey stick sailed over the top of the ball.  But he took my suggestions to "back up a little bit and then smack it" and was able to connect.  The ball zagged randomly from wall to wall as the kids played their wild hockey game around him.  Truth is I followed him closely because he meandered though the center of the game going on and needed a shield or he could have been laid flat. But I kept a pace behind him to allow him to navigate and follow the ball on his own.  I love it when kids do things without grown ups stepping in and doing it for them.
    And that's the way he spent his 3 hours of kindergarten today - joining in everything and asking if he was doing a good job.  I watched him navigate the playground, climb up a few sets of steps, and slide down "super fast" as he put it.  No whining or reluctance, just enjoying his day and seeing what he needed to see.  The staff told me that his own parents don't know the extent of his eyesight issues because professionals can't get their brains around it.  He's blind, but he isn't.

    He made me smile today.  I admire people who can be happy.  I admire parents who can nurture this in a child.