Happy 1 Year!

Can you believe I've been blogging here for 1 year?!? Wow it seems like so much has happen but so many good things. 1 year ago today I wrote a blog entry (feel free to check it out here.

As an update to the "Welcome to our Visser blog!" I give you the below entry:

I still try to blog as much as I can and include as many photos as possible. I am proud to say that over the past year you have viewed over 3000 photos and over 7 slide shows of my children.

Re-Welcome to our family:

Arnold is my husband. He is one of the best men I have ever met and is the most loving, handsome, sweet, caring, handy, father. He loves his 2 boys with all his heart. He tries to do so much with them and spend as much time as possible with them. He still works a a computer programmer for a company here in Toronto. They have recently moved to a new office about 20kms away from our house. Due to that Arnold bikes into work every day. That's 40kms a day. We are now entering year 4 at this company. Arnold's birthday is coming up soon (Nov 10th) and even though we won't get much of a celebration in he has already received his gift. I may buy him his FAVOURITE cake (McCain's Deep and Delicious Cake)

Kyler is our oldest son. He is now in Sr Kindergarten at the school down the road. He loves his teacher, Mr. Brown, and has taken on some of his traits, for example loving the Toronto Maple Leafs. He just went to his very first pro hockey game with his dad a few days ago. He loves to spend time with his brother, building things with his duplo and K'nex and colouring. We are working on reading with him right now. Kyler has started to attend a new school program to help him with his speech and language development. He attends this school on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Kyler is excited to be celebrating his 6th birthday. He plans on having a party this year, we might go bowling. March 8th is going to be busy!

Quinton is the baby of the family, for now. He is such a sweetheart and he loves spending time by himself. He is getting himself ready for school next year (being in Jr kindergarten). He loves to play with blocks, swords and shields and doing as much as he can with his hands. He has the BEST imagination. It's incredible. He can tell you stories about "last week" (which is his relation to time in the past, be it a few hours ago or years ago) that would just floor you with the detail he can explain. His Speech Therapy he has done this past year is slowly coming to a close. He did so great that his Speech Therapist wanted to wait and see how he does with things in the next few months before recommending him for more treatment! We are crossing his fingers he is done!

Lastly is me. My name is Miranda. Last year I listed my 'jobs' but really it's my life! I don't have too many jobs lately. I've grown so much with this blog and with our family. I'm now good at living in a small house, downsizing regularly, decorating, learning to delegate, being a hostess, leader, and most of all remembering to take time for myself. This blog is part of my 'detox' time as well as a place to talk about how life is going. I've begun to expand my photography abilities, child care as well as teaching. I've also completed a triathlon! How cool is that. It has to be one of my proudest moments lately. Hopefully I can do it again next year under 1 hour.

I hope this post has allowed you to be 're-welcomed' to the blog. Feel free to ask questions! I promise to answer!

The Keli Program

Kyler started his "new school" He goes to his normal school in the morning but now he goes to a new school in the afternoon. He is really enjoying it. Here's an idea of what the KELI Program is:

This is copied from online from a newsletter sent out in 2005:

The Toronto District School Board Kindergarten Early Language Intervention (KELI) Program has recently published a cook book with recipes and activities to stimulate language development. Snack time is an important part of the KELI program and it is designed to provide many opportunities for students to use and expand their oral language, literacy, and social communication skills. While children learn how to make snacks, they also learn to label and classify objects, sequence events for a purpose, ask a variety of questions, and look for familiar words in recipes.

This is also copied from online more recent in 2009

Kindergarten Early Language Intervention (KELI) Program

The KELI Program is an innovative program implemented in September 2001 and is offered in ten host schools in the TDSB. The KELI Program provides an intensive oral language and early literacy program to groups of students in senior kindergarten who have delayed oral language development. The mission of this early intervention program is to enhance young students' understanding and use of oral language as the basis for learning to read, write, and get along socially.

KELI Program students attend their regular home school Kindergarten program either five mornings or five afternoons a week. In addition, they attend the KELI Program two half-days in the other half of the day. The KELI Program is provided by a teacher and speech-language pathologist as an instructional
team.

Eligibility for the Program

Eligible students will attend the regular Senior Kindergarten program at one of the selected high-needs schools and should:
• be age appropriate for Senior Kindergarten (i.e., 5 years of age)
• demonstrate significant delays/difficulties in oral language comprehension and/or expression
• demonstrate ability to learn from group instruction
• demonstrate language difficulties in their first and second languages, if English is their second language
• have attended school regularly during the previous academic year
• not demonstrate serious behavioural or attentional problems or have a diagnosis (e.g., Autism Spectrum Disorder)
• have parent(s)/guardian(s)/caregiver(s)/family provide written permission for screening by a KELI speech-language pathologist

Admission to the Program

Kindergarten teachers of the selected high-needs schools use a specific checklist to nominate students at the end of the Junior Kindergarten year. With parent(s)/guardian(s)/caregiver(s)/family permission, speech-language pathologists screen the students, using a standardized test. Students who best meet
the criteria of the program are admitted.

Parent(s)/guardian(s)/caregiver(s)/family must attend an initial meeting to receive complete information about the program and parent(s)/guardian(s)/caregiver(s)/family expectations, and to give written permission for assessments by speech-language pathologists, program evaluation, and videotaping for
professional development purposes.

KELI Program Locations

The KELI Program is offered at ten host schools across the TDSB. Each program accepts eligible students from several referring schools with a total Junior Kindergarten population of about 1000 students with high needs according to the 2004–2005 TDSB Learning Opportunities Index of socio-economic
factors.
Host schools are located within a short travel distance from a cluster of selected schools. Students are transported by bus, except for those students registered at host schools.

Expected Outcomes

Significant gains in oral language development and early literacy skills are expected for KELI Program students. Students eligible for the KELI Program comprise the lowest achieving Senior Kindergarten children. Although the exact percentage of KELI students at risk for school failure and placement in special education programs is impossible to determine, it is estimated that it is the majority, in view of the combination of the following factors:

• Significant speech and language delay at age 4–5 years
• Children from inner-city schools
• High number of families speaking English as their second language

Without the early intervention of the KELI Program focus on oral language, literacy, and social communication, almost all of those at-risk students would likely require school-based resource programs, professional support services, and/or special education programs during their school years.


Information about their teachers:

Kindergarten Early Language Intervention (KELI) Program Teachers

These positions are part of the TDSB’s Early Intervention Initiative. The KELI staff will work under the supervision of the Supervising Principals of Special Education and Chiefs of Speech-Language Pathology for the assigned quadrant office. The KELI Programs are offered in ten host schools across the quadrants
of the TDSB.

The KELI Program is an intensive oral language and literacy enhancement program for Senior Kindergarten children with significant oral language processing and expressive language delays. Each of the ten sites will serve 32 students. The goal is to reduce the impact of oral language delays on young students’ literacy, academic, and social development. Students selected will be screened for eligibility by KELI speech-language pathologists and/or KELI teachers, but will not be formally identified by an IPRC.

Students with severe communication problems related to diagnosed disabilities (e.g., Autism Spectrum Disorders, Global Developmental Delay) will not be selected. Students admitted will attend the KELI Program for two half-days per week in addition to their home school Kindergarten from October to early June of their Senior Kindergarten year. The KELI teachers will work in instructional teams with speech language pathologists, who will assess the students at the beginning and end of the program.

Parent(s)/guardian(s)/caregiver(s)/family and referring teachers will rate the students’ communication skills on entry and exit.

The teacher, in collaboration with the KELI speech-language pathologist, will:
• implement oral language and early literacy programming to meet the needs of the KELI students
• instruct four groups of eight Senior Kindergarten students, for a total of 32 students
• observe the KELI Program students in their home school Kindergarten programs and provide programming suggestions/supports for their teachers
• evaluate KELI program students’ oral language, early literacy, and social communication skills
• communicate regularly with and provide support for parent(s)/guardian(s)/caregiver(s)/family of KELI Program students
• report orally in each term and in writing to parent(s)/guardian(s)/caregiver(s)/family and home school teachers mid-program and on completion of the program to parent(s)/guardian(s)/caregiver(s)/family and home school teachers

Hope that helps you to understand what this new school is.

But for now you get some serious cute photos of Kyler getting ready for his first day of school:











And his second day of school: