CHATTERS, THE HAMILTON PUBLIC LIBRARY AND ASPERGER'S

I don't know why, but the month of June always seems to be very busy around here.  And this June is no different.  The school year is quickly coming to a close and as such, the remaining weeks are full of tests, assemblies and class trips, all of which can add to Jacob's anxiety.  This week Jacob has in fact had 2 class trips, so I thought I'd share the highlights of them with my readers.

On Monday Jacob's class went to a place called Chatters.  Jacob's class won the trip because of the amount of money they raised for the Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser the school did back in May of this year.  It's like Chuck E Cheese or something along those lines.  Chatters has an indoor playground and jungle gym, along with games and activities for kids of all ages.  My wife went on the trip with the class to assist Jacob, which is great when we can go.  The class had to get there by bus, which can be an issue for Jacob due to his motion sickness, but thankfully he didn't get ill.  And he had a great time playing with all the kids.  He enjoyed his time there so much that he's included another trip to Chatters in his list of "things we have to do" this Summer.  The list already includes 2 trips to both African Lion Safari and Marine land, so a day trip to Chatters isn't that big of a deal or expense.

Then on Wednesday Jacob's class went on a trip to the Hamilton Public Library, which has gone under a massive renovation in the past couple of years.  The have a living wall full of plants, 100's of DVDs and about a million books.  But the thing that had Jacob's attention the most was the 4 fish tanks located in the kids reading area.  Instead of reading a new book or listening to a story, Jacob instead chose to look at all the beautifully coloured fish swimming about.  He enjoyed looking at the fish so much that he now wants me to take him back to the library just to see the fish.  This isn't a big deal either because we often go downtown and the library is connected to the mall we regularly visit. 

I went on the trip to the library with the class, which was interesting.  I never realised how hard it was to keep 40+ 8 year olds together in a line and aware of their surroundings.  The nice thing about this trip was the library is within walking distance of the school, so I didn't have to worry about Jacob getting motion sickness on the way.  But it was very hot and many of the kids became grumpy due to the heat.  Thankfully the library was cool inside and the was a couple of water fountains that pumped out cold water.

Friday is also a PD day for Jacob which means a long weekend.  Unfortunately we have court in the afternoon so we won't be able to relax until afterwards.  The case involves the death of our dog Max on Christmas day 2010, so hopefully we'll all be able to get some closure in that matter.  It would be so nice to put the whole thing behind us, but because of Jacob's Asperger's, he might never be able to let the sad feelings go, but we remain optimistic. 

Anyway, I'll be sure to post the outcome of tomorrows hearing.  I hope that every one is having a good month so far and I hope that the weather stays as nice as it's been the past week or so for the rest of the Summer.