Temple Grandin Movie

I just finished watching the Temple Grandin movie on DVD.  I can't tell you how amazing it was but....I'm going to try.  First of all, this amazing woman's mother was told to institutionalize her because she was autistic.  She wasn't talking at age four, wouldn't let anyone touch her, and often had fits and panic attacks. 

While this was in the early days of the diagnosis of autism, it was still sad to see how people treated both her and her mother.  No one thought she would amount to anything and, for a while, it seemed her fear would overcome her and negate the gifts she had.  But her mother, and several other key teachers and mentors, pushed her, kept her going, forced her to keep trying new and uncomfortable things and, lo and behold, they became more comfortable for her and she tried more and more things until she had a doctorate and was able to clearly articulate what it means to be autistic.  Parents of kids on the autism spectrum, this clearly calls us to not give up and to push our children to be what they are capable of being, even if it is uncomfortable for them (or for us).  Teachers, we need to look behind the challenging behaviors of some students to who they are inside and help them develop the gifts God has given them.  This movie truly challenged me as both a parent and a teacher to not give up, to keep loving and praying and pushing my child (and those I teach) to become what they were made to be.

The truly amazing part of this movie was the insightful way which Claire Danes (and the director) portrayed Temple Grandin.  It gave me a previously unknown insight into how my son Daniel (who has Aspergers) and other people on the autism spectrum view life.  I know that the spectrum varies widely as do the experiences of people with this diagnosis but it helped me to see how the chaos and noise of life physically hurt those with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) and how the mind of someone with this diagnosis can view things in a beautifully different way.  She could do things that no one else could do and see things the way no one else saw them.  I know that Daniel does this too - he can take something that my "normal" brain cannot do (like see Lego instructions in 2D and convert them into a 3D model) and do it with ease.  He can laugh, smile, and have fun but he is also sensitive to noises, chaos, temperature, change, etc.  Just like Temple's mother, I am proud of him and excited to see what he will become and the plans that God has in store for him (Jeremiah 29:11).

One of my favorite quotes was that Temple is different but not LESS.  God did not put my son (or any other person given the label of autism or asperger's) on earth by accident. Each person is made with gifts and talents and a reason for existing.  Temple views her autism as a gift that enables her to do things and see things that other people cannot see.  The more articulate she became, the more she was able to express that she still wanted her life to have meaning even if there were things she would never understand (like people and their non-verbal cues, emotions, reactions).  Don't we all want our lives to count for something regardless of our challenges, failings, gifts, or emotions?

Take some time to view this film whether or not you have people with autism or asperger's in your life but especially if you do.  It will be well worth your time.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

What a rare week!  Two "can't put them down" books in one week. As enjoyable as The Host was, The Help (whoa, two "The H" books in one week too...weird) was like reading a riveting, insighful classic.  This novel was a first novel by the author, Kathryn Stockett and it is hard to believe that it is her maiden voyage into novel writing.

The novel weaves the stories of three main characters, Miss Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny, together into a narrative about Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s.  Miss Skeeter is a sensitive, thoughtful recent college graduate who wants to do more with her life than marry well and attend bridge club.  She was raised by a black maid who influenced her life just like the many other black maids all over town.  These maids were not allowed to use the white bathroom or trusted to put all the silver back after polishing it but they were allowed to raise white children and cook white food and clean white bathrooms.  Two of these maids, thoughtful, prayerful Aibileen, and sassy, outspoken Minny agree to help Miss Skeeter write the truth about the lives of black maids and their employers.  This quest links the three women together in friendship and a desire to tell the truth to the world, regardless of the very real risks to all three.

Their lives and stories drew me in to the extent that I couldn't wait to see what happened but at the same time, I didn't want the book to end.  It was a satisfying and enlightening read that is sure to become an instant classic.  All I can say is - you gotta read it!

UPDATE - August 22, 2011 - I saw the movie this summer and LOVED it.  The movie stayed very close to the book and the actresses were amazing!  See it if you can.

The Host by Stephanie Meyer

I finally got around to reading The Host by Stephanie Meyer and I really liked it! I think I liked it more than the Twilight series (I know, I know, don't shoot me).  It was a compelling read - I didn't want to put it down.  I really enjoyed it!

The book is about a race of aliens called Souls who invade planets by taking over host bodies.   Now they have invaded earth and, most of the time, when the Souls bond with a human host, the human mind/personality fades away.  However, in this case, the Soul (called Wanderer) in put into a "wild" human, one of the few remaining free humans. This human, Melanie, is stronger than most and refuses to fade away.  She and Wanderer end up inhabiting the same body and end up changing each other in surprising ways.

This book drew me in with the characters, the emotions, and the issues.  It is a fascinating new look at prejudice, acceptance, change, and the ever popular sci-fi topic of the survival of the human race in the face of alien invasion. The refreshing part is the way the invasion takes place and the relationships involved between human and alien. 

I recommend it to Stephanie Meyer fans and to sci-fi fans too!

iPod and iPad Apps at BBS

Do you want to see which apps we are using at Brainerd Baptist School?  Check out this link to see our apps for the iPod touch and the iPad.

http://myap.ps/brainerdbaptistschool

The last two iPad apps I have used with our K4 students are Fish School and Monkey Preschool Lunchbox.

Both apps really kept our four year olds' attention very well. Both also covered numbers, colors, matching, size, shape, and letters.  Both were fast paced and easy to interact with for small, uncoordinated fingers.  The kids' favorite of the two was Monkey Preschool Lunchbox.  I had more students ask to do that game again next week than the previous week when we did Fish School.  However, I'd recommend them both!