Hearing Impaired School 1: The Kids

Hello again!  It's been almost 4 months since I've written.  In that time, I've fallen into a job at a school for hearing impaired students.  I feel so welcomed and so fortunate to have found it. Since I had absolutely zero experience with hearing impaired (HI) kids before, it's been a learning experience.  I work with 2 & 3 year-olds in the morning, kindergarten-ish kids in the afternoon, and translate for Spanish-speaking parents on occasion.  I was too overwhelmed for a while to decide what to write, so I've decided to split it into 3 topics (kids, parents, adults).  It's detailed, but since I'm just here for another month-ish I want to make sure that I remember everything.  Up first - the kids.

So, I love the kids.  Short Version - I love working at the school and have learned a lot about how the program is structured and the support the kids receive. I've developed habits to encourage their listening and speaking abilities. It's been interesting to see their language develop and is incredibly rewarding. If you're curious to know more, read on. 

Words: How old are you?

Chiquita recently asked me in English, "how many years do you have?"  I explained to her that we use different verbs for age in English than in Spanish - we say "I have seven years" in Spanish, but we say "I AM seven years" in English.

She goes "Madreeee miiiaaaaa!  You are all crazy!"  It makes me laugh because I remember feeling the same way that Spanish-speaking people are weird!  It's funny how different things always seem backwards to both sides.