Cleaning Up the School Grounds

Context

A student spends his free time cleaning up the leaves in the line up area in front of the classroom.

Illustration

Teacher Reflection

The line up area in front of our class is covered and adjacent to school landscaping and many large trees. Leaves pile up in one of the sheltered corners, along with cobwebs and dust. While walking outside with a SEA on a cool-down break after a violent episode, R decided he would clean up the leaves. I saw him using his hands to pick up the leaves through the window.

I have dustpans and brooms in the classroom and offered a set to R so he could clean up, along with a bin for the leaves. I watched him from inside the classroom as he worked very hard and methodically to clean up the area. It was a large amount of leaves. He seemed the most relaxed and happy that I had seen him all day. I kept the door to the classroom open and kept a close eye on him.

I suggested that he use the broom to sweep up the cobwebs as well. He cleaned up the area beautifully. It took around 20 minutes, and he finished just in time to get ready for pick up. I joined him before the parents arrived to admire his work and talk to him about the wonderful job he did. I could see the sense of pride on his face. He said: “Now this area can be nice for the other kids and there is now room in the line in case we get someone new in our class.”

I was so impressed with his thoughtfulness and told him so. We also shared the beautiful work that he did with his classmates, the administrator and his mother. It was lovely to see R relaxed and calm while he did this beautification work. It was also lovely to share with his mom and the wider school community a positive thing that he had done!

Family Member Reflection

He gets very excited to pick up his sister from his old daycare, all the kids give him big hugs and when he sees his sister he prepares for her hug by putting out his arms and saying "who missed their big brother"

He is very proud of himself when he handles his own responsibilities without being asked, such as getting ready in the morning, and when he figures out a new way of building something with Legos. He also feels very proud of himself when others show him that they are proud of him. He loves to feel like he’s doing what people would expect of him.

R helps at home by keeping our kitty calm when we give her insulin. He feeds her and brushes her. He helps his sister clean her room, he helps with dishes and never forgets to put his away. He offers to make me toast in the morning when I’m in a rush. He really notices that I try to keep things clean around the house and he tries his best to be sure he does his part.