Cole was able to qualify this year for the ESY program through Loudoun County. This is an Extended School Year program for children who will see set backs if they are not able to continue their eduction over the summer. This is different than "summer school" which is provided for children who are falling behind in school and need a full school day. His ESY was for vision support only. He qualified for 2 hours per week for four weeks. He went to Horizon Elementary School for those weeks and saw the TVI (Teacher of the Visually Impaired) who had seen him toward the end of the school year, Jessica. ESY and summer school rotate each year with where it is hosted and this year it was at Horizon for the Cascades area students.
We also decided to have Cole participate in a two week braille camp that was offered through the National Federation for the Blind. It was hosted at St. George's Episcopal church in Arlington who was gracious enough to provide the activity room and kitchen. This year there were four students in the camp, two twelve year old girls, Cole and a three year old boy (almost four). Camp was from 9am to 3pm every day for two weeks starting July 31st.
The focus for camp included practicing O&M (Orientation and Mobility), braille lessons, and self advocacy and self care. A huge focus of the program is to prepare children to become independent.
The kids had several outings and activities that helped them with these skills. One of the first things they did was decorate new canes. Cole of course chose batman tape to decorate his. Unfortunately it didn't even last a week ! If you're wondering, no, they don't work like light sabers. The first week they went to a playground not far from the church and learned to navigate crossing busy roads, curbs, grates and uneven terrain. 
They also took a field trip to the White House Museum in Washington DC. I was able to go on the field trip and it was very educational! We had an appointment with a curator who was able to provide several tactile displays for the kids to learn about what it's like to live in the White House and the surrounding monuments. 
There was a miniature white house they could touch in addition to local monuments and plastic food that were favorites in the White House. It was a very challenging experience for another mom and I to escort a group of blind children and teachers through the busy streets of DC. I had never before realized how many flower planters, lamp posts and broken bricks that were in the middle of our walking path. As an example, although Cole does have sight, he has no ability to see the cross walk signals across the street. During our walk through DC they talked a lot about what you could hear to help you determine where it was safe to go, when it was safe to cross and how to help make those decisions. I asked about the audible crossing signals and if they felt those should be Federally mandated. Interestingly enough, the one teacher felt these actually give a false sense of security. If you don't get used to listening for cars, you may not catch a taxi taking a right on red or a bus running a red light. Hearing these dangers is critical for survival. I truly can't image closing my eyes and trying to cross a street in DC. It's actually quite frightening and dangerous with sight.
They had a lot of fun themes throughout the two weeks including a Dr. Seuss themed cooking day when they worked in the church kitchen to make green eggs and ham. They were taught to navigate the kitchen safely and to use knives to cut their food and prepare food without getting burned. You will notice that children with some sight were given "sleep shades" to take away any ability to use sight. They firmly believe this helps increase the ability for the other senses to kick in and help them navigate their world. Rock climbing was the field trip the second week and they all had a lot of fun! Again, the experience is everything from getting there, doing the activity and getting home. They taught them to use touch to help navigate the wall. A very important skill for people without sight! They also went to a local deli and needed to order for themselves and carry their food/tray to the table.
Another fun activity was a visit from the local fire department. I shared that our company does education events to help children get more comfortable with the equipment firefighters wear and to hear what the SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) sounds like when a firefighter is breathing through it. It really does sound like Darth Vader! They were able to coordinate a visit from the local Arlington station and the kids all really enjoyed touching the equipment and talking about fire safety. I love that Cole was sitting right up front!!
The firefighters came on Super Hero day when the kids decorated special capes - because each is truly a super hero! They also made special super hero masks.
They also made fun snacks. One day was a movie day and they brought blankets and wore pajamas. They also made "braille mix" which was a lot like trail mix but the M&M's represented braille dots, the pretzel sticks represented their canes, and the Cheezits represented a "full cell" which is the full combination of Braille dots. So very clever and these little touches really made camp fun for the kids. They also had a camping day where they made s'mores!
They also had a final graduation ceremony where the each child presented information on a different person and participated in a play. One presented on Louis Braille, another on Helen Keller and another on Dr. Seuss. I had no idea Dr. Seuss was not a doctor and that he hated kids! They shared the story about his friend challenging him to write a book with exactly 40 words...and that's Green Eggs and Ham! Cole played the part of Louis Braille in the camp play and did a great job!Overall Cole learned a lot and we are very thankful for the amazing staff who supported the camp. They were so patient with all the kids, very kind and very creative in thinking about themes and activities to keep the kids engaged and have fun.
He will continue his braille education this year in school with another new TVI. We are not sure when he will start using braille for instruction versus learning it. I expect some of that depends how quickly he picks it up and how much of his school work begins to be a challenge due to small print. He has a very demanding schedule this year and I'm worried about eye fatigue and headaches. His day in first grade starts with 30 minutes of independent reading followed by 15 minutes of reading out loud, followed by one hour of guided reading, followed by 45 minutes of word study/writers workshop. I pray he is able to handle the intensity of that schedule and plan to maintain close communication with his teacher, TVI and special education teacher to monitor how it's going. I try to just keep reminding myself - One. Day. At. A. Time.
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