We have lots of Braille going on around here these days.  Lucy has been learning it in school for the last couple years.  
You know how I said I get emotional when I think about Lucy’s teachers?
Well, her vision helper teachers are no exception.  The first one worked with her when she was in her most feisty stage a couple years ago.  How does a teacher develop a love for a child who pouts and throws fits?  Honestly I think I might say, “Goodbye” right then and there and hightail it out the door in a huff.  
But Nancy didn’t.  
She stayed put.  
She worked to understand what made that girl of mine tick with love and compassion.  Her unconditional love for Lucy made her love her right back.   And she helped Lucy so so much.  
She stayed with Lucy for a couple years and then had to move on, promising to assign her best recommend to work with her.  
Her name is Cindy and true to form, Lucy gave her a run for her money.  She did not want to be taken out of class.  And she did NOT want to learn something different from the rest of the kids in her class. But Cindy figured out a way to grab her right when she got in from recess, and she did all kinds of things to make it fun for Lu.  We talked it up at home, asking her to teach us about it.  We were all genuinely so intrigued by Braille.  
So Lucy began to learn.  
And now she thinks the whole Braille thing is pretty darn cool.
She is by no means an expert, but she knows almost all of the letters and she even knows how to type.  
Cindy is moving overseas next year, which makes me happy for her, sad for us.  But before she left she brought over a Brailler for Lucy to practice with over the summer.

 …and she taught us all how to use it.

(As you will note, we did her hair up all fancy for the occasion.  HA!  I think her hair has been done three times this summer.  That means we’re really enjoying the summer, right?)

These girls were mesmerized.

And so were these bigger kids:

…and all of their big teenager friends.
Lu has taught so many big people about Braille this summer.  Wish I had pictures of all the little impromptu sessions she’s done when people see that thing sitting around.
In other Braille news, a sweet, kind blog reader came across the Book of Mormon in Braille and sent it to Lucy.  Is that not the sweetest thing ever?  
That whole box is the Book of Mormon:

 It is amazing to me that people can read that stuff.

And that Lucy can read a little bit of it.

Thank you, thank you, dear sweet Tracy family.

So grateful.

More about the upcoming BBS conference and final fundraiser totals tomorrow (from this call to action HERE clear back in November…I know, I need to get my act together).

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10 Comments

  1. Don't know if this is of interest to you, but the Hale Theatre is performing "The Miracle Worker" through June. I took my boys and it was really well done.

  2. I had no idea that Braille type was so much larger than regular type. Imagine how a big a box would be needed for the Bible! I guess that's one thing Kindles and iPads can't do – Braille! Still, I think it's so fascinating and wonderful that your daughter is learning to read it. What a smart cookie.

    1. But the awesome part about technology is just how accessible it can be! With some speech software that reads the screen a blind person can use those same devices just like you and I to read or write. My dad is blind and he uses the touch screen on his iphone without difficulty and his profession is in computers. Pretty amazing stuff 🙂 🙂

  3. As a vision teacher, THANK YOU for encouraging Lucy to learn braille! The hardest part of teaching braille is conveying to families the need to practice at home and to be excited about it! It's a pretty neat skill to have, and hopefully she will never actually NEED to use it!

  4. Amazing. When I was a kid, my school took us to visit a school for visually ímpared people, they wrote our names in Braille to each of us and to this day I remember it. I kept this paper for years and years. It was an awesome experience.

  5. One of my best friends is blind from her birth and she's always used Braille to read and write. In college she had a tiny black machine buck luckily, technology has developed so much she doesn't need it anymore now, she can do it all in a computer.

  6. You know, I went to law school with this girl who got an optic nerve tumour at 14 and had to have her optic nerve removed. She was completely, totally blind after that.
    As a mother – that thought terrified me for a very long time. I could barely even think of it.

    "What about boys, jobs, make-up, reading, matching clothes, making friends…?" ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING

    And then that girl – got a law degree – with honours, had two baby boys, bought a house, travelled the world, worked as a lawyer in some very important not for profits, dressed very poorly on occasion (and didn't care), swam in Kakadu and has the most incredible feisty sense of humour…. And I though – it doesn't really matter that she can't see.

    Lucy will be fine – but that doesn't mean you won't be terrified on occasion. xx

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