Snow Day

Never thought it would happen, but I have a snow day tomorrow.  We got about a quarter inch of snow today.  It all looks really beautiful. Pretty sure the whole state of Georgia is just shut down, people don't know what to do with snow on the ground. Here are some pretty pictures of my apartment complex with the snow.

Day One of Fieldwork

My second week of the semester went well.  Things started to pile up a little more.  Friday night I watched the movie prisoners with a few students, it is a very long, intense movie. The rest of the weekend I didn't do much but school work.  I'm also reading the book Wild.  It's about a woman's journey hiking the Pacific Coast Trail from south California to Portland.

Today I started my first level one fieldwork at a pediatric private clinic in Flowery Branch.  It's about a twenty mile drive from my apartment. I was extremely nervous, not knowing what it was going to be like. All to say I loved it.  I got to wear scrubs, I stood on my feet all day, and got to meet with six children who were there for occupational therapy.  The clinic is very large with so much technology, interactive rooms, and rooms full of swings, monkey bars, and toys.

One of my favorite things I encountered today was playing on the swings. The picture I attached is very similar to what they have.  The board is attached to a hook that is suspended in the ceiling.  There is a carabiner that allows you to take off this swing and add a different attachment.  A child can sit on the swing and be swung back and forth and it serves as a calming vestibular affect on the children.  If the child is calmer, more in tune, then they may be able to better focus on the their handwriting they need working on or fine motor tasks.

I was also able to watch an evaluation of a child.  In lab last week I learned about the BOT2 evaluation and today I was able to see it as a whole given to a child.  I learned a lot more than I did in lab simply from seeing it in action.

Swing Time

Scrub Action

Getting Back Into It

My first week of class went well. Mostly going over syllabi and reading in our assigned books. Thursday night I took a strip to the University of Georgia in Athens with a few friends.  We had a lot of fun seeing the campus and went to a bar.  They have a large downtown area, puts Purdue in the dust.  The rest of the weekend I spent reading for class and reading the books in the Mortal Instruments series.  I'm enjoying the series a lot, its mostly fluff, young adult like but non the less I am immersed in them. 

In late March I'm running the Georgia half marathon and have been doing so so with my training.  I had previously only run 7 miles, but on Sunday I went out and ran 10 miles.  The hills are murderous here. Monday I didn't have my fieldwork so I spent the day baking and doing homework.  I made my first batch of french loaves and they were delicious.  I also made two loaves of banana bread which I brought in for my professional reasoning class today.  Everyone enjoyed it. 

 First day of class back with Miss Dani

French bread

Weekly picture with Mr. Puddles

Round Two

Winter break will officially be over in one day.  The first week of break I went a visited Liz and Nate.  We did some christmas shopping and baby nursery crafts.  The rest of break I had a nice time, I read 12 books, slept a lot, and watched all the Marvel movies.  I was able to go home to Illinois over Christmas and spend time with family.  I got a lot of fun card making crafts, clothes, and gadgets.  I'm not looking forward to starting up on Monday, yet I am excited to see everyone in my class.  This semester my classes are focused on occupational therapy for pediatrics. 

My classes are:

Professional Reasoning for Infants and Children

Functional Kinesiology

Occupational Therapy for Infants and Children

Qualitative Evidence Based Practice

Occupational Therapy Applications for Infants and Children

Every Monday I go to a pediatric clinic in Flowery Branch and observe. Starting this semester as well I begin working on my thesis.  Its a group thesis which has its pros and cons. The topic I will be researching is fall prevention in community dwellers.  I am excited about the topic because a lot of my undergrad classes looked at falling.  

These pictures sum up my break nicely

An awesome card making set

Life in Virginia

Mr. Puds