End of September end of 1st week at UMAP, 2006

I keep working, doing the exercises they give, and do some more on top. So far I didn’t notice any difference in my speech. My tutors say that you begin to see a difference towards week three or four. The classes are held in each speech therapists own office. Some of them don’t have any permanent offices then we go to a room, some of the rooms are so tiny that you can only fit in one desk and two chairs, and nothing else. I have also discovered two day rooms where you can go between the classes and take a nap. The day rooms are very funny: There is a bed, quite plush, with cushy pillows, a quilt, and several afgans as cover. Plus there is an easy chair, a night stand with a cozy lamp on top. The whole atmosphere is set like a bed and breakfast rather than a school or a clinic room. I find it very soothing, familiar.

On the home front all is well. Kaan is having such a good time. The Hands On museum was such a success. Now for three days in a row, Kaan and mom have been going there. After they have their breakfast, Mehmet leaves them at museum’s door, and three to four hours later he picks them up.

The museum is a stand alone building at the very heart of Ann Arbor. Completely devoted to children, It won awards for best Local Museum and Best Place for Kids under 12; has more than 250 interactive exhibits with subjects ranging from physics to health to nature to mathematics and beyond. The museum is constructed in such a fashion so it can provide an informal environment for children to roam freely and get their “Hands On” everything. Among many exhibits are: whisper dishes, tornado, Building in a Building exhibit. Facts about the human body, full-size ambulance, X-rays, a preschool area for children 4 years old and younger where Kaan can splash in water tables, dress up like fire fighter and play on the child-size fire engine. There is a section about experiment with simple machines, how traffic lights and the Internet work. There is a section about light and optics by playing the stringless Laser Harp or catching your shadow on the wall. The science of television, telecommunications and the concepts behind cutting edge technology. I can easily see why Kaan gets so exited.
.


I guess Kaan is learning much more here than he would learn at pre-school. Of course mom is trying to keep up with him running from experiment to experiment, the energy level of a three year old and a 70 year old don’t match and she is exhausted after three hours like any adult would. Good thing that we live in a hotel where everything is done for us, so that mom can focus on taking care of Kaan, Mehmet can focus on his work, and I can focus on my work.