Julie Brockmeyer said there was a time not all that long ago when son Jason, 5, wouldn’t sit still long enough to play with toys.
“I couldn’t even get him to color,” Brockmeyer said, adding her son, who is dealing with some developmental challenges, simply had a hard time focusing.
What a difference a few years can make, as well as, apparently, some time spent at the Northshore School District’s Sorenson Early Childhood Development Center.
Jason’s older sister, Jessica, 7, several times had entered grocer QFC’s annual holiday bag decorating contest. She’s won prizes in other art contests. This year, Brockmeyer decided to see if Jason wanted to enter the QFC competition, as well. He not only entered, but his snowman was picked as the best entry for the Bothell QFC. Jason’s painting then took first prize for his age group among entries from all 74 QFC stores.
“Yeah, I was very surprised,” Jason said of his win.
For his efforts, Jason won a total of $100 in QFC gift cards. He used some of those winnings to buy goodies, including holiday cookies and juice, for his classmates at Sorenson.
Brockmeyer said once he made up his mind to enter the contest, Jason also quickly decided — on his own — that he wanted to paint a snowman. Brockmeyer taped up the border around the drawing, keeping it nice and even. She also suggested some colors, but beyond that, Jason was on his own.
“It was amazing to watch him work,” she added. Brockmeyer said Jason completed the project in one sitting.
“It just never would have happened before,” she said. “The joy, that’s what I’ll remember, just the joy he had.”
Brockmeyer repeatedly credited Sorenson and its staff for the changes she said she sees in her son.
“He’s doing so much better. It’s been a remarkable transformation for this little boy.”
“We try to create a very nurturing environment,” said Sorenson Principal Annette McNabb.
The Bothell school houses about 200 preschoolers, two-thirds of whom are special-education students. The remainder are typically developing children who work side-by-side with the rest of the school’s student population. McNabb referred to the typically developing students as peer role models and said she and her staff feel its important to mix in all types of children.
“It just all goes together tremendously,” she said.
As evidence of the program’s success, McNabb notes there is always a waiting list of typically developing students with parents eager to get them into the school. She said the school’s curriculum focuses not just on academics, but also takes aim at refining motor skills, communication and citizenship.
As for Jason, McNabb seems very familiar with the boy she called her school’s current star. She said Jason started in a very restrictive classroom.
“He couldn’t really sit still,” McNabb said. “He really has blossomed in this environment… He’s got a good awareness of his own abilities.”
Both McNabb and Brockmeyer stated Jason has “graduated” to Northshore’s Ready Start program, which McNabb added mixes in more typically developing students.
As for Jason, it’s probably safe to say he was looking forward to Christmas, though he didn’t say so, deciding instead to describe his prize-winning snowman. He mentioned its large smile a couple of times.
Jason has, by the way, made a real snowman in his time.
“It melted,” he said.
As for Brockmeyer, she said that by spreading the word about her son’s achievement, she really wanted to “give a face to Sorenson.”
“It (the school) has changed his future and our future and all those whose lives he will touch,” she said.
