She raised her hand!

One of my major objectives in taking Elisabeth to museum classes (in addition to art appreciation) has been for her to learn to participate in group discussions. We've been going to a weekly class at an art museum for three months now, and Elisabeth has been very timid. When the rest of the kids sit on the floor to look at the art and talk about it, she wants to sit on my lap. While the other kids are raising their hands to make observations about the art, Elisabeth sits quietly either in my lap or on the floor in front of me.

Today Elisabeth shocked me. She wanted to say something, but couldn't get the teacher's attention (since she wasn't raising her hand). I whispered to her to raise her hand. She raised it quickly and then put it down. I whispered to her again to keep it up until the teacher called on her. She did it (much to my surprise). The teacher, who was just as surprised to see Elisabeth's hand, called on her. Elisabeth gave her observation, and then put her hand down.

Something momentous had happened. Not a minute later, her hand shot up again and stayed up, this time without me whispering anything. The teacher called on her again, and she asked a question. Intrigued by her newfound power, she used it again three or four times in the session. I was astounded at just how quickly she turned the corner. At the beginning of the session, she was one of the kids who would sit and pay attention, but never have courage to say anything. By the end, her hand was up whenever she had something to share. What an amazing day!