Kidsday: Let me tell you about my brother

My 12-year-old brother, George, isn't like other brothers. He is autistic; but even though he is not like most brothers, my love for him is the same, if not more. George does things differently, but that is what makes him special.

George doesn't have conversations with me about his day, but the simplest phrases he says make my day. When I am sad, he immediately will come over to me and give me a hug and say, "I love you, sister." This always cheers me up and instantly makes me forget what I was upset about. He loves to give hugs!

My brother doesn't play with me like other brothers because he likes to play by himself. He likes to ride his bike and play on the swing set. Even though George prefers to play by himself, I can get him to play anything with me, and he never says no. He knows I love to dance and will dance with me anytime I ask. I even choreographed a dance routine that we performed at my younger brother's christening. It was a day I'll never forget because he is the best dance partner I'll ever have. Our other favorite thing to do is swimming.

Even though there are times when having an autistic brother can be challenging -- or even annoying, like when he wants to watch his shows and turns off the TV when I am watching mine -- or even when he makes loud noises when I am trying to study, he is special to me. He will always be my brother, and I will love him always because he has taught me patience and compassion for people who are different; that is the best lesson any brother could teach his sister.

STEMS grow into learning

Have you ever heard of the Smithtown School District's STEMS program? It is an enrichment program where you do fun, exciting projects. STEMS is an acronym for Smithtown, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Science. This year's fifth-grade STEMS teachers are Mrs. Andrea Tedesco and Mrs. Kristen Lyons.

This year, we are building a Lego NXT robot. Every person gets a partner. When we finish putting it together, we will program it to play with balls, to move, to follow a route, etc. In other years in the district's enrichment programs, we have built bridges out of toothpicks and studied cryptography.

Have you ever asked yourself, "In the future, can robots rule the world?" In STEMS, we made a hypothesis that they can. I think STEMS can help kids learn in a fun way.

--Kidsday Reporter Meyca Nicolas

CLASS OF THE WEEK: Kathryn Dunleavy's fifth-grade class, BRANCH BROOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, Smithtown