TCU KinderFrogs
Celebrating the little things
The Hill family's three-year-old son Hayes is a KinderFrogs student. (Courtesy Anne Hill)
The Hill family's three-year-old son Hayes is a KinderFrogs student. (Courtesy Anne Hill)
Every small accomplishment is met with great celebration at TCU’s KinderFrogs School.
“This school looks at success and excellence and all those things differently, and that’s what I think is beautiful about it,” said Kristin Robinson, mother of three-year-old KinderFrogs student Ethan. “They empower the parents to be proud of those little moments, those little triumphs.”
As part of the TCU College of Education laboratory schools, KinderFrogs has made leaps and bounds as the only early intervention education program in Tarrant County. The school serves students ages 18 months to six years old with Down syndrome and other developmental delays. According to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, for every 10,000 live births in the state, approximately 14 of those babies are born with Down syndrome each year.
In the 1980's designated October as Down Syndrome Awareness Month, but for KinderFrogs, the care lasts much longer.
“It’s a place that people really, really care about and I think that’s what makes it so special,” said Courtney Heigel, teacher for KinderFrogs’ L.E.A.P. classroom.
With the school’s unique approach to education, a space in KinderFrogs School is in high demand. “Many of our applications come before students are even born,” said Damion Patton, director of TCU laboratory schools.
Parents said they are reassured by the caliber of the staff.
“KinderFrogs has credentials that are so difficult to obtain and their staff are so well-trained,” said Anne Hill, mother of three-year-old Hayes. “We want to share the magic that is KinderFrogs with other families.”
Heigel said that KinderFrogs are supported forever. “Once a KinderFrog, always a KinderFrog.”
Hayes loves hugs
Three-year-old Hayes Hill started his KinderFrogs journey when he was 19 months old. (Courtesy Anne Hill)
Three-year-old Hayes Hill started his KinderFrogs journey when he was 19 months old. (Courtesy Anne Hill)
Anne Hill likes to look to the future.
“I want Hayes to walk into an elementary school and for people to know him,” she said. “I want for him to be involved in class, and for him to be invited to the birthday parties. I want him to be included in a typical classroom as much as possible and to have friends to play with at recess and sit with at lunch.”
She enrolled him in KinderFrogs with bright hopes. Hayes started his KinderFrogs journey in 2022 when he was 19 months old.
“It has been the best experience,” Hill said. “Everything is so specific to Hayes. You know that they know your kid.”
“It has been such a sweet journey to see him work so hard to become who he is today and to also see his empathy and love for others,” she said.
As a little KinderFrog, Hill said that Hayes is “all about dancing, loud noises and being in a crowd.”
“He loves music, he loves people,” she said. “He really loves waving flags and pom pons, which is so silly.”
The three-year-old is known for eagerly greeting his friends. “He loves giving hugs,” Hill said. “Fist bumps really, fist bumps are his thing.”
Hayes is proud of his success.
“He claps for himself all the time,” Hill said. “Within the Down syndrome community, we celebrate even the teeny tiny things.”
Hayes Hill enjoys celebrations. (Courtesy Anne Hill)
Hayes Hill enjoys celebrations. (Courtesy Anne Hill)
ROCK STAR REID
Reid Thornton has always been full of surprises.
Four months after the birth of his older brother Everett, his mom learned Reid was on the way.
“We were completely blindsided by that and he hasn’t stopped shocking us since,” Lauren Thornton said. “The surprises just keep coming with that one.”
The day after Reid was born, he was diagnosed with Down syndrome.
“We did not have a prenatal diagnosis, so that means we did not know about his Down syndrome diagnosis until he was born,” Thornton said.
She and her family spent the next days in prayer over Reid who was charming his team of nurses in the NICU.
“He had this Mohawk hairstyle at birth, and they would style it all sticking up and call him Rockstar Reid,” Thornton said. “That’s been our nickname for him since then.”
He was days old when she heard about KinderFrogs.
“My mother-in-law called and said, ‘You have to get on the list for KinderFrogs.’
“I thought ‘Oh, what is KinderFrogs?’
Three-year-old Reid Thornton is a student at KinderFrogs School. (Courtesy Lauren Thornton)
Three-year-old Reid Thornton is a student at KinderFrogs School. (Courtesy Lauren Thornton)
Reid Thornton's mom said he loves all the B things: bubbles, books, balls and brothers. (Courtesy Lauren Thornton)
Reid Thornton's mom said he loves all the B things: bubbles, books, balls and brothers. (Courtesy Lauren Thornton)
Despite growing up in the area, the Thortons hadn’t heard of KinderFrogs. She called immediatly to get him on the waiting list.
She checked in constantly. “We had no Plan B.”
Now, Reid is a thriving student at KinderFrogs. He loves all the B things: bubbles, books, balls and brothers.
Thornton said that Reid loves to dance and sing and is “all about a show.”
“He is our snuggle puppy,” she said. “When he is happy, it’s huge. When he is sad, it’s extreme.”
Reid’s small world gives his family a big message.
“My biggest hope for us and the testimony that we put off is that we are all created in God’s image, we are all valued, and we are all worthy of life.”
Reid Thornton earned the nickname "Rockstar Reid" while in the NICU. (Courtesy Lauren Thornton)
Reid Thornton earned the nickname "Rockstar Reid" while in the NICU. (Courtesy Lauren Thornton)
DJ Ethan
Ethan Robinson was diagnosed with Down syndrome at birth. That’s also when doctors discovered he had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, meaning the left side of his heart didn’t develop while in the womb.
Surgery was the only option. Doctors operated when Ethan was four months old.
Today, the three-year-old is unstoppable.
“He literally radiates sunshine,” his mother Kristin Robinson said. “You can’t resist his smile.”
His love of music earned him the nickname, “DJ Ethan.”
“Most of the time, he gets distracted and instead of playing, he wants to stand by the speaker and just dance to all of the songs,” Robinson said.
Ethan’s bright and happy spirit has inspired his family to work harder.
“You see that every little thing for him is a little more difficult than it is for the average bear,” said Robinson.
The little boy’s heart defect was a little bit different than other children. “He was missing pretty much the whole center wall of his heart,” she said.
“Ethan has been through a whole lot in three and a half years and spent massive chunks of time in the hospital,” Robinson said. “That has not stopped him one bit and it won’t ever stop him.”
Fancy like Annie
Courtney Morey said her daughter Annie surprises people all the time.
“I love watching her do things people say she can't do,” Morey said.
As a tiny three-year-old, Annie is a heart warrior, said her mother. “Because of what she went through with her heart, she has been through more than anyone I know.”
Morey said her daughter was diagnosed with Down syndrome before she was born. When she was four months old, she had heart failure. The little girl was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, meaning her blood vessels were narrowing and her heart was working harder to pump blood.
Annie went into cardiac arrest and survived almost an hour of CPR.
“When you go through something like almost losing your child, you’re just grateful for everyday,” Morey said.
Her mother has documented her story as an open heart surgery survivor on social media. Approximately 30,000 people have followed Annie’s amazing journey.
Annie’s personality shines through her mother’s posts. The account features the girl's love of the world around her and her experiences as a KinderFrog.
“She loves her school and she talks about her friends all the time,” Morey said.
As a young open heart surgery survivor, Morey said her daughter is very strong and resilient with a confident spirit.
“Annie is very sassy,” Morey said.
Her mom said her KinderFrog’s flair is all her own.
“I think it just shows that kids with Down Syndrome are not all the same and we should get to know them as individuals,” she said.
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