Pinterest Finds

I have to admit it....I am hooked on Pinterest! I know, I know so are you but I was slow to get on board but now that I am, I am totally addicted!! I peruse the infinite boards and posts for ideas on everything including ideas for our kids and let me tell you, there's a ton of ideas out there!! I have decided to create a new board, This works for Blind kids, too!, because I am always finding ideas that work for children with vision impairments. I think it's good that we find the "regular stuff" and learn how to make quick modifications and develop the "eye for the vision stuff" (meaning that you can see something that was designed for a typical kiddo and see how you can modify for our kids in a quick second). I do that all the time. 

So to kick off my new board and my new label, I Got it From Pinterest!, here's some great ideas that I loved for our kids that I found today.

This is just brilliant. The idea is for teaching preschoolers sweeping skills but are you totally seeing the bright blue box (that you could also do in RED for CVI--painters tape baby!)?? What a great way to kick off independent living skills for kiddos with a vision impairment!! 

Vision tip: first allow your kiddo to sweep by themselves. Just let them have fun getting the "dirt" into the square. Feel free to put things like bells, stones, etc. in the mix for sweeping. It's not the sound that we are after here, it's the weight. We want our kids to feel that they are sweeping something. After they have got the hang of it, help them improve their technique by purposely and accurately moving the broom (use two hands!). Lastly, as they are becoming pros at finding objects, tighten up their technique by encouraging them to use systematic search patterns (using a grid pattern) for sweeping. Viola, now you have the skill!

I also pinned this fab idea today. It's a giant Candyland game! Go to my board to get the web address so you can get all the information as the pin has free print outs (yay!!). This one is obvious fun for budding mobility and movement for early childhood but I also thought with a bit of  tweaking for kids who have multiple impairments, this could be a fun cooperative game that really does include all of our kids (be sure to laminate). Always remember that you could also neon yellow background paper to help with highlighting or if this is too much visual clutter, take a large black paper and cut out a square (that fits over the paper) so your child knows which one they are on (I hope that made sense). Watch for glare (as you can see in the picture).

If you are following my board and think "what was she thinking with this one?" or "I don't quite get how this could be good for blind kids", email me and I will share more vision modifications. I will do my best to type notes as I repin ideas. 

Please share your ideas too!! 

I would love see your pins, pictures and hear your ideas!

 We are all in this together!!