My Recent Fave Pins on Pinterest: Back to School

Hi Friends,I know that not everyone uses Pinterest so as promised, here are some of my fave pins that I have recently pinned. The time is fast approaching for back to school prep. That can be dreadful for everyone if you are getting a new team, new classroom or new school. Well turn that frown upside down and let's take on the new challenge!

First, start with home. Organized work space for getting out the door always helps any child. Check out this idea:

http://www.creativemamaonadime.com/2013/01/when-bookshelf-isnt-just-bookshelf.html

Now, depending on how much space (or kids) you have, this could be a shared storage or you can give your kiddo with the vision impairment their own "organization mudroom". Did you notice the lights above? Perfect for that kid that needs some extra light. This mom has the baskets for mittens and hats but are you thinking what I am thinking? Those could be schedule boxes for kids that need calendar box systems!! You could even add a hook on the outside for your child to hang their cane. I think this whole mudroom idea is just brilliant and it's perfect for taking on a new routine for a new school year!
How about the recent high school graduate that's going off to college?

A great ECC present to kick off using kitchen and cooking skills!! Put some Braille labels and a double spatula in it and you are golden :)
Is there another parent out there that has to have everyone eat in the car on the way to school? I loved this idea for keeping our kids organized when on the go!

http://amy-newnostalgia.blogspot.com/2011/12/26-tips-and-tricks-to-simplify-life.html

A few thoughts on the power of "play"

I recently presented at our annual birth to three in-service. I spent a lot of time researching effective play strategies for our kiddos. Play is the natural course of learning for children. For children with vision impairments, experience is the natural course of learning. How do we create meaningful play? 

image from juniorblind.org

I want to share some of my presentation to help our teams and families create meaningful play time. Our kids need to play but it can be a challenge to have fun, effective play time. 

Here are some of my favorite tips and resources for getting
 playtime off the ground!

• Allow time for pre-teaching. Our students should be allowed to come to group early and check out the centers/stations, toys, schedule, etc. to help them anticipate the activities
• Incorporate familiar transitions for our students where possible. You may need to do this 1:1 for students in case there is a group. Make sure you make that transition connection for our kids so that they can anticipate.
• Incorporate vision modifications to make activities more accessible. For example: contrast, preferential seating, placement of activities, clear pathways, peer buddy helper, etc.
• Select activities or groups with predictable routines that are familiar. For example, using the clean up song to clean up or jingle bells for transitioning. 
• Select sites that aren’t over stimulating. Look for visual and/or auditory clutter at stations, carpet and background
• Encourage parents to get their child involved in lifelong sports:
• Examples: Swimming, track and field, wrestling, martial arts, crew, skiing, yoga. Music and theater are great alternatives to sports.
• Possible disadvantages of popular team sports:
• Difficulty with keeping up visually
• Social loss & Anxiety

image from nfb.org

For those mommy & me groups or just for when the family is hittin' up a playdate at the park:

Moms, dads, caregivers, create a playdate go bag! A playdate go bag is a portable travel kit that has vision modifications that you can use in a pinch to help your little one out at play dates. I suggest you keep this in your trunk. I used to keep spare clothes, diapers and a blanket for my toddlers in case they needed a quick change due to a diaper explosion in my trunk. This is the same thought process. Sometimes you go to a playdate and it is totally not accessible for our kiddos. This can be a stressful and frustrating feeling. We can eliminate some of that if parents come prepared!

Use a small bag for your playdate go bag. Don't overwhelm yourself! You still need to bring diapers, wipes, toys, etc. so don't get in over your head. Pack items such as: 
-a big black blanket or heavy fabric. Black fabric will help by acting as a place your child can sit on and play. You can also use it to cover up items that may be visually over stimulating. 

-a finished box (or all done box). You know how I feel about finished boxes (they work--use them!!). Remember a 'finished box' doesn't have to be a box. It has to be a place that is meaningful and useful as finished. Can be bag or fold up box. 

-yellow or red painters tape. Sometimes you can use this to quickly highlight something and then remove it when you are done. 

-transition bells or a timer. Use something you can use to help with time management.

-Braille or LP book. Keep 1 or 2 books handy just in case all the kids are sitting down for stories. This way your little one can read too!

-Preferred toy(s). Keep some favorite type of toys handy. Preferably ones that promote turn taking or exchange so your little one can have some social interaction. 

image from extension.unh.edu

Resources that ROCK:

• Creating Educational Toys And Activities For Children Who Are Blind Or Visually Impaired, online article at www.tsbvi.edu 
• http://www.tsbvi.edu/instructional-resources/1913-creating-educational-toys-and-activities-for-children-who-are-blind-or-visually-impaired
• Suggestions for Recreation and Leisure Activities for Blind and Visually Impaired Children, online article at www.tsbvi.edu
• http://www.tsbvi.edu/seehear/summer99/games.htm

I hope this helps with creating more meaningful playtime for our birth to three population. Hopefully you can hear my full presentation and I can share more ideas on playtime!!

More super finds at Target!

I was doing my usual walk through at Target and stumbled over to the back to school dollar bins and found another "super find"! I know we are in the middle of summer on vacation but have no fear, I am out finding good finds for the upcoming school year for you.
I saw these great little finds and thought they were perfect for calendar box systems. [Not know what calendar box systems are? I've blogged about it before so stop reading this little post and hop over and read about calendar box systems.] I also thought these finds were great for organization for preschoolers and great for sorting and sequencing for our MIVI/ASDVI students. 

Best part? The price ranges from $1-$2.50 in the dollar
 bin section at Target. 

These trays are great because they have a good size but they aren't too deep. They can also double as little work stations for our preschool crew.

Okay, this was a tougher pic to take because a lot of other things got in the way. I wanted to get a shot of all the different types of buckets. Sorry for visual clutter!

Perfect buckets for "finished" or "all done" boxes! The handle is also a little super find because it works as an attachment aid. I saw a teacher loop a nice fabric through the handle and attach it to their students' chair. I also liked that they had these in black. These are also great sorting buckets or "now" & "next" buckets. So many possibilities....

Cane holder

Before I can share why I wanted to blog this piece, I have to give major props to the source of this week's inspiration. This DIY vision project is courtesy of Channel 3 Kids Camp in Andover CT. Our agency has been partnering with them for two years for our super awesome Camp Abilities (and other programs). Their entire staff has been so thoughtful and creative to come up with ideas for our kiddos. 

That being said, let me unveil my latest DIY vision project:

How cool is this idea? Mark, from C3KC, constructed this for us. With so many canes, it is easy to lose someone's! That is why we have the Cane Drop Box. As soon as students arrive, we tag their cane with their names. At each rotation we have a box (in the same spot) that students drop their canes in.

I don't have the dimensions to construct this but I think you can get the jist from the pictures. I am so happy to work with people who are thoughtful (in all the right ways) about helping our kids get out and have fun at camp. 

I love it!

Fun labels

I found this resource at the back section of Parents magazine. The resource is called "Stuck on You" and they are a company that makes a variety of fun labels. I like them because they make labels for clothes (the tagless T has become an enemy to my students...). They are super cute (and have iron on labels!). I like them a lot. I only have one caution: watch out for contrast issues. Remember your childs' visual needs when placing an order. You don't want to pick something that doesn't have good contrast and/or visual clutter.
Check out the site: https://www.stuckonyou.biz/usa/index.asp
Do it at home: Look at your child's clothing and ask yourself: do they have a system for matching their clothes? If your child is of the age and the skill to be selecting and matching their clothes, then they should be doing it! If they can't, think about developing a system or getting some labels. If all else fails, remember that everything matches jeans! (You can also email me for some tips!)