Camp Abilities CT Wants You!!

And now....a word from our favorite camp, CAMP ABILITIES CT...

(applause now)

Hi blog friends, this is just a friendly ad to recruit college students to come and be

 part of Camp Abilities CT 2012! It is my favorite week of the year (seriously, it totally is!!)

I am now actively recruiting for physical education, adapted physical education, special education, recreation therapy majors and all other related majors to come be part of 

our camp team. 

Please visit the Camp Abilities CT website for the application and more information 

about Camp Abilities CT.

I hope to see some of you soon!!

www.campabilitiesct.org

"It's not about what we SEE...It's about what we DO!"

Grab your tool belt!

Happy DIY projects! My colleague gave me a new copy of FamilyFun this week and I instantly smiled. I love FamilyFun magazine!! I found another hot little idea that I knew I had to blog about. I took lots of pictures of this page with all the details. This idea is great for preschoolers through first/second grade. It's easy and it totally works so many ECC skills (systematic search patterns, bilateral hand skill activity, cause and effect, etc. plus it is a totally functional activity). You could totally take this a step further and go to a hardware store and see where you buy nails and screws and stuff (now you have incorporated mobility and made it a community based instruction activity--voila!!). This is also a great activity for dads to take the lead on. Think dad date (or uncle or man date...) and head to Home Depot! Get a tool belt to dress up (imaginary play, meet a construction worker too!) and put nails and screws of different lengths in baggies (and now it's a sorting project! ding ding!!). Check out this project!!

  

Read the "take it further" tip! It's a good one ;)

I also like to find little gems like this in magazines because I want all of my parents to see that they can still be part of all the typical education activities, magazines, etc. You can't be part of every one of them (no one can. Trust me, I am a single mom and I know this well). But there are so many things that we can get ideas from! It also helps me learn how to tweak something for our kiddos in a pinch.  So, pick up a magazine and look for good projects and think about how you can do an easy tweak to it. Here's one tip, I usually can do these modifications or get ideas for them in about 10 minutes. If I have to recreate the wheel in order to the project, then it is a no-go (so don't kill yourself with over complicating things!)  Happy reading :)

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!

Cinema Without Sight

Sometimes I just get giddy with excitement when I discover new ideas or projects for out kids. It just makes me smile to know that there are people across our great country and in other parts of the world that are pioneering new ways of thinking or redefining how people view our small but mighty community of children (and people) with vision impairments. 


I have recently been viewing on Youtube video snippets from the Cinema Without Sight festival and I have been LOVING it! I feel so inspired and happy watching all these clips! :)


What is Cinema Without Sight? Here's an excerpt from their site:
"Cinema Without Sight (CWS) is a unique film festival sponsored by Braille Institute for visually impaired students in grades 7-12. It challenges participants to apply their creativity and shepherd a film concept from script to screen. The goal of the program is to enable students to contribute their own unique perspective to society, thereby demonstrating how well they are able to interpret and engage in visual media."

Their site address: http://brailleinstitute.org/Services/Children/Cinema_Without_Sight_Film_Festival.aspx.
I've also posted it in a separate post today (just in case you feel you are not too tech savvy...).
You can see a full list of clips and winners, etc. as well on their site. Here's the shortcut:
http://brailleinstitute.org/Services/Children/Cinema_Without_Sight_Film_Festival/Past_Cinema_Without_Sight_Winners_and_Entrants.aspx


Here is the link to the Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X8WBUX6p7o.
I also viewed this clip (also on Youtube), titled "Blind Ambition: A Life Without Vision".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLAwltzZiAE&feature=related.


Have some fun and enter a video! The deadline is May 1, 2012!!

Cinema Without Sight - Film Competition for Blind and Visually Impaired ...

Why we love the iPhone

Hello parents,
Has your teenager asked you for the iPhone yet? Have you gasped when you saw the price tag for the 4S? Take a deep breath and keep reading. I have to support my students' requests for the iPhone even the 4S version. IT'S AWESOME! It's so accessible for our students. I've watched my students use Siri and they can do just about anything.  How great is it that our kids can be part of the main group! 

I decided to ask my students why they love the iPhone. Here's a couple of useful (and funny) answers. Plus a good app that another of my students swears by.

Me asking on Facebook: I want to blog about how awesome the iPhone is for you guys. What 

can you tell me about it? Why do you love it? What do you think is most helpful for you guys with 

vision impairments? Thanks for the help!!

Leah Bourassa well For one thing i am getting one because i couldn't see the text on my old 

phone without putting it up to y face.. and the iPhone has a magnification up to 56pt font with is 

wicked big but anywhere from 24 to that I can see perfectly fine and siri can do just about any 

thing for you just by telling her to

• • 

    
    

    Cooper Joseph Babycakes Kendall 

    
    

    it can tell me where to hide a dead body..... 

    
    

    which is difficult for blind 

    
    

    peoplehttp://www.faperture.net/tag/siri/

    

    Siri | Faperture.net

    www.faperture.net

    I’m sure pretty much every website has done this by now, but I still like finding out what kind of surprising things Siri will say.

    
    

Another of my students recommends this app, Voxer. He says it's easy to use and swears by it. You can also get it in the Android market. 

If you end up getting the iPhone request, let me tell you to go for it! Almost everyone of my students has one and they can text, face chat and do almost anything else. That's a pretty nice feeling for our kids :)