November 2017

Welcome to Sibshops November 2017.

"Gobble, Gobble, Gobble!" Our trickle in activity-where we meet and greet and keep our hands busy as we all gather--was to create some Turkey Cones. They are pretty awesome and I hope they are adorning your Thanksgiving Table Centerpieces this holiday.

So we were way to busy having fun with our extra large group of Sibshoppers this month to take a whole lot of pictures.  You're going to have to take my word for it that we did stay really busy with lots of fun activities.

"Hands Off Balloon Relay" just had kids up and moving in pairs and teams as they were instructed to get their balloons moving in all sorts of challenging ways.  Maybe they carried their balloon head to head or knee to knee.  Could be their balloon could only be propelled by the use of only one finger. If you wanna get your kids up and moving and off of screen time, blow up a couple balloons!  

Our first education/discussion activity of the day was to complete the "My Very Special Dream" worksheet.  This worksheet gives the Sibshoppers a chance to think about what their biggest wishes for themselves and their sibling with special needs would be. Disneyland tends to get thrown around frequently in this discussion! :) Our Sibshoppers also exhibit tender hearts as they share their hopes for their sibs in regards to communication, friendships, self care and developmental skills.

We hardly ever think to take pictures of lunch time, but I guess you get a special treat this time around! Homemade "Lunchables" were on the menu with a little applesauce on the side.

 Your kids are really lucky to have some awesome volunteers who come out to share their time and friendship with our Sibshoppers. It would be impossible without them!

 Lookin' good and delicious my friend!

 We played a fun game of "Four Corners" after lunch.  I'm not sure if it aids in digestion, but it sure is fun.  Our second educational activity of the day is called "Feelings on a Rope."  Our Sibshoppers are presented with different statements and scenarios and then asked to show their preference by lining up alongside a rope.  The statement may be "Cheese Pizza vs. Pepperoni Pizza." One end of the rope respresents Cheese and the other Pepperoni. Sibhoppers line up alongside the rope to indicate their preference.  Pizza is pretty innocuous, as is Disneyland vs Disneyworld or Summer Break versus Christmas Break.  The more challenging scenarios include statements like: Sharing a room with my sibling, going to school with my sibling, having friends over to play at your house, going to church with your sibling, being asked to babysit your sibling.  What tends to always come across is that although there are some so-so and bad experiences in regards to be a sibling, there is always love.

Our Sibshoppers love treats.  Who doesn't love a little ball of sugar?!  We let them indulge a little bit while playing "Don't Eat Tom!"  This is a version of the more familiar "Don't Eat Pete!" game, but with a thanksgiving holiday themed twist. If you play the game right, all 9 Skittles may be yours for the taking!

 No Sibshops in December.  We will see you after the turn of the year in 2018!