Jan 2019

Welcome to Sibshops 2019!

We got right to work--okay play--by flexing our artistic muscles.  Our Sibshoppers created some awesome 3D Self Portraits.

 Look at those great faces--all 4 of em!

 Our Sibshoppers introduced themselves and their portrait to the group. We got to hear a little bit about each Sibshopper and their sibling with special needs. 

This is almost too much! Eyelashes and a tongue sticking out--how creative and fun.

 Hula Hoop Showdown is always a hit with our Sibshoppers. It is a quick moving game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors" as you are trying to win by getting a team member to the start of the "enemies" path--which happens to the be end of yours.

Since the New Year is upon us and resolutions are often in the air, we decided to think a little bit about our dreams for 2019. Our Sibshoppers were tasked with thinking about and the communicating their "Very Special Dream" for themselves and for their sibling with special needs in the coming year.

 After a yummy nacho lunch, the kids played a fun game of "Undercover Leader".

 Paper snowflakes are pretty to look at, but not tasty to eat so we decided to switch things up a bit and make some tortilla snowflakes sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.  You pop these things into the oven for a few minutes and you end up with a perfectly crisp and sweet unique and edible snowflake. Yummy.

  The activity you see pictured above is called "Feelings on a Rope".  In this activity, the Sibshoppers are asked to represent how they feel about certain things by placing themselves "on a rope" that represents a scale from 0-10.  0 means you strongly dislike this thing and 10 means you love this thing.  Our Sibshoppers were presented with innocuous situations like preference for pepperoni pizza or stuffed animals or pickles.  They were also presented with situations relating to their family life and their role as a brother/sister to a sibling with special needs. These included the following: going to school with your sib, the amount of attention your sibling receives, having friends over to your house, being asked to take care of your sib, going out to eat at a restaurant with your sib. 

Many of our Sibshoppers were anxious to share with the group why they placed themselves in a particular spot along the rope.  It was really a chance to share the good, bad and so-so of having a sibling with special needs.

Sibshops 2019 got off to a fun and silly start! We are eagerly looking forward to many more months of friendship building, stimulating discussion and fun and games!