October 9th: Parent/Child Sibshop

Parent/Child sibshop was a fun filled spooky day full of treats, games, and prizes too!
We started off by decorating these fun masks.

Each mask was so unique.

Then we played some fun games including Vampire in the Dark and Hoola-hoop around the circle. We played parents against children and the parents won twice in a row!

Some of the volunteers from the BYU Special Education department read us stories about children with disabilities. We discussed them with our parents and shared some of our feelings about having a sibling with a disability.

We wrote letters to our friends and family telling them what our favorite or least favorite thing about having a sibling with a disability. Our parents wrote about us and shared it with everyone. It was nice to hear all the great things the parents had to share about their sons and daughters and what big helps they are with their siblings.

After lunch we got loaded up on sweets.

There was a donut from a string eating contest.

This is more difficult than it looks.

Plus, we all made our own dirt dessert with gummy worms buried inside. Overall, it was a fun day and it was so nice to have our parents join us for a sibshop, so they could see why we enjoy coming so much each month.

September 11th: Deaf and Blind Simulation

A game of Redlight/Greenlight while we were waiting for the USDB representative to arrive.
First we were taught how to correctly and respectfully lead a person who was deaf and blind and a little bit more about what it must be like to be deaf or blind.
Half of us were the leaders and half of us prepared for the simulation by putting in ear plugs, 2 sets of blindfolds and head phones.

We led each other through an obstacle course around Kids On The Move.

We helped our partners with some simple activities like putting puzzles together or playing with different toys.

We were given different things to feel and touch. Afterwords we discussed how it felt to be deaf and blind, and some of the difficulties and challenges that it presents. Our USDB representative talked about how the deaf and blind deal with these challenges everyday. We learned a lot and had a fun time along the way.

Fall 2010 Sibshops

September 11: The Utah School for the Deaf and Blind will be coming to present to our group. We will be doing a unique deaf/blind simulation. This is one of our most fun and educational annual events. We hope to see you there!

October 9: We will be having our Parent/Child Sibshop! Another sometimes annual event! ;) Each Sibshopper will need to bring at least one parent with them to Sibshops. We hope both parents can come and join in on the fun. BYU students in Special Education will provide Respite Care for your children with special needs. More details to come on how to sign up for that service. But please, we encourage you to bring your child to that respite. Unfortunately, we will not have care for your other typically developing children and ask that you find a sitter for them. We hope to see you soon.

November 13: We will be holding a traditional Sibshop on this day.

December: Enjoy the holiday season as there will be NO Sibshop this month!

August 2010

Here's a sampling of some of our Sibshop activities during the month of August:

Favorites: A game where your write your favorite things down on a notecard then swap your card anonymously with another Sibshopper and then try and find out who has your card and whose card you are holding. Turns out we have a ton of Pizza Lovers at Sibshops!

Dear Aunt Blabby: The kids act as experts as they answer questions from other kids who have siblings with special needs. Dear Abby has nothing on our very own Sibshoppers!

Knots: The kids wrap themselves up in the most fiercesome knots and generally are able to work themselves out of trouble!

The kids create a fun craft called "That Bugs Me/The Love Bug". On one side of their crafted bug they wrote things about their sib that are sometimes annoying or aggravating. On the other side of their bug they wrote things they love and enjoy about their sib with special needs.

"Human Pinball" is one seriously exhasting game. The kids act as the pins as they bat the balls in the middle trying to hit their target. Whew...it is harder than it looks!

July 2010, Our Annual Summer Celebration

Every July we have a fun Summer Celebration. This year found us playing with a slip-n-slide, water balloons, hula hoops, tie-dying, bbqing and just having a great time in the warm sunny weather!

June 2010

Our trickle in for June consisted of making some fun homemade Father's Day cards for our Dads. We hope you liked them. All blindfolded and nowhere to go!

Discussion Gift Activity
As each child unwraps a layer of wrapping paper it exposes a question to be answered that by kid. The kids are so willing to share and we appreciate them so much. The final question is "Are you willing to share the gift you open with your fellow Sibshoppers?" Most of the time the answer is yes and we all enjoy a sweet treat.

Peek A Boo!

The kids had fun trying to guess which member of the opposite team ends up hiding under the blanket. It is a great way to learn names and make friends!

May 2010

We enjoyed a "friendly" game of Shark Attack.

This is why you wear your play clothes when you come to Sibshops!

That is one super tall homemade Lunchable.

The M&M game encourages us to take part in the discussion. If you wanna eat your M&Ms then you answer the questions about you and your sib. For example: To eat your brown M&M please share an experience when you were proud of your sibling.

The weather was nice and we enjoyed getting outside to play

Our trickle in activity was to modge podge a candle holder for our Mom for mothers day. The kids did great and didn't get too sticky!

April 2010

Sibshops April 2010 was a spring smorgasbord of activity! Take a look below to see what sorts of all out fun we had!

SNOWBALL FIGHT!

You heard me right--our paper snowball fight was a great way to use some some energy and work those calves.
Feelings Bean Bag Toss

The kids came up with a bunch of emotion words and then we tossed beanbags to see which word they would land on. Then each child shared times when they have felt that way, when they felt that way about their sib, or when their sib might have felt that way.

Thumbprint Art...

makes for some colorful fingers

And some pretty impressive art work.

There is no end to their creativity!

Beach Ball Bounce turned out to be a little more challenging that first anticipated.

Try, Try Again became our mantra!

Look at these guys go!

Me and My Sib Collage

The kids created colorful collages that told us a little bit more about them and their sib.

Great job Sibshoppers!