March 2022

Come check out our March Sibshop. It was a Lucky One! We started by creating these Lucky Shamrocks. It was super fun to think about all the different things that make each of us feel lucky. 

We had a fun time creating our unique leprechaun names with a few different Leprechaun Name Generators.  I'm Sappy Sparkly Pants. What's yours?

 

A game of bean bag toss keeps everyone on their toes. We created a pattern of tossing the beanbags and calling out one another's names. We follow that pattern with multiple beanbags going at once!

Then the game morphed into a game of "Useless Machine" where instead of tossing bean bags in a large circle, we gather close together, shoulder to shoulder, and pass the bean bags as quickly as possible from hand to hand.

"My Very Special Dream" activity was up next.  We took an opportunity to think about the dreams we have for ourselves as well as for our siblings with special needs. 

A slightly raucous game of "Do You Love Your Neighbor" had everyone up and moving. You never quite know when you might be up and running and in search of a new neighbor to sit by.

Next up was "Scrabble Scramble".  Two teams with limited access to letters of the alphabet are given a general topic.  They then race to put together an answer using their alphabet letters.  You get points for being first, for having correct spelling and for having the longest word. Everyone must participate!  These two teams battled and battled to come out on top. 

After a yummy lunch of pizza and fruit, we ran off the calories playing "Link Tag."

"Don't Eat Pete!" The kids love this classic candy game. We added a little twist by having them answer a question about their sibling after they did in fact Eat Pete!

We were so lucky to spend time together at this months workshop!

See you in April. We will meet on the third Saturday of the month due to Spring Break. 

February 2022

 Welcome to February's Sibshop! We had a great time celebrating Chinese New Year. We started by honoring the Year of the Tiger by completing by trying to complete some tissue paper tigers. Unfortunately the craft did not go as planned and we had to adapt and revise.  The kids were super patient and willing to roll with the punches. We did get some fun finished projects after another go around.

We completed our second round of crafting tigers while reading a book called "Courage". Tigers are known to be Courageous & Brave. We talked about how there are many ways to show courage and bravery-- like jumping off a high dive, showing kindness to a stranger, introducing our siblings to friends or trying a new food for the first time. Some of our Sibshoppers even gave edamame a try for lunch! :)

As Sibshoppers completed their craft, we played a game of "Undercover Leader" before going over our Rules & Expectations and introducing new members to the group.

"Head, Shoulders, Knees and Cups!" was next on the agenda. It's a silly, competitive game of who can grab the cup first when, and only when, cup is called out!

"Pass the Panda" is our Chinese New Year version of hot potato. We passed a panda bear as we listened to some enchanting Chinese music. When the music stopped and you found the panda in your hands, you answered a question about yourself. What's your favorite color? When have you felt proud of your sib? What's your favorite book? What is the name of your sibs special needs?

"Pong Hau Kii" is a traditional Chinese games that resembles a game of Tic-Tac-Toe. It's a bit trickier to figure out but our Sibshoppers were quick learners.

Our Sibshoppers ate through chow mein and orange chicken like voracious tigers! It was a deliciously yummy lunch complete with a fortune cookie for dessert. With full bellies we played a ridiculous game of "Earthquake!" 

To wrap things up, we created our own unique "Red Envelope" activity. Instead of placing money in our red envelopes, we wrote messages of hope, love and gratitude to deliver to our loved ones. 

We look forward to seeing you all again in March.

January 2022

 Welcome to Sibshops 2022! We are excited for a new year of friendship, fun and food at Sibshops of Utah County. If our January Sibshop is any indication of what lies ahead, then we are going to have a fantastic year!

This months trickle in activity was called “I Can’t Imagine”, as in I can’t imagine life without… The kids identified so many things/food/people/favorites that they just can’t live without! Family was a favorite answer followed closely by video games of some sort and pizza! Our Sibshoppers were also asked to identify what their sibling with special needs couldn’t imagine life without. Many of our Sibshoppers confidently proclaimed “Me!”

We were lucky to have some new Sibshoppers join us this month. We love making new friends and getting to know one another. We love teaching our new Sibshoppers that our number one rule is to have fun!

Speaking of fun, the first super fun game we played is called ‘Cups and Downs”. It is a frantic fast paced competition that requires your team to get all your cups facing in the right direction.  As Team Up is quickly turning all paper cups to the upright position, Team Down is rapidly turning them the opposite direction.  Team Up gathered the most wins in this months challenge!

Today we introduced our Sibshoppers to the concept of an advice columnist. Instead of reading Dear Abby columns from the paper, we read letters addressed to Dear Aunt Blabby. Dear Aunt Blabby receives letter from siblings all over the world who ask for advice regarding their siblings with special needs.  Our Sibshoppers are uniquely qualified to offer advice and that is what they did. We heard some great, thoughtful responses to the letters. Aunt Blabby is always grateful for the help!

“Snap!” That’s the sound of the Moustrap closing in our game of the same name. Mice try and scamper through the mousetrap unscathed but many don’t make it! If you get trapped you then become a member of mousetrap. As the trap gets larger and larger it becomes increasingly difficult to stay out of its clutches.

So how do you feel about pepperoni on your pizza? What about playing dodgeball in gym class? How do you feel about going to the same school as your sibling with special needs? Do you love it, hate it, or fall somewhere in between? Feelings On A Rope gives our Sibshoppers an opportunity to show up how they feel about all sorts of things as they place themselves on the love it or hate it ends of the rope—or somewhere in between. 

We worked up quite the appetite and ate our way through many a bag of chicken nuggets and apple slices for lunch.

 Following lunch we had calories to burn and did so playing a raucous game of “Push Pin Soccer”. The goal is to get the balloons to your goalie who then pops them with a push pin for a point fo your team. Players cannot enter the goal and the goalie cannot exit the goal, thus ensuring safety from the pointy pin. The balloons however meet their fate once in the goal.

To wrap things up we wanted to know the “Sweet Ideas” our Sibshoppers have for future workshops. As they brainstormed ideas for food, games, music, crafts and other activities they were able to treat themselves to a sweet treat at the table. We can’t wait to implement the creative and awesome ideas at our workshops this year.

See you in February as we celebrate Chinese New Year!