What's Next for Sibshops of Utah County

July: A traditional Sibshop with food, fun and friends
August: Our Summer Fun Sibshop! Tie-Dye, Picnic Lunch and Water Games. Bring a towel, wear sunscreen, and be prepared to get wet.
September: Utah School for the Deaf and Blind Annual Presentation
October: Parent/ Child Sibshop. Each Sibshopper will need to bring at least one parent with them to this awesomely fun Sibshop. Respite Care for the siblings with special needs will be provided by BYU students in Special Ed. Mark this one on your calendars now!
November: Pajama Party with Bacon. Yum. Also our final Sibshop of the year 2013.
December: No Sibshop

June 2013

 We got our craft on at the beginning of this months Sibshop. 

We made some fun Father's Day cards for awesome Dads.

 They turned out great and look really fun. Thanks Dads for all you do

 for each of our Sibshoppers and the rest of your families.

 The kids got warmed up by playing a fun and classic Sibshop game of "Undercover Leader." Our Sibshoppers are getting better and better at being sneaky in their attempt to outwit one another in discovering who is, in fact, the true Undercover Leader of the group.

 One of our discussion activities was called "Pay It Forward." As a group we talked about this concept of doing something that makes someone feel good, special and valued and how that encourages the recipient of that kindness to do something awesome for someone else.

 The kids came up with some great ideas of how their Dads, themselves and then their sib with special needs all end up "Paying It Forward" to one another and how it is a fantastic cycle to be a part of!

 The warm summer sun meant it was time to pull out our enormous parachute! After a noisy game of "Sharks and Lifeguards" we took a few minutes to create a huge Sibshop Parachute Bubble.

May 2013

May's Sibshop started with an active game of Charades. Our Sibshoppers were good actors AND good guessers. They couldn't be stumped even with the difficult words and phrases like "Spring Break!"

 However, we were all kinda stumped by a new game we tried called "Annie, Annie Over!" We couldn't get it quite right but we still got some good exercise as we ran around like chickens with our heads cut off!

 One of our discussion activities was called "Touch the Lives of Others." We talked about ways that our mothers have influenced our lives for good and then talked about ways we can influence others for good, including our sibs with special needs.

 The kids were super creative and came up with wonderful ideas to share about their moms as well as wonderful ideas for reaching out to others.

 We wrapped up May's sibshop by devouring the "Muddy Buddy" treats we had made earlier while we read the book "Just Because" together as a group. The kids shared their similar experiences with their own sib as we read about this boy and his older sister with special needs.

April 2013

 April's Sibshops started off with a  lot of smiles, despite the still cold and cloudy weather!

Where is Spring Already?

 This months theme was to "Take Care! Of the earth, your self and your sib!"

 We created super fun and funny Mr. Recycle Heads. We have a creative group of Sibshoppers. Keep watering their hair, give em a cut and they will keep on growing for ya!

 Our "Share Fair" consisted of small groups talking together writing down ways they take care of themselves and ways they are asked and do take care of their siblings with special needs.

 The kids shared these things and more: What I can do when I am angry; Who can I talk to?; When my sib is sad I can; My parents ask me to always help my sib....

 This new game called "Color Guard" was a big hit! We have some fast, sneaky athletes

on our Sibshops roster.

These are just a few of the things we enjoyed this month at Sibshops! Come back in May for more.

March 2013

 Our "Spring Fling" Sibshop started with decorating some fun spring activity nametags. We had lots of soccer & baseball fans and butterflies and birds proved to be spring favorites. Our Sibshoppers then got themselved all wound up in a classic Sibshop games of "Knots."

 We have some excellent artists at Sibshops and they proved it in our Springy version of Pictionary. Everyone got a chance to draw and even got the hard ones like "Spring Break" and "Earth Day" really quickly and easily.

 A game of pick up straws proved to be challenging as our Sibshoppers had to focus their boundless energy on the quiet and still objective at hand.

 After being so quiet and independent, our Sibshoppers were ready to work together as a team to create straw structures that would hold a paper bowl up as high as possible. Their teams were creative and cooperative in building some awesome structures. It was fun to hear them collaborate and laugh together.

 We tried out a new game called "Popcorn". Sibshoppers mill around an open area until a number is called. They then quickly form a small group of that number of people and are asked to create with their bodies a person, place or thing! It was a silly game, but a fun one for our group. In the photo below the whole group was asked to create a roller coaster.

 WHHHHEEEEEE!

 And below, this group of five formed a soaring Eagle!

 Last month we tried out a new game called 'Balloon Foot Volleyball". The kids loved it and asked for more so we added it to this month's agenda and again it was a big hit!

 The kids always wanna take on the adult facilitators. This month we had a great group of BYU Volunteers join us so it made it possible for a rivalry game!

 Our Sibshoppers also had an opportunity to share with one another special dreams they have for themselves, as well as special dreams they have for their siblings.  These Sibshoppers are tremendous! Regardless of any day to day sibling challenges, they have high hopes and sweet, tender dreams for their siblings.

February 2013

Happy Valentines Sibshop!

We started out creating some fun paintings doing marble art. Note for the future, make sure to use big, heavy marbles! The ones we stole from our Chinese checkers were a little too light to do the job we hoped for! The kids were creative though and some even turned their artwork into giant valentines for their sibs.

We tried out a new game called "Artic Winds Hoops" and chased eachother in a game of tag with hoops swinging round our feet. 

 We enjoyed snacking on some yummy conversation hearts while playing some Valentines B-I-N-G-O! Some kids seem to have ALL the luck! We shared some reasons we love our siblings while we played.

The blind obstacle course proved to be a little challenging and a little scary (they probably won't admit it!). Our sibshoppers took turns directing each other through a topsy turvy "trust" course while blindfolded. They scaled boxes, crawled through tunnels, avoided cones and slithered on their bellies underneath a really short bench--all while blindfolded and guided by a fellow Sibshopper.

Looking forward to March!

January 2013

This cold (and nasty inversion ridden) Utah winter day was met with only enthusiasm by our small group of Sibshoppers. We tried a new trickle in art activity by making our own puffy paint. It was a success and our Sibshoppers made some awesome designs and puffy snowflakes in honor of the cold and wintry (yet snowless) day.

We followed our painting with a game of "Instant Replay" where we got to practice one another's names and share a hobby/interest with the group. We've got some brave gymnasts in our group!

"Mocassins"--another new activity to our group, provided an opportunity for us to imagine what it might be like to walk a mile in our sibs mocassins. We decided there are things that are definitely not easy for our sibs with special needs, but that we are both lucky to have one another there for the journey. "Sightless Sculpture" underscored the difficulties our sibs may face as our own Sibshoppers had to create a work of art blindfolded by using their fellow Sibshoppers as the model and the "clay."

A silly and great new game of 'Indoor Foot Volleyball" had everyone in stitches until we finished up with some delicious brownie snowmen. Yum.

November 2012

 "Pushpin Soccer" is one of our favorite Sibshop games! The kids scramble to get their teams balloon past the opposing goalie who is eagerly waiting to pop their balloon before it crosses into the goal.

 "Feelings on a Rope" lets the kids share how they feel about a wide variety of topics. We might ask how they feel about pepperoni pizza or playing the Wii. We might ask what they think about going on vacation with their sib, being asked to help their sib do things or having friends over when their sib is home.

October 2012

Happy Halloween!

 Our Sibshoppers got creative designing their Q-Tip skeletons

 Everyone wanted a chance to be mummified by their friends!

 Some of our costumed Sibshoppers take time to strike a pose for the camera

 The Sibshoppers are concentrating hard on this Halloween Themed Memory Game

Our kids worked together to create some "Mutual Monsters". They took turns blindly drawing different parts of these scary monsters till they were finally revealed in all their gory glory.