August 2014: Our Annual 'Summer Celebration!"

Can you believe that summer is wrapping up already? We sent it off with a great summer celebration at Sibshops!  We started and ended with tie-dying Sibshop t-shirts.  For many of our Sibshoppers this is one of their favorite activities all year. We give em all a t-shirt, as many rubber bands as they could possibly want, and then send them out with dye filled squirt bottles. Their shirts turn out as varied and unique as each one of our Sibshoppers!

 Before

 After

 We made some super "Cool Off Necklaces". Soak em, throw em in the freezer, put em round your neck! Piece of Cake!

"Marble Madness" is all about using your toes to collect as many marbles as possible in the time allotted. We have some very coordinated Sibshoppers!

 We played a bunch of water relays! We went over the back, we used cups and saucers and spoons and even huge car washing sponges!

 We finished things off by pulling out the slip-n-slide! 

What a great summer celebration! See you in September.

July 2014

 July started off swimmingly with a fun colorful fish craft!

 This was followed by lots of giggles after a silly game of "Freckles!"

 Sibshoppers worked hard to get as many freckles as possible onto their partner in the time allotted. It made for some silly fun!

Our shoe relay activity got the kids moving!

 Our discussion activity provided an opportunity for each Sibshopper to share the good, the bad and the "so-so" about having a sibling with special needs.

 Our Sibshoppers are always willing to share their experiences and provide support and encouragement to one another.

Lunch was follwed by some more fun activities including the game "Color Guard!"  We play this one often and our Sibshoppers are getting pretty good at it! Have them teach you at home!

A cool popsicle was a great way to finish off our warm July Sibshop.

June 2014

June's Sibshop started off messy with lots of painted handprints! Our Sibshoppers were happy to share the many fun things they appreciate about their Dads.  Sounds like we have lots of supportive Dads who enjoy being silly and teasing their children! ;)



 

 A game of Bean Bag/Ball Toss gets us warmed up to one another quickly! We create a pattern of throwing the ball to a friend whose name we call out and then we try and finish that pattern as quickly as we possibly can. You've got to remember who you pass the ball to as well as who is going to pass the ball to you. Once we have our pattern established we throw multiple balls into the mix!

 We like to then mix things up with 'The Useless Machine". Instead of being spread apart and throwing the ball to one another across a large circle, we get up close and personal just passing the balls to one another. It is not as easy as it sounds!

The kids got a work out enjoying one of our classic Sibshop games called 'Triangle Tag". When you are "it", your objective is to tag the member of the triangle identified with a red bandana. The other members of the triangle do everything then can to prevent the tag from happening.

One of our discussion activities for the day is called "Moccasins." This game provides an opportunity to walk a mile in our siblings shoes. What does life look like and feel like for my sibling with special needs?

 Our Sibshoppers were pretty successful at viewing life from their sibs perspective.  They responded to different scenarios, including: What does my sibling think about having me as sibling? How does my sibling feel about making friends? How would my sibling describe their life?

 

 I hope all you families got a chance to take a look at our Super Hero Worksheets! The kids were clever as they imagined themselves and their siblings as superheroes fighting the evils of the world!

 Our final fun game had our Sibshoppers trying to vanquish their villains while protecting their heroes at the same time. With all the balloon popping, cheering, groaning, and gutter balls, it wasn't as easy as our Sibshoppers initially thought it would be!

We giggled a lot and enjoyed being together at June's Sibshop! See you soon.