July 2017 Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day!  Okay, so we were celebrating a few days after the fact but we did use the holiday as an opportunity to celebrate and do some activities and discussion around the theme of Independence. Keep reading!

We started with a fun salt art activity--again, our Sibshoppers were creative and came up with all sorts of clever designs! 

 A happy kiddo with his completed work of art!

We tried a new game out on our Sibshoppers this month and it was a hit! "Shoulders, Knees, Cup!" paired the Sibshoppers against one another in a competitive duel to see who could grab the cup first when "Cup!" was called.  Sometimes the game leader yelled head or shoulders or stomach or nose or ears instead. Only when 'Cup" is yelled can the player grab the cup from the floor.

 These two competitors made it to the Final Round! 

 Our next activity helped us experience the theme of Independence and Dependence. We talked about how we often take our Independence for granted--the fact that we can use two legs to get where we want to go, or grab a snack when we want one, or ask for help when we need it. We also talked about how we each are a little dependent on others as well.  These Sibshoppers don't have drivers licenses to operate a car and get themselves where they need to go--they need help getting around.  Turns out they aren't rolling in the dough either and depend on their families to help them pay for things they want or need.

 This obstacle course was designed to only successfully be completed with some help.  You simply cannot complete the course independently!

 Partners worked together to navigate through unseen obstacles and to transport items to their final resting place, so to speak. Depending on someone else was a little challenging, but also necessary.

 Our ping pong ball toss had the Sibshoppers working together to achieve a goal. Again, they were dependent upon others to complete the task. Launching the ping pong ball is no easy feat, but working together our Sibshoppers were able to get the balls to fly into the air. We learned to work together and let others help us achieve our goal!

 Another partner activity was this Synchronized Drawing.  It was fun to watch the Sibshoppers work together to complete a symetrical drawing.  One kid takes the lead and the other must follow on their side of the paper.

 Our Sibshoppers were pretty jazzed to have some dessert at this month's Sibshop.  Graham crackers, cool whip, berries--YUM!  We didn't make it too easy for them though.  They were to only use one hand to create their American Flag Dessert, and that hand had to be their less dominant hand! Not such an easy task.  We talked about how often we take our independence and our bodies for granted. We hardly ever think about how we can use both sides of our bodies to complete tasks, to do what we want and enjoy and to just live life!  Hopefully we left all the more grateful for the blessing of our miraculous bodies!

June 2017 "What Scares You?"

Welcome Summer! The theme for this month's Sibshop was "What Scares You?"  Our activities were all centered around things that we all might find just a tad scary or for the more courageous, at least a little disconcerting!

I told our Sibshoppers that when I was a child I was deathly afraid of sharks.  Totally terrified of the Great White! I had nightmares that when I opened our garage door, instead of finding my bicycle and roller skates I would find a deep, dark oceanic abyss.  As I leaned over to inspect further, a huge shark would always vault out of the water and try and take my head off. I also thought they were under my bed, so I would leap from the doorway into my bedroom onto my bed at night so they wouldn't bite my legs. (I grew up in the Midwest by the way...How's that for a totally irrational fear?)

So, our trickle in activity was "Shark Attack!" 

We completed the art at the beginning and then later on during our Sibshop we completed a worksheet we then taped to the back.  We identified three things we might be scared of and tried to include at least one thing about having a sibling with special needs.  We also identified three strategies we might use to conquer our fears.  We then took the perspective of our sibling and tried to think of what they might be scared of.  We also tried to think of three ways we could comfort or assist our siblings as they faced their own fears. 

One Sibshopper, with an especially positive disposition, produced what I am calling "The Happy Beluga!"

 After our group welcome/introduction session and review of our Expectations and Consequences, we moved on to "Mousetrap." Seriously, who doesn't get at least a little creeped out by mice?  They don't have backbones.  They can pretty much find a way under anything and into anything. Totally creepy!

Next up was our "Heights Engineering Challenge." Our Sibshoppers were put into small groups and asked to engineer the tallest structure they could out of craft sticks, binder clips and clothespins. They never really got tall enough to make anyone that nervous.

Sssssss.........The creation of"Snake Bubble Pipes" was well received by our Sibshoppers.  They largely agreed that real snakes were generally scary, but these bubble ones were super fun.  The general difference being that you know these won't hurt you--they aren't poisonous! 

 While some of our Sibshoppers were frightened by the Baked Potato Bar we had for lunch, they were all head over heels for our "Bug Sundaes!" And really, who wouldn't be?  Some earth (chocolate ice cream), a little dirt (crushed Oreo cookies), and a handful of wiggly worms (sour Trolli gummies)! What's not to love? I figured they would enjoy this treat a whole lot better than the "Bloody Rats" (ketchupy mini meatloaves) I made for my kids at Halloween. My kids cried.  These kids only had tears of joy!

 See you in July!