Practicing Using a Braille Square
One Without the Other: Stories of unity through diversity and inclusion is a truly inspiring book authored by Shelley Moore (foreword by Leyton Schnellert). In this book, Shelley Moore takes readers on her journey in discovering the meaning of inclusion and diversity. She shares her own personal experiences in the classroom (as a student herself and as a professional today), helping and inspiring readers to understand and embrace diversity and inclusion. Continue reading
Inspired by a little bowling video…Five Moore Minutes is a website with videos dedicated to empowering schools and classrooms to support ALL Learners! Created by Shelley Moore, this website is designed with teachers in mind. As educators, we don’t always have a lot of time, so this website and video series offers resources, research, professional development activities and inspiration in 5 minute chunks!
Click here to watch the project’s video introduction!
Hope is something I will always have. Hope for a better day tomorrow. Hope for applying what I have learned today to tomorrow’s challenges. Being a mother of a child with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) has ensured that I will always have hope.
My son Ewan is a beacon of hope. I won’t lie. It’s not easy to see his peers moving through developmental stages at a totally different pace than him. What is encouraging is that he makes progress each and every day. His progress has taught me to not rule anything out. It’s not been a matter of IF Ewan will learn something/how to do something, but WHEN. He has his own schedule that keeps advancing, just at a slower pace.
Did you miss the training “Build Communication Through Play” in June?
Here is a recap of some of the strategies presented by Kathy Torunski from First Words.
Lindsay Biel and Nancy Peske
A winner of the NAPPA Gold Award and iParenting Media award, this book provides a complete analysis of sensory issues and strategies. For caregivers, educators and parents, it is a worthwhile read to better understand the complex nature of sensory disorders. The authors break down the causes of sensory issues and the way that they can interfere with child development and participation in daily activities. Continue reading
The most important part of operating any child care program is to create an environment that provides comfort and a sense of community. School Age programs are often run in shared spaces, and so the flexibility in the environment is not as feasible as it would be in a permanent space. This encourages staff to think about the materials and structures that they can bring in, and the learning opportunities that they can provide to help meet the needs of each child. Using structures from Conscious Discipline® has guided our program in creating an environment that everyone feels a part of, and the individual child is acknowledged and supported.
We believe it is essential to make a point of greeting each child by name. Most of the children will opt to give us a high five or fist pump with the greeting, and some children choose to have a no touch greeting. Whatever the child chooses, the emphasis is on personal acknowledgment and a recognition that we are happy they are here. When there are a larger number of children in our care, too often we can lose track of names or specific personal details of the children.
The summer is upon us and we often ask ourselves, what activities are available in our area? We thought of offering you a list of activities located in the national capital region. You will also find some free activities.
Museums:
*Please check museum websites for effective dates.
This is a beautifully written book about a family’s most difficult choice during pregnancy. Choosing Naia is a very detailed account of a family’s choice to continue their pregnancy when they are faced with uncertainty. Not only is Naia’s story explained with fear, excitement, and love but many facts about Down Syndrome and the true love it can bring you are shared throughout this read.
“Access to active play in nature and outdoors—with its risks—is essential for healthy child development. We recommend increasing children’s opportunities for self-directed play outdoors in all settings—at home, at school, in child care, the community and nature.” (www.childnature.ca)
In the summer of 2015, Pinecrest Queensway Headstart Nursery School started our first phase of transforming our playground. We met with a playground company in the early spring and began visiting other programs within the community to assist in brainstorming ideas. The children were excited to participate in all the processes and transformations of the yard. Children need variety in their play spaces; they need to be able to move from active, to imaginative, to passive play zones. The best playground designs encompass the complete site. Continue reading
ACCESS Inclusion Newsletter 