Did you know that preparing children for upcoming transitions saves time, energy and reduces challenging behaviours from occurring?
Examples of transitions include:
By planning and organizing your transitions, it creates a plan that can be implemented by anyone. Continue reading
Previously published in the Spring-Summer 2006 issue of ACCESS Integration.
Rebecca, born on February 1st , 1990, has Down Syndrome and lives with her mother, father and older sister, Monika.
Rebecca has been integrated into regular child care settings since she started day care at the age of two and a half at Dow’s Lake Day Care. It was there that support from Children’s Integration Support Services began.
Rebecca started her school years at St. Patrick’s Elementary School and attended the Barrhaven Child Care Centre school age program. When she first started at the day care, integration was a new concept and a “learn as you go” approach was taken by Rebecca’s family and teaching team. Rebecca’s parents were very appreciative of the team that was assembled to help and for the ongoing support of their Resource Consultant. Continue reading
Summer is coming! As you are planning for your summer, consider some new and exciting activities or variations of old favorites for your outdoor play spaces.
The following websites provide an inclusive and inspiring approach to promoting physical activity in programs and at home. Continue reading
Are you looking for activities that will save you time and money but that are big on fun and learning? Let us introduce 3 more activities from our featured series. All materials for the activities can be found at home or purchased in dollar stores.
This activity can help to develop fine motor and language skills.
Purchase a collection of containers such as: small coin purses, small tin toy lunch boxes, cases for eye glasses, pencil cases, plastic/tin containers with hinge lids, salt/pepper shakers, etc., with a variety of fasteners such as: velcro, zippers, snaps, latches, magnets, fasteners, screw tops, etc. Continue reading
Twenty five years ago, our community had a vision that saw each child as a child first. They wanted a supportive and inclusive system that was flexible as well as responsive to the changing needs of families, children and teaching teams. The hope was to reduce or eliminate social isolation which was experienced by so many families with a child with special needs. By making this happen one child and one child care program at a time, supportive relationships were formed so that each child would reach their optimum development and experience the true meaning of belonging. Continue reading
Freeimages.com / Dave Di Biase
I remember that July day when my husband, Robert, suggested that our 7 year old son Tyler join the local House League Hockey team in September. My heart sank. Since Tyler had a speech-language delay, he faced challenges in communicating at the same level as his peers and making himself understood. Although he had a lot of friends, these frustrations sometimes impacted him socially. Robert strongly felt that hockey would improve Tyler’s social skills, help him feel like part of a team, and expose him to life experiences like other children his age. I questioned whether it was already a little late for him to start hockey. I then realized that the potential benefits outweighed my worries about whether he would fit in and I gave in. Continue reading
Mealtimes can be a great opportunity for children to increase their vocabulary and learn some of the skills that are necessary for engaging in conversations, such as listening to others and taking a turn to talk.
Here are some general suggestions.
Get your children to help prepare part of the meal
There are many opportunities for learning and using vocabulary such as ‘wash’, ‘spread’, ‘tear’, ‘mix’, ‘stir’, ‘rinse’, and ‘peel’. At mealtime, ask each child to tell the rest of the family what they did to help. Continue reading
Acorn Early Learning Centre
As Early Childhood Educators, we have an extremely important role when it comes to teaching children self-help skills. Providing opportunities for the children to serve themselves snack, lunch, milk and water is something that we value at Acorn Early Learning Centre.
Each day during lunch, two of the children are picked to be the helpers. Their responsibilities are to wash and set the tables as well as hand out facecloths to each of their peers at the end of lunch. The children serve themselves both their meals/snacks and pour their milk/water. Continue reading
Did you know that when you ask a child to say sorry following a situation, you are teaching them an automatic response. Often that response reinforces the behaviour and does not teach them how to rectify the situation.
Although it is important to model and teach manners, a child needs to experience a true sense of empathy in order to be compassionate to others. Continue reading
Are you looking for activities that will save you time and money but that are big on fun and learning? Let us introduce 3 more activities from our featured series. All materials for the activities can be found at home or purchased in dollar stores.
TACTILE EXPLORATION
Freeimages.com / Silvio Mechow
Find a large box with a lid. Cut a square hole in the side and cover loosely with fabric or paper so that the children can’t see what is in the box but can still reach in. Continue reading
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