tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-947964490177680498.post2681172016800456606..comments2023-09-30T08:18:57.378-05:00Comments on Pipecleaner Dreams: Summertime, and the living is easy, or is it?Ashley's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05621835327282616218noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-947964490177680498.post-6894574807102709442011-06-09T16:23:52.556-05:002011-06-09T16:23:52.556-05:00Nobody tell my kid summer is supposed to be a time...Nobody tell my kid summer is supposed to be a time for lying around doing nothing but watching the game show network for 10 hours a day (what *I* did as a kid). I work her like crazy in the summer, and swear she makes more progress in those 3 months than she does in the other 9 at school.MBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07206411306306537264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-947964490177680498.post-34748716905973584882011-06-06T20:20:17.072-05:002011-06-06T20:20:17.072-05:00I use to work on academic stuff over the summer wi...I use to work on academic stuff over the summer with the Blue Jay when she was younger. We don't have any ESY services for our kids here. I use to have a support person attend various summer camps with the Blue Jay - at the time, she needed the extra help because of the ketogenic diet, to deal with the possibility of seizures and to help smooth her interactions with the other kids and help her figure out the rules of the various games played by the campers. She was very capable physically of playing any games but needed extra help in figuring and remembering the rules. I would also send along some academic type workbooks that I had picked up here and there and have the support person and the Blue Jay find a quiet spot in the shade to work on them if the kids were participating in an activity that was a little too hard or uninteresting for her or if she was just tired out and needed a quiet time. It seemed to work well.<br /><br />I don't bother doing that with the academics now; it's more life-skill focused. The Blue Jay no longer needs a support person to go with her to camps anymore and besides those camps where she is a particpant she enjoys volunteering as a "teacher" in pre-school type camps. That's a real win-win when we can set it up - she loves little kids and is totally happy and we focus on her learning to moderate her interactions with the campers - sometimes she can come across as very bossy (I don't think she even realizes it much of the time) and we have made good progress with that in these camps. <br /><br />Other than that, last year for the first time I tried getting a respite person who was more or less of a peer of the Blue Jay's (she was actually a couple of years younger but quite grown up for her age) and the Blue Jay was in heaven - they planned their own days (subject to my approval) and some of it was just fun stuff (like going to the beach) but I made sure they incorporated some stuff I wanted to see happen - the Blue Jay loves cooking so together they planned a supper, did the grocery shopping, cooking and clean up (and I got out of making of a meal!), they traveled around on the local bus (I am trying to teach her safety and independence on the bus since that will be her means of transport as an adult), they went berry picking ... all in all, it worked out well. The Blue Jay had fun and I was happy with the array of the skills they covered.Michelle Morgan-Coolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03671529553739362752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-947964490177680498.post-87964589381908568962011-06-03T07:12:43.328-05:002011-06-03T07:12:43.328-05:00My son's elementary school gives the kids a su...My son's elementary school gives the kids a summer packet each year when they visit the teachers in the next grade to meet them and see their classrooms. My son hated it last year, but I have already warned him this year that we ARE doing it!<br /><br />I am going to be introducing keyboard skills this summer since he will be allowed to type assignments next year if he chooses to do so instead of handwriting them. <br /><br />So much to think about!Trishhttp://trishdoerrler.comnoreply@blogger.com