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Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Scary hand sucking dryers...



We all have seen those dreaded hand dryers that push your skin around... But they are more than just a reminder of our wrinkles, they are also a frightening part of the bathroom for many children. 

Bathrooms can be a very frightening place for young children as well as for children with sensory disorders. The automatic toilets and crazy loud echoing hand dryers are beyond overwhelming. 
How in the world can you help a child overcome that fear? 

Enter: crazy hand dryer Vs. tongue monster

One of my favorite ways to help children overcome fears is to introduce humor to the fear. If you can show a child that it's funny instead of scary they will remember the funny rather than the fear. So one of the little kittens and I decided to create something scarier And sillier than the hand dryer. We made a monster that had a looong tongue that would wiggle wiggle wiggle when the dryer turned on. After two sessions of practice we actually built up the courage to Use the hand dryer! What an accomplishment! 

Here is a list of places here in Springfield that has the loudest hand dryers:
Lowes
Discovery center
Truck stops and some gas stations
Incredible pizza company
McDonald's 
Academy Sports
Movie theatres 


Saturday, August 10, 2013

A balancing act!

T


A nature walk is always a Winderful way to spend a day! During my time with my little kittens we have probably taken hundreds of them! Each time I try to come up with an activity to keep the kids looking and learning as we go. This trip we looked for things that reminded us of summer. Oh and of course did some balancing on the curbs when no cars were coming!!! 

Here are a few things we found on our trip! As we noticed the rain garden we stopped and read the information. The kids loved looking through the flowers!



Oh cicadas... We found 28 cicadas this nature walk! We counted and touched, but left most of them for other kids to see. We discussed what the shell was and why in the world the cicada left it behind on that tree!!!


We also discovered some interesting things out about shadows! Go out at different times of the day and see what the kids say!!!

The littlest has officially learned my crossing the road chant. They all think it is Hilarious. They each get excited when we come to the edge of a road we need to cross. Sometimes I pretend to forget and they will scream "Sam!!! Wait , you can't cross yet!" it definitely makes me feel confident that they know how to cross safely. 

"Look, Look. Listen, Listen. Hold my hand now Run!" 

This helps each kiddo learn to look both ways and to be aware of car sounds, as well as to get across the road quickly to avoid any accidents!