Guest Post: How To Help A Child With A Learning Disability Get Involved In The Arts

 

Photo via Pixabay by EvgeniT

Many parents struggle with getting their kids interested in different subjects; for some, it’s math or science, while others have a hard time relating to the arts. All types of learning are important for kids, but for children who are living with a disability, being able to express feelings and ideas through creative endeavors is essential. That’s why it’s so important to help your child get interested in the arts, whether it’s dance, music, drawing or painting, or theater.

 

Many children who are diagnosed with a learning disability simply need to find different ways to take in information or to get their ideas across. Creative pursuits of all kinds can help your child find new forms of expression, reduce stress and anxiety, and learn how to perform better in school. There are several ways you can introduce the arts to your child at home, and many of them are fun for the entire family.

Keep reading for some tips on how to help your child with a learning disability get involved in the arts.

 

Create a hobby room

Creating a space dedicated to arts, crafts, and other hobbies will help your child feel safe and comfortable, and will reduce distractions. Set up a table and get organized by using bins with deep drawers to hold glitter, crayons, paint, markers, scissors, glue, yarn, and pieces of fabric. If you’re able to utilize an entire room for hobbying, paint the walls with easy-to-clean glossy paint, or use chalkboard paint on one wall to encourage spontaneous creativity. Designate a special area just for displaying your child’s artwork so he’ll stay motivated to keep making things.

 

Get out the needle and thread

Sewing is a great pastime for kids; it’s a calm, quiet activity that requires focus and concentration, and it can help build up strength in both those areas. It also requires patience. Sewing and textile crafts will allow your child to get creative while learning how to practice mindfulness, which reduces stress and anxiety. As long as your child is old enough to work with needles and scissors, look for some projects he can do with fabric and thread. It doesn’t have to be a traditional sewing craft; for instance, you can have him draw a simple picture on a canvas and use a needle and thread to fill it in. For more great tips and resources on sewing projects, click here.

 

Give him a variety

Most kids like to have some variety when it comes to their hobbies, especially if they get bored easily. Look for several different kinds of creative activities and allow your child to try a few to see which ones he likes best. Some kids are great at making art but just aren’t that into it; others love music but aren’t sure if they would rather sing, play an instrument, or dance. Giving your child some creative freedom will allow him to find the thing that makes him feel most alive.

 

Make learning fun

Many kids with learning disabilities struggle in school because they feel bored or unchallenged by the curriculum, or because they are frustrated by their inability to comprehend the material. You can help make learning fun by incorporating creativity and educational lessons; for instance, let your child help you in the kitchen. Talk about measuring, chemical reactions, and following a recipe while baking cupcakes, then let him decorate the finished product any way he wants.

 

Millions of kids in the U.S. live with a learning disability, and not all of them are diagnosed. It can be difficult for most children to identify these issues in themselves, leaving them frustrated and unfulfilled in school. Helping your child find new ways to express himself will help him now and for years to come.

LearningDisabilities.info was created to offer information and understanding to parents of children with learning disabilities, as well as adults who are in need of continued support to succeed.

Israel Wayne coming to Aurora

When: Thursday, March 6, 2014 — Israel Wayne, Guest Speaker
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm (free admission)

Where — New Song Community Church
2858 Hafenrichter Road (One half mile east of Eola Rd.)
Aurora IL 60503

Who: Israel Wayne is an author and conference speaker who has a passion for defending the Christian faith and promoting a Biblical worldview. He is the author of the books Homeschooling from a Biblical Worldview, Full-Time Parenting: A Guide to Family-Based Discipleship, and The Questions God Asks. He is a homeschooled graduate and father of eight. He serves as the Director of Family Renewal, and is the site editor for ChristianWorldview.net.

What:  “Revival in the Home” – Families in America are under attack. Teenage rebellion, divorce, juvenile delinquency, emotional disorders, and relational dysfunction are way too common, even among church goers.

How can you have a Godly family in the midst of such a worldly culture? Israel will provide practical and Biblical answers. Learn how you can
effectively disciple your children to know, love and serve God.

All are welcome! (Childcare available for children under 5 years of age.
Children are welcome to sit quietly during presentation.)

Free Homeschool Expo coming Crystal Lake

Sunday, November 3, 11 AM-3 PM, FREE Home School Expo at Park Place
Sunday, November 3, 11 AM-3 PM, FREE Home School Expo at Park Place

Park Place, a Crystal Lake Park District banquet facility will be hosting the 1st Annual Home School Expo (FREE admission) on Sunday, November 3, 2013, 11 am-3 pm, Park Place, 406 W. Woodstock St, Crystal Lake. “Whether you’re a seasoned homeschooler, a newcomer or simply a curious parent, this event has exhibitors, vendors, displays and plenty of important information for everyone,” says Lauren Thibodeau, Park Place Facility Manager.

Vendors include: The Racket Club, Crystal Lake Park District, Johnsburg Public Library, Crystal Lake Public Library, MCCSG, All Star Tutoring, Crystal Ice House, Classical Conversations, Fox River Valley Library, DK Books, Music Makers for Life, Lindmood-Bell Learning, Bit of a Boost, Congressman Hultgren, Epic Air Park, Roots Education, Milestone Therapy Center, Elite Kids, Raue Center for the Arts, Young Living Essential Oils, Creative Arts School and Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois.

For more information contact Lauren Thibodeau, 815-477-5871, lthibodeau@crystallakeparks.org

Educator’s Night at the Museum in Sycamore

Midwest Museum of Natural History

Hi Homeschool families!

The Midwest Museum of Natural History is holding an educators’ open house on Thursday, February 28, 4:30-6:30 pm. The event is for teachers, scout leaders, homeschool parents, and other educators in the community. Explore the Museum, enjoy refreshments, and learn about the resources the Museum has to offer. The event is free. Please rsvp by calling the Museum at 815-895-9777 or reply to this email.

We hope to see you there!

Molly Trickey

Executive Director

Calendar of Events
A quick view of events, classes and other things of interest. Enjoy!

Coming up…

Heart Dissection
February 16

Big Run Wolf Ranch
March 16

STEM Exploration Lab
March 30

Educators’ Night at the Museum

Thursday, February 28, 4:30-6 pm

You’re invited! Join us for an open house for educators at the Midwest Museum of Natural History in Sycamore.

Explore the Museum, enjoy refreshments, meet our live animals, and learn about the programs we offer, including our new Educator Resource Boxes.

The event is FREE, but please RSVP by calling 815-895-9777 or email information@mmnh.org

Educator Resource Boxes are supported by a grant from the DeKalb County Community Foundation.

Where: Midwest Museum of Natural History
425 West State Street • Sycamore, Illinois 60178
Phone: (815) 895-9777

Website: www.MMNH.org

Free STEM workshop in Dekalb

SciGirls Professional Development Training

Date:  Tuesday, February 12, 2013 – 8:30am – 4:00pm

Location:  Holmes Student Center – Skyroom 340 Carroll Avenue Dekalb, IL 60115

Thank you for your interest in the SciGirls Professional Development Training.

SciGirls is a PBS Kids television series out to change how tweens think about science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM! In each episode, join bright, curious real girls in putting STEM to work. Then check out the website to play games, watch episodes, share projects, and connect with other SciGirls in a totally safe social networking environment!

SciGirls Trainings integrate inquiry-based STEM instruction with a commitment to gender equity. Educators attending SciGirls Trainings will learn the latest research for exciting and engaging girls (and boys) in STEM; experience hands-on STEM activities; and gain access to free materials for hands-on, video-enhanced activities that put a creative twist on teaching STEM.

There is no fee to attend this training.

For more information and to register: http://www.ngcproject.org/scigirls-professional-development-training-3

Panda Express Chinese New Year Resources

2012 Chinese New Year: Learn With Me Program
This FREE program is geared towards students in second to fourth grade and includes the following:

• Exclusive Access to the Panda Express Chinese New Year Video
• Year of the Snake Fact Sheet
• Jade Emperor’s Interactive Game & Activity Sheet
• Chinese New Year Decoration Art Activity
• Lai See Activity Sheet

The Chinese New Year Learn with Me Program™ materials will be available beginning Monday, January 28, 2013. The Year of the Snake celebration runs for 15 days beginning Sunday, February 10, 2013.

CHINESE NEW YEAR

Learn With Me School Program

Chinese New Year celebration: Feb 10 – 24

Panda Express, America’s leader in Asian dining, is offering a FREE educational program for your school. For six years, our Chinese New Year Learn with Me Program™ has provided educators with a resource to encourage learning about China’s most important holiday celebration.

Check out all the info: http://www.pandaexpress.com/ChineseNewYear

Swap Shop in Elburn!

1 John 3:16-18

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?
Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

Location:
Elburn Community
Center Gym,
525 N. Main Street,
Elburn, Illinois

Dates & Times

Drop off – Nov. 30
10 am – 7 pm

Swap – Dec. 1
9 am – 3 pm

Open to ALL!!

What is a Swap Shop ?

Swap Shop is a chance for moms to swap out
things they no longer need for things they do.

If you wouldn’t be ashamed to give it to a friend,
then we’ll accept it.

All items not swapped will be donated to charity.

Nothing to swap? Please come anyway and
be blessed with God’s provision.

Who organizes the Swap Shop ?

This event is hosted by Authentic Moms, a local Christian mom’s group.

Our desire is to follow 1 John 3:16-18
– to love with actions & truth, not just words.

Would you like to volunteer for a chance to pre-shop?
Or do you have other questions? Contact – authenticmoms@gmail.com

Items our swap includes:
– Baby items
– Gently used clothes & shoes
– Children’s Toys
– Furniture
– Books, Games & School Supplies
– Household & Kitchen Accessories

ALL Items are for SWAP, not SALE

Follow them on facebook

Meeting for homeschoolers at IIT in Wheaton

This was forwarded through the Naperville Home Educators Yahoo group.

Looks like a great opportunity to give some input and hear about brand new opportunities for homeschoolers in a partnership with IIT.

at the Rice Campus

201 East Loop Road
Wheaton, Illinois 60189

October 2, 2012

Dear Home School aficionado:

We at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Rice Campus in Wheaton, would like to work with you and your students in their secondary education.

For everyone’s best quality of life, the staff at IIT realize that all citizens, both young and old, need to respect and appreciate the intricate and complex web of life on Earth, and understand its dependence on the abiotic factors that provide the edifice for our planet. In the words of the African environmentalist Baba Dioum “In the end, we will only conserve what we love; we will only love what we understand; and we will only understand what we are taught.”  At IIT, our mission is education—and an important topic within that endeavor is living sustainably, within the means of the earth, as we go about our daily lives.

We are trying to increase our own sustainability efforts on campus, and are including outreach into the community as part of those efforts. Thus, our staff would like to work with you and your students as we feel we can offer expertise in the teaching of environmental science—an appropriate theme for integrating the various disciplines of science with technology, mathematics, the humanities and the social sciences.  We have ideas for several different problem/project based learning offerings and would like to engage in discussion regarding how we can help you, with our facility and staff, in the education of your children.

To accommodate different schedules we will hold two meetings at the IIT Rice Campus: Wednesday, November 7th at 6:30PM, and Saturday, November 10th at 10:00AM.  We anticipate that the meetings will last 1.5 to 2 hours. At the gatherings we will ask for your input as to how we can help you in the education of your children within the themes of sustainability and science, while using the Rice Campus facility as our “Petri dish.”  We are open to your ideas and desire to gauge your interest in this collaboration.  We plan to outline some of our project ideas in the dialogue.

Please respond to me regarding your interest in this collaboration, as well as your availability for either one of these meetings at camasus@hawk.iit.edu.   Questions are also welcomed via email. Feel free to forward this letter to friends and colleagues whom you think might be interested in this project.

Hoping we can work together for our youth and their education,

Susan Camasta, PhD

Department of Mathematics and Science Education

School of Applied Technology

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago & Wheaton, IL

Resources from ICHE Preschool Panel

Welcome, parents of preschoolers! Here you will find the list of some resources that those of us on the panel have used and enjoyed with our preschoolers. Please feel free to share these and ask any further questions you may have! Praying for you during this exciting and exhausting season in life.

Resources for the Preschool Years

Books / Curriculum/Media Resources

Reading – Sing, Spell, Read and Write; www.singspell.com

– Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Engelmann

Math – Abeka Arithmetic Workbooks; www.abeka.com

Character – Character First! Resources; http://www.characterfirst.com/aboutus/students-families/

Development – Slow and Stead, Get Me Ready by June Oberlander

Choosing Books – Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt

Curriculum – Before Five in a Row by Jane Claire Lambert; http://fiarhq.com/fiveinarow.info/index.html

Montessori – “Bringing Montessori Home” DVD – Rose Clancy; www.tacklemedia.com

Bible – The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes by Kenneth N. Taylor

– Leading Little Ones to God by Marian M. Schoolhand

Websites

www.christainbook.com – homeschooling books and resources

http://www.rainbowresource.com/ – more homeschooling books and supplies than you can even imagine

www.education.com – Worksheets and activities searchable by grade level.

http://homeschoolshare.com/ – This site has numerous unit studies and lapbook resources, specifically ones related to Before Five in a Row and Five in a Row

http://www.starfall.com/ – Games for preschoolers to play. Especially at
the preschool age, I don’t let my kids sit and play on their own, but these
might be a fun addition to time you spend with your preschooler

http://www.homeschoolcreations.net – This is a website I find helpful for kids of all ages. A homeschool mom of 4 has shared all her printables and many plans and ideas from throughout her homeschooling time. She has focused a lot on the preschool years in particular.

Other

Local Public Library- Swan Library System – allows you to search for desired books through multiple library systems and have books delivered to your local library.

Museum Adventure Pass: from your library you can get free or reduced admission to various museums. This is for the Chicago area, but other states have similar programs.

A CD called Sounds like Fun from Discovery Toys (http://www.amazon.com/Sounds-Like-Fun-Discovery-Toys/dp/B0012NBP4E) is a great compilation of songs that cover early math, letter sounds, opposites, manners, nursery rhymes and even some Spanish sung to some classical guitar. Useful quiet time CD.

Games are an engaging way to incorporate learning fun at the preschool age and beyond — Zingo can develop basic word and sound recognition; Candyland for colors; Junior Monopoly for counting (and many other “junior” versions of favorite classics); Legos and Playmobile; other educational boardgames (great gifts for Grandparents to give if they are asking for ideas) like Sunken Treasure (http://www.amazon.com/Sunken-Treasure-Adventure%C3%83-Phonics-Beginning/dp/B00004TDTN)

Learn through work: sorting socks and other laundry is an effective early math exercise as is cooking and baking together (math and health lesson there); plant a garden; talk about money, checks, credit cards (never too young to learn healthy money habits)

A favorite pre-reading activity we have used: write large letters on pieces of paper spread around the room or with chalk on ground outside. Say a letter sound and have kids run (or hop or crawl) to the letter they just heard. Use capital or lower case or both depending on what they are learning.

Let kids “write” in salt or sand in a pie tin or plate, pudding (or whipped cream or shaving cream) in a sealed plastic bag is great messless finger painting or water and a paintbrush on the ground outside. Also make letters with playdough, pipe cleaners, sticks, fingers or their whole body.

Field trips – http://chicagolandhomeschoolnetwork.com/fieldtrips/

Recipe for Kool-aid Playdough (large batch)

5 cups flour

1 cup salt

4 pkgs kool-aid, any flavor

1/2 cup oil

3-4 cups boiling water (start with 3 and add more until kneadable)

Review and Giveaway: The 5 Love Languages of Children

The core of communication comes down to language. Spoken language, body language, and even our love language.

Dr. Gary Chapman shook the dust off marriage in his book about love languages, and then he did it all over again for parents. As this concept gains world-wide attention, I enjoyed this reminder to figure out and speak my kids’ languages.

  • Physical touch
  • Words of affirmation
  • Gifts
  • Quality time
  • Acts of service

Each child speaks one of these languages more clearly than the others, and Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell set out to help you discover which one. After a brief introductory chapter the book jumps into the languages in detail so you can understand exactly what is meant by each language and how they look at various ages and stages.

The rest of the chapters help you see how understanding those love languages can strengthen you parenting relationship. Helping you identify each child’s language, the authors show you how to discipline, walk through their academic experience, and manage their anger with each of these love languages in mind. They even include some special considerations for single parents homes and more. The resources and encouragement in this book go well beyond its covers.

To find out more:

The 5 Love Languages: http://www.5lovelanguages.com/
To be their best, children need to feel loved. But if you and your child speak different love languages, your affection might get lost in translation, affecting the child’s attitude, behavior, and development. Dr. Gary Chapman’s groundbreaking Five Love Languages series has helped millions of couples communicate love more clearly, and Dr. Ross Campbell M.D. has applied the innovative system to children as well. The 5 Love Languages of Children gives practical suggestions for learning how your children interpret love and creating a sense of security in which they can thrive.

While all kids need a bit of every language, I appreciate this helpful book in decoding my kids’ signals. I especially gleaned from the sections on teenagers as things look a whole lot different at that age, and I am still learning how to decipher it all. The years of experience from the authors are such a help to us muddling through it all for the first time.

This book’s track record speaks for itself, but I cannot agree more. This book is a must read for every parent at every stage of parenting. And, it should be reread now and then as well. I read the first edition years ago, but definitely needed to read this updated version to dig deeper into my current season of parenting. Great pep talk with the practical advice to really make a lasting difference.

Buy it, borrow it, and of course, leave a comment here to enter to win your own copy! Leave a comment on this post with an email address that I can reach you at in case you win. The contest will close a week from now, Tuesday night April 17th. You can once again earn a second entry by sharing about the giveaway elsewhere and leaving a second comment.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or

services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it

on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally

and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance

with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the

Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”