What does H.O.P.E. stand for?
H.O.P.E. stands for Having Open Play for Everyone. This year, our committee will highlight a Friend of the Month, fellow RRECPTA members with specialized backgrounds with kids will provide suggestions on books/websites, and we will provide an inclusive activity that your family can do at home together. Please introduce your kids to the Friend of the Month this month and tell them they might see them in school or in the community.
Please email jessilyn.brent@gmail.com or ann.butler10@gmail.com if you have questions or are interested in joining our committee.
Friend of the Month
In February, we are highlighting our Friend of the Month: Annie is a first-grade “select intensive needs special education student.” She works very hard at school and is doing well with pre-reading and math skills. Annie is very social—those who know her note she is “charming, engaging and funny.” Annie participates in Empower Sports soccer and basketball.
Annie works hard at gaining responsibility and independence, helping her family by cleaning her room, putting away laundry, making her bed and clearing the table. She enjoys playing in the snow, watching Peppa Pig and going grocery shopping (her mom notes she does a good job at pushing the cart!).
Activity: Tactile Fun Bucket
Materials:
A cheap painting bucket from Home Depot—it gives great auditory feedback
Big bells from a craft store
Big pom poms from a craft store
Sound ping pong balls from APH (You could use shaker eggs or regular ping pong balls, which still give auditory feedback when they hit the side of the bucket)
Acorns
Leaves
Procedure:
Just place it in your child's lap and let them go to town! Talk about smooth, fuzzy, hard, jingle, and shake.
Tips to Adapt Games for Children with Vision Impairments:
“Like everyone else, kids and adults with vision loss and other disabilities need to see themselves in exciting adventure stories. And, to advance inclusion into their natural communities,, their peers need to read these stories as well, in order to realize that we all have the same abilities, dreams, faults and foibles.”
Suggested Websites and Books
My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay by Cari Best
Zulay and her three best friends are all in the same first grade class and study the same things, even though Zulay is blind. When their teacher asks her students what activity they want to do on Field Day, Zulay surprises everyone when she says she wants to run a race. With the help of a special aide and the support of her friends, Zulay does just that.
Arlo Needs Glasses by Barney Saltzberg
Every child who wears glasses will know just how Arlo feels, and will feel better because of it. And every parent will want that child to know that glasses are cool and fun and enable us to do the things we want to do.
Jeremy’s Dreidel by Ellie Gellman
At the dreidel-making workshop, Jeremy’s friends think he’s molding a secret code on his clay dreidel. But he’s really making a special gift for his father, who is blind.
The Patch by Justina Chen Hadley
The kids at school want to know why Becca is wearing glasses and a patch. Instead of telling them she has amblyopia, Becca leads her friends on imaginative adventures to explain her new fashion accessory.
Short Video of the Month
Lucy & Toby
An educational animated movie about blindness.
Community Resources
Understood.org: The 13 Conditions Covered under IDEA
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires schools to provide special education and related services to eligible students. But not every child with learning or attention issues qualifies. To be covered, a child’s school performance must be “adversely affected” by one of the 13 conditions.
Connecting for Kids
Connecting for Kids is a nonprofit with a mission to provide education and support to families with concerns about their child. We serve families in Cuyahoga and Lorain counties with children younger than 13 years of age.
Cuyahoga County Bright Beginnings and Ohio Department of Health Help Me Grow
If you are a pregnant mother or have a child under the age of three and live in Cuyahoga County, you can sign up for services by calling us at (216) 698-7500. In Cuyahoga County, there are two home visiting programs:
Help Me Grow Home Visiting is supported by the Ohio Department of Health, and
Bright Beginnings is supported by the Cuyahoga County Office of Early Education / Invest in Children and Family and Children First Council.
IEP Information: A Guide to Parent Rights in Special Education
This guide can help you understand your rights and your child’s rights according to IDEA and the Ohio Operating Standards. It also gives you information and resources to help you understand your child’s special education supports and services.
Rocky River City School District: Pupil Services
The Pupil Services Department encompasses the various supports that are provided to students. The Office of Pupil Services coordinates district-wide identification and intervention efforts including compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.