June 23: Resources

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share some resources that may be helpful for you over the summer.

First, Autism Calgary has a list of COVID-19 online resources that includes contact info for support groups in Calgary, FSCD info, sites for children, and mental health resources: https://autismcalgary.com/covid19resources/

Autism Calgary also has a Keeping It Together (KIT) Mother's Group and Father's Autism Network (FAN) Group: https://autismcalgary.com/kit/
https://autismcalgary.com/fan/

The Autism Awareness Centre website is another great resource to find info on upcoming conferences and training sessions, books and products, and articles and blog posts from Maureen Bennie, creator of the Autism Awareness Centre and mother to two adults with autism in Calgary: https://autismawarenesscentre.com

Between Friends has a list of at-home resources for families: https://betweenfriends.ab.ca/at-home-resources-for-families/

Finally, Calgary's Child Magazine has a list of summer camps with at-home and in-person options: https://calgaryschild.com/resources/summer-camp-program-guide-2020

June 16: Art activities

Check out some fun summer art activities below!

1. Sidewalk Chalk Paint

Materials needed:

• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 2/3 cup water
• Food colouring

Steps:

• Mix together the water and cornstarch and stir until the cornstarch dissolves.
• Divide the paint mixture into the wells of a muffin tin or similar painting tray.
• Add Food colouring to achieve desired colours.
• Have fun painting the sidewalk!

2. Shoe fish

Materials needed:

• Shoe
• Pencil
• Piece of paper
• Crayons or markers
• Watercolour paint (optional)

Steps:

• Have child trace shoe onto paper.
• Using the shoe outline as the fish, decorate the fish by adding fins, gills, eyes, mouth, and scales.
• When drawing is complete, colour the fish with markers or create a crayon resist drawing (painting over crayon).

3. Fruit and Vegetable Painting

Materials needed:

• Paint or ink
• Sponges
• Cookie tray 
• Paintbrushes
• Water 
• Fruits and vegetables of all kinds (some good ones are: mushrooms, cauliflower, tomatoes, peppers, apples)

Steps:

• Dip fruits and vegetables into paint or ink and stamp them onto paper.
• You may instead wish to apply paint or ink directly to veg/fruit with a paintbrush.
• Have fun making cool patterns!

4. Pool noodle sailboats

Materials needed:

• Pool noodles
• Paper for sails (cut into triangles)
• Straws
• Large plastic container (to put sailboats in)
• Water
• Scissors

Steps:

• Cut pool noodles into 2-3 inch segments.
• Cut straws in half.
• Cut two small slits into triangle pieces (one near the top and one near the bottom to slide straw through).
• Slide straw into triangle piece (sail).
• Push sail into pool noodle.
• Place boats in water and sail away, Captain!

June 12: Art activities

Hi everyone,

I want to spend the next few blog posts sharing some fun and easy summer art activities you could try at home with your child.

1. Painting with various objects

Materials needed:

• Washable Paint

• Open containers to put paint in

• Water balloons (half full)

• Fruit/vegetables 

• Toilet paper rolls (bottom half cut in strips)

• Any stamp you would like to use

• Paper to stamp on

Steps:

• Set out multiple containers with various paint colours in them.

• Dip your chosen stamp into the paint and stamp onto your paper.

• Be creative and create your own masterpiece!

2) Coffee filter butterlies

Materials needed:

• Tissue paper (cut in small squares/all colours)

• Coffee filters (round) or white paper (cut into circles)

• Water

• Spray bottles or paint brushes

• Pipe cleaners

NOTE: Some tissues papers are non-bleeding. You want the paper that is labeled "colours bleed when wet".

Steps:

• Take coffee filter (or paper cut to shape) and have children spray or paint completely with water.

• Place squares of tissue paper on wet paper or coffee filter.

• Let dry about 15 minutes.

• Remove tissue paper and the colors will remain.

• Take the pipe cleaner and wrap it around the center of the filter and bend ends to look like antenna. Cut to length and glue (if using the paper).

• You could also have children put tissue paper on one side only, fold paper in half and have the colours transfer from one side to the other with the coffee filters…one placed on top of the other (with tissue paper in between) will also transfer the colours from one to the other spray bottle and paint brushes give the children different small motor experiences.

3) Rock Painting

Materials needed:

• Rocks
• Paint
• Sharpies

Steps:

• Pick smooth, flat rocks.
• Wash and dry the rocks before decorating them.
• Paint your design on top using coloured sharpies and apply several coats. Let dry between layers.
• Use thin tip sharpies for details.

June 4: Predictable chart writing at home

Before classroom closures, our students were participating in a daily literacy program called predictable chart writing. CBE's support services for inclusive learning have created a document for families to try and do predictable chart writing at home with their children. I will share that information below:

May 25: Name activities

Learning to recognize and print you own name is an important skill. There are many fun ways you can work on your child's name with them! I'll share some of those in this blog post.

Write their name with baking soda sidewalk paint and spray it with vinegar for a fizzy reaction!

Check out the fizzy sidewalk paint recipe here:

https://handsonaswegrow.com/outdoor-play-homemade-sidewalk-paint/

Use clothespins and a cut up alphabet mat to work on letter recognition as a prerequisite to name recognition (I'll send lowercase and uppercase alphabet mats directly to you after this as an email attachment)

Use manipulatives like magnets, puzzle pieces, or foam letters to match to the letters of their name

Write their name and then use pipe cleaners to form the letters of their name to trace overtop - this is also a great fine motor activity!

Incorporate name printing into a tactile sensory experience like playing with shaving cream 

Practice matching the letters of their name with sidewalk chalk (write a bunch of random letters and have them circle the letters of their name or draw lines from each letter in order to spell their name) 

Write the letters of their name on stickers for them to match to their written name for practice

If printing is a challenge, practice writing their name with a keyboard or on a tablet with a visual reference

Create family photo cards with names to create an understanding of names and to play a variety of name games

 For more ideas of ways to use the photo cards, check out this link: https://teachmama.com/family-playing-cards-take-em-make-em-then-play/

Practice writing each letter of their name on rainbow coloured paper strips

For more information about setting up the rainbow name activity, check out this link: https://handsonaswegrow.com/learn-spell-name-make-rainbow/

May 21: Physical literacy

Hi everyone,

I'm going to share below some physical literacy resources with you in case you are looking for more ideas to keep your family exercising and staying active during this time spent at home. Enjoy!

ANIMAL WALKS:

May 12: How to make cloud dough

Our tactile system is our sense of touch, but that doesn't just refer to our hands! We perceive tactile sensory input through our skin, and this helps us understand sensations like pressure, texture, hot/cold, and pain. If a child is having difficulty with this sensory system, there are things we can do to help develop the tactile system. Here are 4 tips from the Autism Helper:

Below is a link to a recipe for making cloud dough, which would be a great tactile experience! All you need is cornstarch, conditioner, a mixing bowl, a spoon, and measuring cups. Check it out!


https://theautismhelper.com/sensory-play-making-cloud-dough/

*Please remember, gradual exposure to tactile experiences is important when dealing with a tactile defensive child. Don't force your child to touch the cloud dough with their hands if they don't want to; you could offer a utensil to explore with first!*