KU Birdhouse with Silhouette Stencils

So I received a new Silhouette Portrait for Christmas and my first project was to finish a KU (Kansas University) birdhouse for my father-in-law that my son and I painted for him. I will say using the Silhouette was quite easy and I was up and cutting within about 15 minutes. Here's a look at my first attempt using contact paper I had laying around the house as a stencil.

Rainbow Loom Rosary

I have searched the web trying to find a Rainbow Loom Rosary and this is my rendition. It's made with rubber bands and pony beads. It's a very basic pattern and would be easy for kids to make. I hope to post an instructional video on it here in the near future.

Movement Break Backpack

The new school year brings much excitement but for special needs kids and their parents it can bring much anxiety. One thing we have learned to help our son fight anxiety at school is to have scheduled movement breaks through out the day. As we approach the new school year I decided to make my son's teacher a movement break backpack. I created a sheet that shows all the items in the back pack and what they are used for. In addition I created a dice game to facilitate the movement breaks. That way anyone, even if they are not trained in sensory therapy can help my son. 

Here is a link to a customizable excel file for the Backpack contents. Please feel free to use it.

Sensory/Movement Break Backpack Excel File
This is a fairly big file - 38mb

Sensory/Movement Break Backpack Printable pdf

Movement Break Dice Game

Here is the dice game I created for the backpack. I took 3 alphabet blocks that my son had when he was a baby and created a pictures for all the sides and glued them on to the blocks. You roll the 3 dice in the middle of the room the 1st dice tells you how to move to an area, the second dice tells you what to do once you get there and the third tell you how many times to do it and then you go back to the middle of the room and start over. 

Sensory/Movement Break Dice Game Printable pdf

The original idea for the dice comes from YourTherapySource.com. Here is her video on how it kind of works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8koLkOXuXQ&list=UUXc-pJwTicMicc0QXybWRgQ


Note: This is not professional advice - I'm just a Mom trying to help her son make it in this world. A lot of the items in this backpack are geared toward Proprioceptive and Vestibular activities. 

Air Travel Checklist

This year we are planning a trip to Oregon. It will be my son's first time flying on a plane. He does have some anxieties about the Airport so I made him and Air Travel Check List to help him visualize what comes next. Please feel free to use the attached an Excel document to customize an Air Travel trip for your child.

 Air Travel Trip - Customizable Excel Checklist

Disclaimer: This is intended for personal use only. Images from the internet. Copyright infringement is not intended.

Butterflies and Flowers Birthday

Ribbon flower I created for my niece.

My mom made her a butterfly cake to match for her butterflies and flowers birthday.

Teacher Gift - Personalized Supply Box

Teacher gift we made using scrapbook supplies.

Star Wars Bedroom

Our Star Wars bedroom - a work in progress. Purchased the mural at thinkgeek.com. Bedding from Pottery Barn.

Stop to Think - Classroom Visuals

I made these signs for my 7 yr old kiddo that has Aspergers. He tends to over feel in situations and his para's tone of voice tends to send him into defiance mode. I created these as a visual to help cut back on the emotion when trying to direct him to do something. The teacher laminated them and they lay one on his desk when needed. They work so well that the teacher started using them with other kids in his class. I know they are working when my son comes home and says mom I didn't get any stop signs today and I had 3 way to goes. Success!

The signs include a stop sign, a way to go sign, and specific signs for staying in his seat and keeping his hands to himself.

Please feel free to use them. The original freeware vector signs were created by Vectoriano. I just adjusted them to fit our needs. These are intended for non profit or personal use only.

Self Regulation - Minecraft 5 Point Scale

I have recently created a Minecraft 5 Point Scale to help my son learn to self-regulate. It has been working awesome and it helps him be more aware of when he is getting upset. It can be used for a variety of special needs kids like Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder, Dyspraxia, and ADHD. Please feel free to use it. If you would like to learn more about the concept behind the scale visit it's creator Kari Dunn Brown at www.5pointscale.com 
The cool thing about the 5 point scale is that it is adaptable to any area of interest especially book or movies. If you think about it, a story always has a variety of characters with different temperaments that can be used.

Here is a link to a pdf file of the scale:
Minecraft 5 Point Scale PDF File


Here is a link to the Excel file of the scale if you would like to customize it: Minecraft 5 Point Scale Excel File

MI

Disclaimer: I in no way own the Minecraft characters. Copyright infringement is not intended. 

Teacher Gift - You Rule

Button studded ruler and Birthday card we made for my son's 1st grade teacher. We decorated a plain wooden ruler with some buttons we had laying around from a craft kit.

  

This has become such a popular post I decided to make a free printable so others can share in the teacher love. Just attach a button studded ruler and your gift is good to go. Feel free to download it and use it for personal use.

Free Printable Teacher You Rule Card

 

To attach the buttons to the ruler we used these Elmer's glue dots - Easy Peasy

Minecraft Birthday Party

 Made these things for my sons Birthday party. He's the biggest Minecraft fan ever.

 Enderman Pinata