Loved by children and adults, bubble wrap does more that cushion packages. Actually popping bubble wrap can help reduce fidgeting and anxiety. When you pop those little bubbles, you receive tactile (touch) and auditory (hear) feedback. And that can become a calming sensory experience. It would be a good idea to pop bubble wrap while waiting in a doctor’s office, driving long distances, or whenever anxiety occurs. Happy Popping!!!!

Well it’s that time of year again. As part of our holiday tradition, we bake cookies to give to teachers, family, and friends. I like to have the children help as much as possible. Of course, it would be faster and easier if I did it on my own. But I want the children to experience the joy of giving to others. So we ended up making 6 dozen cookies and decorating them of course. Each child had their own “recipe” to follow. I  pre measured the ingredients and put into separate cups so it was easier for them to follow the sequence. Then they each had their own rolling pin to roll out their dough and then use the cookie cutters. The best part was decorating the cookies with icing, sprinklers, and candy. They had an excellent time. It was a tradition that they will always remember.

Since the different functioning levels of our children, we have always struggled with finding a family game that everybody can participate in. But this week we conquered that challenge. To our surprise, we discovered not 1 but 2 games that can keep everyone’s attention. The first, and my personal favorite, is UNO card game. I remember playing UNO as a kid with my siblings. We used to have UNO marathons. And now all 6 of us can play. By now everyone knows their colors and numbers. We had some trouble with waiting for our turn but overall it was a success. The other game is using the dry erase board to play hangman. Hangman is when you think of a word or phrase and draw the exact number of dashes for the letters. Each player has to say a letter that might be the phrase. If the letter is in the phrase, I write it in. If not, I fill in body parts to create a person. The object is to solve the puzzle before my person has all his body parts.  To make things easier, I write the alphabet on a separate sheet of paper if the children need help. Now that Destiny is reading, she has become the hangman master. Even Derek can play because he can identify most letters. We like to play one of the games each night before bedtime. It’s a way for us to come together after a crazy day and it doesn’t take a lot of time.