Summer vacation has begun for many students throughout the country. Parents and caregivers are challenged with taking advantage of warmer weather and more daylight while still maintaining the level of structure and routine their loved one with Prader-Willi syndrome needs. For some people, coming up with fun activities is a stressor. PWSA | USA has compiled a list of activities that you can pick from this summer!
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Play hide and go seek
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Take swimming lessons
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Take pictures of your activities and create a photo album
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Tie-dye t-shirts
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Plant flowers or vegetables
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Dig for worms or rocks
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Color the driveway or sidewalk with chalk
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Finger paint
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Check out your local library
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Write a story together (length doesn’t matter)
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Pick a favorite book, read it and then dress up as the characters
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Go on a scavenger hunt
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Catch fireflies
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Go on a hike
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Pick some flowers and give to a neighbor
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Make a craft
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Go to a petting farm or petting zoo
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Go to every playground in your city
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Visit a local museum
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Go on a train ride
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Visit your local farmer’s market
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Go to the beach
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Volunteer
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Look for shapes in the clouds
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Develop a family tradition
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Play follow the leader
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Interview other family members and then write a story about them
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Play freeze tag
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Sprinkler fun
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Play with sensory items, such as play dough, silly putty, or shaving cream
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Go camping in the back yard
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Build a fire and tell ghost stories
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Have a dance party
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Visit a water park
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Play with bubbles
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Have lunch or dinner outside under a tree
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Go on a bike ride
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Make and fly a kite
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Water balloon baseball
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Water gun fight
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Build a bird house
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Visit a local wildlife habitat
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Watch a new movie each week
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Make a time capsule
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Play cards
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Go to a minor league baseball game
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Visit a historical site
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Challenge your brain by learning something new
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Try a new science experiment each week
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Go fishing
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Build an obstacle course in your backyard
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Perry A. Zirkel has written more than 1,500 publications on various aspects of school law, with an emphasis on legal issues in special education. He writes a regular column for NAESP’s Principal magazine and NASP’s Communiqué newsletter, and he did so previously for Phi Delta Kappan and Teaching Exceptional Children.
Jennifer Bolander has been serving as a Special Education Specialist for PWSA (USA) since October of 2015. She is a graduate of John Carroll University and lives in Ohio with her husband Brad and daughters Kate (17), and Sophia (13) who was born with PWS.
Dr. Amy McTighe is the PWS Program Manager and Inpatient Teacher at the Center for Prader-Willi Syndrome at the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh. She graduated from Duquesne University receiving her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Education with a focus on elementary education, special education, and language arts.
Evan has worked with the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association (USA) since 2007 primarily as a Crisis Intervention and Family Support Counselor. Evans works with parents and schools to foster strong collaborative relationships and appropriate educational environments for students with PWS.
Staci Zimmerman works for Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Colorado as an Individualized Education Program (IEP) consultant. Staci collaborates with the PWS multi-disciplinary clinic at the Children’s Hospital in Denver supporting families and school districts around the United States with their child’s Individual Educational Plan.
Founded in 2001, SDLC is a non-profit legal services organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the legal rights of people with disabilities throughout the South. It partners with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Protection and Advocacy (P&A) programs, Legal Services Corporations (LSC) and disability organizations on major, systemic disability rights issues involving the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the federal Medicaid Act. Recently in November 2014, Jim retired.