Summer vacation has begun for many students throughout the country.ย 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.ย 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 doesnโt 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 farmerโs 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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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.
Perry A. Zirkel has written more than 1,500 publications on variousย aspects of school law, with an emphasis on legal issues in special education.ย He writes a regular column for NAESPโsย Principalย magazine and NASPโsย Communiquรฉย newsletter, and he did so previously forย Phi Delta Kappanย andย Teaching Exceptional Children.
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.
Dr. Amy McTighe is the PWS Program Manager and Inpatient Teacher at the Center for Prader-Willi Syndrome at the Childrenโs Institute of Pittsburgh. She graduated fromย Duquesne University receiving her Bachelorโs and Masterโs degree in Education with a focus on elementary education, special education, and language arts.
Staci Zimmerman works for Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Colorado as an Individualized Education Programย (IEP) consultant. Staci collaborates with the PWS multi-disciplinary clinic at the Childrenโs Hospital in Denverย supporting families and school districts around the United Statesย with their childโs 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.