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category: Adventures
Yoga On and Zen Out
Sofia is navigating a little bit of a growth spurt right now and it's pretty fun. I love seeing her realize that she doesn't need a step stool to reach the sink and watch her as she delights in helping set the table because she can actually see what's in the cutlery drawer, rather...
Create a camp
Ahhh, summer. Blue skies...warm breezes... barbeque dinners. I love summer and the slowed-down pace of days. Sofia still has physical therapy, but there isn't the stress of managing a school pick-up and dashing across town to get to her appointment on time. There are also waaaay...
A Balancing Act
MATERIALS ~ two jump ropes (or 4' length of rope) In May 2012, at almost three years old, Sofia began to use a reverse walker. This was a huge milestone for her and for us as a family. She had worked hard on stepping in physical therapy — typically with either someone holding...
Swinging for the fences
Jeremiah and I had our first four dates at Giants games. Baseball was part of our courtship and we fell in love over RBIs and garlic fries. We got engaged in eight months and were married six months after that. Sofia made an early appearance to our line-up 13 months later . I...
Work hard. Play hard.
“If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” I’ve always liked this quote and now, as a parent, I think about how it applies to Sofia. We all know kids are excited about the world around them and their place in it. Sofia is no different. She’s curious and loves...
Fingerprint Artwork
MATERIALS ~ paper ~ stamp pad/assorted colors ~ marker The idea for this craft came from a comment Sofia made after wiping off her hands following a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs (one of her favorites!). As she was getting the last dabs of sauce off her hands, she noticed...
X marks the spot
Since she was about three years old, one of Sofia’s favorite shows has been ‘Jake and the Neverland Pirates.’ She is inspired by the idea of discovery, working together as a team and treasure. Hey, the girl loves her bling! One morning at breakfast, she asked if she could watch...
Peacock Proud
MATERIALS ~ paper ~ marker or crayon It doesn’t get much easier than ‘trace your hand’ for a fun activity that develops Sofia’s fine motor skills — and her creative imagination. The first time we tried this, she was about 3.5 years old and needed quite a bit of help gripping the...
Spray Bottle Splashdown!
MATERIALS ~ Foam numbers, shapes or letters ~ Spray bottle ~ Window or sliding doors One afternoon, when Sofia was a little over four years old, she and I were hanging out upstairs. We have a small deck and both of us love the fresh air and the ‘outside time’ it allows. So, there...
Gone Fishing
MATERIALS ~ construction paper ~ safety scissors ~ marker ~ plastic container or bowl ~ small chip clip or clothespin One afternoon, our daughter sat contentedly as she watched “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2″ (again). She was joyfully calling out the names of the various...
Low mess 'sand' box
MATERIALS ~ rice ~ cookie sheet ~ small cooking utensils (spoon, measuring cup) ~ items that can be treasure to find (wine charms were handy for me…) Tapping into the creativity of my inner child has been a corollary of welcoming our daughter into our lives. Seeing how certain...
Eatable Exercises
MATERIALS ~ contents of your fridge ~ your dinner menu ~ a little advance planning (don’t worry … not too much!) Sofia’s formal diagnosis is spastic diplegia, which in brief means it impacts her legs. There is some involvement in her left hand, and they suppose this could be because...
Bug Stomp
MATERIALS ~ sheet of paper/light floor ~ marker ~ roll of scotch tape We’ve had the biggest successes creating adventures for our daughter that match her interests and her curiosity. A super easy one was inspired by her fascination with bugs and insects. We did some research together...
Playing with Pennies
MATERIALS ~ silly putty ~ assorted coins ~ small container with lid ~ scissors It was one of those days. I had planned a Saturday of exploring and digging in the sand at our neighborhood park, but awoke to a downpour and watched those plans get rained out. Well, necessity is the...
Stop and smell the flowers
MATERIALS ~ popsicle sticks ~ flower stickers ~ small berry baskets ~ duct tape We made this a two-day adventure and started by making the flowers themselves. It was a fun way to work on fine motor skills while talking about the colors we liked and what kind of bouquet we were...
What are you working on?
I had an idea to keep our daughter focused on specific new tasks her physical therapist felt she was ready to try. One of the overwhelming things about cerebral palsy is that there are so many seemingly ‘easy’ tasks that take a lot of energy and effort for the child to work out....