C O N S U L T A N T S’ O WINTER 2018 Volume 20 Issue 2 R Editorial Staff: Indira Dillon, Susan Egging, Amy Scepaniak, CALENDAR OF EVENTS Aimee Ullrich, and Julie VanDover N January - National Braille Literacy Awareness Month Louis Braille’s Birthday - January 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS E Page 1 Black Hills Ski for Light Winter Event Calendar of Events January 22-25, Lead, SD R Family Event Page 2 South Dakota Special Education Conference “Farmer’s Market: Ready, Set, Grow!” Incidental Learning...or “Learning Outside of the Box”: Gestures March 13-14, Sioux Falls, SD Exploring the Wild at Meeting the Need Dakotas AER Conference Campground Best Western Ramkota Hotel Page 3 April 18-20, Aberdeen, SD Story Boxes — Our Five Senses APH Insights Art Music in the Hills Page 4 Meeting the Need Campground SD Braille & Talking Book Library May 18-19, Keystone, SD APH Educational Products Page 5 20th Annual Youth Leadership Forum Toilet Paper Roll Car Craft June 3-7, NSU, Aberdeen, SD Expanded Core Curriculum: Parts of a Vehicle Family Weekend - Building Visions for Success Page 6 June 9-10, Aberdeen, SD Braille & Talking Book Library Winter Reading Program Transition Week Books Featuring Characters with Visual Rehab Center for the Blind Impairments June 10-14, Sioux Falls, SD STEM SDSBVI Summer Program Page 7 June 10-29 and July 8-27 Aberdeen, SD Takin’ it to the Streets Transition Corner Page 8 Snowy Toy Car Ramp Family Event Have your very own car wash Tech Tidbits A tradition is happening at SDSBVI. For the past several Page 9 years a group of parents and family members meet prior Tech Tidbits (Continued) to the Christmas program and lunch. This year they met Did You Know on December 22 and made a Christmas craft prior to the Page 10 program. The parents and family members also had a Focus on the Eye: Traumatic Brain Injury chance to discuss the latest Family Weekend 2108 American Page 11 Printing House Race Car Snacks (APH) Page 12 products. Everyday Activities Calendar PAGE 2 INCIDENTAL LEARNING…OR “LEARNING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX”: GESTURES Incidental learning is learning that takes place without any structure, objective, or intent to learn, and is usually done by visually observing. This method of learning is very difficult for children who are blind or visually impaired and concepts need to be taught through hands-on learning experiences. Having a conversation with people around us is an everyday occurrence. Part of that conversation includes gestures. Being visually impaired or blind, your child may not see those gestures that contribute important information as part of the conversation. A gesture is typically a movement of the hands or head that signifies an idea or meaning. Typically gestures are done intentionally to convey a non-verbal message. You may need to get very close to the child so he/she can see the gestures. With a child that is blind, you will want to allow him/her to feel the placement of your hands or head in order to understand the gestures if needed. You can help by assisting in placing the hand in the correct position. The following are examples of common gestures. 1. A-Okay or okay: the thumb and forefinger are touched to make a circle and the other fingers are straight up 2. Air quotes: flexing the index and middle fingers of both hands 3. Blah-blah: fingers and thumb are pointed straight out and they are snapped together repeatedly to suggest a mouth talking a lot 4. Crossed fingers: for good luck, a wish, or to nullify a promise 5. Hand-rubbing: could either mean expecting or anticipating, or a gesture of feeling cold and wanting to warm up 6. Hitchhiking: sticking the thumb upward while the fingers are in a fist 7. Thumb up/down: gesture of approval or disapproval 8. Wave: a greeting of hello or sign of departure For a more extensive list of gestures go to: List of gestures---Wikipedia. Once your child learns some of these common gestures, have a conversation using them, exaggerating them initially so he/she can practice finding the meaning of them in a conversation. After all, “an action is worth a thousand words”. EXPLORING THE WILD AT MEETING THE NEED CAMPGROUND On September 8-9, 2017, Mary Dietrich, Proprietor of Meeting the Need Campground near Keystone, welcomed parents, children, and volunteers from West River to an overnight camping experience in the Black Hills. After settling in, everyone gathered to eat supper, visit, and just relax. The kids made S’mores and sang songs around the campfire. The next morning everyone woke to sunshine and the wonderful smell of breakfast. After a tour of the old Otho tin mine, Joe Harrison surprised the kids with an unveiling of several wildlife mounts. The kids were encouraged to touch, smell, and explore the deer, trout, pheasant, beaver, and snake. Volunteers made large print and braille books about each animal for the kids. This entire experience was organized by Joe Harrison and his team from the Rapid City Area School District. Funding was provided through a grant from the South Dakota Parks and Wildlife Foundation. Because of the overwhelming positive response from those who attended the camp in September, another overnight camp is being planned for 2018 by Susan Egging and a team of volunteers. Stay tuned for details in our Spring newsletter. PAGE 3 Story Boxes — Our Five Senses A “Story Box” is a fun, interactive way for children with visual impairments to explore real objects that correspond with objects in a story. In this newsletter, the selected book series is written by Patrick George. The books are titled I Touch, I Hear, I Taste, I Smell, and I See. Each book is illustrated with simple and colorful pictures of objects that can be used to make a story box. The books can be loaned by an Outreach Consultant or purchased online. Choose a book and read it to yourself. Decide how many objects to put in the box based on your child's interest, attention span, and concept development. One or two might be enough. With your child, collect REAL objects that correspond to the story line. If you choose the book I Touch, collect a bar of slippery soap and a feather to put in the box. Cook spaghetti, put some in a container, and have your child put it in the box. If using I Hear, collect materials like a small tree branch that can be snapped, a balloon that can be popped, or a small drum to bang on. Remember, use REAL objects. I Taste by Patrick George might mean you bake cookies together and remember to put one in the box. Maybe scoop ice cream into a cone and later add an ice cream cone to the box. An onion, a lemon, or a pair of smelly socks might be something you put in the I Smell story box. If you want, after drinking hot chocolate with your child, put the package with a little of the hot chocolate mix (smell) in the box. The I See book can be a lot of fun because of the transparent acetate pages that when turned, change the image on the previous page. For example, a plane in the sky changes into a toy plane in a child’s hand. This can start the conversation about the concept of far and near and the difference between a real plane and a toy plane in the story box. As with any story box, give your child time to explore each item collected before reading the story. Encourage thought about its size, shape, and texture. Name it and model how it is used. For example, with a spoon, pretend to eat. With a shoe, try it on. Compare the spoon or shoe with different spoons and shoes in the house. Then before you read the story, take the items out of the box. Place them close by, but out of your child’s reach. Read the title and then the story once, twice or even three times. Use sound effects and dramatic intonation to peak interest. Give your child the chance to retell the story. Now place the objects near your child. Have your child touch or hold the object as you read about it in the story. When done, have your child put the items back in the box. Place a large print and/or braille “label” or velcro a small object that relates to the story on the box. Find space on a book shelf for your child to put the story box. APH INSIGHTS ART APH InSights Art 2018 Visions from the Mind 27th Annual Juried Art Competition and Exhibition applications are due soon! The competition is open to all individuals who are blind or visually impaired around the globe. As this year progresses, please look closely at pieces of art created by your child/students and consider submitting them for this year’s competition. If you have any questions, contact your Outreach Vision Consultant for more information or go to http://www.aph.org/museum/ insights.html. The deadline for student entries is March 16, 2018. PAGE 4 South Dakota Braille and Talking Book Library Updates Alternative Format Textbooks — Braille & Large Print Orders for alternative format textbooks, large print and Braille, needed for the 2018-19 school year must be received by January 15, 2018 to guarantee availability on the first day of fall classes. Books may be ordered anytime during the year, but will not have the guarantee.