As I look back on the years with the blessing of Tristan, I am amazed that the amount of our particpation in family activities has increased! Honestly, for a long time, the list was short. Church, McDonald’s, parks, and two hours at a family gathering. That was all we could muster the energy to do outside our home. Our home was our sanctuary to manage Tristan.
Continue readingfamily time
Practical Tip #49 — 60 Minutes at a Children’s Museum
For as long as I can remember, Tristan has always been curious and likes to touch everything. One of our favorite places to take Tristan is a Hand’s On Museum called Curious Kids’ Museum in St. Joseph, Michigan.
Continue readingPractical Tip #43 Kitchen Fun
I bought some colorful cookie dough through a fundraiser. It almost looked like playdough. I thought Tristan might find this interesting. When the order came in I went off to the store to purchase some new cookie cutters.
Practical Tip #42- Pumpkin Fun! An Alternative to Carving Pumpkins
I came across an activity on-line. The YouTube video is called “Rainbow Crayon Pumpkin!” I thought to myself, “Tristan would love this.”
Practical Tip #40- Participate In An Autism Awareness Walk!
We participated in a local autism awareness walk. This was the first time for our family to do this! I wish we hadn’t waited so long because it was a positive family day. Continue reading
Practical Tip#37- Magical Nighttime Fun!
Brian and I decided to tackle a new activity with Tristan. I found an activity on-line called a “Glow in the Dark Easter Egg Hunt.” I thought what a fun idea! This would be a good night-time sensory activity.
I know doing any activity requires pre-planning. I gathered all the supplies and was ready for Tristan’s home weekend visit!
We waited for it to get dark…. Then I quickly prepared the eggs in another room while Brian entertained Tristan. The eggs were ready to go in a paper bag.
Brian sneaked out the front door with the paper bag. He returned a few minutes later.
I looked out the window.
24 Eggs scattered in the front yard.
I handed Tristan a basket and said, “We are going to the front yard to pick up eggs!”
He put on his coat, and we walked out the front door.
It looked magical!
We explained to him what the game was. (finding eggs and putting them into the basket) He enjoyed the activity searching for the eggs.
It took about 20 minutes for him to pick them all up. (I had high hopes of this being a color sorting activity for him to enjoy, but honestly when they glow they are all yellow.)
Back inside we went…
When we came into the house, he opened each egg. When he turned off the battery tea light, then he could see what color the egg was. He seemed to enjoy this color guessing activity!
This was a win-win activity!
Since he functions at a toddler/pre-school level, we will enjoy this for several more weekends.
This idea came from the website smartschoolhouse.com.
Practical Tip #35 – Hands-On Museums
Our Tristan is very curious and loves to touch everything. It is just where he is at developmentally.
We have found that hands-on museums are a Tristan family-friendly activity.
We took a trip to the Curious Kids’ Museum in St. Joesph, Michigan.
When we entered the museum, I said to Tristan, “At this place, you can touch everything.”
At the physical disability awareness station, Tristan thought it was a fun game to sit in the wheelchair and circle the ramps.
The giant Lite-Brite station was a huge hit because he was gifted with one this past Christmas. He understood the activity. Tristan loves when items are larger or smaller than the usual size.
We played hard for about 90 minutes and then it was time to exit.
It was a great family day!
Practical Tip #7- Family Time
What activities can you do as a family? Continue reading
The Practical Side of Autism 