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!
Play hide and go seek
Take swimming lessons
Take pictures of your activities and create a photo album
Tie-dye t-shirts
Plant flowers or vegetables
Dig for worms or rocks
Color the driveway or sidewalk with chalk
Finger paint
Check out your local library
Write a story together (length doesn’t matter)
Pick a favorite book, read it and then dress up as the characters
Go on a scavenger hunt
Catch fireflies
Go on a hike
Pick some flowers and give to a neighbor
Make a craft
Go to a petting farm or petting zoo
Go to every playground in your city
Visit a local museum
Go on a train ride
Visit your local farmer’s market
Go to the beach
Volunteer
Look for shapes in the clouds
Develop a family tradition
Play follow the leader
Interview other family members and then write a story about them
Play freeze tag
Sprinkler fun
Play with sensory items, such as play dough, silly putty, or shaving cream
Go camping in the back yard
Build a fire and tell ghost stories
Have a dance party
Visit a water park
Play with bubbles
Have lunch or dinner outside under a tree
Go on a bike ride
Make and fly a kite
Water balloon baseball
Water gun fight
Build a bird house
Visit a local wildlife habitat
Watch a new movie each week
Make a time capsule
Play cards
Go to a minor league baseball game
Visit a historical site
Challenge your brain by learning something new
Try a new science experiment each week
Go fishing
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 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.
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 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.
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.