Fun and Goals Haiku

“My hands and your hands
Together reaching set goals
Is it work? It’s fun!”

– CTC Occupational Therapist Rhonda Hines

Some of the best things in the life of a child are the same things you probably remember fondly from your own childhood – cutting, pasting, playing with clay, and finger-painting. These activities are also very important in helping your child learn fine motor skills, and the more gooey portions of the “work” help children with sensory processing issues.

Here at CTC, we want to make sure that a child intent on exploring the world isn’t hampered by potential toxicity. Home made craft supplies are not only completely safe alternatives to their toxic store-bought cousins, they are also less expensive.

Here are a few of our favorite recipes. I’ve tested each of them on my own crafty and disaster-prone 4 year old, he very much approves!

Homemade Paste

3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup warm water.

1. Combine the ingredients in a sealable container.
2. Mix until thoroughly combined.
3. Add drops of peppermint or your child’s favorite extract for smell if you’d like.
4. Store in refrigerator in airtight container, spooning out a tablespoon or two at a time for use.  My son’s favorite way to use it is by using a paintbrush for application.

Homemade Play Dough

2 cups water
2 1/2 cups white flour
1/2 cup salt
1 tablespoon cream of tartar
2 packages Kool-Aide
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. Bring the water to a boil; remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl, use a wooden spoon to combine flour, salt, cream of tartar, and Kool-Aide. Add oil and stir to combine.
3. Add the hot water to the rest of the ingredients; stir to mix. After a few minutes, when the dough is cool enough to handle, turn it onto a lightly-floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
4. Store unused portions in refrigerator.  One batch makes the equivalent of 8 containers of play dough.

Note: It looks and smells lovely, but though it’s edible in the strictest sense, it doesn’t taste very pleasant!

Cooked Finger Paint

1 cup flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 cups cold water
3 cups boiling water
food coloring

1. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil.
2. In a medium saucepan, mix the flour and salt until combined. Add the cold water and stir until smooth. Turn heat on to medium.
3. Add the boiling water, combine thoroughly, and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. When the mixture turns clear, remove from heat and cool. Mix until smooth.
4. Separate into smaller containers, adding coloring to the individual batches.

Have fun!

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), any prolonged exposure at higher than 80 decibels and any frequent short-term exposure at 100 decibels can cause permanent noise-induced hearing loss.

Fortunately, some companies have taken notice. You can limit the volume levels on many MP3 players, including the most popular hand held, the iPod. In fact, on the iPod, a parent can even lock that volume so that a child is unable to turn up the volume past a safe level.

So make sure you crank it down and limit your listening time. Even the best jams aren’t worth sacrificing your hearing.

1. From the first menu on your iPod, select Settings > Volume Limit.
2. Use the click wheel to adjust the volume level to just under half the possible volume. Press the Center button to set this limit.
3. The iPod will return you to the Volume Limit screen. Select “Set Combination” to create the passcode needed to change this limit. Use the click wheel to select a number, and the Center button to set it and move on to the next number.
4. When you’ve finished, pressing the 
Center button in the last number will return you to the Volume Limit screen.

If successful, whenever the volume is turned up, you will see a lock on the right hand side of the volume bar.

For more information, check out the following articles:

The MP3 Generation: At Risk for Hearing Loss?

The Children´s Hearing Institute – Hearing Health/Preserving Hearing

Check out this informational video from Cleveland Clinic:

Come play in our Tokens & Trump Charity Game Day and bring friends!

Play MONOPOLY games or in a Bridge Tournament.

Day of Event: Saturday, February 25, 2012
Check in:  11:30  Games begin: 12:00 Noon
Location: Women’s City Club, 254 E. Fulton, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Income Tax and Buy In: $25 per player or
Collect at least $50 in donations from friends and your  registration is FREE!

Full details and registration: Click Here

To Sponsor a Player: Click Here

Comprehensive Therapy Center and the Sweet House Foundation have joined forces to make Charity Day Game fun for everyone!

Competition will be keen at both game tables! Prizes and Awards!

ArtPrize Artist Josh Andrus

A former client,  Josh Andrus will be exhibiting his watercolor titled “I Only Have Eyes for Blue” during ArtPrize 2011, at Spectrum Health’s Meijer Heart Center.  Comprehensive Therapy Center congratulates Josh.  As a young child, Josh attended our Therapy and Fun program for several years.  He is one of three winners in the Legacy Trust and VSA Michigan-Grand Rapids Art Contest for adults with disabilities.

Today, Josh Andrus attends Lincoln School and he creates his art at Hearts for The Arts (www.hearts4thearts.net).  Josh’s use of colors and highlights creates movement in his paintings among his bold strokes.  He has been painting since 2009, and likes to work in watercolor, acrylic, charcoal and oil pastels.  He paints two or three times per week.

As a five-year old in 1991, Josh Andrus was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.  At that time, Josh worked on his speech-language, motor and sensory skills at the Therapy and Fun program.  He developed many skills.  However, at 20 years old he lost most of his spoken language ability and now communicates by spelling out messages on a communication board.  He often uses color in his descriptive writing … the sunrise as “early morning pink” and feelings of anger and frustration as “sick yellow.”

We encourage everyone to go see “I Only Have Eyes for Blue” during ArtPrize and vote for

I Only Have Eyes for Blue by Josh Andrus

the painting if you like it!  All of the staff at Comprehensive Therapy Centers encourages Josh to continue with his artistic endeavors and we are proud to have been his therapists as a young child.

Good Luck Josh!

Order forms will be handed out at the first day of Therapy and Fun.  If you didn’t get your copy, please ask Jan Wilks or one of the volunteers the next time you bring in your child.

Cookie Dough:

• Available in 13 delicious flavors!
• Makes about four dozen cookies.
• All you have to do is spoon and bake. The dough is made to order and delivered fresh.
• Each cube is stamped with a “use or freeze by” date on the side.
• Sells for $12.00 each, 2 for $22.00, or 3 for $30.00.

Gourmet Popcorn:

• Available in 4 decadent flavors!
• Caramel & Chicago Style come in a one-gallon easy to carry bucket.
• Chocolate Delight & Carmel with peanuts is packed in a reusable half-gallon container.
• Sells for $12.00 each, 2 for $22.00, or 3 for $30.00.

Lava-licious Fudge or Peanut Butter Cakes:

• Each container contains 5 individually wrapped brownies.
• The rich fudge or peanut butter center melts when microwaved.
• A must try item!
• Sells for $12.00 each, 2 for $22.00, or 3 for $30.00.

Bundt Cakes:

• They are made from scratch here in Grand Rapids.
• The cakes are uniquely moist like a marriage of cheese cake and pound cake.
• Each cake is 3 ½ pounds and easily serves 24 – 30 people.
• Sells for $25.00 each.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

• Orders are due Tuesday July 5, 2011. Please use the attached order sheet.
• Orders are delivered to you Tuesday July 26, 2011. I will be sorting them in the morning, and you will be able to take them home with you at the end of Therapy and Fun that day.

The goal for each seller 20 items. If you have questions, please contact us at (616) 559-1054 or shodgman@therapycenter.org.

At Therapy and Fun, we help children walk, talk, learn and play…so they can read and write.

Check out our 2010 Therapy and Fun Report Here

Children come to Therapy and Fun for seven weeks each summer to receive therapy that strengthens their reading pyramid skills. Therapy is held Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings from 9:00 a.m.–12:00 noon. Children participate in daily individual and group motor, sensory and language sessions led by therapists. To make therapy “fun”, each child practices skills through activities: arts and crafts, songs, and reading. While reading, children practice language, motor and sensory skills with an attentive and trained volunteer.

Read Parent Testimonials Here

Our volunteers attend an intensive orientation before Therapy and Fun starts to learn about teaching literacy, disability awareness, leadership, empathy, and best practices including CPR, safety, confidentiality, and data collection. Every morning our professional staff and volunteers participate in inservices where they review client cases, learn reading teaching methods, and discuss strategies for success. Teen volunteers are mentored by the therapists as they interact with our young clients. Parents say that their children love this social interaction and work even harder to achieve their goals.

Apply to be Teen Therapy Aide Here

If you have any questions, give us a call at (616) 559-1054.  Hope to see you there!

Well, now they take the plastic trays inside the wrappers, too! Help CTC earn cash for Therapy and Fun by bringing us your trash.  And it’s good for the environment, too.

With one hour a month of your time, you can help provide leadership and direction to Comprehensive Therapy Center. Our mission is to help disadvantaged children with disabilities walk, talk, learn, play, and read through speech-language, occupational, and sensory therapies.

We meet the second Tuesday of every month from 12:00 noon until 12:55pm in the conference room of our office. Lunch is always provided.

What are some of the best reasons to serve on a community agency board?

• Your skills are needed.
• CTC, and the people we serve, will benefit from your contributions.
• You’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with other local professionals who share your interests and values.
• You’ll learn new skills.
• You’ll widen your professional network and improve your resume.
• You’ll have an impact.
• You’ll have fun!

Click here to learn more about our summer program, Therapy and Fun; our 2010 Community Benefit report; our history and mission; and our work in local schools.

For more information, or to set up a time to meet with me about joining our board, please send an e-mail to jsilbar@therapycenter.org.

Play MONOPOLY® games or Euchre games or both!
Saturday, March, 19, 2011

Lunch and cash bar available.

Registration opens at 11:30 am, Play begins at Noon
12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Click here for more information.

Women’s City Club
254 Fulton Street East, Grand Rapids (Map It)
FREE PARKING