Today I took Nick to his day program. He calls it school. The name really is Bridge of Promise and the program is based here in Carnation, WA. Nick loves it. They go on field trips and do group activities in the school room. There are students, teachers and volunteers involved in the program.
This morning, we had music time with Nick’s friend Marcy Candland. Then we made “Slime” which is made with Elmers glue. After the slime, each of the students got to play with some sand. It was called Kinetic Sand. I had never heard of it before. It is a three-dimensional building toy resembling light brown sugar that mimics the physical properties of wet sand, except that it doesn’t stick to clothing or skin. It is mess-free. The students did like playing with both the slime and the sand, and I noticed that both the teachers and volunteers really enjoyed themselves too.
The whole experience took me back to when Nick was small and I would play with him. Sand toys, water toys, building blocks were part of each day. Some of the games were given to us by the various therapists and some times we just played. It was fun and therapy at the same time.
Even when Nick was a teenager, he would still play in his sandbox. His uncle Darren built a sand box big enough for Nick to sit in and play with his cousins. Someone along the way told Nick that he was too old to play in a sandbox and so he quit playing in it. He had so much fun today, it makes me sad to think that he has missed out doing something that he enjoys just because someone else thought that he was too old.
We are going to build him a new sand box, under our carport using Kinetic Sand. It will be fun.
Are there things that you used to love and have quit doing them because someone told you that you shouldn’t anymore? Think about it and reconsider your decision. We all need more playtime. It reduces tension and stress.
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3 Comments
Sweet story that made me think of our holidays. Preston was a firm believer in Santa. I have been Santa for 40 years (this includes Preston’sbrother). This past year Preston broke all the early riser records by getting up at 2 am to see what Santa brought. I’ve also been trick or treating for 40 years. Preston loved it so we just kept right on going. Little did we know that last year would be our last holidays with our sweet son. But I’m so thankful that I did everything possible to make life fun for Preston.One Christmas we went to a dinner for the parents of special needs children and one woman stood up and said that she let her son know years ago that there was no Santa and I thought that’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard. My husband and I just looked at each other and laughed. Preston made Christmas fun!
Thank you for sharing this.
He will LOVE having his own sand box!!! What a wonderful thing to do for him. (Make sure it’s big enough for other “big kids” to play in it with him!)
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