12 November
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GRADS Meeting                                                                                        November 9, 2021

Midlebrook Community Room                                                                   6:30 p.m.

Six people attended the Grant Roberts Area Disability Supports meeting. Please note that our meeting minutes, scheduled events, and much more will be on the website: www.gradisabilitysupports.org.

Fundraiser

We decorated jars for the Gift in a Jar fundraiser. The 3 kinds are oatmeal chocolate chip bread, chocolate chip cookies, and bean soup. Thanks to Cheryl Sieverson for providing colorful material squares. There will be a bake sale and Gift in a Jar sale on Saturday, November 20 from 9-2 at the Middlebrook Community Room, 902 Milbank Avenue in Milbank. We encourage parents and people with disabilities to help sell or to provide baked goods. Rachael Johnson, Matthew and Charlotte Athey and MaryLou Bullert will work. Jars will sell for $8 each or 2 for $15. Bake sale items will be priced: cookies-$5/dozen or $3/half dozen; quick breads- $3/large loaf or $2.50/small loaf; peanut brittle $5. Please bring the marked items on Saturday morning. We will also serve bean soup for a free will offering. Rachael will bring napkins, spoons, & crackers. She will also bring change. Char will bring bowls and a cash box. MaryLou will make the soup and bring gloves and masks. Lara will make posters and a sign for the soup. Lara will send a poster to Cheryl to include on the website.

Christmas Display

LifeQuest and GRADS would like to assemble a holiday lighted display at Hartford Beach. Lara Maag has large inflatables, lots of lights and a pup tent to use. Lara will contact the park manager regarding this. Char Athey will ask Sean  Athey about making a sign for the display and perhaps making a generic one for GRADS to use at our other events.

NDEAM/Sisseton

Rachael Johnson reported on a successful event on October 7 with approx. 40 people in attenance. A big thank you is extended to GRADS and Grant County Arc for helping to sponsor this event. Rachael inquired if Sean Athey would make invitations and a poster for next year’s event. Char Athey will check on this.

Financial Report

The balance in First Bank and Trust checking account in Milbank was $1,718.58 as of 10/29/21.

Next Meeting

The next GRADS meeting will be on Tuesday, January 11 at 7:00 p.m. via ZOOM. Brenda Teske will arrange this. On the agenda will be having a booth at the farm show or a transition fair, quilt project, and NDEAM budget.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:00.

Respectfully submitted,

Rachael Johnson, Secretary

21 June
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GRADS Meeting June 8, 2021
Middlebrook Community Room 6:30 p.m.

Seven people attended the Grant Roberts Area Disability Supports meeting. Attention: Our meeting minutes, events, and much more will be on the website, www.gradisabilitysupports.org.

ADA/ Americans with Disabilities Act Celebration
The ADA celebration will be at the picnic shelter (by the bathrooms) at Farley Park on Monday, July 26, 2021. Individually wrapped sandwiches from Subway, chips, Little Debbie snacks, and bottled water will be served starting at 6:00 p.m. Charlotte Athey will purchase the food, a case of water, and hand sanitizer and bring ice in a cooler. Rachael Johnson will also bring water.
Advertising will include ads in Tidbits, The Valley Shopper, The Grant County Review and possibly the Sisseton Courier. Rachael will submit ads prior to July 16. Laura Maag will post the event on the weekly LifeQuest calendar and Cheryl Pocklington will put it on the website. Sean Athey and Cheryl will make a poster to be displayed at Runnings, the library, the grocery stores, the banks, the mall, Hardee’s, Casey’s, Pizza Hut, Triple Dip Lodge, Unity Square, and Middlebrook Community Room. Rachael will place some posters in Sisseton. Katrina Koeppe will send out letters and make phone calls.
Char Athey and Laura Maag will bring some outdoor games: washer toss, ladder ball, bean bags, and lawn dice. Laura will do a fish craft. She will get the supplies for it. We will need to bring some scissors. Other ideas are to have sidewalk chalk for hop scotch and have a spoon relay.
MaryLou Bullert has items for door prizes. Rachael Johnson has the guestbook.
A short program will follow the meal before the games begin. Katrina Koeppe will give a short presentation on ADA. Janet Guest will briefly share about Independent Living Choices. Char Athey will speak about GRADS. If other agency representatives are present, they will be introduced and can tell about their programs.

NDEAM Event
Rachael Johnson gave an update on the National Disability Employment Awareness Month dinner event in Sisseton. It will be on Thursday, October 7, 2021 at the Family Life Center, 404 West Hickory Street with a box dinner served at 6:00 p.m. The guest speaker, Marcelle Ciampi M Ed., will speak at approx. 6:45. A recognition of local employers/employees will end the evening.

Projects
Laura Maag will submit pictures of LifeQuest activities to be used on the website quarterly.
Making blankets will be a fall project.

Website
There was a question on blog vs. email communication. There was also a concern about accessing calendar information. Cheryl Pocklington addressed those issues.

Next Meeting
The next GRADS meeting will be on September 14, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. at the Middlebrook Community Room, 902 Milbank Aveuue, Milbank.

Respectfully submitted,
Rachael Johnson, Secretary

24 March
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The National Center on Education Outcomes is releasing a series of videos on various aspects of learning support for children with significant cognitive disabilities at home. The videos are now available on YouTube.

In addition to parents and educators, other audiences will find the videos useful as they work with parents and families. Each video focuses on three key questions:

  • Why is it important to focus on this with my child at home?
  • How can I do this at home?
  • What support can I ask for from my child’s school?


Additional videos will be added to the series over the next several months. Future videos will be on supporting the learning of reading, writing and math at home, as well as one on monitoring progress.

24 November
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Parents and Educators, GRADS understands how difficult it is to prepare for traditional learning, distance learning, and having lessons ready if you, a family member, or a student is quarantined. We want to offer our support through our website. Our listings will change throughout the pandemic, but here are some resources to begin our support. Pinterest has some fantastic distance learning ideas. Many provide free materials:

-Webcam Field Trips
-Boom Cards for Distance Learning
-Google Classroom
-Free History Videos for Kids
-Free Downloadable Resource Guides
-Free education workbooks, activity books, and art kits from Adobe Stock
-Free printable cursive worksheets
-Free Typing Games for kids
-Color Code and Organize your Google Drive
-150+ Educational shows to stream on Netflix (HomeschoolHideout.com)
-35 Animal Webcams to watch with your kids (SoCalFieldTrips.com)
-Learning Games and Activities (theeducatorsspinonit.com)

17 November
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At Home Learning Success

Source: Good Housekeeping, October 2020 article, At-Home Learning Success, written by Mary Sauer and Marisa Lascala. Summarized by Mary Lou Bullert

1) Stick to a Routine
Inconsistency makes distance learning more difficult. Work for 45 minutes and then take a 15 minute break. Keep materials organized in separate in files or baskets. Kids move materials from the in-box to the done-box. Kids can visually see their accomplishments.

2) Build Independence
Instead of hovering and becoming a helicopter parent, let kids share what they’ve completed. This will build confidence. It will also allow you to work from home. If you have more than one child, you can have divide your time. Follow your school’s benchmarks. At school, students aren’t on task all day. They transition between classes, a teacher has to work with 20 to 30 students not just your child, there’s recess, lunch, gym, and other activities besides sitting in their desk all day. Remember to focus on reading and math.

3) Give Yourself Credit
Be realistic. From time to time, kids will push back at home and at school. Give yourself and your kids some space.

Virtual Learning Resources

Khan Academy provides exercises, quizzes, and videos as well as downloadable curricula for free. Khanacademy.org

Exploratorium includes tools to help kids become active explorers in science.
Exploratorium.edu

Hippo Campus offers 7,000 videos in 13 areas, from middle school to college level.
Hippocampus.org