Kendal Family Drop-In Centre Newsletter

January 2015
Contents:
1. Happy New Year
2. Stepping stones triple p parenting course January 2015.
3. The February Play scheme information and some extra 2015 dates!
4. Sparkles sessions dates for this term
5. Sing and sign for pre-school children
6. Developing Workshops: Apps and icons: using Visual supports; Social
skills.
7. Signalong sign supported speech.
8. lumie bodyclock wake up
9. Sensory toy
10. Cornerstones
11. Booking contact details: New Website
1) Happy New Year.
I hope it is not too late to wish you all a happy New Year. It has certainly been a
windy start to it and then the snow.! Brrrrr!
2) Stepping stones
I will be starting a new Stepping Stones positive parenting course in January 2015 on
Wednesday 14th January 2015 at 10.30am at the Kendal family Drop In centre. The
course is about listening to your own personal circumstances, looking at what you
have tried and thinking about the possibility of using different strategies to help with
the day to day routines. There is no charge for this course, if you are interested in a
future course please let me know.
3) Play scheme 2015 dates.
The Christmas party: Many thanks to all who came to the Christmas party. It was
wonderful to see so many families. I hope you all had a wonderful time. Thank you to
my helpers! Santa, fairy and Elf included!!
The play scheme in general: We have a number of daily activities on the premises
including art workshops, games including pool, table football, glide hockey;
Construction including Lego (castle, hobbit lego city etc) and duplo kits (cargo train
etc), bubbles, ribbons and music, ball pool, soft play, adventure play ground, with the
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January 2015
outside MUGA to kick a ball around etc. All sessions are subsidised by Cumbria
county Council through Barnardos; a donation of 3 per family will help us to
maintain the play scheme and cover the hidden costs of insurance etc.
2015 provisional dates for your diary: not including Saturdays.
February half term: Take a peek..:)
Monday 16th February: Come along as a family and join in the fully inclusive
activities for children aged between bump to 19 years. Activities include hydrotherapy
swim, drama and games with Simon and Natalie from the Knotted Project, sport with
Kyle, pamper with Ulla, and have a go at basket weaving as an art activity. Sandgate
School is a fantastic safe and secure venue for the sessions with a soft ball play area.
There is the adventure playground outside with an area for ball games (MUGA). It is
useful to know what your children like to do prior to their visit so we can adapt the
activities to help them to settle. Lego, facepainting briolots going on. 3 per family.
Bring a packed lunch and stay all day.
Tuesday 17th February: Come along as a family and join in the fully inclusive
activities for children aged between bump to 19 years Activities prepared are: Pamper
with Tracey, sing and sign session, paint printing arty session with Annie and a
Jacobs join (bring something to share) party lunch in the theme of Alice in
Wonderland. Sandgate School is a fantastic safe and secure venue for the sessions
with a soft ball play area. There is the adventure playground outside with an area for
ball games (MUGA). It is useful to know what your children like to do prior to their
visit so we can adapt the activities to help them to settle in. 3 per family. If you dont
want to join our party theme wonderland lunch and need a quiet place to eat your
packed lunch, that wont be a problem.
18th, 19th and 20th February: youth hostel trip to York. Places are limited to what the
youth hostel can offer us in terms of bedroom sizes etc. The youth hostel will book up
very quickly so to ensure you have the best possible chance of getting your
preferences please cat quickly.
Easter holidays: 30th, 31st March 2nd, 6th, 7th, 9th April.
Spring bank: 26th and 28th May
Summer holidays: 20th, 21st, 23rd 27th, 28th, 30th July, 3rd, 4th, 6th 10th, 11th and 13th
August
4) Sparkles sessions. (An activity for families with a child under five years who has
an additional need)

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January 2015
A practical interactive session with information and support available for families
with pre-school children with additional needs
You are welcome to come and enjoy the lovely sensory equipment with fibre optic,
touch screen and bubble tube - great for parents as well as children. Scrunch the
emergency blanket, shake/lye on it, hide in it or crawl inside it! Explore the pockets of
seasonal themed and craft activities; learn a couple of signs to funky songs.
Come and enjoy the sensory equipment, craft activities, sing and sign session and
refreshments at Kendal Family Drop-In Centre, Stricklandgate House, 92
Stricklandgate, Kendal LA9 4PU on the 1st and the 4th Wednesday of the month from
9.30am to 11.30am
This terms dates are:
28th January 2015: Story and sign with The hungry caterpillar a new resource from
Signalong
4th February 2015: Wheres teddy session a new resource from Signalong.
25th February Fruit and veg session Signalong
4th March going to school Signalong
5) Sing and Sign in the Kendal Family Drop In centre
The Sing and Sign sessions for pre-school children on Tuesday and Friday mornings
at 11am have started again.
6) Developing children: Workshops:
Please can I stress the workshops have been designed to support families on the
pathways for a possible diagnosis however you dont need a diagnosis of autism to
attend these workshops. The workshops information may also be relevant to children
without a diagnosis of autism.
Provisional forthcoming workshops:

Apps & Icons: Using Visual supports

A workshop for parents of children and young people with autism
Aims of the workshop:
1 To consider why we use visuals
2 To consider what visuals are (using a range of experiences of parents and
people with autism)
3 To discuss how to adapt and create them for your own child and family
When: Tuesday January 27th 2015, 6.00 8.00pm
Tuesday February 3rd 2015, 6.00- 8.00pm
Where: Settlebeck High School, Sedbergh

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January 2015
CONTACT: For further information or to book a place, please contact Julia
McDonald on 015396 20492 or email on Mcdonaldj@settlebeck.org
Social Skills
Thursday 29th January, 10am-2pm. Fire Station, Barrow
Become familiar with the range of social skills
Understanding the implications of the ASD learning style on the development of
social skills
Become familiar with some possible strategies to support the development of social
skills
To consider how to implement these strategies in your own situation
7) Signalong sign supported speech training in 2015. Phase 1 and Phase 2.
The Phase 1 Signalong training workshop has started.
I am hoping to run a Phase 2 Signalong during the April to July 2015 term if there are
enough people interested.
There will at some time be a Phase 3 and Phase 4 so if you are interested in either of
these it would be useful to know also.
8) Lumie bodyclock wake up light:
Here is some information about the Lumie bodyclock
Why are Bodyclock wake-up lights so effective?
Bodyclock Starter 30 is a medical device that wakes you up gradually with a
simulated sunrise. The brightening light brings you more gently out of sleep,
prompting your body to reduce the production of sleep hormones such as melatonin,
while increasing the levels of hormones like cortisol that help you get up and go. This
provides a fantastic start to the day for sufferers of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)
and the winter blues, and helps anyone who is not naturally a morning person to feel
brighter and more energetic first thing.
Its not just a nicer way to wake up. Waking to natural light every day resets your
sleep/wake cycle and has been shown to boost your mood, productivity and energy
levels throughout the day. Our physiological body clocks are aligned by sunrise and
sunset. As most of us experience a mix of early starts, late nights, weekend lie-ins and
sometimes travel disruption, our internal sleep rhythms are thrown into disarray. We
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January 2015
feel tired and stressed trying to wake up for work, school or sports training. A dawn
simulator device re-sets your body clock to run in time with your day, helping you
feel more awake during the day and more ready for sleep at night.
For anyone who missed the sleep workshop and would like some information I have a
leaflet and booklet which I can e mail you which is from the contact a family website.
9) Sensory toys:
Thanks to Tasha for the heads up about this ball Led flashing bounce-spike 1.30
which can be found on Amazon.
10) Cornerstones February dates
Timetravellers are coming to cornerstones, sandylands Methodist church 18th to 20th
February. A holiday club for 5 to 11 years; 10am to 12 each day. Games, crafts, songs
etc for 1. Contact Karen on 01539720977.
11) Contact details:
For more information or to make a booking for any activities run by the Kendal
family Drop In Centre above please contact:
E mail: shirley-gilpin@sky.com or Telephone number: 07795346632
Website: http://kendalfamilycentre.weebly.com.
The newsletter is here to pass information re local services and activities. We are
unable to recommend activities but would welcome hearing from you of any
activities you have enjoyed. My sincere apologies if the information has changed
during compiling and sending out this newsletter. We strive to make sure the
information is correct but sometimes due to unforeseen circumstances we get
caught out.
Please dont hesitate to let me know should you wish to book a place on the
Kendal Family Drop In Centres activities or if you wish to be removed from our
mailing list.
Warm wishes Shirley