Follow the Yellow Dot!

Hello Out There!!!

Kennen & Ella

Big news at the A!TLC today.  Kennen rolled in with two cheques for the April 6th Fundraiser!  Again we are astonished and SOOO thankful for the support we are receiving from the community.

Today Rebekah shared a funny story with us that happened earlier in the day.  It is apparent that she looooves physical comedy.  We only wish we could have been there to have shared in the laughter as Rebekah's lunch exploded all over the kitchen.

Rebekah & Brenda 'Eye Gaze Edging'

Follow the yellow dot!!!  Today we spent time working with the Eye Gaze Edge.  Both Kennen and Rebekah wanted to work the system and showed us how they are gaining skills calibrating the Eye Gaze Edge.  We saw the yellow dot move around the screen as each student researcher moved it with their eyes!  Big thanks to Brenda M for her clear step-by-step instructions!

ARE YOU READY!!!!  We are introducing a new segment to our blog.  Each entry we will have a daily shout out where each student researcher can say hi to someone in the blog-o-sphere.

Daily Shout Out!

Kennen: Thank you to Malcolm & Sara from 20/20 Geomatics and Uncle Dave from D&S Flooring for your sponsorship for our Fundraising Event.  Your support is very much appreciated.

Rebekah: Hi to Amie, Gabi, and Brittany (my sisters-in-law).

A!TLC: Hello Kaitlyn.  We missed you today and are looking forward to seeing you on Thursday.

Happy Monday

Hello Out There!

Great news to start our day!  Kennen received a text message informing us that two more organizations are making a donation to our Fundraiser and that their cheques will arrive on Thursday!  Rebekah also came with great news explaining that she and Joy have heard back from one of the 20 organizations they approached and they have received their first YES.  They are eagerly waiting to hear back from the other 19!  It is absolutely fabulous to hear how the community believes in what we are doing and is supporting us as we do it!

Kennen also reported on her weekend with the EYE Gaze Edge.  Kennen moved the calibration dot like lightening!  Great work Kennen.  We are looking forward to watching you work your magic with the Eye Gaze Edge tomorrow! No pressure :)

We ended our day talking about more barriers to recreation and leisure.  The Kin 120 students better prepare themselves for this presentation as they will have the opportunity to learn A LOT.

Throwback Thursday!

Hello Out There,

With limited internet access on Thursday we were not able to post our usual blog entry.  Instead we had to write it up in Microsoft Word for it to be posted at a later time.  With all the extra excitement around Astonished! these days (today is our planning day) Thursday's post is just now getting posted.  Apologies for the 2 day delay!

So .... here it is ...

Before getting to our work at the A!TLC today we have an extra update for you all!!! Last night (Wednesday) Kennen hosted a dinner party for her family and friends (including Ella and Bonnie ) at her parents' home.  The focus of the evening was on Kennen and exploring her Strengths, Dreams and Needs.  Thank you to Lynice for the wonderful meal and snacks!!! Can’t wait to come back!!!!  Bonnie and Ella thoroughly enjoyed their trip to Kennen’s parents’ house in Grenfell (including getting lost ---who knew it was possible)!. 

Today we took a wheel down memory lane!  We each brought photos from our childhood and youth to select for the Kin 120 presentation.  As we looked at the photos it was easy to see that we have all enjoyed leisure and recreation throughout the years. AND who knew that Rebekah Lindenbach was an original blond!  We are very much looking forward to our presentation and having the opportunity to teach others about inclusion and ways to adapt recreation to ensure fun for all!

We are ending our day with a trip to the OWL for our Inclusive Café!   

It's Back!!!!

Hello Out There!

Brenda's back from Hawaii and she brought the Eye Gaze Edge with her (no it wasn't in Hawaii with her but it arrived in Regina from Halifax shortly after Brenda returned with her gorgeous tan)!  Today we got reacquainted with system and got to see all of the grid program Chris Saulnier put together for us ~ thank you Chris!  Chris developed custom packages for each of Astonished!'s Student Researchers.  We are very much looking forward to the weeks to come!

We also debriefed Brenda on all of the other exciting things that are happening including Kennen's Strengths, Dreams and Needs Interviews, Kaitlyn going to Stella and Sway as part of her PATH, Bekah's Broyhill Bash, the April 6th fundraiser, and the Kin 120 presentation.  A lot is happening around here!

Speaking of the fundraiser .... Astonished is collecting pennies and any other change that people are willing to donate.  SO, if YOU have any pennies taking up room in your, coin jars, junk drawers, wallets or purses we would LOVE to take them off your hands!  Connect bonnie at bonnie.cummings-vickaryous@beingastonished.com, Ella at ella.mcintyre@beingastonished.com or Rebekaha, Kaitlyn, or Kennen.

Breaking Down Barriers

Hello out There!

Today we had a special guest join us from Minot University, Lynice, Kennen’s sister.  Lynice who is home for spring break was able to witness all the work we do!

As usual we started our day with our typical checkin.  Happy to report that we are all doing well and are looking forward to all the events to come.

Following the pattern of our last few A!TLC sessions we did an update on our Fundraiser and again we are happy to report that donations are starting to come in!  Please ensure that you keep April 6^th open as you are all invited to our Fun/Fundraising Event (7:00-9:00 pm, Atrium Space in the Research and Innovation Centre, University of Regina).

After talking about our fundraiser we continued to work on our upcoming presentation in Kin 120.  As explained in a previous post we will be doing a presentation on barriers and enablers to recreation, physical activity and leisure.  Today our conversation focused on educating Bonnie and Ella on the various barriers we have encountered over the course of our lives.  From Attitudinal to omission barriers we have experienced it all!  Bonnie and Ella appreciated the lesson!  We are looking forward to putting our stories into our jeopardy presentation and our pictures into the video clip.  Our new idea is that the jeopardy PowerPoint presentation will highlight the barriers we have experienced and that our video will showcase that a little bit of  thought, innovation and creativity will lead to successful physical activity, recreation and leisure experiences.

We finished off our day by briefly working on Kaitlyn’s PATH.  With the goal of staying fashionable, Kaitlyn has been invited to go to Stella & Sway a local boutique.  There Kaitlyn will have the opportunity to talk about style and business with Karey, the owner of Stella and Sway. 

Hard (and Happy) Workers!

Hello out there!

Today we started out by going to our Fun/Fundraising site to get a lay of the land. We tried to picture the space filled with food, drink, music, and party people instead of the busy students we saw doing their homework. With a bit of time and effort -the way that we see it, things are looking good!

There was also some great follow up on the workshop series that Astonished! is planning to do with the University of Regina's Centre for Teaching and Learning (Not to be confused with the Astonished Teaching and Learning Centre!). During our time at the A!TLC we will work together to prepare a 20 minute presentation that will teach instructors to build more inclusive classrooms. We were happy to be joined by the Manager for Student Accessibility Services, Teri Phillips for this discussion.  There is work to be done and we are EXCITED!

We finished off by making sure that everyone in the loop for our upcoming Kin. 120 presentation. Things are still coming together and we are ready to collect and organize pictures, videos, and stories that will highlight the different barriers and enablers to recreation.

Right now Bonnie is on the phone with Kaitlyn's sister hoping to secure a donation for our Fun/Fundraiser. A good note to end this blog entry and a great start to out coffee session!
    

Prepping for our Presentation!

Hello out there!

As most of you know the Astonished! Teaching and Learning Centre is part of the Big Sky Centre for Learning and Being Astonished! Inc.  The Big Sky Centre is a not-for-profit organization that works in inclusive community to address barriers facing young adults with complex physical disAbilities by creating opportunities for teaching and learning, social, recreation and cultural engagement, and for employment and housing. Today we started to work on one of our upcoming presentations that will occur in Kinesiology 120 at the University of Regina.  On April 8th we will be guest speakers educating the Kin 120 students about Barriers and Enablers to Recreation, Physical Activity and Leisure.  As part of our presentation we plan to use photos and tell stories in the format of a 'Jeopardy' game.  We hope that our personal experiences will provide the students with real life examples to complement the current research on barriers and enablers.  

We also worked on one of the goals on Rebekah's PATH.  Rebekah has invited the group out to her family farm for Bekah's Broyhill Bash one Thursday a month April- September.  We look forward to learning more about Rebekah's life at the farm!  

Before signing off we would like to say hi to Ruth and Brenda who are enjoying a warm vacation!  See you soon!