I like to Jump!

Here's a fun song for all those kiddos out there who love to jump! The best part is that kids can jump outside and inside! One of the coolest gifts my own 5 year old son received as a gift was a smaller trampoline called an exercise trampoline. So, even on the coldest or rainiest days, he can still jump to his heart's content! Stay tuned for a picture of him jumping on his favorite trampoline!

Here are the lyrics:

I like to jump, jump, jump
on my trampoline.
I'm the highest jumper that you've ever seen.
I jump a lot and when I do, I feel so free.
I wish you'd come along and take a, take a jump with me.

We're gonna' jump up and down with all our might.
We'll jump all day and into the night.
For when I'm jumping, I feel alright.

I like to jump, jump, jump....(chorus)

We're gonna' jump real fast and jump real slow.
If we get tired we'll lay down low.
I need to get jumping for it sets me free and
that's what I need.

I like to jump, jump, jump...(chorus)

© 2009 Amanda Ellis

Motivating Mondays!

Today's Motivating Mondays post will be about an inspiring place I visited this weekend. I have been spending some time in Florida this past week (away from my guitar and recording equipment, so I apologize for the lack of song posts lately!).
Today we ventured to the NASA Kennedy Space Center. I found it to be a very interesting place with lots to see! More importantly, I really liked the NASA motto I saw throughout the various buildings, "Failure is not an option".
If we think about that motto and families who have children with special needs, it means alot! We cannot always fix everything, but we can strive to make things the best that they can be. We can search for ideas and find support all around us. We can network with many professionals, teachers, therapists, and experienced parents in our communities and via the internet to come up with new ideas, adaptations and solutions. Many times I think it is far more easier to list the problems and limitations a person with special needs has versus listing all of the solutions and adaptations we can put in place.
So, on the hard days, remember: "Failure is not an option".
In lieu of my visit to the Kennedy Space Center, I thought I'd post one of my most popular songs on this blog so far (according to site hits).

Planets go around the sun

Motivating Mondays!

It's Monday!

Here in NC we have rain this morning, but there are lots of motivating and inspiring things going on all around us!

Today's Motivating Mondays post is about the power of giving and being a hero. I recently became aware of a very inspiring website through a comment left on my blog. I have been amazed by what I have read so far! The website is www.wishuponaherofoundation.org

Wish Upon A Hero Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization. They seek to align resources of individuals and corporations to impact education and literacy, economic despair, healthcare, environmental stewardship and disaster relief. The organization has programs that seek to support familes affected by Autism, Down's Syndrome, familes in need, communities in need of playgrounds, children in need of musical instruments for music programs and so much more!

The philosophy at the Wish Upon A Hero Foundation is that "Everyone's A Hero." There are chapters for nearly every state so go check them out and see how you can get involved today!

Motivating Mondays!

It's Monday again and today's Motivating Monday post is about the power of play.

Typically developing children and especially children with disabilities learn a great deal through play. Play is a highly motivating thing!

We all seem to have busy lives and schedules, but it is SO important to make time to sit down and play with our children. They reap so much from play experiences with mom, dad, siblings,grandparents & other caretakers each day. To mention a few developmental areas, play builds self-esteem, self-help skills, fine and gross motor skills, reinforces academics (colors, numbers, shapes, prepositions, etc.), hand-eye contact, spatial relationships, plus a great amount of social skills are gained through the 1:1 interaction during the play (i.e. building relationships, eye contact, answering questions, taking turns, initiating play, etc.)
Below is a short list of some of the websites that carry toys for children and adolescents with disabilities. Feel free to comment and add more to the list!

www.ableplay.org
www.lekotek.org
www.toysrus.com
http://sensoryuniversity.com
www.flaghouse.com
www.fisher-price.com/us/special_needs/
www.fatbraintoys.com/special_needs/index.cfm
www.westmusic.com
https://musiciselementary.com/
www.onestepahead.com