Absolutely amazing! What a gift she has.

Leaps and Bounds of Rosemount, MN is hiring a center float. See below.

We are looking for an energetic, outgoing person who loves working with children. Part time classroom aide, hours vary.

You can access an application on our website at www.leapsandboundscc.com

Do you know a child that doesn’t prefer ‘healthy’ foods? I was probably one of those children myself. I know that my son (7) doesn’t favor lettuce or salads, etc., but they provide some good nutrients. I recently came across a tasty recipe that I’d like to share with you.

Festive Fruit & Nut Salad
2 cups Romaine Lettuce
2 cups Spinach Leaves
1 cup sliced Stawberries
1 cup sugar glazed sliced almonds
1/3 cup Poppyseed dressing

To glaze the almonds…simply put the almonds on low heat in a saucepan with 3 Tbsp. sugar. Stir constantly until almonds are golden and sugar coated. Then, spread onto wax paper to cool completely. Break apart and toss with salad. Pour dressing on just before serving. (Add more or less of ingrediants as desired)

You may find that children actually eat this salad because it’s quite sweet. It satisfies my sweet tooth! It’s a great combination between veggies, fruit, and protein. I served it last weekend to a wide variety of ages (7-80+) and all enjoyed it. Try it for yourself and comment below.

Here is another FREE EVENT that you may be interested in. (April 13th-Eden Prairie) Autistic License is putting on a play (2 screenings) including resource tables. There is also a panel discussion available (April 16th EP City Center). See the attached poster for more info. If you attend, post your review below under comments.

Autistic License Poster

Autistic License has a fb page…Click HERE

Are you eligible to complete your Internship/Practicum Summer or Fall 2010? If you are planning on it, then you need to attend a MANDATORY MEETING on Thursday, May 6th at 11:00am or 6:30pm. If you need a placement for your Internship/Practicum, please contact Jill/Dawn immediately.

Any site that has NOT had DCTC students as interns before, must also attend one of the meetings. If you already know your placement/site, please let us know right away so we can invite them to the meeting and send them an information letter.

Other questions/concerns…talk to Jill or Dawn directly.

Hey DCTC students!

Don’t forget that Monday, March 8th, marks the beginning of Summer AND Fall 2010 registration. Some students may not be able to register until Wednesday due to lack of credits. Get registered right away to ensure you get the courses you want. Remember, General Education courses fill up FAST!

What I’m not, By  Steve Slowinski

   A nurse.
   A doctor.
   A social worker.

   A “Keeper of the Toys.”
   A magical “make-this-kid-not-cry” person.
   Only someone to play with the kids.

   I’m not superfluous.

What I am:

   I am a teacher,
   A helping hand,
   A support,
   An advocate,
   An active listener,
   A therapeutic touch,
   And a child development specialist 

      Every.
      Single.
      Day.

   I am an OR prep-er,
   An IV teacher,
   A de-coder of PICC, VCUG, MRI and NG, 
   A distraction provider,
   An inpatient support,
   And a guide and voice for siblings 
   All in the same day.

   I am calm despite cancer, CAT scans, and catheters.
   I am strong in the face of syncope, sickle cell, and surgery.
   Kids can’t always do these things for themselves.
   That’s why I’m here.

   I am deliberate in all of my actions and words
   Because I use the language of children
   And it has power. 
   I am flexible and go where I’m needed
   Because children can’t always be flexible
   About when they’re going to freak.

   I am not here to merely play with children, 
   give them toys, and distract them 
   With “SpongeBob”.

   I’m a Child Life Specialist.
   When kids say they can’t, I tell them they can.

Thank you for your suggestions as to what I could do for my son’s brithday party. You gave me many ideas for future years: swim parties, ice skating, and a carnival party.

We ended up going to Grand Slam in Burnsville. We had a BLAST! Let me tell you a little about it in case you decide to take a group of kids.

Here’s what you can expect…

We arrived at 5pm on a Friday night. First, we checked in, got our wristbands (5 x $12.95), and headed to the coat rack in the hallway. We then went to the party room in the back to unload our bag of goodies and cupcakes. There are several shelves so there is plenty of room for each family.

The boys decided to go to the bumper cars first. The bumper cars remind me of bumper boats, minus the water. They are safe, easy to manuver, and the impact seems to be less than in regular bumper cars. (They spin fast too!) One of my son’s friends says he can’t go on the bumper cars…his mom said so. Ok, No problem…on to laser tag. “I can’t go on that either.” “WHAT? Are you sure?” I’m wondering why she didn’t mention any of this to me, but I don’t want to go against what she said.

I take the one child back up to the front desk and ask for a different color wristband. I take him to the Playzone instead and he plays by himself. This isn’t fun for him or me. My husband comes over and suggests that all the kids switch their bands to the Playzone package. GREAT IDEA! After switching the bands, the kids all go crazy in the playzone and have a blast.

“Dawn…your pizza is ready in the party room. Dawn…your pizza is ready in the party room,” we hear over the loudspeaker. “Ok boys, let’s go eat our pizza.” We had pizza and pop, along with cupcakes that we brought. The party room was nice and the food was great, but it was quite noisy. That was my only complaint. The tables were right next to each other in this large room and with 4 parties at the same time, the noise level quickly rose.

After supper, the boys chose to do mini golf. That was fun and the lines weren’t too long. It’s a fun course with some neat/interesting holes. Next it was back to the bumper cars and then back to the playzone. Since each child got a few arcade coins, we headed to the arcade. It was fun except one child chose to put all his coins in a racing game (for adults) and lost all his money. Once the token were gone and redeemed for prizes (fang teeth), it was time to go home.

The night went smoothly, the boys had a great time, and I thought it was a GREAT VALUE for everything that was included. (The birthday boy receives a t-shirt, everyone receives 4 tokens, pizza/pop, and the following activity access: playzone OR laser tag, bumper cars, arcade, mini golf, and batting cage. Did I mention…no clean up at my house? Lol. I later found out that the mother did NOT say that her son couldn’t go on those things, but instead that he was AFRAID to.

What’s the best birthday party YOU threw for YOUR CHILD? Comment below and let us know.