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Saturday 14 November 2015

A team of their own!

A few of our younger children have significant special needs and haven't had the opportunity to join any sports teams or clubs until recently.  Our local Special Olympics recently started a program for 2-11 year olds (Active Start and Fundementals) and 6 of our kids in this age bracket have had the ability to join.  The first practice was on Monday and the kids were extremely excited.  Special Olympics set up the group with a "sports team" feel and all the kids received team shirts to wear for each practice.


They now have their own sports team! I was really hoping that there would be many other kids for them to meet and interact with while learning new activities and maybe in the future there will be but unfortunately there is only one other child so far.  One of our teens came to watch her sibling and thought it looked like so much fun she signed up to be a volunteer.  I am always impressed by the support the children show for one another and their various interests whether it's volunteering at their activities or being the best cheerleader imaginable.

At their "team practice" they do a warm up, then play games building different skills which nicely align with the goals their physical therapist has for them, have a healthy snack and then a bit of free play.  Yesterday they did circuits with various jumping skills, practiced throwing, catching and kicking balls, and played games with simple rules like duck, duck, goose, what time is it Mr Wolf and a variation of tag.

I am so impressed with Special Olympics we have adult children that have been participating for the last 2 years and now the younger children have a group for them.  The skill and dedication of the volunteers amazes me and I am truly thankful that these people include my children.