Special Olympics: Spring Games

This is a week my students look forward to all year!  We usually have 4 days of Special Olympics fun, but this year, due to scheduling conflicts we were only able to participate in 2.  But boy, did we ever get the most out of our first day!  We played on the playground, jumped in bouncy houses, had a giant dance party, watched an awesome tumbling team...oh, and we ran individual and relay races as well as did the long jump! Whew!  We had lots of gold, silver, and bronze medals.  And ribbons...However, this year, my kids realized that ribbons aren't as "good" as a medal, so there were quite a few tears shed over not getting a medal.

This guy, was stoked at getting a ribbon!  I love how the kids get to stand on a podium and get their picture taken!

I made this little "schedule" for the day to help out my kids.  Sometimes, I wonder if this even helps, but today, it was super useful whenever kids were getting a little upset.  Just referencing the schedule seemed to help ease their anxiety.  Also, for some of my non-verbal kids, we pretty much have the most necessary pictures for them to use while on a trip to communicate their major wants/needs.

And of course, no trip would be complete without my zip-loc baggie filled with Kleenex, hand sanitizer, and candy!