February 2016 Newsletter

Black Bear Academy - Chicago Private
Take a
Sneak Peek
into Black Bear
Dear BBA Families,
Over the past two weeks many parents
participated in Bring Your Parent to
School Week for the 2s and under classes,
Tx Play, and L&E! We hope you enjoyed
experiencing a day in the life of your bear
cub. Take a look at all of the fun we had
and check out our Facebook page for
more pictures!
Best,
Black Bear Academy – Chicago Private
Don’t forget to sign up for your child’s Bring
Your Parent to School Week if you haven’t
already!
2/16-2/19 – Intro and TK
2/22-2/26 – 3s/IKI, JK-SK, and KP/T
Upcoming Events and Closures
2/22/16-2/26/16 - 3s/IKI, KP/T, JK-SK Bring
Your Parent to School Week
3/10/16 - Academy Arts Performance, 6pm
3/25/16-4/1/16 - Spring Break (BBA Closed)
4/4/16 - School Resumes
Extended Day Spotlight
We hope you had a
wonderful and loving
Valentine’s Day!
Fine Motor!
Black Bear Academy Welcomes
Britta Moe!
Britta is originally from Minnesota, but has lived in Chicago for the past three years.
She attended Northern Illinois University and obtained her B.S. in
Rehabilitation Sciences and a minor in Psychology in 2012. For the past three years,
Britta worked as a paraprofessional at another therapeutic school for students with
Autism. She worked closely with students in all academic and social areas. She is currently getting her M.A. in Special Education from Northeastern Illinois University.
This is Britta’s first year at Black Bear. She is joining the Therapeutic Team as an Enrichment Staff. Britta
will mainly be working with Miss Katie and Miss Melanie in the KPT classroom. She is excited to work
with younger children. Britta looks forward to being able to collaborate with the speech-language
pathologists, occupational therapists, and other enrichment staff.
Britta has been trained in Autism Spectrum Disorder, American Sign Language, ABA Therapy, and
Board Maker. Britta has volunteered with Special Olympics for over 10 years. In her free time, she loves
cheering on the Chicago Cubs and walking her dog, Addison, a rescued golden retriever.
Does your child have trouble falling asleep or staying
asleep?
For children who have trouble falling or staying asleep, sensory strategies can be helpful
to support your child's ability to self-regulate at night. Most of the sensory strategies
suggested by occupational therapists for babies can be applied to older children as
well. Replicating the in utero environment is often calming and organizing for all
children. When considering strategies, I like to address each sensory system by
selecting techniques that will calm that particular system thinking of the womb
environment. Here is a list of calming strategies to address each sensory system:
1. Auditory: Play white noise music from ipad or have a fan running. The white noise
can help your child to filter out loud sounds from the external environment. Singing soft
and slow songs is always helpful to incorporate in your nighttime routine.
2. Body Awareness: Utilize weighted blankets or heavy quilts and provide tons of hugs.
When the lights are out, your child needs to depend upon their proprioceptive sense to
know where their body is in space. The deep pressure from the blankets or snuggles
supports their body awareness to provide a calming sensation.
3. Visual: Have no to little light in your child's room. Make sure you are in charge of the
lights in the room so the child is not tempted to turn on the lights in the middle of the
night. Night lights are great to use especially ones that have slow movement, however
some kids require no lights to understand it is time to go to bed. Utilize visual cues as
reminders to when it is time to sleep and when it is time to be awake. There are visual
timer alarm clocks that give off the color red when it is time to sleep and green when it is
time to wake up. This encourages them to stay in bed until they see the green. This helps
set their internal clock (interoceptive sense).
4. Touch: Focus on deep pressure rather than light touch to calm your child. Incorporate
baby massage with lotion in their nighttime routine. A nice warm bath might also be
beneficial. Utilize a warm rice or bean pillow to keep their bed nice and cozy. Always
think about the type of fabric or what type of clothing your child is wearing. Tight, soft,
and long pants and sleeves tend to be more calming.
5. Movement: The vestibular system which is located in our inner ear is our movement
system. This is the first system to develop in utero. Therefore movement is a great
sensory stimuli to incorporate in your nighttime routine. Slow, linear movement is
calming while fast, rotary movement is alerting. You can incorporate movement in a
swing or in a rocking chair.
Does your child have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep? (cont.)
6. Olfactory: The sense of smell can be very influential for children with sensory
processing challenges. Utilizing essential oils such as a lavender scent into your lotion or
in a diffuser can create a calming environment for your child to regulate themselves for
bedtime.
7. Gustatory/Oral: The sense of taste is often forgotten during the nighttime routine.
When considering flavors, avoid sour, sweet, or spicy flavors, crunchy or gummy foods
and cold temperatures, and stick with warm temperatures, smooth textures, and plain
flavors. A glass of warm water might be beneficial for your child to drink during your
nighttime routine. Also, consider what type of toothpaste flavor your child is using. If it
is a peppermint or mint toothpaste, it might be over-stimulating for them. Try another
mild flavor. Electronic toothbrushes are great to bring awareness to your child's mouth,
however this might be overstimulating during the nighttime routine.
8. Interoception: This system is the body's ability to sense internal organ function
including respiration, hunger, thirst, heart rate, and the need for digestive
elimination. It is not a common sensory system mentioned, however it is extremely
important for your child's internal needs to be met before going to sleep. Make sure
they are not thirsty or hungry, have a calm heart rate, and have gone to the bathroom. I
always recommend having a water bottle accessible during the night and day. Camelbak
water bottles are the best as they not only support their interoceptive system (thirst) but
also their oral and gustatory system (straw, sucking, taste, etc.).
Other recommendations:
9. Stick to the same, predictable routine. Provide a visual schedule of routine if child
continues to demonstrate challenges completing entire routine.
10. Avoid electronics at least 2 hours prior to bedtime.
11. Forecast the nights events including nighttime routine and what happens after we go
to sleep. What will mom and dad be doing? Why do we sleep? Who else will be sleeping?
12. For more strategies check out the book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, by Marc
Weissbluth M.D.
Summer Camp 2016
Reserve Your Spot Today!
Black Bear Academy is now accepting enrollment forms for the 16-17 school
year.
Please pick up a packet in the lobby or email Annie Hernandez
(ahernandez@blackbearacademy.com) for an electronic copy.