Blind Beginnings Calendar
Parents are invited to connect online each week, without your children, to share your challenges, frustrations, worries, and strategies for coping. Some of you aren’t seeing all the professionals who normally come into your home to work with your child, some of you are juggling home-schooling and working from home, some of you may have lost your jobs. Whatever your situation, this group is a place to receive support from other parents, as well as a registered clinical counselor. Who can attend: Blind Beginnings parents across BC When: Every 2nd Thursday at 7:15pm – Children and Youth of all ages are invited to join us as we convert the Blind Beginnings Zoom Room into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and spend the summer reading our way through Book 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone! We’ll listen to Blind Beginnings Youth Mentors read a couple of chapters and then break out in age specific groups in order to have some facilitated discussions about what we’ve read. When: Mondays from 4:00 – 5:15pm throughout the summer starting on Monday July 6th – Many children across BC are missing the social connection with other kids at school and in their communities. Each Tuesday, children 7 – 12 years of age who are blind or partially sighted can connect with each other in our Blind Beginnings Zoom room. This is a place to share struggles, strategies, and successes, but also to play games, tell stories, and make new friends. Who can attend: Blind Beginnings children aged 7 – 12 When: Tuesdays from 3:45 – 4:45pm – If you are new to yoga & fitness, or you’ve been finding it challenging following our online classes over the past three months, you might want to register for either of these 4-week foundations programs offered on Wednesday afternoons through the summer. In this foundations program, our yoga alliance certified yoga & fitness instructor Whitley Point, will be slowing things down and focusing on familiarizing us with the fundamentals of yoga, pilates, and fitness. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions throughout the class, and recordings of the class can be made available for further practice on your own between classes. The goal of this program is to provide attendees with the knowledge and confidence to not only attend our virtual intermediate level classes, but also feel confident in the ability to attend a yoga or fitness class in the community. When: Wednesdays from 3:45 – 4:45 PM starting on July 8 for Yoga for Beginners, and starting on August 5 for Foundations of Fitness Note: Through June we offered a Foundations of Yoga program, and recordings of those 4 sessions are also available upon request. – Active Beginnings: Yoga and Pilates Members are welcome to attend both the Foundations class and the Intermediate class if you wish. Our Yoga Alliance Certified Yoga Instructor Whitley Point will guide us through different accessible yoga classes each Wednesday. There will be a focus on anatomy and safe movement brought together by direct verbal cueing. As an individual with a visual impairment herself, It is a fundamental aspect of Whitley’s teaching style to speak clearly with straightforward directions to lead a fun and creative class. Who can attend: Blind Beginnings members with some yoga experience – Description: Come join for a good old fashioned kid’s camp fire! You can just choose to watch and enjoy, or you can sign-up to be featured to sing camp songs with your family, friends and past camp staff and volunteers! Link to sign-up to lead and sing your favorite song at the fire: https://bit.ly/2B9FHN7 – In partnership with Vision Loss Rehabilitation Canada BC, this is a bi-monthly drop-in group for babies, toddlers, and pre-schoolers who are blind or partially sighted and their caregivers, as well as children and youth who are blind or partially sighted and their families. We start at 9:00 am with an online consultation with Margret Hanke, an Early Child Vision Specialist from Vision Loss Rehabilitation BC. This is a chance for parents of children birth to five years of age to ask specific questions about your child’s vision and/or development. At 9:30 am, all Blind Beginnings children/youth and their families are invited to join the Zoom room for Adam’s Accessible Story Time! Adam will read stories, but also provide image description and explain concepts that might be new to some listeners. Following each story listeners can share their thoughts or ask questions about the story. Who can attend: – Join us on Saturdays at 11:00 am and move your body. This class is for youth who are blind or partially sighted, siblings, and parents, either individually or in groups. Mom and daughter, Father and son, brother and sister, or any other family combination, this is a chance for any member of your family to do a workout in a supportive environment. Our Saturday workouts are guaranteed to get your heart-rate up and make you sweat. The routine and exercises will be varied and you should bring your hand weights just in case. Our yoga alliance certified fitness instructor Whitley Point will guide us through different classes each week. This is an opportunity for your family to improve your fitness and have fun while doing it. When: Saturdays at 11:00am – Children and Youth of all ages are invited to join us as we convert the Blind Beginnings Zoom Room into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and spend the summer reading our way through Book 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone! We’ll listen to Blind Beginnings Youth Mentors read a couple of chapters and then break out in age specific groups in order to have some facilitated discussions about what we’ve read. When: Mondays from 4:00 – 5:15pm throughout the summer starting on Monday July 6th – Many children across BC are missing the social connection with other kids at school and in their communities. Each Tuesday, children 7 – 12 years of age who are blind or partially sighted can connect with each other in our Blind Beginnings Zoom room. This is a place to share struggles, strategies, and successes, but also to play games, tell stories, and make new friends. Who can attend: Blind Beginnings children aged 7 – 12 When: Tuesdays from 3:45 – 4:45pm – If you are new to yoga & fitness, or you’ve been finding it challenging following our online classes over the past three months, you might want to register for either of these 4-week foundations programs offered on Wednesday afternoons through the summer. In this foundations program, our yoga alliance certified yoga & fitness instructor Whitley Point, will be slowing things down and focusing on familiarizing us with the fundamentals of yoga, pilates, and fitness. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions throughout the class, and recordings of the class can be made available for further practice on your own between classes. The goal of this program is to provide attendees with the knowledge and confidence to not only attend our virtual intermediate level classes, but also feel confident in the ability to attend a yoga or fitness class in the community. When: Wednesdays from 3:45 – 4:45 PM starting on July 8 for Yoga for Beginners, and starting on August 5 for Foundations of Fitness Note: Through June we offered a Foundations of Yoga program, and recordings of those 4 sessions are also available upon request. – Active Beginnings: Yoga and Pilates Members are welcome to attend both the Foundations class and the Intermediate class if you wish. Our Yoga Alliance Certified Yoga Instructor Whitley Point will guide us through different accessible yoga classes each Wednesday. There will be a focus on anatomy and safe movement brought together by direct verbal cueing. As an individual with a visual impairment herself, It is a fundamental aspect of Whitley’s teaching style to speak clearly with straightforward directions to lead a fun and creative class. Who can attend: Blind Beginnings members with some yoga experience – Description: After a brief tutorial teaching the basics of Music Bingo that will be taking place the following week, Youth leaders will lead us in some free-time hang-out activities! These activities could include: Get to know you games, social chats, sharing funny camp stories and fun debrief activities. – This workshop is for teens 13 to 19 years of age. Each week participants will come together in our Blind Beginnings Zoom Room to learn a variety of vital independent living skills. The program will be run by Shawn Marsolais and Jill Sloane, one of our Blind Beginnings Youth Mentors. After losing all of her remaining sight at age 15, Jill had to learn how to do everything all over again, from pouring a glass of water, to organizing her clothes and telling them apart, to cooking, cleaning and all the other life skills that are necessary to be able to live independently. Jill has direct experience on how vital these skills are! When: Six consecutive Thursday afternoons: July 16, 23, and 30, and August 6, 13, and 20 from 3:45 – 5:00pm
Parents are invited to connect online each week, without your children, to share your challenges, frustrations, worries, and strategies for coping. Some of you aren’t seeing all the professionals who normally come into your home to work with your child, some of you are juggling home-schooling and working from home, some of you may have lost your jobs. Whatever your situation, this group is a place to receive support from other parents, as well as a registered clinical counselor. Who can attend: Blind Beginnings parents across BC When: Every 2nd Thursday at 7:15pm – Join us on Saturdays at 11:00 am and move your body. This class is for youth who are blind or partially sighted, siblings, and parents, either individually or in groups. Mom and daughter, Father and son, brother and sister, or any other family combination, this is a chance for any member of your family to do a workout in a supportive environment. Our Saturday workouts are guaranteed to get your heart-rate up and make you sweat. The routine and exercises will be varied and you should bring your hand weights just in case. Our yoga alliance certified fitness instructor Whitley Point will guide us through different classes each week. This is an opportunity for your family to improve your fitness and have fun while doing it. When: Saturdays at 11:00am – Children and Youth of all ages are invited to join us as we convert the Blind Beginnings Zoom Room into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and spend the summer reading our way through Book 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone! We’ll listen to Blind Beginnings Youth Mentors read a couple of chapters and then break out in age specific groups in order to have some facilitated discussions about what we’ve read. When: Mondays from 4:00 – 5:15pm throughout the summer starting on Monday July 6th – Many children across BC are missing the social connection with other kids at school and in their communities. Each Tuesday, children 7 – 12 years of age who are blind or partially sighted can connect with each other in our Blind Beginnings Zoom room. This is a place to share struggles, strategies, and successes, but also to play games, tell stories, and make new friends. Who can attend: Blind Beginnings children aged 7 – 12 When: Tuesdays from 3:45 – 4:45pm – If you are new to yoga & fitness, or you’ve been finding it challenging following our online classes over the past three months, you might want to register for either of these 4-week foundations programs offered on Wednesday afternoons through the summer. In this foundations program, our yoga alliance certified yoga & fitness instructor Whitley Point, will be slowing things down and focusing on familiarizing us with the fundamentals of yoga, pilates, and fitness. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions throughout the class, and recordings of the class can be made available for further practice on your own between classes. The goal of this program is to provide attendees with the knowledge and confidence to not only attend our virtual intermediate level classes, but also feel confident in the ability to attend a yoga or fitness class in the community. When: Wednesdays from 3:45 – 4:45 PM starting on July 8 for Yoga for Beginners, and starting on August 5 for Foundations of Fitness Note: Through June we offered a Foundations of Yoga program, and recordings of those 4 sessions are also available upon request. – Active Beginnings: Yoga and Pilates Members are welcome to attend both the Foundations class and the Intermediate class if you wish. Our Yoga Alliance Certified Yoga Instructor Whitley Point will guide us through different accessible yoga classes each Wednesday. There will be a focus on anatomy and safe movement brought together by direct verbal cueing. As an individual with a visual impairment herself, It is a fundamental aspect of Whitley’s teaching style to speak clearly with straightforward directions to lead a fun and creative class. Who can attend: Blind Beginnings members with some yoga experience – Description: Grab your bingo card or make your own and get ready to jam out to all the Disney Hits! For every song played, a number will be called that you can mark off on your card. Once your card has 5 numbers in a row – BINGO! Play as a family, and there will be prizes for the winners as well as the person who names the most tunes! – This workshop is for teens 13 to 19 years of age. Each week participants will come together in our Blind Beginnings Zoom Room to learn a variety of vital independent living skills. The program will be run by Shawn Marsolais and Jill Sloane, one of our Blind Beginnings Youth Mentors. After losing all of her remaining sight at age 15, Jill had to learn how to do everything all over again, from pouring a glass of water, to organizing her clothes and telling them apart, to cooking, cleaning and all the other life skills that are necessary to be able to live independently. Jill has direct experience on how vital these skills are! When: Six consecutive Thursday afternoons: July 16, 23, and 30, and August 6, 13, and 20 from 3:45 – 5:00pm – Creating Confidence has been temporarily changed to Creating Connections On the last Friday evening of each month youth who are blind or partially sighted 12 years and older are invited to connect online for what we are now calling our Creating Connections Workshop! Instead of a structured discussion about how to socialize and fit in, we’re just going to socialize and connect. This is a chance to meet some new youth and make some new friends. I think we can safely guarantee some laughter and fun as well. – In partnership with Vision Loss Rehabilitation Canada BC, this is a bi-monthly drop-in group for babies, toddlers, and pre-schoolers who are blind or partially sighted and their caregivers, as well as children and youth who are blind or partially sighted and their families. We start at 9:00 am with an online consultation with Margret Hanke, an Early Child Vision Specialist from Vision Loss Rehabilitation BC. This is a chance for parents of children birth to five years of age to ask specific questions about your child’s vision and/or development. At 9:30 am, all Blind Beginnings children/youth and their families are invited to join the Zoom room for Adam’s Accessible Story Time! Adam will read stories, but also provide image description and explain concepts that might be new to some listeners. Following each story listeners can share their thoughts or ask questions about the story. Who can attend: – Join us on Saturdays at 11:00 am and move your body. This class is for youth who are blind or partially sighted, siblings, and parents, either individually or in groups. Mom and daughter, Father and son, brother and sister, or any other family combination, this is a chance for any member of your family to do a workout in a supportive environment. Our Saturday workouts are guaranteed to get your heart-rate up and make you sweat. The routine and exercises will be varied and you should bring your hand weights just in case. Our yoga alliance certified fitness instructor Whitley Point will guide us through different classes each week. This is an opportunity for your family to improve your fitness and have fun while doing it. When: Saturdays at 11:00am – Children and Youth of all ages are invited to join us as we convert the Blind Beginnings Zoom Room into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and spend the summer reading our way through Book 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone! We’ll listen to Blind Beginnings Youth Mentors read a couple of chapters and then break out in age specific groups in order to have some facilitated discussions about what we’ve read. When: Mondays from 4:00 – 5:15pm throughout the summer starting on Monday July 6th – Many children across BC are missing the social connection with other kids at school and in their communities. Each Tuesday, children 7 – 12 years of age who are blind or partially sighted can connect with each other in our Blind Beginnings Zoom room. This is a place to share struggles, strategies, and successes, but also to play games, tell stories, and make new friends. Who can attend: Blind Beginnings children aged 7 – 12 When: Tuesdays from 3:45 – 4:45pm – If you are new to yoga & fitness, or you’ve been finding it challenging following our online classes over the past three months, you might want to register for either of these 4-week foundations programs offered on Wednesday afternoons through the summer. In this foundations program, our yoga alliance certified yoga & fitness instructor Whitley Point, will be slowing things down and focusing on familiarizing us with the fundamentals of yoga, pilates, and fitness. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions throughout the class, and recordings of the class can be made available for further practice on your own between classes. The goal of this program is to provide attendees with the knowledge and confidence to not only attend our virtual intermediate level classes, but also feel confident in the ability to attend a yoga or fitness class in the community. When: Wednesdays from 3:45 – 4:45 PM starting on July 8 for Yoga for Beginners, and starting on August 5 for Foundations of Fitness Note: Through June we offered a Foundations of Yoga program, and recordings of those 4 sessions are also available upon request. – Active Beginnings: Yoga and Pilates Members are welcome to attend both the Foundations class and the Intermediate class if you wish. Our Yoga Alliance Certified Yoga Instructor Whitley Point will guide us through different accessible yoga classes each Wednesday. There will be a focus on anatomy and safe movement brought together by direct verbal cueing. As an individual with a visual impairment herself, It is a fundamental aspect of Whitley’s teaching style to speak clearly with straightforward directions to lead a fun and creative class. Who can attend: Blind Beginnings members with some yoga experience – Description: We will briefly teach how to participate in the Movie Night next week, and then our Youth leaders will lead us in free-time hang-out activities! – This workshop is for teens 13 to 19 years of age. Each week participants will come together in our Blind Beginnings Zoom Room to learn a variety of vital independent living skills. The program will be run by Shawn Marsolais and Jill Sloane, one of our Blind Beginnings Youth Mentors. After losing all of her remaining sight at age 15, Jill had to learn how to do everything all over again, from pouring a glass of water, to organizing her clothes and telling them apart, to cooking, cleaning and all the other life skills that are necessary to be able to live independently. Jill has direct experience on how vital these skills are! When: Six consecutive Thursday afternoons: July 16, 23, and 30, and August 6, 13, and 20 from 3:45 – 5:00pm
Parents are invited to connect online each week, without your children, to share your challenges, frustrations, worries, and strategies for coping. Some of you aren’t seeing all the professionals who normally come into your home to work with your child, some of you are juggling home-schooling and working from home, some of you may have lost your jobs. Whatever your situation, this group is a place to receive support from other parents, as well as a registered clinical counselor. Who can attend: Blind Beginnings parents across BC When: Every 2nd Thursday at 7:15pm
Events in July 2020
Virtual Parents' Night Out
Harry Potter Book Club
Kids Connect Support Group
Yoga for Beginners
Intermediate Yoga Class
When: Wednesdays from 5:00 – 6:00pmOpening Campfire
Online Baby Beginnings Program/Adam’s Accessible Story-Time
From 9:00 – 9:30 – Parents/Caregivers of children birth to 5 years of age
From 9:30 – 11:00 – Any Blind Beginnings child/youth and their families
When: Every other Saturday through the summer: July 11 and 25, and August 8 and 22Sporty Saturdays
Harry Potter Book Club
Kids Connect Support Group
Yoga for Beginners
Intermediate Yoga Class
When: Wednesdays from 5:00 – 6:00pmCamp Hang-Out
Independent Living Skills Creating Confidence Workshop
Virtual Parents' Night Out
Sporty Saturdays
Harry Potter Book Club
Kids Connect Support Group
Yoga for Beginners
Intermediate Yoga Class
When: Wednesdays from 5:00 – 6:00pmDisney Music Bingo Game Night
Independent Living Skills Creating Confidence Workshop
Creating Connections Workshop
Online Baby Beginnings Program/Adam’s Accessible Story-Time
From 9:00 – 9:30 – Parents/Caregivers of children birth to 5 years of age
From 9:30 – 11:00 – Any Blind Beginnings child/youth and their families
When: Every other Saturday through the summer: July 11 and 25, and August 8 and 22Sporty Saturdays
Harry Potter Book Club
Kids Connect Support Group
Yoga for Beginners
Intermediate Yoga Class
When: Wednesdays from 5:00 – 6:00pmCamp Hang-Out
Independent Living Skills Creating Confidence Workshop
Virtual Parents' Night Out