Welcome to “On the Horizon”
Issue 42: Parenting Thoughts For the New Year: Changing “I Should” to “I Could”
On the Horizon is an award winning weekly ezine for parents of children with developmental disabilities who want simple, effective strategies to reduce stress, support their child’s development, and improve quality of life for the whole family.
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Help for the New Year
 A Note from Nicole: Making Resolutions
Idea of the Week: Coffee Filter Snowflakes
Feature Article: Parenting Thoughts For the New Year: Changing “I Should” to “I Could”
The Horizons Team Recommends: Parent Success Cards; Sibshop
Upcoming Events: Sibshop; CORE Approach Parent Teleseminar; Parent Chat
Hi Everyone!
Happy New Year! I hope you had the opportunity to enjoy time with family and friends over the holidays. We had a great time at various holiday gatherings, and took advantage of time off from work and school to do things together as a family. There was so much snow the last two weeks of December that the kids got to spend some time outside with their sleds. It felt great to have a few days last week to just be at home and not do much of anything!
It’s the time of year when many of us think about setting goals or making resolutions. January always feels like anew beginning, and it’s a great time to reflect and prioritize for the months ahead. My article this week focuses on how to shift our mindset to one of choice—choosing to do things in order to accomplish our goals.
A reminder that our next Horizons Sibling Network session is coming up on January 17th. If you haven’t yet registered your children, make sure you do that before the deadline. Enjoy the rest of your week!
Looking to the horizon,
Coffee Filter Snowflakes
It’s always fun to decorate with one-of-a-kind designed snowflakes. Begin with a coffee filter and fold it in half, and then fold it in half again. Take a pair of scissors and begin making small cuts on the edges – they can be triangles, squares, or even circles. When you think you have enough cuts, unfold the coffee filter and you’ll see the design you created.
Parenting Thoughts For the New Year: Changing “I Should” to “I Could”
By: Nicole Beurkens, M.Ed.
The start of a new calendar year tends to be a time for us to reflect on the past year, and also make plans for what we envision in the 12 months ahead. Some people make resolutions, write to-do lists, or set goals for themselves. What often happens with these lists and resolutions, however, is that they fall by the wayside shortly after they’ve been written. One of the reasons for this is the pressure we put on ourselves to accomplish these things; and that pressure and level of expectation leads to stress, resentment, and ultimately giving up on what we originally set out to do.
I recently heard someone talk about changing our “I shoulds” to “I coulds.” That really resonated with me on a personal and professional level, as it seems so easy to get caught in the trap of stressing about everything I “should” do. When we think of things in terms of “I should,” we exist in a pressured state of feeling forced to do something. Thinking about what I “could” do shifts us into a mindset of choice—I am deciding in this moment whether to do this thing. It not only sounds different, but it feels different to phrase options from the perspective of “I could” instead of “I should.” There is an internal mindset shift that occurs when we do this; and it allows us to move forward with trying to do the things we could, instead of getting stuck in the mode of pressuring ourselves to do what we should.
Since we are at the start of a new year, we have the opportunity to think about the year ahead in terms of “I coulds.”
Parent Success Cards
For CORE Approach Program families, these cards provide reminders of the main principles of CORE Approach such as the importance of experience sharing, guiding, slowing down, staying focused on the marathon, finding small moments for remediation, and much more. You will find them an invaluable source of inspiration and guidance as you focus on remediation.
Set of 50 heavyweight full-color cards in a sturdy box with lid – $24.95
Purchase the set or view more samples here
Sibshop – Horizons Sibling Network!
Next Session: January 17th, 2009
10:00 AM – 2:00 PM at our center
We feel strongly that as part of our family-focused mission we need to be attending to the needs of all of your children, not just the ones with disabilities. Siblings of children with disabilities have their own unique needs and experiences, and we will be using the renowned Sibshop model that is designed to provide them with support, education, and fun.
Limited to 20 children. Participants must have a sibling with disabilities and be aged 7-14. Lunch will be provided. The cost is $20.00 per child for Horizons families and $30.00 per child for non-Horizons families.Click on the links below for more information or call the office with any questions!
To sign up online, click here
Please join us!
- Sibshop – Horizons Sibling Network
Open to everyone!
Saturday January 17 2009, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM EST
- CORE Approach Parent Teleseminar with Nicole & Erin – Get your Questions Answered (Horizons Families Only)
Thursday January 29 2009, 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM EST
- Horizons Parent Chat: Objective Support with Michelle & Courtney (Horizons Families Only)
Monday February 2, 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM EST
- Sibshop – Horizons Sibling Network
Open to everyone!
Saturday March 14 2009, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM EST
- HANDLE® Intermediate Training
April 6-11, 2009 and May 4-9, 2009
- Sibshop – Horizons Sibling Network
Open to everyone!
Saturday May 16 2009, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM EST
- Sibshop – Horizons Sibling Network
Open to everyone!
Saturday July 18 2009, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM EST
See our Event Calendar for more details…
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