2025 Summer camp

Group Activities: Yoga, Sports & Sensory Work

Yoga & Movement
Older children learned and led the 8-step Sun Salutation, known to calm the vagus nerve and reduce fight-or-flight responses. Most can now perform all 8 steps confidently.
At-home tip: Let your child lead yoga. It boosts confidence—and benefits you too!

Sports & Crafts
Children learned bowling, practiced baseball, and engaged in embroidery, weaving, and stitching.
At-home tip: Play catch or simple games. Let them sew on a button—they’ve learned the skill! Use it or lose it.

Sensory Work
They explored all five senses:

Vision: Eye movement without head turning; planet identification via glow stickers.
Hearing: Recognized instruments—violin, flute, harmonica, recorder, tambourine, maracas.
Smell: Identified scents like garlic, vanilla, coconut, peppermint, vinegar, and more.
Taste: Experienced all five tastes using various foods (e.g., lemon, pickle juice, tomato soup, chocolate).
Touch: Tolerated diverse textures through guided exposure.

At-home tip: Stargaze, identify sounds, involve them in cooking. Let them touch, smell, and taste—it reinforces learning.

Younger Group
Made great strides—greeting peers, answering questions, joining yoga and sensory work, and building attention.

Communication & Technology

We’re thrilled to see verbal communication blooming across the board. The center is now full of chatter and interaction! For children who are still developing speech, we’ve begun supporting them with typing and using our AI-powered communication app.

The app has been a game-changer. In speech therapy, it helps children answer “what,” “where,” “who,” “how,” and “why” questions—tasks that are otherwise extremely challenging without verbal ability. It’s also boosted participation in group activities for children who struggle to find words in real-time.

At home tip - Make them talk, talk and talk. The more they practice talking, the more they will talk. Practice, practice, practice.

Station Activities

Older children mastered fine motor tasks like knitting scarves/backpacks, playing board games, exploring anatomy, minerals, life cycles, and even Sudoku and chess. Because most children are picky eaters, this year we provided snacks and introduced many foods with different taste and texture. We were very successful in that mission.

Younger children improved significantly. Some now sit and work for 20+ minutes, tackling complex tasks like weaving. Our benchmark: every child knitting a scarf by age 5 - a major milestone requiring attention, hand strength, and focus.

At-home tip: Encourage handmade gifts (scarves, potholders, art). This boosts confidence, reduces stimming, and shifts how others perceive your child—from “in need” to “capable.”

Piano

Older students now play with both hands, using all fingers and reading basic music notation. They’ve developed rhythm, tone recognition, and melody copying.
Younger students are progressing in rhythm, finger use, and ear training.

At-home tip: Use Mitsuko’s beginner piano book (available on Amazon). For ages 5–6, use the color-coded version. A new one is coming soon!

Gymnastics

The progress in gymnastics has been phenomenal - from pull-ups and push-ups to flips, bridges, crab and bear walks, one-leg jumps, skipping, and ball skills (many of which I can’t do myself!). Every child, regardless of age or ability, made significant gains. These gains have directly improved sitting tolerance, fine motor skills, speech, and life skills. Huge credit goes to our dedicated gymnastics team.

At-home tip: At the park, encourage climbing walls or monkey bars to maintain motor skills.

Math (Afternoon Group Only)

Children learned numbers up to 10,000, place value, and addition. Older ones are working on word problems; others are strengthening foundational math.

At-home tip: Count everyday objects. For older kids, ask real-life math questions: “Who has more?” “What’s left?”

Occupational Therapy (OT)

Judy has been coming in every Thursday and working with all of our children, some individually and others in small groups. At this point, she has developed a strong understanding of each child and is guiding us with targeted activities and exercises tailored to their specific needs.

We’ve been integrating her recommendations across all areas - speech, stations, gymnastics, and even when addressing behavioral challenges. Unlike the traditional ABA approach, we prioritize implementing occupational therapy strategies before categorizing something purely as a "behavior."

For those of you who have worked with Judy, you know what an incredible resource she is. With over three decades of experience, Judy has supported many children through every stage of development, from early childhood to adulthood. She has a remarkable ability to recognize underlying needs and patterns, often at a glance. We are truly fortunate to have her on our team, offering expert guidance every step of the way.

Music

Rani taught music lessons by breaking down rhythm, pitch, and vocals with visual support and adapted materials. The kids loved it—many are still singing her songs!

We’re thrilled she’ll be back in August.

Swimming

Under Kylie’s instruction, several children advanced in water safety and swimming. Four now swim independently; two more are nearly there.

Final Notes

This summer has been a joy. I’m deeply grateful to work with such a talented and compassionate team. Thank you for your trust and partnership!