[Colorado-Talk] Aurora Chapter goes to Summer Camp

Mon Jul 29 21:50:00 UTC 2024

I love this story.  Having only lost my vision when I was 60, I am still working on learning braille, but my 14 grandchildren are being exposed to all of this and have even helped me with my I-phone.  They are turning out to be my greatest helpers and advocates.

Barb Fellet

From: Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Julia via Colorado-Talk
Sent: Friday, July 26, 2024 9:11 AM
To: NFB of Colorado Discussion List <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Julia <juliazanon at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [Colorado-Talk] Aurora Chapter goes to Summer Camp

Ha!  Thank you to Peggy, Caroline and Curtis  for expanding awareness of blindness and  braille to our youth. Having recently been  teased about still listening to CDs, I wonder whether a CD  is an everyday item for a 7 to 12 year old. Yikes.

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 26, 2024, at 8:21 AM, Dan Burke via Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org <mailto:colorado-talk at nfbnet.org> > wrote:

Awesome! What a great event and story!

On Thu, Jul 25, 2024 at 2:38 PM Peggy Chong via Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org <mailto:colorado-talk at nfbnet.org> > wrote:

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Aurora Chapter Presents Braille to the Aurora History Museum’s Summer Camp

By Peggy Chong

The Aurora History Museum held a summer camp with a focus on assorted styles of writing. On Thursday, July 25, 2024, NFB of Colorado Aurora Chapter members, Caroline Graves and Curtis and Peggy Chong presented the unit on Braille to the campers. 

The 10 campers were between the ages of 7 and 12.  They arrived between 8:30 and 8:45, sat in their chairs and shared what they ate for breakfast. Then, Aurora Chapter members took over. 

Peggy began with an introduction to Braille and how blind people use it in our daily lives. Exhibits brought by our chapter included an UNO game, a Braille scrabble game, and a Braille ruler. She said that they can ask questions, but “don’t raise your hand. Say your name and then I will know who you are and call on you.”  The kids caught on right away. 

Curtis showed several varieties of slates such as a dymo slate and a card slate. He shared how we mark everyday items like CD’s and passed examples around the table. He showed how to write Braille on a cell phone.

Caroline, a retired elementary school and special ed teacher explained the Braille cell using Hershey’s Kisses. She told them not to eat the Kisses until they got home. They practiced forming Braille letters and learning the pattern of the Braille system.

Slates and styluses were passed out to each child along with index cards and a Braille alphabet card from the National Federation of the Blind. The campers could take home their alphabet card. 

Peggy stood beside Caroline as she talked about the forming of Braille letters. With a 6-unit, silicone muffin pan, Peggy held up the pan to simulate a Braille cell and pushed out and in, the proper cups of the pan to demonstrate the letters as Caroline called them out. 

They practiced writing first a full cell then got to write anything they wanted. Several brought their cards to Curtis to have him check their Braille. Some transposed a few letters, but on their second try, some got it perfect. 

After an hour we were supposed to stop, but the campers and staff said keep going. Caroline read a story from a Twin-Vision book while several of the kids kept on writing Braille. Some campers gathered around Caroline to watch her read.

A half hour past snack time, the Aurora History Museum staff reluctantly brought the session to a close. A Braille for the sighted word game and a Blind History Lady handout on some of the blind ancestors of Colorado were left as an additional gift for the campers to take home. 

The Aurora Chapter is planning more activities with the museum soon and hopes to continue to expand our input into the development of additional exhibits and programs.

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-- 

Dan Burke

National Federation of the Blind of Colorado Legislative Co-chair 

"Blindness is not what holds you back.  You can live the life you want!"

My Cell:  406.546.8546

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