[NFBMT] First week of the Bell Academy

[d m gina]

This is something we can remember for quite some time.
i hope you get a chance to share at national how much fun one and all 
had doing this for the first time in Montana.
Now next year if the folks want to come back again, can they do this, 
and learn even more to add to this year?

Original message:
> What a fun and challenging week this has been!



> We have five delightful kids, ages nine through thirteen.  One had a birthday
> on the 15th, as did Donald Trump, so we had a little party for her.



> The first day, we also had a birthday party for Louis Braille and learned
> about him and his life and had an introduction to Braille.  Two of the kids
> had had no previous experience with Braille whatsoever.  By Wednesday they
> had learned and were writing the alphabet on a Perkins Brailler.  One of them
> wrote his name on his own.  By Friday they were writing short sentences.  I
> was impressed!



> We have been doing several activities with learning shades.  We have played
> games like cane relay and Red Light, Green Light.  On Thursday we walked over
> to a Mexican restaurant behind the church, using our canes and wearing our
> learning shades, and we ordered and paid for lunch.  We have also had bowls
> of change that we are practicing identifying without using vision.



> On June 12 we had a visit from the fire department.  We got to climb up in
> the truck and see the oxygen mask they wear.  We saw the water hose on the
> front end of the truck and learned how to change the direction and strength
> of the water stream.  We also saw a heart defiberlator and the Jaws of Life.
> We got to handle several tools that fire fighters use, including an axe, and
> they are all quite heavy!  We got to hear the siren when they drove away.



> That same day a pottery studio came and we got to make something out of clay
> using our hands and not our eyes.

> The things will be fired and brought back to us before the Academy concludes.



> We are learning how to make our own lunches, and how to measure and pour.



> On Wednesday, June 13, the Butterfly House Insectarium came and showed us
> some live bugs and let them crawl around on our hands.  It was fascinating,
> even for me, who is absolutely not a bug person.  They also showed us models
> of other bugs.  We got to see a turrantula paralyze and begin to digest a
> cricket. They eat about once a week, and sense movement and vibration through
> the web they spin.  They can spin six different kinds of silk.



> On Friday, June 15, we had a visit from a police officer and we got to look
> at his badge, his gun, his taser, and several other tools he has.  We also
> got to ride in the back of the police car.  It is not made for comfort.



> We visited a bank and hefted several denominations of rolls of coins and
> learned how many are in a roll.  We also visited the vault and learned about
> safety deposit boxes.  We got to see a banded stack of thousand dollar bills.
> Each one of the kids took a dollar to the teller and received coins back.



> Next week should be even more fun and exciting.



> Joy





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--Dar
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every saint has a past
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