[NFBF-L] NFB BELL® Academy | National Federation of the Blind

[DENISE VALKEMA]

https://www.nfb.org/programs-services/nfb-bell-academy

NFB BELL® Academy
The NFB BELL Academy provides children with Braille and nonvisual skills instruction through fun, hands-on learning activities.

    

NFB BELL Academy has helped me achieve goals in Braille and discover new things about myself, I didn’t even realize. And make new, great friends.
The NFB BELL Academy—which stands for National Federation of the Blind Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning®—is a nationwide summer program that prepares blind and low-vision children to grow into confident and independent blind people who live the lives they want.

Activities are provided in a day program or residential setting, depending on location. In addition to Braille crafts, games, and other engaging projects, children learn vital independent living skills, interact with blind adult mentors, and enjoy field trips to sites related to the NFB BELL Academy curriculum. Through these activities and interactions, the children learn that blindness or low vision does not define them or their future. 

NFB BELL Academy typically runs Monday through Friday for six hours each day for two weeks.

Who Should Attend
Blind and low-vision children, ages four through twelve, who:

Do not receive enough Braille and nonvisual skills instruction in school
Could benefit from more Braille exposure over the summer
Would enjoy connecting with blind role models
To be honest, for a mother with a low-vision child, I was very uneducated by the blind word, and I didn't think he could attend an event like it…A friend that was taking her son, told me that I should try and we did. The first day was like a whole new world of possibilities and knowledge opened up for me.
Register
While we are living in unprecedented times, we know that the National Federation of the Blind has and will continue to meet the challenge of the times with hope, love, and determination. One of the commitments we made early in this COVID-19 pandemic was to provide resources for blind children and their families, and to support the teaching of critical nonvisual techniques and Braille literacy at home. We want to make sure that students, parents, and volunteers have the best NFB BELL Academy experience possible. We are condensing our academies into three nationally taught and coordinated sessions with support from NFB affiliates. This summer, two-week-long sessions of NFB BELL Academy will take place at 11:00 a.m. ET and at 6:00 p.m. ET. Each session will last for forty-five minutes during the following dates:

June 1, 2020 through June 12, 2020
June 22, 2020 through July 3, 2020
July 27, 2020 through August 7, 2020
Please note the 11:00 a.m. session taking place June 22, 2020 through July 3, 2020 will be conducted in Spanish.

Each registered student will receive the materials to complete all lessons alongside their parent/guardian via mail. Each day during the two-week session, there will be two opportunities to connect via web or phone with an experienced teacher. This gives students and families the opportunity to ask questions and get to know each other.

Complete the registration form to sign up for one of our NFB BELL Academy sessions (spaces are limited). The cost of this program is free to participating families. However, if you wish to support our efforts in providing Braille literacy please visit https://www.nfb.org/donate.

Supporters
Thank you to the following organizations for their generous support of the NFB BELL Academy.

As a coordinator I was so happy to see how excited each child was each morning when they came into the BELL classroom. Each child was willing to try new things and they are excitedly looking forward to next year's BELL Academy.
      

More Information
For more information about the NFB BELL Academy, please contact us at BELL at nfb.org.  

—-
Denise Valkema, President  National Federation of the Blind of Florida 
(305)972-8529
president at nfbflorida.org
www.nfbflorida.org
Follow us @nfbflorida
You can live the life you want.
The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.