West Metro Learning Connections, Inc.

West Metro Learning Connections

News Bulletin April 14, 2005

Hello Friends of WMLC,

We hope your spring is off to a wonderful start! Below is a list of the social skills groups and activities for the Spring Session at West Metro Learning Connections. Most groups are offered for a designated age range, and each group includes different social communication and interaction skill development lessons. If you are interested, please identify the group that best suits your child’s needs, and call one of our Office Managers, Janet or Mary Ann, to register at 952-474-0227.

New Session:

Session Title: Moving on with Friendship

Ages: 6-12; Time: Tuesday 4:45-6:15

Ages: 9-10, Time: Wednesday 4:00-6:00 (Also includes Recess Games}

Ages: 11-12, Time: Thursday 6:30-8:00

Ages: 8-13; Time: Saturday 1:00-2:30

Description:

            “Moving on with Friendship” provides and further develops and expands upon therapeutic instruction and recreation that is included in “Catching on to Getting Along” and “Getting Along with Friendship.” Social cognition (thinking about and developing an understanding of social interactions and situations), empathy and perspective-taking, and verbal and nonverbal social communication are the bases for relationship development and ultimately the development of meaningful relationships and true friendships. Participants will explore social cognition, empathy, perspective-taking, and verbal and nonverbal social communication skills in a variety of school, home, and community situations and relationships, including the “unwritten rules” that govern them and the social communication skills that expand upon and enhance them.

New Session:

Session Title: Meet and Manage Emotions

Ages: 6-12

Time: Wednesday 5:00-6:30 (Three spaces left)

Description:

            “Meet and Manage Emotions” helps participants to identify and label positive and negative emotions, redirect negative thoughts to positive thoughts, interpret nonverbal, tone of voice, and situational feeling clues, identify degrees of emotions, express feelings with words and nonverbal clues, recognize and manage intense emotions.

            In addition, this group will review and address goals from “Fabulous Feelings” and “Feelings for Everyone.” “Fabulous Feelings” helps participants to value, identify, and communicate their feelings, to identify situations that cause certain feelings, to manage difficult feelings, and to recognize and celebrate their strengths, progress, and positive actions they have taken. “Feelings for Everyone” focuses on other people’s feelings, with an eventual goal of empathy, feeling what others feels, and of learning to recognize and predict others’ possible feelings and to make behavior decisions based on what might be appropriate responses to the identified feelings.

Continuing Sessions:

Catching on to Getting Along

Age: 5-8

Age: 8-11

Time: Monday 5:00-6:30 (2 spaces left each age group)

Description:

            “Catching on to Getting Along” increases basic communication and interaction skills, including sustaining joint attention, appropriate eye contact and body placement, shifting attention and focus, introducing self, demonstrating caring, offering and giving help, making apologies, and giving and accepting compliments. Essentially, this course provides instruction in how to interact with peers in an appropriate and respectful way. The group consists of an hour of lesson followed by a half hour of guided play.

Session Title: Catching on to Getting Along I, Second Half

Ages: 4-7; Time: Thursday 1:00-2:30

Ages: 7-11; Time: Thursday 5:30-7:00

Description:

            “Catching on to Getting Along” increases basic communication and interaction skills, including sustaining joint attention, appropriate eye contact and body placement, shifting attention and focus, introducing self, demonstrating caring, offering and giving help, making apologies, and giving and accepting compliments. This course is adjusted to meet the needs of a younger age group by providing lessons on how to interact appropriately with peers at this age level. The 1:00-2:30 group consists of one hour of lesson followed by a half hour of guided play and reinforcement and the 5:30-7:00 group consists of a 45- minute lesson and 45 minutes of guided play and reinforcement.

Session Title: Tweens and Teens Talk/Tweens and Teens Rock New Time

Ages: 11 ½ and up

Time: Thursday 4:30-7:00

Description:

            During “Tweens and TeensTalk/Tweens and Teens Rock”, participants will increase their verbal and nonverbal communication and perspective-taking skills, practice empathy, increase social thinking skills (social cognition), increase awareness of behaviors that need changing, and increase skills related to self-monitoring and self-control of behaviors. This group begins with one hour of group discussion led by Debra, and afterward an activity in the community for an hour and a half led by a group facilitator.

Session Title: Managing Anger and Annoyance III

Ages: 9-14

Time: Monday 6:30-8:00

Description:

During “Managing Anger and Annoyance III” clients learn to identify their personal triggers and signs of anger and annoyance and work to develop a variety of strategies for managing the difficult emotions in an array of situations.

The content will include “Slick Self-Control” (Self-Management Skills II) with goals of helping participants know to cool off before responding, manage and advocate for themselves when teased, ask permission first, admit mistakes, accept consequences, and manage and advocate for themselves when feeling blamed.

Other components of the group are the videos Handling Anger, Angry? Ten Ways to Cool Off and How to Go From Mad to Glad. Finally, participants will develop their own personal anger and annoyance mind maps and visual supports with triggers, physical and emotional “symptoms,” steps, and strategies.

Session Title: East Metro Social Club

Ages: 12 and up

Time: Thursday 5:00-7:45, meets in Burnsville

Description:

            “East Metro Social Club” is an opportunity for teens ages 12 and up to go out for dinner and participate in an activity with friends and group leaders afterwards. This group is comparable to our Friday Night Excellent Adventures with dinner and discussion added in. The EMSC is a perfect choice for clients who live east of WMLC.

            April 14: Dinner at IHOP Restaurant then IMAX Theatre at MN Zoo

            April 21: Dinner at Baker’s Square then Burnsville Bowl

            April 28: Wabasha Street Caves then Dinner at Mickey’s Diner

            May 5:     Dinner at Benchwarmer Bob’s then Time Out Video Arcade

            May 12:   Dinner at Maya and Miniature Golf at Grand Slam

            May 19:   Dinner at TGI Fridays & Omnitheatre

            May 26:   Dinner at Applebees & Activity to be determined by participants

Session Title: Friday Night Excellent Adventures

Ages: 8 and up

Time: Friday 4:30-8:30

Description:

            “Friday Night Excellent Adventures” allow participants to practice their generalization skills in various community settings. Adventurers are prepared with social stories and receive guideline sheets for practicing the lesson for each activity. Minimum enrollment is three Adventurers per age group.

            April 15:           Harlem Globetrotters (one space is open)

            April 22:           Rollerblading at the Metrodome

            April 29:           Camp Snoopy and Underwater Adventures

            May 6:             Grand Slam Sports

            May 13:           Bowling and Pizza

            May 20:           St. Paul Saints Baseball Game

Session Title: Therapeutic Recreation

Ages: 8-9

Time: Saturday 12:30-2:30

Description:

            “Therapeutic Recreation” promotes increased physical fitness, coordination, balance and skills for playing sports, swimming and skating. Friendship skills are applied through playing on a team (sharing, taking turns, inviting, cheering and encouraging others, etc.)

Activity Title: Sleepover

Ages: 8 plus

Time: Saturday 5:30 p.m. to Sunday at 10:00 a.m.

Description:

            “Sleepovers” allow participants to learn to become accustomed to changes in their routines in a fun and safe environment while giving their parents or guardians a special opportunity for respite. Participants will participate in socializing, dinner, games, sleeping and breakfast activities.

            April 16

            May 21

            June 18

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Your Comments are appreciated.

WMLC invites comments about its newsletter. Please send your comments via email, letter or phone to:

West Metro Learning Connections
355 Second Street
Excelsior MN 55331
Phone:             952-474-0227
Fax:                 952-474-0249
Email:             connectskills@wmlc.biz
URL:               www.wmlc.biz

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