Summer Solstice 2010 "- Keep your eyes to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows." Helen Keller

"Ahh! FirstRay of Dawn
Awakens the heart
In appreciation of life

This morn of Summer's

portent born.

Yes! Love,

My basket,

Yearning to be filled

With all bliss in the ecstatic

Joy garnered from Earth's

Green delight!

Oh! You

Golden orb,

Bless all life brought forth

In the flowers' promise made known

By fruit and bird song

From now on.

Ha! Smile

Upon us,

Lighten each our heart

That every child is fed and loved;

Embraced in green arms

And bloom bright.

Ahh! First

Ray of Dawn:

Summer's Solstice born.

Earth's passionate embrace fulfilled,

Her covenant song
Our troth."

Jade Wah'oo

Notes:

Helen Keller: Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, political activist and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Keller

Photo: Sun Rising Over Stonehenge - Summer Solstice, June 21, 2005 by : wikipedia

Are you ready to change?

How many times a day do you say yes when you mean no?

How many times a day do you compromise your truth in your work and in your life, and by doing so depleting your precious energy and selling your spirit bit by bit even though you beleive you are giving your best at that particular moment?

Are you living your life at peace with yourself?

Are you afraid or inspired by change?

Is there a need for change how conductive education services are run and what is on offer under the name of conductive education?

Notes:

"The English word spirit (from Latin spiritus "breath")..."From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit

Photo: Judit and Owen at the Conductive Education Support Centre in Brockenhurts, UK February 2010.

Hebrew Translation of the Challenge Me! TM Mobility Activity Cards designed by Amanda Elliott

On 19th May 2010 Jessica Kingsley Publisher confirmed that they have received the counter-signed contracts for Challenge Me! TM Mobility Cards to be translated in Hebrew.

Amanda Elliott the creator of the Challange Me!TM Mobility and Activity Crads is a senior conductor, one of the first graduates of the National Institute of Conductive Education UK, and the director of Conductive Education Support Services UK.

The set of beautifully illustrated full-colour mobility cards, together with a detailed instruction booklet, is a valuable tool for all professionals and parents facilitating the rehabilitation of children with neurological disorders and general developmental disabilities.

The activities address the development of mobility and coordination skills, while also promoting independence and self-esteem, using a fun approach that is motivating for children.

The cards were designed to give parents and professionals plenty of new ideas of tasks to practise at home/school to help improve mobility and all over motor skills based on Conductive Education.

Using the cards is fun and provide you with many useful ideas how to help children to improve essential skills. The cards also enable children to choose, focus, plan, empowering them to take charge in their own problem solving in a playful way.

Children can create their own activity regime which they can practise every day until they master the skills required, or they can choose ad-hoc challenges throughout the day which will build their abilities.
The cards were created in mind that everyone involved with child care, upbringing and education can easily be involved in helping children in a relaxed and joyful way.

In her resource review Julie Hughes of Down Syndrome Education International writes about the Challenge Me! Mobility Activity Cards.
"I'm always on the look-out for useful, practical activities that can be worked into everyday games – and that is just what I found in these cards.

The Challenge Me! Mobility Activity Cards - a set of useful, practical activities that can be worked into everyday games. They address mobility, balance coordination, spatial awareness, trunk control, transferring skills, gross motor skills, flexibility, adaptability, safety awareness, and independence. Practising these skills can also have a knock-on effect on self-esteem and confidence."

Link to full article: http://www.down-syndrome.org/resources/2023/

Link to order the cards directly from the author: http://www.challengemecards.com/order.html

Links to order the cards in USA:
http://www.amazon.com/Challenge-Me-Mobility-Activity-Cards/dp/1843104970/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274429105&sr=8-1

In Australia:
http://www.thebrainary.com/shop/product.php?productid=3583&cat=0&page=1

Challenge Me! TM Speech and Communication Cards are also available by Amanda Elliott.

'Speech and language skills are a vital part of being able to communicate with others and express one's own needs. The Challenge Me!™ Speech and Communication Cards provide fun and dynamic challenges for children aged 3-12 with any form of speech problem, whether this is a severe problem which is related to a motor disability or a general delay in speech. This set of beautifully illustrated full-colour cards with accompanying instruction booklet will be an ideal creative tool for parents and professionals working to improve a child's speaking skills.’


For further reading and to order the cards please follow these links:

http://www.challengemecards.com/speech_and_communication.html

http://www.challengemecards.com/order.html

Mandy at the moment is in Italy helping out with homeless, abandoned and cruelly treated dogs. Well done Manda and congratulations for your achievement!

When a child sees with his heart

On Monday, one of our boys a 2½ year old was walking across the room towards a little toy sports car, which was put on a small side table at the centre.

When he arrived to the table, he looked at the photograph of Dr. Pető, which was also on the table, he stopped for a moment and gently stroked the picture, ignoring the car. We never talked to him about Pető. One of the conductors said to the little boy ‘that’s Petö, say hello to him’. The young child said ‘Hello Pető’, smiled and then he turned around and continued practising his walking… It was like he knew who this special man was.

Shanghai Tang Hong Kong

I decided to create a separate posting about Sanghai Tang as it is something really special. If during the busy schedule of the 7th World Congress of Conductive Education you have only time to visit this beautiful flagship store you are in for a real treat.
Sanghai Tang is gorgeous, stylish and a 1930’s inspired, art deco boutique.
This ‘East meets West’ designer store is an adventure on its own. As you step through the doors the spirit of genuine creativity blending Chinese traditional designs with contemporary styles absorbs you and carries you to a different world. To me it felt like arriving to a movie set and depending on where I chose to focus my attention different stories emerged blending cultures, past and present and gently immersing me to participate.
I just wanted to hold everything in this magical place, the smell in the store, the colours, the shapes, and the textures of the goods are second to none.

Sir David Tang the creator of Shanghai Tang

References:

http://www.ce-congress2010.org/CE/

http://juditszathmary.blogspot.com/2010/05/7th-world-congress-on-conductive.html

http://www.shanghaitang.com/

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article1803225.ece

Photos from Google Images.

Peak tram, dim sum and more

Whether you decide to travel to Hong Kong to participate in the 7th World Congress of Conductive Education or not I thought you might like to know about some interesting places to visit. The Peak tram takes you up to Victoria Peak. It is a breathtaking journey amongst the lush vegetation with an ever-expanding view of Hong Kong as the train gently clatters to the top.

If you like you can have breakfast, lunch or dinner at the 'Pearl on the Peak Restaurant' depending upon which lighting you prefer to see Hong Kong below while you are dining.

I think tasting some dim sums is a must. I prefer the ones filled with prawns. It is quite hard to get prawn-filled dim sums without pork so watch out if you don’t eat red meat like me. You can also have it for breakfast. If you wake up early and walk on the early morning streets of Hong Kong you can see them being cooked on street corners and people are buying them on the way to work. If you are a visitor I would recommend that you buy them in a restaurant.

The Jade Market

Please be aware that genuine jade is rather pricey and if you don't know much about jade it is hard to distinguish them from replicates.

Stanley Market and Temple Street Night Market are also worth a visit.

Rainbow Finley March 2010.

References:

http://www.ce-congress2010.org/CE/

http://juditszathmary.blogspot.com/2010/05/7th-world-congress-on-conductive.html

http://www.thepeak.com.hk/en/home.asp

http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/dining/dim-sum-guide.html

http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/attractions/kln-jade-market.html

http://www.12hk.com/area/SouthIsland/StanleyMarket.shtml

http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/attractions/kln-temple-street-night-market.html

All photos from Google Images.

The 7th World Congress on Conductive Education 5-8 December 2010 Hong Kong

A few people have been asking me about the 7th World Congress on Conductive Education, in Hong Kong. Some of them were unaware of it. I guess when people are absorbed with their everyday work and life, it is easy to loose touch with all that is happening around the world of Conductive Education. I believe when you just roaming the Internet and ‘accidentally’ come across information about something close to your heart synchronicity just appeared in your life. So my answer to those who just discovered the information about this event…you were meant to find it for a reason…To defy that reason is up to you.

Hong Kong is a magical place on many levels. Hong Kong professionals working in the field of Conductive Education have a very good reputation and are highly respected in our Conductive community and they are also blessed with excellent organisational skills.

‘Tuning in’ to that event brings excitement and pleasant feelings…definitely an opportunity not to be missed.

I was looking for a video clip about the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre where the conference will be held, to show you the magnificence of the place on the waterfront without any luck. There are a few amateur clips available and one, which is not the best quality.
Nevertheless here is the link to it:
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

The submission for abstracts has been extended to 17th May 2010. Soon after that date we would be able to see the complete conference programme.
Whether you choose to present at the conference or choose to enjoy being enthused sitting in the audience this event promises an unforgettable adventure.
The last time I visited Hong Kong I stayed in the Island Shangri-La. It was a fabulous experience. The words “Shangri-La” stand as a synonym for paradise. On my pillow I found a lovely bookmark with a quote printed on it from the book of Lost Horizon.
“ That evening,
after dinner,
Conway made occasion
to leave the others and
stroll out into the calm,
moon washed courtyards.
Shangri-La was lovely then,
touched with mystery
that lies at the core
of all loveliness.
Conway was physically happy,
emotionally satisfied,
and mentally at ease.”
James Hilton Lost Horizon

I sincerely hope that the 7th World Congress on Conductive Education will be an event, which promises to find the Lost Horizon.

♥

Me and Finley my White Light Warrior puppy, April 2010

Finley has a white star shaped patch on his chest.:)

References:
Photo of Hong Kong Convention and Exchibition Centre at Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island by Christopher Biggs from Flickr images.
Link to official website of the conference:

http://www.ce-congress2010.org/CE/
James Hilton Lost Horizon. A captivating story written in 1933 by an English novelist who wrote of an idyllic settlement high in the mountains of Tibet.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Horizon-Classic-Tale-Shangri/dp/1840243538

Officially recognised Conductive Education blogs by the NEW CONDUCTIVE EDUCATION LIBRARY

Information blogs: http://www.conductiveeducationinformation.org/

http://www.susie-mallett.org/
http://conductiveupbringing.blogspot.com/
http://american-conductor.blogspot.com/
http://cecblog.typepad.com/cec/2010/03/jennifer-good-bet.html

Parent blogs:

http://zsippzsupp.blogspot.com/
http://lightnur.blogspot.com/
http://mymaclain.blogspot.com/
http://newsnate.blogspot.com/2009/10/growth-spurt-in-development-conductive.html

Reference: http://virtualcelibrary.blogspot.com/

The Sun in our garden

Photos were taken at 2.00PM on 20th April 2010.

New Forest, Brockenhurst Hampshire UK.

Those who walk the path of heart will discover...

Probably you noticed that I was posting less and less in 2010. There were multitudes of reasons for it. My life has changed remarkably with my daughter’s leaving for university. Suddenly I had TIME which I have never had since she was born.
I ran and organised my life since her arrival (what a blessing it was and still is!) with so much to fit in and with so much to accomplish. I have got used to it…in a way I have got addicted to multitasking.
And as it happened suddenly there were so much space…quiet times…and silence unknown for 19 years that confronted me in my life.
I sat in silence looking for new adventures…and after my busy schedules of the past; the time had come to really look within. In the past I was so busy learning from ‘unconventional outside sources’ which I valued enormously…and with all that knowledge, experience and wisdom I just sat there and asked; so what now?
Habits die-hard… What can I say? I found a new teacher…and this teacher in a very unconventionally tough and at the same time gentle way ‘reminded’ me to look within.
All my life I wanted to be a ‘healer’ and with this teacher’s help the realisation came… ‘Heal’ the healer. It wasn’t about that I was sick it was about understanding the inner healer and taking her to full command of the a subject at hand.
Through these months of 2010 I mainly kept in touch with people and projects, that I know very well and with those that I value very much. I am sorry if you still waiting for my response to e-mails and calls. They are on my waiting list to be answered and dealt with.
During this time I have travelled, visited new places, studied a different kind of healing to my previous knowledge, and as ususal I ran conductive education programmes and healing sessions and also I was drawn towards nature and animals. The wild animals were a real eye-opener for me. So little is known and understood in the 'conventional world' about their feelings and communication to us.
I cannot promise that I will write more often in the near future. It will happen when I will have something valuable to say.Thank you my readers for visiting my blog. There is much to say about conductive education and also about many other things related to the subject
of‘disabilities’…The time will come… and if it is not going to be me there will be other conductors…

Úgy legyen!

Photos from Google Images. Full credit and copywrite to individual publishers.

This is a worldwide issue…but Australians make a stand and take the first step

"Parents are mad as hell. Parents want their kids with disabilities to have decent services, all their necessary equipment and a good education. We want the opportunity to create a good life for our kids. We're mad as hell about a broken system that wastes scandalous amounts of taxpayers' money and places endless obstacles in the path of our kids' potential progress.

People with disabilities are mad as hell. People with disabilities want inclusion, services, equipment, housing, jobs, transport, equality and the right to the ordinary life everyone else has.
The real obstacles are not our disabilities but the lack of relevant services, infrastructure and opportunities.

Family carers are mad as hell.We want good accommodation for our adult family members, respite and a decent level of government income support when we can't earn an income ourselves due to our caring responsibilities. Why are 80 year old parents STILL the sole carers for their 50 year old disabled children?

Families, friends and support workers are mad as hell.Friends, neighbours, relatives and thousands of disability workers see every day how families coping with disability are in crisis, and often torn apart by the lack of decent support services. The physical, emotional and financial hardships take their toll. Millions of us demand real change. "

Professionals who commit their lives to truly support children, adults and their families should be mad as hell…

and Yes millions of us must demind real change!

References:

http://australiansmadashell.com.au/index.html

http://www.conductive-world.info/2010/03/mad-as-hell.html

http://fightingchancefund.org/

One of the ways to motivate your colleagues…

This morning I received this clip from a colleague with a request to get to work like Amy Williams did for England at the Women’s Skeleton, Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. She reached the speed of 143 kilometres per hour.
I better obey and get to work.
I wish you all a good and productive day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwOTbxO44j8

References:

Emma Lincoln-Smith Pictures & Photos
(AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

The Horse Boy

"When parents say they would go to the ends of the Earth to help their children, it's usually a figure of speech. But that is literally what Rupert Isaacson does with his wife and their five-year-old autistic son in The Horse Boy, the story of an American family's quixotic journey to the far reaches of Mongolia. It's a film that will both captivate and divide audiences.

The emotionally stirring feature documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, then went on to play the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Tex., (where it won the audience prize) and Toronto's Hot Docs before Isaacson's autobiographical book of the same title was published in May.

So the film is not based on the best-selling book but is an essential travel companion, providing lyrical moving images of a landscape and people rarely visited by outsiders and, more importantly, the editorial “distance” of director-cinematographer Michel Orion Scott's lens.
Isaacson is the driving force behind both book and film. A journalist and human-rights activist who has written non-fiction books about the Kalahari Desert bushmen, Isaacson was living outside Austin with his wife Kristin Neff, a psychology professor, when their son Rowan was born in 2001. At age two, he was diagnosed with autism. The feeling, Isaacson says in the narration, was “like being hit over the head with a baseball bat.”

As Rowan began “drifting away,” his inconsolable tantrums growing worse, he also developed a profound bond with animals, in particular a neighbour's stubborn old horse. Isaacson, who trained horses when he was young and had witnessed the Kalahari bushmen solve health and spiritual problems through shamanic healing, hatches a plan to take the family to Mongolia, where horseback riding and shamanism remain strong traditions with its nomadic peoples.

Isaacson received a hefty publishing advance, allowing him to finance the 2007 trip and hire Scott, with whom he was collaborating on a different project. (Most of the advance was used afterward to found an equestrian centre.) To some, this will smack of a vanity project, and indeed Isaacson, the film's producer, is cast as the central romantic figure. But Scott's choices in the field and with the editor allow room for viewers to decide whether Isaacson is a humble father-hero or reckless, self-absorbed dad.

At a few key points, a chorus of leading experts interjects to help define autism (typically described as a spectrum of neuro-developmental disorders) and its behaviours – some of which we see through flashbacks to Rowan's home life. More interestingly, the experts reflect on the notion of using animals for healing, how environmental change can “spike” development, and how differently Western and traditional societies treat people with neurological and psychological issues.

While it's clear Rowan's parents aren't expecting to cure their son – the mother's role is the reluctant but loving skeptic – you feel keenly that they hope for some kind of miracle. As the trek progresses, they reveal more modest dreams: Isaacson would like Rowan to feel the “freedom” of riding by himself; Neff would like him to be toilet-trained.

Various breakthroughs (Rowan befriends their guide-interpreter's son) and setbacks happen on the journey, which culminates in a fascinating encounter with the nomadic reindeer people and their legendary shaman.

While The Horse Boy does not suggest parents should emulate Isaacson – indeed few would have the luxury or the nerve – or eschew Western-style treatments, the film's particular story serves as a powerful reminder to all parents that a child's unique strengths and personality may suggest the best path toward healing."

by Jennie Punter

Published on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009 1:28PM EST

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/the-horse-boy/article1361043/

http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/movies/30horse.html


http://www.horseboymovie.com/Book.php

Sure Start staff could opt out and be in a co-operative, say Tories

Staff at government Sure Start centres will be the first in the public sector to be able to opt out of their current employment and sell their services back to the taxpayer through co-operatives or as partners with a charity if the Conservatives win the next election.

David Willetts, the shadow minister for universities and skills – with special responsibility for families – outlined the plan today, claiming public sector employees had failed to help the poor.

The Conservatives say that Sure Start was meant to focus money, nursery staff and health visitors on pre-school children in poor areas. Labour has, however, pumped around £1bn a year into the programme, whichby March will see 3,500 centres covering all under-fives in England.

"There's evidence that [we] have lost the focus on the families who most need the help," Willetts said.

He also said that the government had spent £70m to hire outreach workers in disadvantaged areas but that the National Audit Office had shown that more money had not seen a rise in the amount of time spent actively targeting hard-to-reach families. Willetts told a conference organised by the charity 4Children that the Tories would focus on health visitors to identify the most needy and then get them to work with co-operatives and charities to reach some of the hardest cases, win their trust and tailor services to their particular needs.

The "co-operative" message fits a Conservative agenda, he said, to prise control from government and put it into the hands of third-sector organisations which are an attractive source of "competition, innovation and localism".The Tories said that they were looking at setting up an "early years unit" in government to fund the co-operatives. "I think quite a lot of the early years budget is stuck in the hands of local authorities without ever reaching the hands of the parents," he said.


Reference: http://www.parenta.com/story.aspx?storyID=404

Forgiveness...

"The practice of peace and reconciliation is one of the most vital and artistic of human actions." Thich Nhat Hanh

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."
Mohandas Gandhi

“Sincere forgiveness isn't colored with expectations that the other person apologize or change. Don't worry whether or not they finally understand you. Love them and release them. Life feeds back truth to people in its own way and time.”
Sara Paddison

Loreena McKennit The Mummer's Dance

For School Business Managers

Practical Tools to Support Professional School Business Managers on a CD-ROM



CD-ROM CONTENTS:

Organised for easy reference according to the key areas of responsibility, the documents provide comprehensive support to school business managers (SBMs).
All documents can be adapted, saved or printed off.

The role of the SBM
- Template job descriptions and adverts: School Business

Manager
- Checklists: SBM tasks and areas of responsibility; Certificate of School Business Management; Diploma of School Business Management; Advanced Diploma of School Business

Management
- Table: Senior leadership team; Senior members of staff; Who does what

Strategic Leadership and School improvement
- Checklists: Inspection; The role of the SBM and SIDP; Extended services

- Diagrams: Single Integrated Development Plan (SIDP) front cover; Single Integrated Development Plan (SIDP) strategic level plan

- Tables: SIDP organisational level plan; SIDP Operational level plan sample; The SBM role in school inspections; Self evaluation timing plan; Common purpose (purchasing); Links with other schools; E-procurement collaboration; Job titles in LAs; Outsourcing services; Voluntary organisations; RAISEonline: key features of the report; Useful data to keep to hand; Key terms you need to know; Age-related expectations; Tracking sheet; Progress sheet log

Financial management and FMSiS made simple
- Checklist: Evaluating services for value
- Template policy: Procurement procedures and VFM
- Diagram: Asset Management System
- Tables: School capital plan; Register of assets; The budget setting timeline; BBudget tracking; Demonstrating best value principles

HR management
- Checklists: Recruitment; Clearance of new staff
- Forms: Safeguarding central record example

Facilities/estate management
- Checklists: Equipment maintenance; Reporting equipment costs and issues to governors; Handling lettings bookings
- Case studies: Building schools for the future; Green Flag award for sustainability; Minibus maintenance; Extended schools provision; Safety and maintenance of equipment

Risk management
- Forms: Major health and safety acts; Health and safety regulations; Risk assessment matrix; Health and safety policy
- Policy: Risk assessment

COMPANION HANDBOOK CONTENTS
The companion handbook includes guidance on the law and good
practice, including:
- Every Child Matters
- FMSiS
- Safeguarding
- Financial planning
- Models of working for SBMs
- Career development and qualifications
- Self-evaluation and school improvement planning and
inspection
- Managing partnerships with other schools, the local authority,
local services and for extended services
- Data for learning
- Pay
- Budgeting
- Asset management
- School status
- Marketing and communications
- Copyright
- Sustainable schools
… and much more.

Reference:

http://www.forumpublishing.co.uk/

Forum Business Media Ltd, Unit F3, Kingsway Business Park, Oldfield Road, Hampton,
Middlesex TW12 2HD, UK. Tel: +44 (0)20 8941 8589,

Ofsted to privatise nursery inspections

'The inspection of nurseries and childcare in England is to be privatised, Ofsted has confirmed. The inspectorate for education and children's services is in the final stages of selecting private companies to run the checks. Tribal Group has been made the "preferred bidder" for one area of England, it is understood, but further announcements are expected. '
I received the above information yesterday via e-mail.

To be able to read more about this announcement, one has to register and login via these links. The registration is a three steps procedure as follows:

http://thenurserynetwork.parenta.com/main/authorization/signIn

http://thenurserynetwork.parenta.com/main/authorization/signUp

http://thenurserynetwork.parenta.com/main/authorization/newProfile?target=http%3A%2F%2Fthenurserynetwork.parenta.com%2F

To be able to read any other information which is included on the list of announcements doesn’t require registration and login. I am not sure why one has to register and login to access this information where as the other links require no login at all.

The other announcements were:
56 Local Authorities Have Been Chosen To Pilot The Early Years Single Funding Formula

http://www.parenta.com/story.aspx?storyID=402

EYFS rules for playworkers threatens holiday provision

http://www.parenta.com/story.aspx?storyID=401

Linda Gilroy MP says ‘Shout out for a sure start’

http://www.parenta.com/story.aspx?storyID=398