The Chilly Weather Arrives

Well, Mother nature has reminded us this week that winter is just around the corner.  PrairieWood students spent a lot of time this week working through problems that the chilly weather brings.  With wind and rain, we could not take our daily walks outside...what to do?!?  This problem was solved by doing exercise videos in the center.  A FAVORITE was the video that taught us how to line dance to "Achy Breaky Heart."  And what about dressing for the weather...where are my warm clothes hiding?  What about those jackets, gloves, hats?  It is time to dig all of those out for the year!  Our feature blogger this week is Sarah.

"This week at PrairieWood I learned to wear warm clothes when it gest cold.  I enjoyed cheese bread.  I was challenged by line dancing.  At PrairieWood I would like to learn more about math."

This chilly weather also reminded us at the center that it is time to start preparing our yards and decks for winter.  The students will be spending some time this morning packing up our deck furniture and moving our grill.  It is also important to detach those outdoor hoses!

A HUGE thank you goes out to those of you that regularly stop by our blog to check out what keeps us busy.  Have a great Halloween weekend!

Steps of Responsibility

This week, the students of the PrairieWood Transition Center dove into learning the Steps of Responsibility.  This program assists students in identifying their personal behaviors and gives them the power to improve and display adult behaviors.  We talked about how this will come in handy not only at the Transition Center, but in the workplace one we leave school as well.  Our feature blogger this week is Cassie B...

"This week at PrairieWood I learned how to make Cheesy Potato Egg Bake for lunch.  I enjoyed walking brisker up hills on Kirkwood's campus.  I was challenged by counting a chunk of change.  At PrairieWood I would like to learn more about the Steps of Responsibility."

Have a great weekend!!!

Oh So Lucky!!!!!

We feel so very lucky to have all this beautiful full weather and we have been trying to take advantage of it.  Our students are out walking on Kirkwood's campus at least once a day and we have been trying to enjoy as many outdoor community outings as we can.  This week for our Friday outing we got lunch at Subway and had a picnic at Jones park.  After eating we enjoyed some yard games in the park.  We also made homemade cherry and apricot Jam back at the center.  Everyone enjoyed helping out.  Our feature blogger for the week is Brian.

This week at PrairieWood I learned to count money: pennies, nickels, and dimes.  I enjoyed running on the track at the Rec Center at Kirkwood.  I was challenged by inserting papers by myself when working at Yellowbook.  At PrairieWood I would like to learn more about making more pies.

Enjoy your weekend and remember NO SCHOOL on Monday 10/18.

3rd Annual Holiday Card Sale

The Students of the PrairieWood Transition Center have been in the Holiday spirit a little early this year.  They have been busy designing and creating festive cards for their 3rd Annual Holiday Card Sale.  This years design is pictured above.  Cards are sold in packets of 6 cards and 6 envelopes for $5.00.  If you'd like to order a set or more, please contact mkeimig@prairiepride.org and you will be sent an order form to complete.  This project gives PrairieWood students an opportunity to work on vocational and assembly skills as well as practice customer service and money handling skills.  We appreciate your support in our program!!

THANKS!

A whole lot of learning...

PrairieWood Transition Center students are very busy every day.  They have learned their routine and fly through the day as independently as they possibly can.  This week, we decided to take some time in our afternoon to reflect on the learning we do each day.  You will now see in their notebooks that they talk about what they have learned each day.  It is our goal to learn NEW things each day.  We hope you enjoy reading about all of our new learning in the notebooks each night!  Our guest blogger this week is Andy.  He'd like to tell you what he learned this week at PrairieWood.

I learned how to make a bagel pizza in the microwave.  It was good.  I learned how to empty the vacuum cleaner.  I filled it up with paper from the shredder.  I learned that I really like to shred paper.  I went swimming at the YMCA this week.  I am working for Mike picking up trash.

Thanks for stopping in to read our Weekly blog.  Please check back often and see what we're up to!

October Already!?!

We are so excited at the Transition Center to welcome October and the beautiful fall colors and weather.  We just cannot believe that it is already October!  Our feature blogger this week is Ahsia.  Here is what she had to say about her week at the center.

This week at PrairieWood I...

1. learned about Justin Beiber in my News2You Newspaper.

2. practiced counting from numbers that are not 1 in morning group.

3. got my Kirkwood Eagle Card.  I am now officially a Kirkwood student!!

4. made fruit salad for a cooking project.

5. went to Wilson's Apple Orchard in Iowa City and picked my own apples!

The pictures on the blog this week are from our trip out to Wilson's.  We got to sample several different kinds of apples and then made a long hike out to the orchard to pick some of our own apples.  It was a perfect way to spend such a beautiful fall day!  Have a great weekend!