IPUL's E-News for August 18, 2023 | |
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Here are the highlights of our upcoming events and recent activity online. Not everything is included due to timeliness.
If an advertised event already took place, we've left it off.
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Administrative Assistant I
JOB DESCRIPTION
TITLE: Full -Time Administrative Assistant
REPORTS TO: Executive Director
LOCATION: IPUL Office, Boise
HOURS: Full-time - 40 hours per week
PAY: $18-20.00 per hour DOE
About Us:
Idaho Parents Unlimited is a dedicated and passionate nonprofit organization committed to providing invaluable support and resources to parents of children with disabilities. Our mission is to empower these parents, enhance their knowledge, and create a supportive community where they can share experiences and learn from one another. We believe in fostering an inclusive environment that celebrates diversity and embraces the unique challenges faced by families of children with disabilities.
Position Overview:
We are seeking a compassionate and organized individual to join our team and contribute to our mission of supporting parents of children with disabilities. This person will play a pivotal role in ensuring the smooth operation of our organization's administrative tasks and assisting with various projects that directly impact the families we serve.
Key Responsibilities:
- Primarily assist the Executive Director in grants management and organization
- Manage our intake line which includes: calls, emails, and other inquiries, providing timely and accurate responses
- Maintain an organized and efficient filing system for documents, resources, and records
- Assist in planning and coordinating workshops, support group meetings, and events
- Collaborate with other team members to update and manage the organization's website and social media platforms
- Assist in preparing and distributing newsletters, communications, and promotional materials
- Perform general administrative duties including data collection and entry for multiple staff
- Conduct evaluation surveys as needed
- Maintain project calendars to help coordinate work flow
- Other responsibilities as assigned by the Executive Director including assisting in other special events as needed
- Accept and represent the IPUL organizational philosophy
Qualifications:
- High school diploma or equivalent; some college coursework is a plus
- Strong organizational and multitasking skills, with great attention to detail
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Google Workspace
- Compassionate and empathetic attitude toward parents of children with disabilities
- Previous experience in office administration, customer service, or nonprofit work is preferred but not required
- Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team
Additional Information:
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Work hours are primarily in the Boise main office Monday-Friday between 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
- This is an in-person position – NOT hybrid or remote
- Bilingual in Spanish and English is helpful
Physical Demands and Workplace Environment:
- The employee occasionally lifts, pushes, and/or moves up to 50 pounds
- The noise level of the work environment is moderate to loud noise
How to Apply:
If you are enthusiastic about making a positive difference in the lives of parents of children with disabilities, we invite you to apply. Please submit your resume and a brief cover letter detailing your interest and relevant experience to jobs@ipulidaho.org. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
Idaho Parents Unlimited, Inc., is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applicants from all backgrounds to apply. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, sex, age, or disability.
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September Monthly Workshop:
Back to School Basics: Strategies for a Successful Start to School
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Idaho Parents Unlimited
Engage + Educate + Bridge + Lead
Monthly Workshop
Champions for Change: The Power of a Personal Story
“Tell me a fact, and I’ll learn. Tell me a truth, and I’ll believe.
But tell me a story, and it will live in my heart forever.” – Indian Poverb
Tell your story and become a champion for change.
What is Systems Change?
How sharing your story can impact change.
Advocacy tips and tricks!
September 12, 2023 12:30-1:30 pm MST (11:30 am -12:30 pm PST)
via Zoom
Registration required
September Training URL: https://ipulidaho.org/event-registrations/september2023training/
All current IPUL events : https://ipulidaho.org/rsvp-workshop/
Contact us:
Facebook and Instagram: /IdahoParentsUnlimited
Twitter: /IPULIdaho
ipulidaho.org
parents@ipulidaho.org
208.342.5884
#MonthlyWorkshops #IEP
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Getting Ready for First Grade: | |
Below are many examples of simple, fun activities that you can do with your child at home and in your community that can help them begin building skills for the First Grade. No special resources are required! | |
Physical Health and Wellness | |
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SKILL (With a Grown-Up’s Help)
• AT HOME ACTIVITIES
Child begins to correctly recognize and understand basic emotions in others and the cause of emotions (for example, they’re mad because someone took their book).
• Ask questions about each other’s emotions. Why did you feel worried? Why do you think they are frustrated?
• Talk about the emotions of characters in books and what caused those emotions
Child uses positive self-talk to help regulate emotions.
• Model positive self-talk: I can try again! I am grateful that I had that experience.
• Encourage to also focus on breath when upset.
Child plays well with others.
• Provide opportunities to spend time with other children.
• Facilitate resolving conflicts when disagreements occur. Discuss how other people feel.
Child waits patiently for a turn.
• Practice turn-taking by playing cards or board games together. Alternate reading or describing pictures in a book.
Child sticks with a task even if it is hard or takes a long time.
• Acknowledge when you see a child persevere. “Wow, you really concentrated while building that structure.”
• Offer positive encouragement: “I know this is hard for you. You can do it.” Acknowledge and describe listening when it occurs.
Child has skills to move through space with confidence; is working on throwing, catching, dribbling with hands and feet, volleying, striking, and jumping rope.
• Dance together to a favorite song or type of music.
• Talk about what sports you have played in the past.
• Play catch and count how many consecutive successful catches.
Child uses movements in games and activities; changes speed, height, direction, and type of movement (skips, slides, etc.).
• Turn a jump rope together.
• Talk about games that were played when you were little.
• Play “Red Light Green Light” while skipping, hopping, sprinting, jogging, etc.
Child participates in safe and vigorous physical activity daily. Child understands that moving quickly increases heart rate and breathing.
• After exercising, talk about how your breathing and heart rate are faster.
• Plan daily walks or bike rides.
Child follows directions alone and in a group. Child respects self and others during physical activity.
• Play outdoor games together.
• Talk about safe and responsible play; explain rules of games you are playing and respect of personal space.
Child understands that physical activity is good for health, fun, challenge, self-expression, and/or social interaction.
• Set movement and exercise goals.
• Make an exercise calendar.
• Talk about something new that you want to learn how to do.
• Talk about being inclusive during play.
Child understands concepts that improve health (For example, handwashing).
• Add handwashing to routines of coming home, before meals, etc.
• Sing Happy Birthday to the person with the next birthday in your family every time you wash hands.
Child identifies a trusted adult from whom to get information about enhancing personal health and wellness.
• Have conversations about who “trusted adults” are.
• Be open to questions and age-appropriate explanations.
• Plan well-visits to the pediatrician and model asking questions to your health provider.
Child uses goal-setting skills to improve health.
• Set movement and exercise goals.
• Plan healthy meals together.
• Set small, attainable goals such as drinking more water.
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SKILL (With a Grown-Up’s Help)
• AT HOME ACTIVITIES
Child reads common words (the, of, to) by sight and understands easy texts.
• Read familiar stories and nursery rhymes together.
• Practice reading using text around you - recipe books, birthday cards, instructions, etc.
Child practices phonics (letter sounds, letter blends like “st” and “ch” parts of words, and words).
• Track words with your finger when you are reading together. Say the sounds of the letters and blends as you read words.
• Write out the names of familiar people and places to practice letter sounds and blends.
Child describes how pictures and text work together in books.
• Talk about what you think a book will be about based on the title and cover picture before reading together. Do the same for each page.
• Create new illustrations for a favorite book and discuss your choices.
Child uses different resources (books, magazines, the Internet) to get information and write about a topic.
• Together, write a journal about events, experiences, thoughts, and opinions.
• Write lists, letters, and notes together.
Child talks about new words and meanings, and plays with words – words that mean the same thing and words that mean the opposite.
• Introduce new words in conversation. Follow-up by using again and asking about the new word.
• When you hear an interesting word or phrase together,
demonstrate how to figure out what it means.
• When reading together, point out examples of multiple meaning words in the story (For example: The duck is in the water. He is tall so he had to duck under the doorway.)
Child uses words and phrases learning through conversations and books; child responds to texts.
• Encourage the use of new words.
• After talking with different people, recap conversations and new words that you heard.
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SKILL (With a Grown-Up’s Help)
• AT HOME ACTIVITIES
Child counts in correct order saying number names.
• Pick objects to count in your neighborhood or community.
• Using pennies and dimes, count coins as you drop them into a cup until you reach 50.
• Talk about how one dime equals 10 pennies. Together count the dimes by 10 until you reach 50.
Child counts number of objects.
• Count the objects in your house (for example, count the number of towels, books, shoes, toys, or chairs). Sort kitchen utensils after they have been washed. Count the number of forks as they are put away. Ask questions like, How many would we have if we had one more? What about two more?
Child compares two numbers to tell which is more, less, or if the amounts are equal.
• Solve simple problems that use comparison. For example, if you need to set four places at the dinner table, set just two. Then ask if you have less than the number of place settings you need.
• Compare the number of crayons/colors in a crayon box. Are there more reds? More blues?
Child understands that addition is putting numbers together and that subtraction is taking apart and from numbers.
• Use objects for everyday mathematics problems to five: “If we have three books to read, how many more books until we have five?”
• Use cards numbered one to ten. Draw two cards to use in a mathematics problem: I drew 5 and 4. What if we add them together? What if we subtract 4 from 5?
Child works with 11-19 objects to create groups of ten with leftovers (For example, 12 has 1 ten and 2 leftovers).
• Work together to make groups of ten and represent teen numbers with materials - buttons, rocks, crayons, etc.
• Call out different numbers between 11 and 19 and hold up all 10 fingers. Work together to figure out how many additional fingers you have to hold up to make the number.
Child finds 2- and 3-dimensional shapes in the world (circle, square, triangle, rectangle, hexagon, cube, cone, cylinder, and sphere).
• Make a “tanwich” = tangram + sandwich.” Make a sandwich and cut the square into two large triangles, one medium triangle, two small triangles, a square, and a parallelogram. See what figures you can make out of the “tanwich” shapes.
• Use household materials to allow children to build models or collages of figures - houses, rockets, cars, etc.
Child uses descriptive words such as heavy, long, etc., to describe objects and compares objects side by side.
• Talk about where you might see scales - the grocery store, the doctor’s office, the bathroom - and discuss how scales can be used to find different weights of objects.
• Hold different objects – tennis ball and baseball; marble and tennis ball – to compare weights. Take a walk to observe plants. Discuss the sizes of the plants using phrases like, this plant is taller than that plant or this plant is wider than that plant.
Child sorts objects and counts the number of objects in sorted groups.
• Do the laundry! Sort items and count the pieces in each group or category.
• Start a collection of favorite things rocks, shells, stickers, etc. Talk
about what makes the items in a collection the same and what makes them different.
Child identifies and describes shapes (circle, square, triangle, rectangle, hexagon, cube, cone, cylinder, and sphere).
• Create your own memory game using shape cards.
• Go on a shape hunt around your home to find shapes or hide paper shapes.
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SKILL (With a Grown-Up’s Help)
• AT HOME ACTIVITIES
Child notices and describes changes in the sky (day and night).
• Watch the sky. Ask questions about what you see. Is it different at night?
• Record/draw observations on paper or take pictures to show
changes in the sky from day to night. Remember to observe in a safe area and to never look directly at the sun.
• Talk about why there are days and nights.
Child explores and sorts materials that make up the Earth (water, air, rocks, and soil) and explains reasons for sorting (texture, color, size, etc.).
• Together, notice things about the materials that make up Earth - air, water, soil and rocks. Gather some rocks or soil samples from the area near your home. Notice and describe similarities and differences that you see in the rocks or soil samples and separate the rocks or soil samples into categories based on the things that they noticed. Explain to someone else categories you created.
Child explores and sorts common objects (clay, cloth, plastic, wood, paper, metal, buttons) by color, size, weight, shape, texture. Child makes predictions about whether objects will sink or float and then tests predictions.
• Collect some household items that are made of different materials. Make observations and ask questions to help compare and sort the materials into categories.
• Use senses (sight, touch, smell, and sound) to explore the household items. Make observations about color, size, shape, weight, and texture. Can different categories be made based on different senses?
• Plan and investigate. Use categories to decide what objects will sink or float. Make predictions about whether objects will sink or float based on observations about the physical properties of the objects. Test those predictions.
Child investigates how an object's physical characteristics will affect its motion when a force (a toss, drop, push, or pull) is applied and describes how an object will move based on its physical characteristics.
• Gather some everyday household items. List physical characteristics and sorts items into categories based on the characteristics. Select items to test and decide how to test the way the items move. Toss, drop, pull, or push the different objects to see what the objects do when a force is added. Make observations as objects move, and note patterns in movement.
• Tell someone else about the best way to move objects based on physical characteristics.
Child explains the difference between living and non-living things. Child sorts and describes sorting of living versus nonliving things.
• Talk about what is living and what is non-living. Explain differences that you notice between living and non-living things.
• Together, draw and describe how living and nonliving things can
be grouped based on what you’ve noticed.
Child describes animals and plants; groups animals and plants based on physical characteristics; and asks questions about how groups are the same and different.
• Together, observe animals and plants that you see in your community. Notice patterns that you see in the plants and animals.
• Discuss how animals or plants can be grouped according to their features.
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Coming In September!
IPUL's Parent Voice Summit
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Parent Voice Summit
See IPUL's Event page for this:
The Parent Voice Summit is a two-day event aimed providing a platform for parents to come together, share their experiences, and learn valuable information and skills related to their role as advocates and supporters of their children.
The event will feature keynote speakers, panel discussions, workshops, and interactive sessions designed to foster dialogue and conversation, provide resources, and encourage collaboration among parents, educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders.
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Pre-Summit
On September 29, the focus is on the transition to adulthood for youth with disabilities or special health care needs.
This half-day session (From 2:00-6:00 PM) aims to help parents navigate the 00challenges and opportunities that arise during this critical phase. The session is limited to a maximum of 50 participants, ensuring a more intimate and interactive environment.
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On September 30, the session shifts its focus to advocacy, participation in decision-making groups, and parent networking. This day-long event offers parents the opportunity to develop their advocacy skills, learn about relevant policies and legislation, and explore avenues for actively participating in decision-making processes that affect their children's lives. Additionally, parent networking allows for valuable connections, shared experiences, and the formation of supportive communities. This session can accommodate up to 100 participants, fostering a larger gathering for knowledge sharing and collaboration.
The Parent Voice Summit aims to empower parents, equip them with essential information and skills, and create a supportive network where they can learn from one another and collectively advocate for the needs and rights of their children.
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Bring Your Why?
Parent Voice Summit
September 29, 2023 | 2:30 - 6:30 PM
This session is focused on transition to adulthood for parents of youth with disabilities or special health care needs. Maximum of 50 Participants
September 30, 2023 | 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
This session is focused on advocacy, participating in or on decision making groups, and parent networking. Maximum of 100 participants.
Register now!
Location:
Galaxy Event Center
1385 S Blue Marlin Ln.
Meridian, ID. 83642
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Interested in being a sponsor of the Parent Voice Summit? | |
Parent Voice Summit
Sponsorship Information
September 2023
Microphone- $250
- Display informational materials
- Recognition in program materials
- Included on sponsorship Banner
Megaphone- $500
- Display informational materials
- Recognition in program materials
- Additional signage at event entrance
- Included on sponsorship Banner
Bullhorn- $750
- Display informational materials
- Recognition in program materials
- Additional signage at event entrance
- Included on sponsorship Banner
- Information displayed at each table
Amplifier- $1000
- Personal table to display informational materials
- Recognition in program materials
- Additional signage at event entrance
- Included on the sponsorship banner
- Information displayed at each table
- Full individual banner displayed throughout the event
- Opportunity to speak on the mic for five minutes
Become a sponsor by clicking here
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Parent Voice Summit
Thank you to our amplifier sponsors!
September 2023
- DisAbility Rights Idaho
- Idaho Children's Trust Fund
- Idaho Voices For Children
- Special Education State of Idaho
- Idaho Parents Unlimited
- Department of Education - State of Idaho
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Contact Idaho Parents Unlimited!
The best method to reach us for assistance is through our website:
https://ipulidaho.org/connect-with-us#contact-us-here . You can also shoot us a question using the abbreviated version of that form at the bottom of every page on our website, although we may need to get more information from you.
We monitor our intake phone line (208-342-5884) during the workday, and will try to respond to any request there within 24 hours. We use an automated intake phone system, so you will be leaving a message. (Please be sure the number you are leaving us can accept text or voice messages.)
For questions that are not about something in our scope of work, you can still leave a phone message as above, send the question to the form on our website, or shoot us an email at parents@ipulidaho.org.
We keep our website updated with new news and events, and maintain a presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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IPUL's programs are funded in part through grants and contracts with the following: | |
Programs and services offered by Idaho Parents Unlimited are supported in part by the U.S. Department of Education (H328M200033) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) Affordable Care Act Family to Family Health Information Center (H84MC12896), opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions of either department, endorsement is not assumed | | | | |
