April is Autism Awareness Month and we did a special story time at home to help educate my little one on being inclusive and playing nicely with all children.
I received a complimentary copy of this book as part of the campaign to raise awareness.
The book we read is called Stewie BOOM! and Princess Penelope: Handprints, Snowflakes and Playdates. This title is about a little girl named Princess Penelope, and her playdate with a classmate with autism spectrum disorder.
The purpose of this campaign is to create awareness on inclusivity and welcoming special needs children in our community. This book is geared towards both families and parents of special needs children and families in general.
Stewie BOOM! and Princess Penelope: Handprints, Snowflakes and Playdates is full of lovely illustrations to help convey the purpose of awareness and encourage compassion in children. The book begins with a lesson in how everyone is different, like snowflakes and handprints. It talks about how we all like different things and know different things, suggesting to children to find ways to work together to both enjoy the play time.
I especially liked that the end of the book contains tips for parents to help welcome special needs families for a playdate. It contains great ideas like starting with shorter play dates and encouraging parents to reach out to the parents of a special needs child to ask what they can do to accommodate (especially at children’s birthday parties) the needs of all children.
I think this is especially helpful for raising awareness and helping everyone in the community focus on inclusion. We might not always know how to best approach a situation but reaching out to the parent and starting that dialogue is a wonderful method to help bridge the understanding gap and connect with families.
The book also contains tips for special needs families, such as taking the pressure off themselves and their child and building relationships in the community.
What activities are you doing with children to teach inclusivity?
I'm Julie, a new mom who works full time and blogs, all while wishing I had more time to read fun books. I write about being a first time working mom in order to help myself and other working moms in our journeys to find balance between family, responsibilities, and hobbies so we can thrive both at home and at work. 