The first tinkerbell party game we suggest is called, 慍ats and Fairies.? You抣l need at least five players for the game, but can have as many as fifty or more. Choose one person to be the Cat and everyone else will be fairies. This is a tag game so you抣l need lots of room to run-say outside? Have the fairies stand on one side of the party area and the cat on the other side. You should put down a chalk line or some tape on opposite sides of the area so the fairies will be able to tell when they抳e reached safety.

When you yell, 憆un?all the fairies have to try and run to safety on the opposite side of the area. The cat will run from this safe area towards the tinkerbell fairies and try to grab one. Then after a moment you抣l yell 憆un?again and the fairies will try and make it back to safety on the other side of the area.

By the way this is a magic cat and any fairies he/she catches is turned into a fairy trap. So caught fairies get to stay in the game as traps and must try to grab passing fairies and hold them so the cat can come catch them. If a tinkerbell fairy is able to get out of the trap before the cat comes he/she can continue to run for safety.

The second game is called 慒airy Harvest? The tinkerbell party fairies are harvesting fruits in the form of ping pong balls, but they are too small to carry the fruits so they need the wind to help blow their harvest into collection baskets. You抣l need ping pong balls, a long table and a couple of baskets. The point of the game is to blow the ping pong balls from one side of the table to the other with your breathe and into the waiting baskets on the ground or attached to the underside of the opposite end of the table.

Those who get the most ping pong balls into their baskets in a certain amount of time win. Give the winners a prize that fits with the Tinkerbell party theme.

The treats for a school party should be simple and portable. In addition there aren’t a lot of cooking facilities on campus so; you’ll probably want foods that don’t need to be heated. Kids always love sugary treats. So you can fall back on the classics like cookies, muffins and cupcakes for the school party. You can also take the time to provide something a little bit healthier like a platter of celery and peanut butter. Whole gherkin pickles can be fun for the kids to chew on at the party too. Soft pretzels with cheese dip are another yummy treat. You can warm up the cheese dip if you happen to have a microwave in the teachers lounge or cafeteria. Cheese crackers and chunks of cheese are also tasty.

Soft Pretzels

For this School party you’ll need the following items: 1 packet (2-1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast, 1 Tablespoon honey or sugar, 1-1/2 cups warm (105 to 115 degrees F.) water, 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 cups whole wheat flour, ,2 to 2-1/2 cups white bread flour (or unbleached flour), 1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water and coarse salt or seeds

Mix yeast and honey in large bowl with warm water. Let sit for 5 minutes or until foamy. Stir in oil, tablespoon salt, whole wheat flour and white flour. Mix until it is a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured board. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes or until smooth and just slightly tacky. Add small amounts of flour as you go. Grease baking sheets. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Make the pretzels by pinching off a piece of dough. Roll out on flat surface until it forms a rope about ?inches thick. Twist or tie the rope into a pretzel shape. Place on the greased sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.

Brush top of each pretzel with some egg glaze. Sprinkle with coarse salt or seeds. Slide into oven for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from sheet and store in airtight container.

These tasty soft pretzels are great with any kind of dip for your school party. You can even have the kids make their own as a school project.

I’ll give you an example – you could host your dinner around a 60s theme.

When I think of the 60s I think of hippies, beads, rose-colored glasses, peace signs, psychedelic lights and lava lamps.. you get the drift?

“Boring” was not a word that you could use to describe the 60’s – in fact the saying goes that “if you can remember the sixties, you weren’t there”!

But if you have a 60s theme for your dinner party, “boring” is not a word that your guests will use about this idea and I guarantee they will remember this night! Be certain to have a camera to capture some shots or hand some disposable cameras to your guests as they arrive and send them some photos afterwards as a memento! Just to make it really memorable!

When planning your night consider your friends and who would love to be invited – you tend to know straight off which friends would be open to a bit of fun while it’s just as easy to identify the other friends who wouldn’t like it as much. Who do you know that loves to dress up?

You may like to get hold of some swirly colourful sixties designs to use as background on your invite or you could send an image on your email invitation – like an Andy Warhol work. Alternatively, you could buy some Campbell’s soup cans, place an elastic band around each and attach an invite to the cans. Imagine that sitting in your letterbox!

I’d suggest also using some sixties slang on your invite – they used a different lingo then – words like “groovy”, “baby”, it’s a gas, blast, cool cat, choice, don’t sweat it, dude, fab, flower power, hang loose, hip, neat, come to my pad, wicked, etc. You could ask your guests to come “decked out” for the occasion. Dig the idea?

When people think of the sixties they often think of hippies but there was much more to the 60s – like Martin Luther King Junior’s “I have a dream” speech, JFK’s assassination, the Vietnam War, and the first man to walk the moon AND psychedelic music! There are so many images that come to mind that you could use as invite backgrounds, props around your dining room or placed on your dinner table! Imagine a lava lamp in the middle, colored light bulbs creating atmosphere, etc,

If you have access to a laminator, you could even print off some Pop Art images, laminate them and use them as your place mats.

I’d suggest playing some 60s music during the night like The Velvet Underground, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, The Supremes, Jefferson Airplane, The Doors and The Who. I could go on and on.

Films of the era that you might like to have silently playing in the background as your guests mingle include – Psycho, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, My Fair Lady, The Pink Panther, Dr Strangelove, Easy Rider, Doctor Zhivago, The Graduate.

Recipes from around the 60s era include:

Appetizer – Prawn Cocktail, Salmon Mousse, Sausage/cheese balls, Artichoke dip, Buffalo wings,

Main – Fondue, Steak Dianne, Beef Wellington, Swedish meatballs, Chicken Kiev, Macaroni Cheese, Quiche Lorraine, Trifle, Chicken Maryland, Ratatouille, Chilli Con Carne

Dessert – Baked Alaska, chocolate fondue, banana split.

Recipes are readily available for free on the net so when you know what you’ll be serving a Google search will get you some quick results..

This could really be a fab night for you and your guests. It really is worth the effort.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) allows parents to seek reimbursement for private school tuition, but only if certain requirements are followed by the parents. The section of IDEA that covers tuition reimbursement was not changed in 2004 when it was reauthorized.

The requirements are:

1. The school must have been found by a hearing officer or court to have denied your child a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)! If a hearing officer or court finds that your child was not denied FAPE then the school district is not responsible for reimbursing private school tuition.

2. The private school must be appropriate to meet the child’s educational needs.

Tuition reimbursement is not only for those children that have previously been in public school. A recent US Supreme Court ruling also allows reimbursement if a child with a disability has been in private school (but public school must deny FAPE), and if a child has been found not to have a disability and denied eligibility for special education services (which is a denial of FAPE)!

3. Before a parent removes a child with a disability from a public program they are required to do the following:

A. At the most recent Individual Education Plan (IEP) meeting parents must state their concerns and reasons why the proposed IEP denies their child FAPE and their intention to place the child in a private school and seek tuition reimbursement from the public school OR

B. 10 business days before you take your child out of the public school program a letter needs to be written which contains the following: Specific concerns in detail about why the proposed IEP denies your child FAPE, your reasons for rejecting the proposed IEP, why your child will be harmed or damaged if put in the school districts proposed program, and a statement of your intent to enroll your child in a private program at public expense (tuition reimbursement)!

If you are a parent considering this course of action I would notify the school district at an IEP meeting and write a letter; this way they cannot say that they were not notified. Hearing Officers and Courts can reduce reimbursement if these rules are not followed. Also take the time to research your states policies and procedures for tuition reimbursement and Case law on the subject! Good luck in your fight for a free appropriate public education for your child!

The Individual with Disabilities Education Act require a transition plan and needed transition services on the plan, for all children with disabilities who are 16 years of age. Some states require that the plan be developed when the child is 14 and ? so check with your state board of education and see what the age requirements are in your state.

Transition Services means a coordinated set of activities, designed in a result oriented process, that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement, of the child with a disability to facilitate movement from school to post school activities.

There are 4 areas that must be addressed in the transition plan, these are:

1. Employment is defined as competitive, supported etc. Transition assessments may be done in the area of employment to determine Strengths, weaknesses, preferences and interest of the student in developing post school outcomes. You may request a functional vocational evaluation, if you think that your child needs it. It is important to have high expectations in the area of employment so to help a child reach their full potential.

2. Post Secondary Education is defined as college 2 yr. 4 yr, trade school, vocational school based on student preference. The transition goals should help bring the student to the place they need to be in order to go to post secondary education.

3. Post Secondary Training is defined as vocational training, independent living skills training. This is different from #2 because this training is usually given by an agency that works with adults with disabilities. This would be appropriate for students with moderate to severe disabilities, though high expectations should still be expected. Hopefully this training can be given in the community and not at the agencies building (most people refer to such as sheltered workshops). Community is always better!

4. Independent Living Skills training if needed, and is defined as, activities of daily living, functional home skills, cooking, shopping, housework, money skills, budgets, transportation, recreation/leisure, and future planning.

I believe that all students regardless of the level of their disability must be given functional skills training and independent living skills training. It will help the adult become as independent as they can be, and will ensure that they reach their full potential.

If you make sure that your child’s transition plan includes these 4 areas: Employment, Post secondary education, Post secondary training, and Independent Living Skills training, your child will be on their way to reaching their full potential as an adult.

JoAnn Collins is the mother of two adults with disabilities, and has helped families navigate the special eduation system, as an advocate, for over 15 years. She is a presenter and author of the book “Disability Deception; Lies Disability Educators Tell and How Parents Can Beat Them at Their Own Game.” The book has a lot of resources and information to help parents fight for an appropriate education for their child. For a free E newsletter entitled “The Special Education Spotlight” send an E mail to: JoAnn@disabilitydeception.com – For more information on the book, testimonials about the book, and a link to more articles go to: http://www.disabilitydeception.com

Tip 1: Contact a Parent Training and Information Center and try and get as much information as you can on how to fulfill the legal requirements for 10 day written notice. Every state has at least one PTIC, and most have experienced parents available to help other parents.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) deals with the issue of 10 day notice at 300.148; the category is called: Children With Disabilities Enrolled by Their Parents in Private Schools When FAPE is at Issue.

The law requires that at the most recent IEP meeting prior to removal of the child from the public school, you must inform the IEP team that you are rejecting the placement proposed by the public agency, state your concerns, and also tell school personnel of your intent to enroll your child in a private school at public expense. Reimbursement can be reduced or denied by a hearing officer, if Tip 1 is not carried out!

Tip 2: Bring a parent input statement to the IEP meeting before removal, and include the following: your rejection of the schools proposed placement for your child, your reasons for rejecting the placement, your concern that your child will not receive FAPE, and also your intent of enrolling your child in private school. Make sure that the input statement is attached to your child’s IEP!

IDEA also requires a 10 business day written notice prior to the removal of your child from the public school. Reimbursement can be reduced or denied by a hearing officer, if Tip 2 is not done!

Tip 3: Write a brief letter to special education personnel in your school district and state why you think your child is not receiving FAPE, why you are rejecting the proposed placement, and that you intend to ask for reimbursement for private school due to the school districts denial of a free appropriate public education. Even if you have written a parent input statement that is attached to your child’s IEP, send this letter also. Date the letter, keep a copy, sign the letter, and either hand deliver the letter to the special education office or send by the post office Certified with a return receipt.

Tip 4: Make your child available for any evaluations from your school district; prior to the actual removal of the child. If a parent refuses to allow their child to be evaluated, a hearing officer can reduce or deny reimbursement.

School districts can place a child in a private school at public expense. Though most parents must file for a due process hearing, to receive reimbursement for a private placement, due to lack of FAPE. Try and find an advocate, another parent, or a special education attorney who is experienced in due process hearings. Many parents have won the right to have their children educated in private schools, due to school districts inability to appropriately educate their children. Good luck!

JoAnn Collins is the mother of two adults with disabilities, and has helped families navigate the special eduation system, as an advocate, for over 15 years. She is a presenter and author of the book “Disability Deception; Lies Disability Educators Tell and How Parents Can Beat Them at Their Own Game.” The book has a lot of resources and information to help parents fight for an appropriate education for their child. For a free E newsletter entitled “The Special Education Spotlight” send an E mail to: JoAnn@disabilitydeception.com

For more information on the book, testimonials about the book, and a link to more articles go to: http://www.disabilitydeception.com.