ANNOUNCING REGISTRATION FOR RETURNING CAMPERS FOR THE 11TH ANNUAL ERIC 'RICSTAR' WINTER MUSIC THERAPY CAMP:
Drum roll, please!
Announcing the 11th Annual Eric 'RicStar' Winter Music Therapy Camp at Michigan State University's Community Music School (MSU/CMS) in East Lansing, Michigan. As we open the camp doors for our second, terrific season of celebrating music and abilities, there are a few important changes. First: New location in the beautiful, newly renovated Community Music School on Hagadorn Road right across from the gorgeous MSU campus. Second: We will have two camps this year, instead of just one.
-Children and adolescents will make music on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, June 10th thru June 12, 2013.
-Adults will attend camp on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 13th thru June 15th, 2013.
-For returning campers, that means the yellow/green/pink/orange groups will meet Monday thru Wednesday. The blue/lime green/purple/red groups will meet Thursday thru Saturday.
-Both camps will have an end-of-camp Be-a-Star Showcase and all campers will perform on stage.
-Returning campers can mail in the required registration form with payment beginning TODAY! Camp fees are $195 per camper and $375 for two campers/same family.
-Campers five years old and younger will have the option of attending in the morning or in the afternoon. The fee for the half-day campers is $100.
-The 2013 RicStar's Camp will begin accepting NEW campers on March lst. That means that returning campers must have their registration form/payment in the CMS office BEFORE March 1st. Reminder: camp fills up quickly each year and the wait list rarely moves.
-Repeat: You must have your completed registration form/payment into the CMS offices asap in order to hold a place on the camper list. Please, make sure you sign the registration from on the front AND back.
-Contact Cindy Edgerton, RicStar's Camp director, if you're intersted in receiving financial aid or if you have additional questions, including opportunities for campus lodging.
RiStar's Camp focuses on ability, modeling inclusion and celebrating the power of music to change lives. We also have lots of fun. See you at summer camp!
Note: CMS is currently updating their site with the 2013 info/registration. If needed, you can also download the 2013 registration form at my website JudyWinter.com, click on RicStar's Camp page.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I'm again sharing a past essay with a few 2013 tweaks. My take on the day's significance and the man's ground-breaking work remains much the same.
______________________________________
By Judy Winter/JudyWinter.com/All rights reserved 2013
I Have a Dream, Too, Dr. King.
Today we pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and rightly so.
But as the nation reflects upon Dr. King’s message, far too many people still view King's dream as one involving only race, allowing them to more easily dismiss the day's significance.
King's ideals serve as powerful examples to all, including to me in my work as a writer/author/speaker and advocate on special needs issues. This timely human rights discussion has been given greater power, awareness and voice because of Dr. King's work.
I parented a child with cerebral palsy, a wheelchair user, for nearly thirteen years. Harsh judgment of Eric’s human value because of disability required me to advocate for his basic rights every single day until Eric’s death in 2003 at age twelve. Yet, I am an educated white woman living comfortably in the burbs, complete with white picket fence.
Dr. King’s words have proved powerful motivators in my difficult walk. ‘I have a dream’ has many times fueled my quest for better life opportunities for my son and others. Mine has been a heartfelt journey filled with enormous blessings and stinging rejection. It's a journey made possible because of stellar examples of how spirited leadership positively impacts human rights and true change from Dr. King and Robert F. Kennedy, another of my heroes.
For more than twenty years, my tough parenting journey and heartbreaking loss have challenged me to use my voice, talent and experiences to become a nationally recognized voice on the subject of special needs parenting issues. My son’s life and mine have been infinitely richer because of the gutsy example of Dr. King.
When my son died, I channeled my intense grief into penning the book, Breakthrough Parenting for Children with Special Needs: Raising the Bar of Expectations, to help other families more easily navigate the rocky parenting waters. I co founded the annual Eric ‘RicStar’ Winter Music Therapy Camp at Michigan State University, which honors my son’s remarkable gift for music. RicStar’s Camp serves individuals of all ages with a wide range of special needs. We nurture individual ability and serve as an example of successful inclusion in the many communities we serve.
I continue to raise my spirited voice whenever it needs to be heard. I no longer remain silent just to maintain status quo and keep others comfortable. Like Dr. King, I believe strongly that, "what impacts one, impacts all." Only a razor-thin line of circumstance separates us.
Fifty-four million Americans have disabilities; 200 million people worldwide have intellectual disabilities (formerly called mental retardation). Today, many of these individuals are still undersocialized, undereducated and undervalued. Many face inexcusable daily struggles familiar to most minorities, making Dr. King’s fire, passion and example critical to my on-going work and to that of others working for much-needed societal change.
The work he began is far from over.
Dr. King's message holds meaning for each of our lives. Millions of people living out the tough daily realities of special needs understand Dr. King's dream all too well. More than one passionate advocate, with and without exceptionalities, has taken his/her important place at the forefront of a human rights movement designed to grant millions of children and adults the right to live out their life dreams, too. That includes the ground-breaking work of visionaries Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Tim Shriver and Christopher and Dana Reeve, and more recently, actress/advocate, Lauren Potter, from the hit television series, Glee.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. fought hard for justice and equality for all. He paid the ultimate price. Through my passionate special needs work, I’m proud and honored to be living out his dream in 2013.
King's powerful lessons live on. The lessons and the work remaining, belong to all.
______________________________________
By Judy Winter/JudyWinter.com/All rights reserved 2013
I Have a Dream, Too, Dr. King.
Today we pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and rightly so.
But as the nation reflects upon Dr. King’s message, far too many people still view King's dream as one involving only race, allowing them to more easily dismiss the day's significance.
King's ideals serve as powerful examples to all, including to me in my work as a writer/author/speaker and advocate on special needs issues. This timely human rights discussion has been given greater power, awareness and voice because of Dr. King's work.
I parented a child with cerebral palsy, a wheelchair user, for nearly thirteen years. Harsh judgment of Eric’s human value because of disability required me to advocate for his basic rights every single day until Eric’s death in 2003 at age twelve. Yet, I am an educated white woman living comfortably in the burbs, complete with white picket fence.
Dr. King’s words have proved powerful motivators in my difficult walk. ‘I have a dream’ has many times fueled my quest for better life opportunities for my son and others. Mine has been a heartfelt journey filled with enormous blessings and stinging rejection. It's a journey made possible because of stellar examples of how spirited leadership positively impacts human rights and true change from Dr. King and Robert F. Kennedy, another of my heroes.
For more than twenty years, my tough parenting journey and heartbreaking loss have challenged me to use my voice, talent and experiences to become a nationally recognized voice on the subject of special needs parenting issues. My son’s life and mine have been infinitely richer because of the gutsy example of Dr. King.
When my son died, I channeled my intense grief into penning the book, Breakthrough Parenting for Children with Special Needs: Raising the Bar of Expectations, to help other families more easily navigate the rocky parenting waters. I co founded the annual Eric ‘RicStar’ Winter Music Therapy Camp at Michigan State University, which honors my son’s remarkable gift for music. RicStar’s Camp serves individuals of all ages with a wide range of special needs. We nurture individual ability and serve as an example of successful inclusion in the many communities we serve.
I continue to raise my spirited voice whenever it needs to be heard. I no longer remain silent just to maintain status quo and keep others comfortable. Like Dr. King, I believe strongly that, "what impacts one, impacts all." Only a razor-thin line of circumstance separates us.
Fifty-four million Americans have disabilities; 200 million people worldwide have intellectual disabilities (formerly called mental retardation). Today, many of these individuals are still undersocialized, undereducated and undervalued. Many face inexcusable daily struggles familiar to most minorities, making Dr. King’s fire, passion and example critical to my on-going work and to that of others working for much-needed societal change.
The work he began is far from over.
Dr. King's message holds meaning for each of our lives. Millions of people living out the tough daily realities of special needs understand Dr. King's dream all too well. More than one passionate advocate, with and without exceptionalities, has taken his/her important place at the forefront of a human rights movement designed to grant millions of children and adults the right to live out their life dreams, too. That includes the ground-breaking work of visionaries Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Tim Shriver and Christopher and Dana Reeve, and more recently, actress/advocate, Lauren Potter, from the hit television series, Glee.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. fought hard for justice and equality for all. He paid the ultimate price. Through my passionate special needs work, I’m proud and honored to be living out his dream in 2013.
King's powerful lessons live on. The lessons and the work remaining, belong to all.
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
Reminder: Most of my special needs posts now appear on my professional Facebook page. Here are the links to my current social networking sites.
Pinterest- Special Needs Parenting Board-Fav Resources
Twitter-Judy Winter
Tumblr-Winter Visions: pretty things. pretty words. pretty images. General interest blog.
NEW INTERVIEW-HOLIDAY TIPS AND SPECIAL NEEDS FAMILIES:
I was hoping to have my recent December interview about special needs holiday tips before now, but better late than never. Hopefully, this will provide you with on-going support for all those future gatherings/celebrations. It's not seen during this interview, but my book's title is, 'Breakthrough Parenting for Children with Special Needs: Raising the Bar of Expectations.' I'm also an expert contributor to the book, 'Easy to love but Hard to Raise: Real Parents, Challenging Kids, True Stories.' My words also appear in the book, 'A Special Kind of Love: For Those Who Love Children with Special Needs,' and in dozens of newspapers/magazine columns and features, both in print and online. Reminder, that you can also access most of my new posts on Facebook. Facebook Page-Special Needs
Interview on You Tube:
Holiday Tips and Special Needs Families
Former Interview about my book on this same program:
Special Needs Families/Judy Winter-Author
You can find samples of some of my national interviews at JudyWinter.com/media page.
Judy Winter Website/Media Page
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