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Parents can find answers to their questions at local parent support group meetings. The following parent support groups meet monthly at the Greater Maple Valley Community Center. For additional program information, or parent education and support resources and referral, email Cindy or call 425-432-1272.

Support Group Day/Time Contact Phone
"BRIDGES" IEP Parents 2nd Mondays 6:30 - 8:30 pm Sara Ludin 432-1366
Home School Support 2nd Tuesdays 6:30 - 8:30 pm Cathy Hilde 413-1609
FunQuest for Special Needs Children

1 Saturday each month

See schedule

Sheldon Sweeney 413-2461

BRIDGES

BRIDGES Support Group

Sharing ideas

BRIDGES-Maple Valley is a support group open to parents and caregivers raising children in the Maple Valley area with health, learning and/or developmental differences.  The meetings are a supportive and confidential place to share ideas for coping with the ongoing struggles of raising and educating our children.  Topics include: writing better IEPs (Individual Education Plans) and 504s (Accommodation plans), special education law, managing behavior, finding resources, etc.  We sometimes have guest speakers, but most often simply share our hard-won knowledge and experience with each other.   Meetings are held monthly on the second Monday of each month during the school year.

Though we are not connected to the Tahoma School district, the TSD Special Services Department contains valuable information about the district and its programs, the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (SEPAC), and links to State and County resources.

Activity Day Time Location Contact Phone

SEPAC

Information Night

Thursday

March 26, 2009

6:30 pm - 9:30 pm Rock Creek Elementary School

Sheri or

Lorraine

425 -

413 -3400

BRIDGES IEP

Monthly Meetings

2nd Mondays

during the school year

6:30 pm - 8:30 pm GMVCC Sara Ludin 432 - 1366

Home School Support

Homeschool Support Group

Maple Valley Homeschoolers

Are you considering homeschooling?  Does your child continue to struggle at school?  Is your little one just not ready to deal with crowds of children in a public school situation? Perhaps your family situation or business would allow you to travel often, and you want everyone to enjoy the opportunity. Have you heard so many wonderful things about homeschooling that you just want to see what it’s all about? Families decide to homeschool for all sorts of reasons, and then often continue homeschooling simply because of the freedom and they like the affect it's had on their children and family life.

How does homeschooling work? Homeschooling is different for every family. At one end of the spectrum, there are families who take a child's curiosity and interest in a topic and in a relaxed way help the child explore the topic. Some families use a variety of resources outside their home including co-ops and on-line learning. There are also families who buy all of the books and follow the state curriculum just like a normal school would. The material is simply taught at home in a smaller setting. Each family is free to choose what works best for them.  A review of our state's homeschool law at Washington State Homeschool Organization (WHO) is helpful. It specifies how parents are qualified, what annual requirements the state has for homeschoolers, removing children from school, de-schooling, etc. 

What are the benefits of homeschooling? Benefits of homeschooling include the freedom to make your own choices about what and how your children learn; being able to go out into the world together to see and learn from fascinating historical places and museums; freedom to allow your child to learn in-depth; not having to set a project or a book aside because a bell rang; going at your child’s own pace because the goal is learning, not keeping-up; and providing positive and appropriate socialization with peers and adults and has a positive effect on relationships with siblings.

Where do I start? Your local homeschool support group, Maple Valley Homeschoolers, meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month at the Maple Valley Community Center. Contact Cathy Hilde at 425-413-1609 for information.

Resources

Day Time Location Contact Phone
2nd Tuesdays 6:30 - 8:30 pm GMVCC Cathy Hilde 413-1609

FunQuest

FunQuest

Activities for special needs children

Our goal at Maple Valley Community Center is to provide a fun and wholesome activity time for special needs children ages 5 to 10. We hope to fill a need in the community by providing a 3 hour time on Saturday once a month where the ConQuest boys will organize games and build friendships with local special needs children. When parents meet our club youth and feel comfortable, they are welcome to utilize this time as a respite. We will always have at least two adults working with the youth and supervising.

ConQuest Catholic Boys Club meets every week in Maple Valley and consists of about 30 youth with adult mentors representing multiple parishes in south King County. ConQuest is based on Catholic principles of spiritual development and provides this club for ages 10 to 16. Its programs are designed to instill virtue, develop character and encourage spiritual growth, while offering its participants challenging physical, intellectual and spiritual activities within an atmosphere of adventure. Please visit Conquest Clubs for more information. The Down Syndrome Community website has the link for Yahoo Groups of families with down syndrome children.

Saturday Schedule Time Location Contact Phone

January 16, 2010

February 20, 2010

March 20, 2010

April 17, 2010

May 15, 2010

June 19, 2010

July 17, 2010

August 21, 2010

September 18, 2010

October 16, 2010

November 20, 2010

December 18, 2010

 

9 am - 12:30 pm

9 am - 12:30 pm

9 am - 12:30 pm

9 am - 12:30 pm

9 am - 12:30 pm

9 am - 12:30 pm

9 am - 12:30 pm

9 am - 12:30 pm

9 am - 12:30 pm

9 am - 12:30 pm

9 am - 12:30 pm

9 am - 12:30 pm

GMVCC

Sheldon Sweeney

ConQuest Maple Valley Club President

425-413-2461

Fostering Together

Fostering Together

Learn about foster care

Come and learn about becoming a foster parent and helping our community's most vulnerable children. Meet with local foster parents. Local licensors for our area will be here to answer any licensing questions.

For additional information about this community information night, please contact Ellen at 206-437-2488.

Visit Fostering Together for more foster care resources.

Day Time Location Contact Phone

Friday

May 15, 2009

6:00 - 8:00 pm GMVCC Ellen 206-437-2488