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The First Foorce Contest Is Finally Here!!
Where is the summer going?! Ironically, I have found myself with less time than usual during the past couple of months – between catching up with doctors’ appointments while school is out (11 down, 4 to go), shuttling kids to swimming, track, gymnastics, and playgroups, family vacations and of course, Foorce events, my calendar has turned into a scribbly, blackish smear instead of the neat and organized list I so adore.
So it’s Saturday afternoon and we just got back from a really fun time at Bounce U (I highly recommend for special needs and typical children) – my MO is to post in the wee hours of the night, but because of the amazingly good time we have shown our children (and because they are otherwise occupied for the moment) I do not feel guilty taking a minute to get this contest started!
Okay, it’s now Sunday morning… as you can see, I live in a time warp.
Picking up from where I left off, look up at the top left corner of my homepage. You should see a “slogan” under The Foorce that says:
strength; energy; power; any body of persons combined for joint action.
It’s one of the definitions for “force” that I felt described the kind of force I wanted my blog to be full of. And, I was getting a lot of emails at the time and really felt the need to get the site going, slogan or not. So, like other posts that have been done in the midst of chaos or under time-pressure, looking back at the slogan I began to feel that it was “not quite right.” The more I looked, the less I liked. More readers looking, even less liking.
I have received numerous compliments on my catchy blog name. Unfortunately, I can take very little credit since my last name was the creative inspiration. If my last name had been “Smith” or “Jones” I would probably be holding a contest for a blog name, too.
Contest
That’s where you come in. I need a new, catchy slogan. One that I could put on a business card that would help describe the type of blog thefoorce.com is. It should be something to do with the word “force,” though force doesn’t have to be in the actual sentence. There are lots of popular “force phrases” to get you started: “force to be reckoned with,” “use the Force,” “force multiplier,” “driving force,” etc. You can tell I’ve been brainstorming :), though not very successfully.
“Rules” and Other Guidelines I Made Up
The contest starts now and will go through October 1st, 2011. You can submit as many ideas as you like. The top 3 slogans will be placed in a poll on this site from October 1-31, 2011. At the end of October the phrase with the highest number of votes will win 1st place and will replace the slogan on this site. The top 3 slogans will all receive a prize (see below for details).
To submit an idea to the contest, email me at msearfoorce@gmail.com with your name, a way to contact you should you win, and your slogan/catchphrase. The subject of your email should be FOORCE SLOGAN CONTEST SUBMISSION. Because of the high volume of emails I have been receiving lately, it is important to put this line in your subject heading so that I don’t mistakenly overlook your submission.
Prizes
I solemnly swear not to enter any of my own ideas into the contest to try and win one of these prizes (though I seriously want to)! Instead of 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes, 1st place will get to pick from the prizes (listed below) first, 2nd place will pick between the two prizes that are left and 3rd place gets the remaining prize. The prizes listed below are not in any particular order.
Early Intervention Games: Fun, Joyful Ways to Develop Social and Motor Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum or Sensory Processing Disorders
Though this book says “Early Intervention” in the title, I’m seriously thinking of ordering it for my 10 yr old because the “games” seem like great ideas 1) to work on some of his phobias, 2) to try new skills in a silly and subtle way and 3) to play with James and his younger siblings at the same time.
As you can see when you click the link above, the book gets great reviews and is geared toward a wide variety of children. However, if this book doesn’t seem like the right fit for your child(ren), our donor has generously offered to provide a copy of Attention Games instead. Thank you, Amazon!
DMF Memorabilia Extravanganza!
DMF continues its AAA trend (All-Around Awesomeness) by donating bunch of great items to my little contest. The prize includes a DMF tote bag, hat and umbrella. Like its founders, Daniel’s Music Foundation items are attractive and high quality, and promote an incredibly worthy cause in NYC.
One Year Subscription to Something Special Magazine
Something Special Magazine is a publication geared toward parents raising special needs children. I looked through some back issues (available online) and was thoroughly impressed at the high quality and relevance of the articles – I’ve always been on the lookout for a Parenting-type of magazine that was actually pertinent to James, and this definitely fits the bill.
The creator and editor, Katrina Laygo, has five children, one with autism (I thought I was busy!). She not only runs this amazing publication but recently started Georgia’s first Higher Education Scholarship Fund for graduating seniors that have a diagnosis of autism or cerebral palsy, the Nathan’s Something Special Scholarship Fund, INC.
Ready, Set, Go!
I have high hopes and look forward to finding a great new slogan for The Foorce!!
The Other Kid
When I saw the title of this book I assumed it was talking about the special needs kid as “The Other Kid” in the class or in some peer situation, but upon closer look it is actually talking about the siblings of special needs children. For me this is a particularly interesting topic, A because James has two young siblings and B because we have been focusing on teaching James’s brother and sister empathy and kindness, and not worrying as much about the effect James will have on them.
Click here to see the book: http://www.theotherkid.com/book.html
Since our children are so young we haven’t had to really deal with this issue yet. My 2 yr old daughter still thinks James is a regular awesome big brother and they often play, and fight, the way typical brothers and sisters do. The book gets great reviews on Amazon. When I peeked inside the book there were pages that prompted siblings to draw or write about times they felt sad in a situation with their disabled brother or sister, and another page with what they all could do together. The “sad page” example was that the child felt sad when her disabled brother didn’t get in trouble for breaking her toys. My knee-jerk reaction was “Hopefully this child will understand that her disabled brother couldn’t help it,” and “Why was the disabled child allowed to break her toys without any repercussions?” But, the reality of the situation is that these feelings come up in children and they should be allowed to go through the process of dealing with their sibling’s disability the same way we as parents go through a process of coming to terms with our child’s disability. I don’t think my husband or I are even through the whole process yet since James’s “symptoms” and issues change on a monthly basis these days, but I know that we have both experienced our own sadness, anger and impatience at different times.
I know of many sibling “success” stories, and have been privileged to meet several typical brothers and sister who play a very positive, inspirational role in their disabled sibling’s life. I have also met parents who have confided that their typical children do not get along with the disabled child at all, and that it is wreaking havoc on their family. I am very interested to hear sibling stories from others, and also would like to know if anyone has used this book at home. What do you think about the concept of this book? Please leave your stories and opinions in the comments section. I plan to buy a copy and will let you know more about it once I read it myself.
The Foorce 
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