Posts by hjaffry
December Happenings!
Come join us for some holiday fun this month at the Hoffman Playhouse! Events! Giving Tuesday Open House: Tuesday, December 3 from 10-7 pm Breakfast with Santa: Saturday, December 7 from 9-11 am Volunteer Orientation: Tuesday, December 10 from 6-7 pm Last day of Fall Speech and Tutoring: Saturday, December 14 GiGi U/Prep Graduation: Thursday, December…
Read MoreRemembering Nadia
Nadia was a beautiful soul whose life was taken too soon. Family and friends gathered in Hugs & Mugs to celebrate her life. We shared memories and stories of how kind, funny, and thoughtful she was and how her smile could light up any room. Nadia always went out of her way for others. She…
Read More1:1 Math Spotlight: Shizuka!
It’s always the biggest accomplishment when we have a student surpass what anyone expected. Far too often, people believe that it’s too late for adults with Down syndrome to learn and thrive in certain areas of their life. This month, we are highlighting the accomplishments of Shizuka, one of our amazing interns in Hugs and…
Read MoreGiving Tuesday Events!
GiGi’s Playhouse is a one-of-a-kind achievement center for individuals with Down syndrome, their families, and the community. GiGi’s Playhouse offers 1:1, group and career development programs that advance literacy, math skills, motor skills and more; all of which are FREE of charge. All programs are based on best practices for learning styles specific to Down syndrome…
Read MoreVolunteer Spotlight: Sally Marquis!
Our volunteer spotlight for this month is none other than Sally Marquis! Sally has dedicated hundreds, if not thousands, of hours to support the Hugs and Mugs professional internships and develop the program into what it has become today. Sally is more than an amazing volunteer- she is the backbone of Hugs and Mugs and an…
Read More2019 National Leadership Conference!
Last week, the GiGi’s Playhouse National Leadership Conference took place at the Hyatt in Schaumburg. The conference gathers staff and volunteers from the entire network of GiGi’s Playhouse. There were over 300 attendees from 60 cities and Mexico! Because the Hoffman Playhouse houses the National Office, our interns in the Career Development programs have so many amazing…
Read MoreGiGi U and Prep are Making it Count!
These days in GiGi U and GiGi Prep, our students have been working very hard on their money skills. They especially love when we play Money Uno to practice coin identification. Recently we have been working on adding up enough money to buy an item, or picking out what item to buy with the amount…
Read MoreGiGi Knocked it out of the Park!!
Did you catch the Cubs game on Tuesday?? Our very own GiGi was the highlight when she sang the National Anthem and did AMAZING! It takes over 70 muscles to produce one word, and having low muscle tone greatly impacts precision and endurance for speech production. GiGi has been working so hard to increase her…
Read MoreBenefits of Early Sign Language!
What are the benefits of sign language on early speech and language learning? The talk surrounding the use of sign language when communicating with children has increased over the past few decades. The language development of a child begins with gestures beginning as early as 6 months. But how do we know exactly what our…
Read MoreLet’s Keep the Momentum Going!
What a great week it’s been! On Thursday, we started the Summer session of GiGiFIT Infant and worked really hard to make it as fun and purposeful as ever. Our particiants never cease to amaze us when it comes to what they can accomplish in such a short amount of time. We can make…
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