This week

We went to the Mall on Tuesday. We rode the city bus to get there and back. It was very cold outside. We walked around the Mall. We ate lunch at the Food Court. Five people had pizza, two people had sub sandwiches and four people had Chinese food. We all had a cookie. We bought tickets for the movie Old Dogs. It was funny. The funniest parts were the gorilla scene, the medicine that made them smile, and when the man fell into his plate of food. We laughed a lot. Even though it was cold outside waiting for the bus, it was a wonderful and enjoyable outing.

Last Week

We took a trip to Target last week to buy supplies for some activities we have going on this week. While we were there, we ate lunch at the snack bar at Target. It was a fun outing.

This week

This week we had to make some changes to the schedule due to the weather. It was so cold on Wednesday but there was no rain chance, so we went out to the Public Library and then to Jim's Coffee Shop for lunch. The bus stop was close by. We watched the weather forecast at the beginning of the week and Friday was not looking pretty. I'm glad now that we didn't wait to go out today. It snowed!!! That was fun to watch, but no one wanted to get out in it. Everyone had to at least go to the door to look at it.

Last week's outing

Last week was a short week due to the Thanksgiving Holidays. We walked to Wendy's for lunch one day. That's where everyone wanted to go and we all enjoyed it.

This Week's Outing

We went to see a bank yesterday on a new city bus. A bank employee told us about buying a house or car with a loan and getting our own bank account. He talked about debit cards and showed us a deposit slip as well as telling us about their policy on reducing paper use. Then we went to the donut shop. We ate some delicious donuts and drank some coffee. The donut shop was more exciting than the banking experience.

Last Week's Outing

We made a long, very interesting trip on the city bus last week to Mimi's. We had lunch at the bus stop. Thank goodness for the beautiful weather.

Election Day

Today is November 3. Today is election day. We went for a walk to the DPS Office. We got an application and information on how to get a State ID card. The cost is $15. You need two documents showing your identification such as a report card, birth certificate, or social security card. We also got a voter registration application. Then we went to a voting precinct at the Westwood gym. A man talked to us and told us how to vote. He gave us a sample voting ballot. We voted on where to go to eat. Taco Bell won. We came back to the classroom and made guacamole. We tasted everyone's recipe and the staff voted for the best. Philip's guacamole won. He put an avocado, pepper, salsa and garlic powder in it. Yum Yum! We decided to have a cake contest next week. Then we cleaned up our room. Today was fun!

Happy Halloween

We've had fun anticipating Halloween. We painted our pumpkin, looked at masks and costumes at the store, played Halloween Bingo, saw Halloween decorations in some yards, found pictures of Halloween symbols on Google or clip art, listened to Halloween music, and two of our guys wrote Halloween stories. We did not eat any candy! Have a Happy Halloween!

This week's outing

We had a wonderful outing to the bookstore on Tuesday. We bought a magazine with lots of Halloween ideas including ways to decorate our pumpkin. Our pumpkin is now painted. Two of the guys really enjoyed painting it! They have been learning to use clip art and Google images this week, so we are decorating the room with their art. We all bought lunch and ate outside at the picnic tables near the bookstore on Tuesday and it was a gorgeous day for that. There was just enough time for a brisk walk down to the pond and back before we had to get back to the bus stop.

Outings Planned for Next Week

We plan to go to the book store at the Arboretum on Tuesday morning and grocery shopping on Wednesday after lunch. I'm hoping the weather works with us, and if not we will shuffle the schedule around like we did this week.

This Week

Today was a perfect day for an outing. It was a little bit cold at first but the sun came out once we got off the bus at Target. We bought some of the items on our list, but other items were too expensive. We will keep an eye out for them in the ads in the newspaper over the coming weeks. Lunch was delicious! Everyone always likes to eat out. It was a very good day.

What's Happening?

Our big trip this week was going to the fire station and learning how to use a fire extinguisher.

Plans for next week

We will be going for a walk on the Nature Trail on Monday, grocery shopping at HEB on Tuesday, and to the Fire Station for a lesson on how to use a fire extinguisher on Wednesday. Thursday is a work day for everyone in the morning so that will take everyone off campus on Thursday, but Friday we will be on campus all day.

Weekly News

We did our weekly grocery shopping on Monday and bought supplies this week to make queso which we made on Thursday. It was spicy! We went to the Austin Public Library at Spicewood Springs on Tuesday this week. We checked out a DVD and watched it during lunch. Afterwards we had a nice walk to the pool and some of us got in the water. It was refreshing! Everyone made a Photo Story this week about the recycling that we do. We will try to share these stories at some point. Some of us took a walk this week on Thursday to the Bethany Pumpkin Patch. It was great exercise. We all went out for lunch today at Quizno's. It was a full week. We enjoyed the outings.

Mall Outing

What a wonderful week full of rain! We cancelled a few outings because of it, but still got out in the rain plenty. Today was a beautiful day. Perhaps our outing today was more enjoyable because we stayed in so much during the week. We rode a new city bus today. It was nice! There are stop request buttons instead of a cord. The seats are much nicer, and there is a bigger front window. It's easier to see out of the front now. We went to the Mall and bought two new rain ponchos, but the umbrellas were sold out at the Dollar Tree, so we couldn't buy umbrellas. Everyone will have to come prepared when it rains again. We ate lunch at the Food Court and afterwards had a piece of candy from Lammes Candies. When we returned to STEPS we went to two classes but they were shorter than usual because there was a Pep Rally at the end of the day. We attended. The band was loud. The cheerleaders were leading the rally and the dancers were flashy. What a nice day!

Last week

Last week we went shopping at Wal-Mart. We bought some groceries and rain ponchos and a water container for the classroom. On Friday we went to eat lunch with many other people our age at Thundercloud Subs. Fortunately we were the first to arrive! The place had quite a few customers for lunch.

Plans for Next Week

Shopping at Wal-Mart on Tuesday. Out for a walk on Thursday. Out to eat on Friday.

Outing in the Rain

We went on an outing today. We had a wonderful time! We got some magnets at the teacher supply store, and looked at the animals at the pet store. Lunch was delicious. The rain started while we were eating. We had to walk thru the rain and wait for the city bus in it, but we had our rain gear. It made our day a little extra exciting. It's always fun to walk in the rain but some of our shoes are wet because of this excursion.

Grocery Shopping

We had a good shopping trip today.

Plans for next week

We plan to go to HEB on Tuesday afternoon after lunch. We will buy supplies for lunches. On Friday we are planning to go downtown on the city bus to get Cap. Metro Bus ID cards made. We will eat a picnic lunch while we are out. Looking forward to the week.

We ate at Taco Bell for lunch today and on the way back stopped to visit the fire station. We had a wonderful outing. There was great practice crossing the street and ordering food and paying for it.

Outings

We would like to go out for pizza on Friday for lunch. We can walk to Nino's Pizza which is on Lake Creek Pkwy. at 183. Pizza and a soft drink will cost $3 for one slice of pizza and $5 for 2 pieces. Please sign the permission slip that we are sending home. Thanks.

We are planning to go to HEB on Tuesday next week after lunch. We will buy some groceries for our lunches for the week. Please send a lunch until then. And please send some money on Tuesday. Thanks.

STEPS is part of the Life Skills Class at Westwood High School. STEPS stands for Specialized Teaching for Eighteen Plus Students. It is for the students who have completed the high school course requirements. They are usually eighteen years old or older. Students are transitioning into life in the community so we structure our day as close to what their day would look like if the student were not coming to STEPS and practice the "steps" necessary to living a full life.

The following are some of the aspects of the day.
* Students do not go to classes unless there is a community class they want to take.
* Students go to work if they have a job or job training.
* Students do volunteer work like recycling at Westwood, helping with the School Store....
* Students exercise regularly either at a local fitness center or around the neighborhood.
* Students make their lunch daily and eat lunch with each other in the STEPS room.
* Students go grocery shopping once a week to purchase food for their lunches for the week.
* Students go out to eat in the community at nearby eating establishments regularly.
* Students use Capital Metro or walk in order to get around in the community.
* Students practice safety issues in getting around in the community.
* Students keep the room clean and their exercise clothing clean.
* Students make their own schedule each week using the computer.
* Students use the computer to communicate with others as well as for enjoyment.
* Students interact with each other as well as people in the community.
* Students learn to lead their own lives by making their own decisions and choices.
* Students learn to manage their time with things they have to do and things they enjoy doing.
* Students learn to become as independent as possible.