All Things Early InterventionChristine Bellew loves teaching children, playing music and having fun. Her goal is to use playful teaching strategies to make doing hard things as fun as possible for parents and children of all abilities.
Christine and her husband Josh have three children that have provided loads of adventures. Their family has opened their home to serve as foster parents to children with special needs which adds to the adventure.
With a Master’s degree in Early Intervention, Christine started her career providing Early Intervention services as a Special Instructor and Service Coordinator.
Most recently Christine has branched out to teaching piano using creative teaching methods to serve children with a variety of learning needs. Music brings her and her students joy when she makes the learning fun and engaging.
Outside of work Christine enjoys watching Parks and Rec, doing puzzles and reorganizing her piano music.
I will be the first to tell you that I am just an “okay” housekeeper. I think my house is clean, but like many families, we just have a lot of stuff. My home is usually about 30 minutes of housework away from being ready for company. I was really nervous when we had our […]
I will never forget the first night of our first foster placement. The evening had been what I call “controlled chaos”—a whirlwind of new toys and new foods. Because he had been so quiet and observant, I felt we had done everything right to build rapport. But the moment I gently lowered him into the […]
One of the hardest parts of being a foster parent is finding the middle ground. This is the space between your own family’s ideal normal and the reality of a child’s birth family. It is like walking a tightrope. You want to keep your home healthy, but you also want to make sure a child […]
While the foreign missionary crosses an ocean to find the “stranger,” the foster parent finds the “stranger” at their own front door. Both roles require a high degree of cultural humility, a willingness to be uncomfortable, and a commitment to serving someone whose life experience is vastly different from their own.
Going to court as a foster parent can feel incredibly daunting. The atmosphere is often tense, and the stakes are impossibly high: a child’s entire future hangs in the balance. We know our input is crucial for the judge to make informed decisions, yet the sheer process of getting our two minutes of testimony can […]
When we first announced our intention to become foster parents, the response wasn’t a universal chorus of support. While friends and family knew our hearts, several expressed a deep, lingering concern: “What about your own children? How will this experience affect them?” It was a fair question, one that sat heavy on our minds as […]
Doing Life with a 4-year old Sensory Seeker: The Power of Weighted Tools As I have mentioned before, our 4 year old foster son was a sensory seeker. All day. Everyday. One of the most challenging environments for our foster son was, surprisingly, the car seat. When he became unregulated in the car, his movements […]
Don’t be afraid of the word “no.” Use it as a clear, loving boundary to keep your students safe and help them grow into resilient, emotionally intelligent little people.
If a child sees the same toy every single day, their brain eventually tunes it out and stops paying attention to it. However, research shows that if you “rest” a toy by hiding it for a while, the child will be super excited to see it again when you finally bring it back.
Car rides were a particular struggle. Over time, we found that giving his hands a “something to do” made these moments of stillness much easier. We developed what we called our “Bag of Tricks”—an old cosmetic zipper pouch filled with a rotating selection of toys to keep him engaged.
All Things Early Intervention