Colombia

Hola—-we learned about the country of Colombia this week, thanks to Ms. Maria who is from Colombia and traveled there this past summer! Our sensory groups explored boxes related to facts about Colombia. The fine motor groups practiced their cutting skills while making Colombian symbols and the language group prepared a tasty Colombian treat!

SENSORY GROUP

Colombia has made different regions including a rainforest. We made our own little rainforest with vines, flowers, fruit, and a variety of animals you might find there. The fluffy plush sloth and big orange frog were big hits.

Recognize a model of a real object is a science access point.

The Andes run through Colombia and some of the summits are permanently snow-capped. The students had lots of fun digging and making snow balls in this box of Insta Snow. This stuff feels a lot like real snow—-but not quite as cold!

Use senses to recognize objects is a science access point.

Colombia is world famous for its coffee! There was a measuring spoon for scooping and letter C’s to find hidden in some very aromatic coffee beans.

Match objects by one observable property, such as size, shape, or color, is a science access point.

Colombia is also famous for the emeralds that are mined there. We thought our sparkly emerald green kinetic sand would be a good representation of those precious gems and we added a rolling play dough toy that left some cool “gem like” impressions in the sand.

Recognize that pushing and pulling an object makes it move, is a science access point.

Colombia has some beautiful beaches—-it borders both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans! In this sand filled box there were shells and a shovel. There was also a picture of a jaguar to find at the bottom of the box.

Apply a push to move an object is a science access point.

There are active volcanos in Colombia! For our messy play we made our own volcanos using shaving cream and food coloring. The students were pretty fascinated watching the changing colors as the red and yellow colors combined to make the lava on our laminated volcano.

Recognize a change in an object is a science access point.

So, a lot smaller than the Pacific, our little ocean contains a number of fish to catch. To add to the fun, the fish could squirt water when squeezed.

Recognize two objects that are the same size or color is a math access point.

Bananas are a top Colombian export so we used that as our scent this week. The water was scented with Minions bath gel we got at Walmart. We purchased the lotion a few years ago at World Market but unfortunately they don’t carry it anymore 🙁 Banana is a really strong scent which the students loved!

Recognize one or more external body parts is a science access point.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday we made some Andean condors which are a symbol of Colombia. We used this template: Andean condor

First, we discussed the shape of our background paper using communication symbols.

Recognize objects with two-dimensional shapes, is a math access point.

The students glued the condor’s body DOWN on to the background paper—-making sure to “pat pat pat” to make it stick.

Recognize a movement that reflects a spatial relationship, such as up and down is a math access point.

Then the students used adaptive scissors to snip some wing feathers. We used either table top or switch operated scissors, depending on the students skill level.

The science access point recognize a change in an object is addressed here.

The wing was glued on to the top of the body—–we wanted it to be able to flap a little.

We also squeezed out a dot of glue and added a cool looking googlie eye.

Match one object to a designated space to show one-to-one correspondence is a math access point.

TA DA!

The Andean Condor is a symbol of Columbia!

On Wednesday we made a Colombian flag.

First we discussed the color of our background paper and identified it using communication symbols.

Identify objects by one observable property, such as color, is a science access point.

Then the students used a paper cutter or switch to cut a strip of red paper and a strip of blue paper.

Recognize that pushing and pulling an object makes it move, is a science access point.

We glued the red strip at the bottom of the yellow paper and then glued the blue strip above the red strip. Some of the students preferred to glue the blue strip on first and then put down the red strip—–either way worked 🙂

Recognize a movement that reflects a spatial relationship, such as up and down is a math access point.

Ta DA!

We love Colombia!

LANGUAGE GROUP

We made a pretty tasty frozen drink this week that is made in Colombia: Let_s Make Limonada de Coco!, also known as Coconut Limeade.

We started out by measuring out the cream of coconut and putting it in the blender.

Recognize when an object is added to a situation is a math access point.

Next, we had to add some ice. Each of our students felt the bag of ice. We talked about how it felt COLD.

Recognize objects as warm or cold is a science access point.

Since we needed 5 cups and our measuring cup only holds 2 cups, our students had to indicate that we needed MORE.

Solve problems involving small quantities of objects or actions, using language, such as enough, too much, or more, is a math access point.

Then, we needed to add some lime juice. Just like the lemon juice we used a couple of weeks ago, we had each of our students taste a little bit. We talked about how it tasted SOUR.