Ooh la la we are learning about Paris this week! Ms. Latoya, our AP recently visited the city and her fabulous photos inspired our theme this week. Our sensory groups explored boxes related to Parisian facts. The fine motor groups made art projects with a familiar Paris landmark and the language group made a tasty french treat!
SENSORY GROUP
We put some paper shred in the colors of the French flag then added a variety of things associated with a trip to Paris. We included animals you might see there, a toy airplane, a passport, some pictures of Napoleon and Emma Watson (she was born in Paris), and even a squeaky “french pastry”! Lots to find and discover in this box.
Recognize a model of a real object is a science access point.
Our rice is also in the colors of the French flag—-red, white, and blue. There were letter P’s to find and also a map of France at the bottom of the box.
Recognize objects as the same is a science access point.
The Catacombs of Paris are ancient burial spaces that many tourists like to visit. We made our own spooky catacombs using kinetic sand and some plastic skeletons from the dollar store. As usual, the students were pretty fascinated by the way the sand reacted when pushed, pulled, or allowed to drip off fingers.
Track the movements of objects that are pushed or pulled is a science access point.
After touring around for a while, it would be fun to stop at a cafe for coffee—-a very popular drink in Paris. There was a picture of the Eiffel tower to find at the bottom of the box and a heart shaped measuring cup and small spoon for scooping fun. Unfortunately, we didn’t include any croissants 🙂
The math access point solve problems involving small quantities of objects or actions using language, such as enough, too much, or more, can be addressed here.
Paris is known as the city of lights. We put lots of lights on our “Paris at night” umbrella and it turned out to be a big hit. The colorful lantern lights were particularly eye catching! We attached some laminated night time photos of famous Parisien landmarks and made sure to point them out to the students.
The social studies access point recognize a picture with a place can be addressed here.
This umbrella was a real hit with the students…..
So we had to include some more photos!
We discovered that plaster of paris actual does come from PARIS—how cool is that. We mixed shaving cream and cornstarch to get a similar texture to crumbly plaster. It had an interesting tactile feel and was VERY messy—–the students weren’t quite sure what to make of it 🙂
Apply a push to move an object is a science access point.
Fortunately, hands were easily rinsed in water scented with Bath and BodyWorks french lavender bath gel. We put in a couple of colorful ducks to float around in our Seine River. These ducks were pretty cool because they lit up when they touched the water—-how cool is that!
Recognize similarities and differences in size of common objects is a math access point.
The matching lavender lotion had a pretty light scent and made for a nice reminder of a visit to Paris.
Recognize one or more external body parts is a science access point.
FINE MOTOR GROUP
On Tuesday our students made their art projects using this: Eiffel Tower
First, they identified the color of our paint using communication symbols.
Identify objects by one observable property, such as color, is a science access point.
Then they painted a white piece of paper with red and blue paint.
Apply a push to move an object is a science access point.
They glued a silhouette of the Eiffel Tower (precut from black construction paper) DOWN on to their painting.
Recognize a movement that reflects a spatial relationship, such as up and down, is a math access point.
TA—- ooh la la—- DA!
                                    We love Paris!
On Wednesday the students made another Eiffel Tower inspired project but this time we shrunk the template 50% and cut it out of sparkly gold craft foam.
First the students identified the shape of their paper using communication symbols.
Recognize an object with a two-dimensional shape is a math access point.
Then they painted with a mixture of gold paint and a little bit of glue.
Recognize that pushing and pulling an object makes it move, is a science access point.
Time to sing the glitter song and “shake, shake, shake that glitter”!
Recognize a change in the appearance of an object is a science access point.
Next, they squeezed some glue onto the back of the Eiffel Tower and patted it DOWN on to their paper.
Recognize a movement that reflects a spatial relationship, such as up and down, is a math access point.
TA Da!
                              Paris—–the city of lights!
LANGAUGE GROUP
Paris has lots of wonderful cuisine so we decided to try some out this week. We made some dessert crepes! Here is the recipe: Let_s Make Strawberries And Cream Crepes
We started out by making some whipped cream. Our students helped PUT the whipping cream into the bowl. Then we added some sugar.
Our students indicated that we needed to use tablespoons rather than measuring cups.
Recognize when an object or person is added to or is taken away from a situation is a math access point.
Each of our students observed that the mixture in the bowl was a LIQUID.
We had to mix the ingredients up, so each of our students took turns activating the switch to turn the mixer on. It took a while for the whipped cream to set, so some students had a couple of turns.
Once it was done, our students observed that the mixture was now a SOLID.
Recognize that the appearance of an object or material has changed is a science access point.
Time to make the crepes! We put some dollops of the whipped cream into each crepe and added some strawberries to it. For our students who are on a puree diet, we smashed up the strawberries and mixed them into the whipped cream.
We folded up the crepes for the other students. They had to request that they WANTED some the crepes to eat. YUM!
Join us again next time for more fun and learning
                                     Group by Group!