Since Presidents Day is coming up, we thought it would be fun to learn about some of our past Presidents. The sensory groups explored boxes related to presidents featured in our book. The fine motor groups made art projects featuring presidents and the language group made a patriotic treat!

 

 

 

 

 

SENSORY GROUP

President Kennedy’s family came from Ireland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The students used a big cookie cutter to make shamrocks—-a symbol of Ireland—-out of bright green play dough.

Science access point: apply a push to move an object.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

President Obama was born in Hawaii.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This eye catching box was filled with colorful flowers, leis, and a cute little Hawaiian doll.

Science access point: recognize objects as the same.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

President Theodore Roosevelt once saved a bear cub and teddy bears are named after him!

 

 

 

 

 

The piece of faux bear fur, a big mama bear, and 2 little bear cubs here were a hit with the students.

Science access point: match animals that are the same.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

President Ronald Reagan used to be a movie actor and then the Governor of California.

 

 

 

 

 

The numbers 4 and 0 could be found in this box of popcorn—-Reagan was our 40th president!

Math access point: associate quantities with number names.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

President Eisenhower loved to cook and was known for his cornmeal pancakes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soft cornmeal (mixed with some potato flakes to decrease the dust), 2 different sized spoons, and a picture of the Eisenhower at the bottom could be found in this box.

Math access point: recognize differences in size of common objects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ice cream was one of George Washington’s favorite treats! We sprinkled jello powder into the shaving cream to get an ice cream look.

 

 

 

 

Needless to say, the students had a blast!

Science access point: recognize that pushing and pulling an object makes it move.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Quincy Adams had a pet alligator—-how cool is that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We put a little alligator in our water play this week, along with 2 different sized measuring cups.

Math access point: recognize differences in sizes of containers that hold liquids.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We chose Bath and Body Works cherry blossom for our scent this week. President Taft’s wife planted the first cherry blossom trees in Washington DC.

 

 

 

 

It was a great scent to help us remember all the fun facts about Presidents!

Science access point: recognize one or more external body parts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday we made dimes out of paper plates.

First, the students identified the shape of the paper plate.

Math access point: recognize a common object with a two-dimensional shape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, the students painted their plates with silver paint.

Science access point: recognize that pushing and pulling an object makes it move.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, the students added a picture of President Franklin Roosevelt! We used a coloring page from the US mint printed on grey paper.

Math access point: recognize when an object is added to a situation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TA DA!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made dimes!

Anybody need some spare change 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday the students made MORE money 🙂 We found some cute samples we could download for free.

First, the students identified the shape of the money.

Math access point: recognize a common object with a two-dimensional shape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, they cut the money into individual bills using a variety of cutting tools.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Math access point: solve simple problems involving taking apart small quantities of objects.

 

 

 

 

 

Next, they used markers to add color to their bills.

Science access point: recognize a change in the external appearance of an object.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TA DA!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at all the Presidents!

Let’s go shopping!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LANGUAGE GROUP

This week, we made a patriotic treat for President’s Day.  Here’s the recipe that we used: Let’s Make A Patriotic Snack

We started out by making the whipped cream.  One of our students HELPED measure out 1 cup of heavy whipping cream.  They had to LOOK to see if there was enough in the measuring cup or if we needed MORE.  Then we PUT that in the bowl.

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, we had to measure out powdered sugar and vanilla extract.  Students had to identify the tablespoon when it was held next to the teaspoon.  They were prompted to find the BIGGER one.

 

 

 

Math access point: recognize differences in size of objects.

 

 

 

 

When the ingredients were all in the bowl, each student had a TURN using the wireless switch to turn on the mixer.

This is always fun for our students.

 

 

 

 

Each time someone took a TURN, we LOOKED in the bowl to see if we needed to mix MORE or if we were ALL DONE.

Once it was DONE, we observed how it had changed from a liquid to a solid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Science access point: recognize a change in the external appearance of an object.

 

 

 

We counted out cups for each student.  We layered red Jell-o, whipped cream, blue Jell-o, and then MORE whipped cream.

Each student had to request each part of the snack using their communication boards.

 

 

Math access point: indicate desire for more of an action or object.

 

 

 

 

 

After they indicated that they needed a spoon to eat with, they dug in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These were so pretty looking and were pretty tasty too 🙂

 

 

Join us next time for more fun and learning—–Group by Group!

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