February 14, 1859 Oregon became a state! The sensory groups explored boxes related to different facts about the state. The fine motor groups crafted Pinterest inspired art projects and the language group made a yummy snack with the state nut.
SENSORY GROUP
Paper shred in the colors of the state flag made the base of this box. We included symbols and items associated with Oregon. A duck puppet represented the University of Oregon ducks. Wood processing, a major industry was represented by a piece of wood.
Our western meadowlark (the state bird) was motion sensitive and the students loved hearing it chirp!
Science access point: recognize a model of a real object.
The letter O and some scoops were found in blue and yellow rice. There was also a map of Oregon at the bottom of the box.
The students also loved watching the grains of rice as they dropped from the spoons.
Science access point: track a falling object.
The Blue Mountains are a feature of Oregon. The students had fun molding their own blue mountains out of Floam. There were also a couple of laminated hikers to add to the scene.
The bright blue Floam was very eye catching!
Science access point: apply a push to move an object.
We found out that they have lots of mushroom festivals in Oregon—how cool is that! There were lots of mushrooms to find in this box of play dirt.
In addition to some laminated mushrooms, there were 3 pictures of mushrooms to find at the bottom of the box.
Science access point: recognize that pushing and pulling an object makes it move.
Oregon may have gotten its name from the wild sage that grows there. We added some herbs of the not so wild kind to our play dough this week and included a cute duck cookie cutter.
It was also fun to poke, squeeze, and roll.
Science access point: recognize that pushing and pulling makes an object move.
Students made circles or letter O in shaving cream this week.
We have been doing a lot of shaving cream lately, but the students always like it and its pretty inexpensive.
Science access point: demonstrate pushing away and pulling.
The oregon grape is the state flower, so we added some grape scented bubble bath to our water this week. There was 1 big duck and 3 little ducks swimming in our little pond along with different sized scoops.
To add to the fun, the ducks lit up when wet!
Math access point: recognize similarities and differences in size of common objects.
Pears are the state fruit of Oregon, so we chose Bath and Body Works pear lotion this week. It was a nice fruity scent which the students liked.
The students chose to have the lotion applied to their hands, arms, ears, or neck.
Science access point: recognize one or more external body parts.
FINE MOTOR GROUP
On Wednesday the students made lighthouses out of paper cups!
First, they identified the color of the cup using communication symbols. Since the alternate assessment testing will be starting soon we had the students pick from an array of 3 answers which is similar to the testing format.
Science access point: identify objects by one observable property, such as color.
Then, they cut 1 piece of paper into halves using a paper cutter.
Math access point: recognize parts of whole objects and parts of sets of objects.
The 2 strips of paper and a paper door were then glued to the cup.
Math access point: recognize when an object is added to a situation.
A small battery operated tea light was put on top.
Math access point: identify spatial relationships.
TA DA!!!
Let there be light!
On Thursday the students made beaver masks using paper plates.
First, they identified the shape of the paper plate.
Math access point: recognize an object with a two-dimensional shape.
Then they painted their plates with brown paint.
Science access point: recognize a change in the appearance of an object.
Pre-made ears and muzzles were added.
Math access point: recognize when an object is added to a situation.
TA DA!!!!!!
We love the beaver state!
LANGUAGE GROUP
Since hazelnuts are one of the state foods of Oregon, we made a recipe using Nutella! Here’s the recipe we used: Let’s Make A Banana Nutella Smoothie
We started out by PUTTING 2 frozen cut up bananas into the blender. Before we PUT them in, though, each student got to touch the bag of frozen bananas. They indicated whether it felt COLD or HOT.
Science access point: recognize an object as warm or cold.
Next, we PUT 2 cups of milk into the blender. The students were shown a cup and a tablespoon. They had to identify which one could hold MORE milk.
Math access point: recognize differences in sizes of containers that hold liquids.
We PUT 2 tablespoons of Nutella in the blender next. Again, the students were shown a cup and a tablespoon and were told to identify which could hold LESS since we did not need as much of the Nutella as we did the milk.
Before we added the Nutella, the students got to taste a sample—-they liked it!
Math access point: recognize similarities and differences in size of common objects.
Finally, we PUT some cocoa mix into the blender. We got to smell the cocoa mix and our students indicated whether they thought it smelled GOOD or BAD.
Science access point: recognize and respond to one type of sensory stimuli.
Each student got to HELP TURN on the blender by activating the wireless switch.
Science access point: observe and recognize a predictable cause-effect relationship related to a science topic.
Once the ingredients were smooth, each student had to request a cup by indicating that they WANTED some.
If they were not given a lot, they had to indicate that they wanted MORE.
We learned so much about Oregon this week! Join us again next time for more fun and learning—–Group by Group!
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