One of our teachers recently took a trip to Peru and visited Machu Picchu—–how cool is that! Her trip inspired us to learn a little about the country of Peru! This theme also compliments the Unique Curriculum unit our students are working on this month. Our sensory groups explored boxes related to different facts about the country. The fine motor groups made art projects using symbols of Peru and the language group made a tasty Peruvian treat.
SENSORY GROUP
Machu Picchu is located in the Andes mountain range in Peru. Our students used Floam to make their own version of the mountains. We included 4 llamas a symbol of the country and domesticated by ancient Peruvians. Since we didn’t have any small llama figures, we just printed out some clip art pictures and laminated them—-it worked pretty well!
Associate quantities with number names is a math access point.
The colors of the Peruvian flag are red and white. In this box we included a variety of textures and objects in those colors. It was fun seeing what the different students gravitated towards.
Recognize and respond to different types of sensory stimuli is a science access point.
The vibrating sound activated crab was a particular favorite!
There were LOTS of giggles with this one 🙂
Copper mining is a major industry in Peru. Our copper colored kinetic sand is such a fabulous tactile experience for the students. There was a cookie cutter letter P but watching it run through fingers is always the preferred way to explore this fabulous stuff!
The science access point apply a push to move an object can be addressed with this activity.
Potatoes originally came from Peru—–NOT Ireland 🙂 Letter P’s and a map of Peru could be found in this box of potato flakes. Soft and slightly crunchy, an interesting texture that the students really loved!
The social studies access point associate a picture with a place can be addressed here.
Jaguars are another animal that can be found in the rainforests of Peru. There were 2 plush jaguars to find hidden in the colorful rainforest flowers. Some of the students loved the jaguars but others had a blast grabbing handfuls of petals and watching them drift down. A very eye catching box!
Match animals that are the same is a science access point.
Much of the Amazonian rainforest is located in Peru. Ms. Zenia, our fabulous OT intern, made this wonderful rainforest umbrella for us. Along with the sounds of the rainforest recorded on a voice output device, it was almost like being there!
Match common living things with their habitats is a science access point.
And some more photos because this umbrella was pretty cool…..
and our students are just so darned cute 🙂
We found out that you can see Humboldt penguins in Peru so we put some in our water play this week. Ok, so perhaps our birds are more of the Madagascar cartoon variety but sometimes you have you use what you have on hand 🙂
The science access point track objects in motion can be addressed here.
The world’s finest cotton comes from Peru so Bath and BodyWorks cotton scent was the choice this week. It was a nice aroma that our students really seemed to like. This part of our group really encourages students to use communication words, symbols, and gestures.
One of our students communicated his idea that the adults also needed to sample this lotion 🙂
Associate information or wants and needs with referent object, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words is a language access point.
FINE MOTOR GROUP
On Tuesday our students made some Peruvian flags.
We started by talking about the shape of the flag and the students identified it using communication symbols.
Recognize objects with two-dimensional shapes is a math access point.
The students then used either a paper cutter or switch operated scissors to cut 2 rectangles.
Associate quantities with number names is a math access point.
After gluing the smaller RED rectangles onto a white piece of paper, they added the coat of arms to the middle. To find the coat of arms we enlarged one we cut out from a printable flag page we found using Google—–what would we do without Google! 🙂
Recognize a change in an object is a science access point.
Ta Da!
We love Peru!!!!
On Wednesday the students made some llamas using this: llama-template
First we counted how many students were in class so we would know how many llamas we needed!
Associate quantities with number names is a math access point.
Next the students painted glue onto their llama. We cut the llama’s out of orange poster board because that was the color we had on hand 🙂
The science access point recognize that pushing and pulling an object makes it move can be addressed here.
Then they sprinkled some precut yarn onto the glue. Great fine motor skill practice here!
Recognize a change in an object is a science access point.
Ta llama Da!
WOW look at our herd!
LANGUAGE GROUP
After reading the book, we brought our Amazon jungle umbrella around to each student.
We’ve had some voice output issues so the students got to hear some of adult’s versions of what animals in the jungle would sound like.
VERY realistic lol—-we are keeping our day jobs 🙂
After the umbrella, we made a Peruvian dish. This week we made Peruvian quinoa and cauliflower pilaf. Here is the recipe that we used, which was found on the website perudelights.com: lets-make-peruvian-quinoa-and-cauliflower-pilaf We did have to modify the amounts of each ingredient since we did not want to make a huge portion.
Cara roasted the cauliflower and cooked the quinoa the night before in order to make sure that the recipe could be completed during the time allotted for the language group.
Each of the students got to help MEASURE the ingredients and POUR them into the bowl.
When it came time to put in some lemon juice, each of the students got to try a little bit. We talked about how it tasted SOUR. Surprisingly, a few of our students went back for a second, and sometimes a third, taste!
Lemon is pretty popular with our kids!
We mixed all of the ingredients together and voila! A Peruvian meal! We counted how many bowls we needed and then served it up.
Our students really liked it! One of our students who typically doesn’t eat the snacks we make DID eat this one 🙂
Yay for Peru!
Hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about Peru. Join us again next week for more fun and learning—–Group by Group!
The theme for this week is Youth Art Month, which is observed during the month of March. Our book takes a look at several different artists like Vincent van Gogh, Jackson Pollock, and Salvador Dali (just to name a few). Each page shows a picture of the artist along with one of their pieces of art. It’s so neat to see all of the different types of art! The front page features one of our students visiting a muesum while the back page features one of our students painting. Read the book to find out about these amazing artists!
Here is a link to the book: We Celebrate Youth Art Month
