Tag Archives: art

Sep26

Pirates

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Pirates

Yo Ho Ho—-it’s pirate week mateys! Talk like a pirate day was September 19 but we decided one day was not enough—-we needed a whole week 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

SENSORY

Our pirates dug in the sand for buried treasure!

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were 3 gold coins to find.

Science access point: recognize objects as the same.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More pirate booty was had here, beads became more treasure—-gold, silver, rubies, diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires!

 

 

 

 

 

Fun to wear or shake and they made lots of noise when moved around on the tray!

Science access point: track objects in motion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We put 2 pirates and 1 map or treasure chest in the black kinetic sand this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The students had lots of fun with the pirate figures.

Math access point: associate quantities with number names.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shaving foam became “sea foam” this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We drew letter X in the shaving foam——X marks the spot!

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were some pirate ships and pirate duckies floating in our mini oceans.

 

 

 

 

 

A few lucky students even spotted an old shipwreck.

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

 

 

 

 

 

We chose Bath and Body Works ocean scent this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The perfect scent for a seafaring unit and a hit with the buccaneers!

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

 

 

 

 

 

GROSS MOTOR

For pirate week, our gross motor activity was walking the plank.

Students walked on a balance beam or landscape timber in forward or lateral directions to work on balance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our students using wheelchairs or adaptive equipment, rolled or walked on a painted line on the sidewalk.  They had to look down to make sure they kept the line between their wheels.

At home you could use pillows, couch cushions, paper plates, a board, duct tape, etc. to make your own plank.  You can have your child walk forward, backward, or laterally.  Whatever your plank is, the object is to stay on the plank and to avoid falling in the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FINE MOTOR

For project one, the students made a treasure map and used this template to put themselves in the picture: pirate figure

First, the students identified the shape of their paper and the color of the stamp pad ink.

Math access point: recognize objects with two-dimensional shapes.

Science access point: identify objects by one observable property, such as color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The students drew lines on their paper. We encouraged them to draw serpentine lines but they could do whatever they wanted.

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

The students had to press DOWN and then lift the stamp UP when adding an X to mark the spot of their treasure. They also stamped a skull and crossbones flag.

We used double stick tape to adhere the stamps to our kitchen scrubbers.

 

 

Math access point: recognize a movement that reflects a spatial relationship, such as up and down.

 

 

 

 

After the students’ faces had been added to the pirate figure, it too was glued to the picture and……

 

 

 

 

 

 

……TA DA!!! Let’s search for buried treasure!

 

 

 

 

 

For project two, the students made a pirate puppet using paper bags and this template: pirate puppet

First, the students identified the color and shape of their paper bag.

Math access point: recognize objects with two-dimensional shapes.

 

 

 

 

Science access point: identify objects by one observable property, such as color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, they cut stripes for the pirates shirt.

Switch operated scissors were used when needed.

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

We counted 3 stripes which were then glued to the bag.

Math access point: associate quantities with number names.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, the students glued to face to the TOP of the paper bag and a colorful head scarf.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

One googly eye completed the look.

Math access point: match an object to a designated space to show one-to-one correspondence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TA DA!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arrgggg—–our mighty pirates are ready to set sail!!!

 

 

 

 

 

LANGUAGE

We had a pirate worthy treat today!  Here’s the recipe that we used: Let’s Make Ocean Water (this is a copycat recipe for the Sonic Ocean Water drink)

We started off by PUTTING sugar into a glass container.  Then we PUT some water in the same container and stirred it around.

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

We had to microwave the sugar water for 45 seconds.  Students had to predict whether they thought microwaving would make the sugar water hot or cold.

Science access point: recognize a temperature change from cold to warm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once it was heated up, we stirred it up again. Students observed the sugar water and said if they saw the sugar in the water any more once it had dissolved.

Science access point: recognize examples of materials that will dissolve in water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We PUT the water into a pitcher.  Then we added some coconut extract.  We put some on Q-tips so that each student could SMELL the coconut extract.  They had to indicate whether it smelled GOOD or BAD.

Science access point: recognize and respond to one type of sensory stimuli.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We PUT in 1 liter of Sprite and 5 drops of blue food coloring.  Students HELPED by counting out the number of drops.  We watched as the color changed from clear to blue.  We stirred it one more time.

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Students had to indicate what they were going to do with the ocean water: EAT or DRINK.

They had to request their drink and also their goldfish.  Arggg!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

Don’t forget to check your SPAM folder for a confirmation email if you want to follow us.

Sep18

Uncle Sam

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Uncle Sam

September 13 was Uncle Sam Day, so we decided to learn a little more about one of the symbols of our country. It was a RED, WHITE, and BLUE week!

 

 

 

 

 

SENSORY

We brought back our blue and red moon sand and star cookie cutters from last week but added pictures of Uncle Sam and the American flag to go along with our theme.

 

 

 

 

Moon sand has a great texture that our students really enjoy.

Social studies access point: recognize the American flag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The students had lots of fun with RED, WHITE, and BLUE beads. We put in multiples of each so the students could sort and match by color.

Science access point: match objects with similar observable properties, such as color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The colors in our rice were so vibrant and really eye catching! The students searched for letters S A M or U S A.

Science access point: recognize and respond to different types of sensory stimuli.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We added a little Red and Blue glitter to white shaving foam and students liked watching the glitter swirl around!

 

 

 

 

 

Plastic plates are working out great as individual messy play trays.

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

 

 

 

 

 

We even continued the theme with our water play. Each student had either a red, white, or blue measuring cup!

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

The perfect scent for this patriotic week—-apple from Bath and Body Works! A nice reminder of the fun we had!

Each student gets their own dab of the lotion in bottle caps we collected.

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

GROSS MOTOR

For our gross motor activity this week, we thought a good way to celebrate Uncle Sam Day was a parade.  Since we can’t have any parades right now, we had students imitate gross motor movements that you might see if you were to go to a parade.

For ambulatory students, they walked or marched on bubble wrap (used to represent fireworks) while waving a red or blue streamer.

For our students who can self-propel their wheelchairs, they rolled over the bubble wrap.

 

 

 

 

 

For our students working on sitting, bubble wrap was placed under their feet while they were positioned in supported in sitting.  They stomped/marched on the bubble wrap either independently or with assistance to make firework sounds.

Science access point: recognize and respond to sounds.

 

 

 

 

 

They also waved streamers independently or with hand over hand assistance to celebrate Uncle Sam Day.

Science access point: recognize an action as fast or slow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FINE MOTOR

For project one, we made Uncle Sam masks with paper plates.

First, we identified the shape and color of the paper.

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

Science access point: identify objects by one observable property, such as color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, the students cut strips out of red construction paper to make stripes for their hats.

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, we counted the strips!

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

 

 

 

 

 

The three red strips were glued to a piece of white paper to make stripes.

The hat was glued to the TOP of the paper plate and a piece of batting was glued to the BOTTOM.

 

 

Math access point: identify spatial relationships.

 

 

 

 

 

TA DA!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello Uncle Sam!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

For project two, the students made patriotic banners.

First, they identified the color of their marker and the shape of their paper.

Science access point: identify objects by one observable property, such as color.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The students were directed to draw vertical/down lines on their paper.

Science access point: track objects moving up and down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, they glued on a picture of Uncle Sam (we just printed a coloring page) and TWO blue stars (cut from the Ellison machine).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Math access point: associate quantities with number names.

 

 

 

 

TA DA!!!

Our banners turned out great—-

—-and so patriotic!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LANGUAGE

We made a really pretty, patriotic snack this week.  Here’s the recipe that we used: Let’s Make Patriotic Parfaits

We started by making some whipped cream.  We had students HELP us by pouring the whipping cream into the BIG bowl.  They first had to show us which bowl was BIG.

Math access point: recognize differences in size of objects.

 

 

 

 

 

Our students HELPED turn on the mixer by using a wireless switch.  We had to check periodically to see if it was still LIQUID.

Science access point: distinguish between water as a solid or liquid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We added some vanilla and confectioners’ sugar to the bowl.  We put some vanilla extract on a paper towel and let our students smell it.  It has such a strong smell but surprisingly all but 1 of our students liked it!

Science access point: recognize and respond to one type of sensory stimuli.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We used the mixer again until we saw some stiff peaks.

Science access point: recognize changes in observable properties of materials.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each table had a bowl of strawberries and blueberries.  We followed the steps and started layering our parfaits, starting with strawberries, HALF a container of vanilla Greek yogurt, blueberries, strawberries, whipped cream, and topped off with blueberries.

 

 

Math access point: recognize the next step in a sequence of activities.

 

 

 

 

These look so pretty and our students scarfed them down pretty fast 🙂

Join us again next time for more fun—-Group by Group!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t forget to check your SPAM folder for a confirmation email if you want to follow us.

 

Sep12

Outer Space

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Outer Space

Out of This World is our school wide theme this year! So we are all about outer space theme this week! The students had fun learning about planets and stars with our sensory, gross motor, fine motor, and language activities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SENSORY

Our outer space umbrella was very eye catching and a hit with the students! There were stars, constellations, planets, and a big yellow sun to find.

 

 

 

 

 

Science access point: recognize a space related object.

 

 

 

 

 

Colorful Floam got molded into planets and asteroids!

They really had fun with this!

 

 

 

 

 

Math access point: recognize common three-dimensional objects, such as spheres.

 

 

 

 

 

The students used star or moon shaped cookie cutters to make impressions in “Mars” red or “Jupiter” blue moon sand.

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

We printed out and laminated some pictures of planets and astronauts to mix in with our black “outer space” kinetic sand.

We ordered our kinetic sand from Amazon.

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Large silver glitter looked like stars swirling around the oobleck Milky Way.

Oobleck is made from cornstarch and water and easily done at home too!

 

 

 

 

Science access point: track objects in motion.

 

 

 

 

 

Hands were rinsed in “clouds of Venus” water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Science access point: recognize and respond to one type of sensory stimuli.

 

 

 

 

 

We finished with a “to the stars” lotion from Bath and Body Works. It had an out of this world aroma 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

GROSS MOTOR

For the gross motor activity this week, there were several options.

For our students whom are ambulatory or can self-propel their wheelchairs, we made an obstacle course using round sound steps and rings/hoops for them to work on stepping up on the steps and then transitioning to stepping into/out of the hoop.  Our students using wheelchairs, worked on self-propelling their wheelchairs in a weaving pattern around the round sound steps and hoops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For our non-ambulatory students, we worked on reaching for a ball while in a supported sitting position to address balance, trunk control, and head control.  We also worked catching/throwing ball activities while in supported sitting positions, tall kneeling, or standing.

At home, you could make an obstacle course using items around the house such as, step stools, pillows, hula hoops, etc. to practice stepping up/down, over, or around obstacles.  You can also work on catching, throwing, or kicking a ball.

 

 

 

 

 

FINE MOTOR

For project one, our students painted paper plate planets with glow in the dark paint!

First, they identified the shape of the paper plate either verbally or by using communication symbols.

Math access point: recognize object with two-dimensional shapes, such as a circle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then,  identified their paint color and started painting.

Science access point: identify objects by one observable property, such as color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the students finished painting, they held their plates under a black light—so cool!

 

 

 

 

 

TA DA!!

 

 

 

 

 

For project two, the students made rockets out of cardboard tubes.

First, they identified the shape of their paper and colored it using either markers or crayons.

Math access point: recognize object with two-dimensional shapes, such as a rectangle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, they glued and rolled the paper around the cardboard tube.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, they cut a square into two triangles and attached them to the tube using glue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A picture of our little astronauts and a nose cone was glued on to the tube.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TA DA!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To infinity and beyond!

 

 

 

 

 

LANGUAGE 

We became astronauts today and made some astronaut pudding!  Here’s the recipe we used: Let’s Make Astronaut Pudding

We started out by sanitizing everyone’s hands.  Then each student got a ziploc bag.

They first had to request the pudding mix.  Since it required the use of both a tablespoon and a teaspoon, we got to practice working on BIG and LITTLE.  We talked about the tablespoon being BIG and the teaspoon being LITTLE.

Math access point: recognize similarities and differences in size of objects.

 

 

 

 

We counted out ONE tablespoon and TWO teaspoons of pudding mix.  If we only gave the student one teaspoon, they had to request MORE.

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

We did the same with the powdered milk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, students got to choose which color they WANTED their pudding to be: red, white, or blue.  If they chose red or blue, they had to HELP count out 3 drops of food coloring.

Math access point: associate quantities with number names.

 

 

 

 

 

After that, they had to request water.  Staff helped as the water was poured into the bags.  We then made sure the ziploc bags were sealed closed.

Students then got to squish and squeeze their bags so the pudding would set.  It takes a minute so if it seems like it’s going to be a drippy mess, give it a little time.

Once the pudding set, we cut a corner of the bag and our students SQUEEZED the pudding into a cup to eat.

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

Some notes: we put the food coloring in before the water, but it might work a little better after the water is put in.  Also, put a little less than 1/2 a cup of water.  This turned out to be both a snack AND an experiment 🙂

 

 

 

It was a truly out of this world week! Join us again for more fun and learning—-Group by Group!

Sep6

Back to School

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Back to School

We’re BACK!! We are so glad to be back at school and to see our students again. School started this week, but a little bit differently for sure. Our county is doing a hybrid model with some students “brick and mortar” and some digital. Here at Group by Group we are adapting our model to meet the changes we are all facing. You will notice smaller and fewer boxes in our sensory section—-no more sharing materials! We also are doing things a little differently in our fine motor and language sections. A nice addition has been our PT on board with gross motor ideas! Enjoy!

 

 

 

SENSORY

We used blue and yellow rice to represent the colors of our school. At home you could just use plain rice or any other sensory material of your choice.

 

 

 

 

Learning letters and numbers is a big part of the school experience so we added some for our students to find.

Science access point: use senses to recognize objects.

 

 

 

 

There were some laminated pictures of school buses, school houses, etc. that he students could push into black kinetic sand.

 

 

 

 

 

We chose the black sand to represent a road. At home you could use regular sand or play dough with toy cars and figures.

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

 

 

 

 

 

Music is one of our favorite special areas so we let our students make their own using shaker bottles. We made our shaker bottles using soda bottles and beads (gluing the lids closed). At home you can use toy rattles or maracas—we just didn’t have enough for everyone to have their own individual instrument.

 

Science access point: recognize the change in the motion of an object.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shaving cream finger painting reminded us of another favorite special area—art! We used plastic plates so everyone had their own personal palette!

 

 

 

 

Whether at home or at school—- shaving cream is always fun 🙂

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

 

 

 

 

 

Washing hands is even more important these days! The students practiced washing their hands in water with our scent of the week—-apple from Bath and Body Works. At home you could use any kind of bath gel to add some fun bubbles and aroma to the activity.

Science access point: observe and recognize that people need water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The matching lotion applied to arms or hands left a nice sensory reminder of our activities.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GROSS MOTOR

This week we worked on campus mobility to familiar areas on campus using pictures as a clue.

Ambulatory students or students who are able to self propel their wheelchairs walked/rolled to a requested location either by name, using clues to figure out the location being described, or by using pictures.  Transitions between various surfaces, stairs, curbs, ramps, etc. were included when traveling to the requested location.

For digital academy students, you could work on moving around within the home environment.

 

 

For students who are unable to walk or roll themselves, we worked on reaching for, or pointing to, a requested picture of a location while sitting or standing to address balance.  For digital academy students, you could have students stand on a pillow to challenge their balance during the activity.

 

 

 

 

Students working on head control practiced lifting their heads to look at a picture or school related item.  For students working on head control at home, a song/music video about school could be pulled up on the computer to practice lifting their heads and/or maintaining an upright head position.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FINE MOTOR

For the first project, the students added the letters of their names to craft foam school buses picked up at the dollar store. Of course we can’t show you our students real names so we made a model for them to hold up for the Ta Da photos.

First, the students identified the color of their writing utensil by pointing to communication symbols.

Science access point: identify objects by one observable property, such as color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They colored the letters using crayons or markers.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The letters were glued to the school bus using squeeze glue to work on hand strengthening.

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

TA DA!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wheels on the bus go round and round.

 

 

 

 

 

For the second project the students painted masks!

First, they chose which paint color they wanted to use.

Science access point: identify objects by one observable property, such as color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, they painted their cotton masks—–the colors were so vibrant!!! After painting, we turned the masks over and patted them down with paper towels to blot excess paint.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

TA DA!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our masks are cute, colorful and stylish 🙂

 

 

 

 

LANGUAGE

We made some really cute back to school snacks featuring our mascot, Hootie the Owl, this week in our language group!  This is the recipe that we used: Let’s Make Welcome Back Hootie Snacks

For this recipe, each person had to request each food item in order to put together their owl snack.  They had to request either verbally or by using their communication symbols.

Our students worked on spreading the peanut butter.  This was challenging for many of them, so they had to ask for HELP.

 

 

 

 

We talked about eyes next.  Each student had to make sure that they were given 2 banana slices for 2 eyes.  We talked about how the eyes go at the TOP.

Then, each student had to PUT a LITTLE bit of peanut butter in the MIDDLE of the banana slices in order for the chocolate chips to stay on.

 

 

 

 

They had to request 2 apple slices for the wings, 1 dried cranberry for the beak, and some Cheerios for the feathers.  If they WANTED MORE Cheerios, they had to request.

These were a HOOT to make and to eat!

 

 

 

 

 

We are so happy to see our kiddos again 🙂 Join us again next time for more fun and learning—–Group by Group!

May23

Hello Summer

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Hello Summer

Well it has certainly been a different end to the school year! This will be our last post until we start back again in the fall. In anticipation of some free time with school over, our OT, PT, and SLP have come up with some activities for you to do at home since our students are Too Cool for School 🙂

 

 

We don’t have a central theme this time, it is simply all about FUN—-enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

SENSORY

Our students always enjoy messy play with shaving cream but we recently found a way to make it even more fun—–add some jello powder! Just sprinkle some on top of the shaving cream and it becomes this cool substance—still shaving cream but more durable and moldable!

You really need to try it!

 

 

 

Another fun activity is making your own Discovery Bottle. There are lots of YouTube videos out there but the general instructions are pretty easy. You need any empty plastic bottle that has been well cleaned. Add a generous amount of clear glue, mineral oil, or baby oil. Add glitter and if you want—a few small beads or toys. Fill with water AND—this is important—-securely GLUE the lid closed!!! Now it is time to SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE.

At school, any time we shake something we sing along to that old KC and The Sunshine band song—always turns it into a fun time 🙂

Your child will have a blast but be sure to supervise carefully 🙂

 

 

 

 

GROSS MOTOR

Just as this 4th 9 weeks has been different, summer will be different too with the Summer Olympic Games being postponed.  So, what if you had your own Summer Olympic Games with your family?

You could divide into teams or compete as individuals.  Have each person or team come up with a team name or represent a country (you could even include some social studies by doing research about different countries, but it is summer so that is up to you).

 

Then choose your games or activities.  There have been a lot of activities listed in previous posts that you could use or you can look online for others.  Maybe even let each participant/team choose one or two activities, so you have a variety.  Modify the activities as needed, so everyone can participate.

Finally, hold your Olympic Games.  They could be held inside, outside, or a combination of the two.  They could be held in one day, over a week’s time, or throughout the entire summer if you did one or two activities a week.  If you do the later, you could “hold practices” to practice the skill to prepare for the “big day” much like an athlete would practice their sport.

It would also be fun to have family members that live outside of your home watch to cheer you on using FaceTime, Zoom, Teams, etc.

 

Lastly, come up with a way to keep points or score until the end of your Olympic Games.  And of course, at the end of the games, have an award ceremony to recognize everyone’s achievements and to celebrate a job well done.  Everyone will be a winner because you created, competed, and celebrated together.

Have a safe and wonderful summer!

 

 

 

 

 

FINE MOTOR

Two fun projects for you—one quick and easy, the other will take a little more time.

If you don’t have balls handy for your Olympic Game—-you can make your own!

Grab a piece paper, fold it in half, and crumple it up into a ball (this is a great activity for building hand strength and working on bilateral coordination). Have your child squeeze it really hard to make it as compact as possible. They can knock, drop, kick, or throw to make a goal/score a point!

Make ENOUGH paper balls to almost fill a plastic shopping bag. Tie the bag closed and VOILA—instant beach ball 🙂

 

Another activity to do with your child is to make a Summer Scrapbook! I did this with my children when they were little and it made such great memories. It is also a great way to practice writing and cutting skills. Here are a few suggestions for pages:

Stamp your child’s HAND and FOOTPRINT on a page on the first day of summer break. Then do the same at the end of summer.

Draw a self PORTRAIT and a picture of the SUN.

Pick favorite MOVIE, BOOK, TOY, TV, VIDEO GAME, PLACE, SONG etc. and have your child draw a picture about it. If your child needs to practice writing have them write a sentence as well.

 

 

 

Gather old magazines and have your child tear or cut pieces of their favorite COLOR and glue down to make a collage.

Of course, take lots of PICTURES and add them to the scrapbook!

 

 

 

 

LANGUAGE

We’ve had some summertime beach thoughts lately, so this week I’m including 2 different recipes that can hopefully quench your thirst for the sandy beach.

Here is the first recipe: Let’s Make Sonic Ocean Water  This is a recipe that copies the Sonic ocean water drink.  We made this with our students in 2018 so we included some pictures on each of the pages of them putting together the recipe.

 

 

 

Here is the second recipe: Let’s Make A Beach In A Cup  We made this recipe in 2017 with our students so again, we have pictures of them carrying out the steps of the recipe.

 

 

 

 

 

While making these recipes, make sure to use your child’s communication system if they have one in place.  We always emphasize core vocabulary words like PUT, TURN, HELP, WANT, MORE, AGAIN, and ALL DONE.  Talk about how the ingredients feel: wet/dry, hot/cold, hard/soft.  Talk about the taste of the recipes: good/bad, sweet/sour, like/don’t like.  Talk about how the ingredients look when they are mixed together–how they can change from a liquid (milk and pudding mix) to a solid (pudding when it has set).

What’s most important is to have fun, be together, and always keep modeling and using language for your child/student.  Repetition is KEY so repeat, repeat, repeat!

 

 

 

LITERACY

Books based on some familiar stories are always a hit—here are a few of our favorites!

We recommend this book from October 2015: Let’s Go To Neverland!

We also recommend this one from March 2019: Who Are The Characters In Aladdin

Finally, one more from December 2015: Who Will We Meet in Arendelle

 

Thank you all for following along with us this year. Please join us again in the fall for more fun and learning—-Group by Group!

 

 

 

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May17

Family Game Night

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Family Game Night

This week we are playing games! Our OT, PT, and SLP have come up with a variety of things to do. So break out the board games, gather everyone up, and have a fun family game night!

 

 

 

 

 

 

SENSORY

Here are two fun sensory based versions of games to play with your kids!

We often put a hidden picture at the bottom of our sensory boxes. The students have to push the contents of the box to see the picture. You can easily adapt this to an I-Spy game at home using magazine or old calendar pictures. Look for a picture with lots of different things to find and tape it to the bottom of your container (cookie sheet, roasting pan, casserole dish, storage box etc) and then add sand, rice, or oatmeal. See how many details they can “spy” as they move the contents around.

 

One of my favorite games to play with my students is What’s in Ned’s Head. Students reach into “Ned’s Head” and try to identify an object before they pull it out OR pull the object out and match it to a picture. You could make your own variation of the game and play Bingo by putting a variety of toys in a drawstring bag. Pick toys with different textures, shapes, sizes ex. balls, hand fidgets, cars, action figures etc. Make simple Bingo boards with names of the different objects. Have your child act as the “caller” and pull out one object at a time.

 

 

 

 

GROSS MOTOR

Over the past few weeks, I have talked about a lot of different games you could play with your kids to incorporate gross motor skills, so this week I thought a fun activity would be to make your own board game and incorporate various gross motor activities into it.  This could be done indoors or outdoors using a variety of materials that you have at home, as well as, for students with different ability levels.

Use painters tape, chalk, paper plates, construction paper, large boxes, etc. to make a path for your child to follow.  Make lines straight, curvy, or zig zag for your child to walk, jump, or crawl on.  A hop scotch path could be fun to incorporate into your path too.

Incorporate challenges for them along the way using pool noodles to step over or walk on (if they are cut in half), cones to weave through, streamers to crawl under/step over, hula hoops to step through or walk around, couch cushions to walk on to challenge their balance.  You could incorporate different textures to such a bubble wrap, sand paper, carpet, tile, grass, sand, etc. and play bare footed for extra fun.

You could incorporate a targeting game that they have to master before they can continue to move along the path.  For example, a ring/bean bag/ball toss to a basket/bucket/box.  You could also include targeting skills focusing on kicking a ball into a box/basket/between 2 cones, throwing a ball to a target on the wall, or rolling a ball to a target (think bowling).

You could also incorporate a movement activity along the path.  For example, jumping jacks, wall pushups, etc.  Also, use various ways to move along the path (for example, bear crawl, frog jump, etc.).

Use a dice, number cards from a deck or cards, numbered strips of paper in a cup/bag to draw from to determine how many spaces to move forward (if you want to work on numbers).  You could also work on colors or letters if you wanted to instead of numbers using colored pieces of paper or alphabet cards, as long as, colors or letters are incorporated into your path/game board.

Use the above ideas, ideas from previous posts, or create your own ideas to make your own floor or outdoor area board game.  The most important thing is to get everyone involved and have fun!  Have a good week.

 

 

 

FINE MOTOR

We are lucky enough to have things like an All Turn It spinner to adapt games at school, but there are still ways to simply adapt things at home.

Here are some ways to adapt board games for easier access:

 

Put dice into small snack containers. Let your child throw the container or knock it off their tray when it is their turn to roll.

Use a section of a pool noodle with a slit on the top to hold playing cards.

If picking up small cards (ex. Candy Land) is difficult, tape colored paper to match game pieces to the sides of a small box. Let your child throw or drop the container—the color on top is their card.

Limit the amount or which cards are used, for example with Memory use fewer cards or in Uno remove all the reverse/skip/etc cards to simplify the game to simple color matching.

Tape a small photo of your child to their playing piece to make it easily identifiable.

To exchange a small playing piece for a larger one that is easier to grasp, you can use an empty medicine bottle or spice jar. Adding some coins or play dough inside will make it more stable.

 

 

 

 

LANGUAGE

Here is a fun and engaging game that your child and you can play while working on the common core words GO and STOP.  Here are the symbols that you can use: Red Light Green Light

You can take turns being the person in control of the “light”.  Hold up the symbol for GO and for STOP whenever you are saying the words.  You can also use the color symbols.  It’s always fun to be able to control things that are happening so your kiddos should have a good time controlling the movement of people 🙂

For this game, you can either use either a Memory board game or these pictures: Memory game

Turn all the cards over face down and take turns choosing 2 cards at a time.  Talk about if they look the SAME or if they look DIFFERENT.

 

 

 

 

 

 

LITERACY

We suggest this book from November 2018: Let’s Play Candy Land

We also suggest this book from September 2016: what-video-game-should-we-play

 

Join us again next time for more fun and home learning—-Group by Group!

 

 

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May10

Numbers

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Numbers

We are taking a mathematical turn this week with a unit all about numbers—-enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

SENSORY

Time to break out the messy play again—but this time with shaving foam! Place a generous amount of foam on a tray, cookie sheet, or if you are feeling especially adventurous—-on the kitchen table 🙂

 

 

Have your child use their fingers to practice writing numbers in the foam.

 

 

 

 

GROSS MOTOR

This week use dice or playing cards to determine how many of an activity your child does.  For example, roll a dice or pull a card from the deck to see how many jumping jacks, wall pushups, or frog jumps your child does.  Or to determine how many seconds they can stand on one leg or how many times to catch and throw a ball without dropping it.  I have some oversized playing cards and light up large dice that I like to use at school, but you could us regular playing cards or dice, Uno cards that have numbers, put number magnets or strips or paper with numbers written on them in a cup/bag and draw one, or make your own dice out of a cube shaped box if you want to.  Make up your own rules and use activities that your child enjoys.  The fun part is letting the dice or cards decide how many you do.

Online, I found an activity where you tape various pieces of paper on a wall (choose the wall and ball carefully, so that the paint doesn’t get messed up and nothing gets broken) with numbers on them and have the child throw a ball to the requested number.  You could have them draw the number out of a cup as mentioned above and throw the ball to the matching number or call the number out to them verbally.  This could be done in standing, standing on a pillow for a challenge, in tall kneeling or 1/2 kneeling, in bench sitting, supported sitting, or while sitting in a wheelchair.  It could also be done by touching, reaching, or looking at a number to identify or match the number.

Also, you could make number lines out of tape, paper plates, or chalk and have your child move to a requested number.  You could also incorporate addition and subtraction, by having them start on one number and take steps forward and backward and see where they land.  You could also have them crawl while pushing a toy car to a requested number or “numbered parking spot” if they are non-ambulatory.

 

Hopscotch is also a fun game with numbers.  Make a path out of chalk or tape, either a traditional path or create one of your own.  You can play by traditional rules or make up your own.  You could incorporate different movements in the game such as side stepping, walking backwards, bear walking.  Be creative and have fun.

Have a great week!

 

 

 

 

FINE MOTOR

A scavenger hunt is perfect for a numbers themed activity! Below is a list of items to find around the house.

After you count the item, there is a visual motor activity included with each to target a wide variety of skills.

Happy Hunting!!

 

1—backpack: practice opening/closing the zipper.

2—shoes: practice tying shoe laces.

3—pillows: identify the shapes.

4—spoons: scoop water or rice and pour from one spoon to another.

5—toy cars: drive the cars along straight, curved, and zig zag roads.

6—coins: hold out your hand palm down at chin level, stack the coins on your hand.

7—stuffed animals: sort from biggest to smallest.

8—books: stack the books, and then read one of course 🙂

9—crayons: use each color to draw a picture.

10—socks: match the pairs.

 

 

 

LANGUAGE

Because a lot of our students are motivated by food, our language group typically consists of recipes to make.  This week, though, I have a few different things you can do with counting while cooking:

  • Count ingredients one by one. Start with a small number (1-3) and help your child count the number of pieces of food, using a finger to point to each piece. Children often don’t realize that each piece only gets counted once, or they try to count too quickly and skip numbers. Help them to keep track by moving the already counted pieces into a new pile.
  • Count the total number of ingredients. Help your child count the pieces of food and then say how many pieces there are all together. After they finish counting, ask, “How many?” Move up to larger numbers as they get more comfortable with counting.
  • Guess which pile has more ingredients. Make two small piles of food and ask your child to show/tell you which one has MORE in it. Count the number of pieces in each pile to see if they are correct. You can then talk about the pile that has LESS in it.

Here are numbers 1-10 along with cards with dots and animals to count and match to the number.  The number cards can be used as visuals during your cooking activities or you can also use them to help your child count the objects and match them to the number. Here’s the link: Numbers 1-10

 

 

 

LITERACY

We suggest this book from April 2015: I Can Count to 10

 

 

Join us again next time for more fun and home learning—-Group by Group!

 

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Apr26

Animals

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Animals

Distance learning continues with a fun unit about animals. We have done lots of animal themed posts in the past so it made picking photos from our library extra hard—-so many cute ones to choose from 🙂

Our PT, OT, and SLP have come up with some more fun activities for you to do at home—-enjoy!

 

 

 

SENSORY

Every week we make sensory boxes—our students LOVE them! It’s easy to your own animal themed box at home—-you can find the perfect material right in your kitchen such as rice, beans, pasta, oatmeal, popcorn, potato flakes, or cereal. Just remember if you have a child who likes to “taste”, make sure it is something that’s okay for them to swallow! Gather up some plastic animals and maybe add some measuring scoops and a funnel for extra fun 🙂

You might even try going out of the box and using dried coffee grounds, birdseed or even make a swamp out of green jello!

Have fun!

 

 

 

 

 

GROSS MOTOR

So, this week, you can try moving like animals would move.

Use some books around the house that have animals in them and as you read the book talk about how the animals move and have your child do the same movement as the animals in the story.  Some of my kids’ favorite animal books were Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See or From Head to Toe.

 

You could also look up different animals online, watch how they move, and have your child copy the animal’s movement.  You could also use movies with animals in them, and as you watch the movie pause it to act out the animal’s movements.  A family favorite of ours was The Jungle Book.

 

 

Some movements that my kids and I came up with are the bear crawl, crab walk, frog jump, bunny hop, elephant walk, inch worm, duck walk, fly like a bird, swim like a fish, slither like a snake, swing through the trees like a monkey, stand on one leg like a flamingo, waddle like a penguin, kick like a donkey, cat/cow stretch.  Just to name a few, but I am sure you all can come up with some more.

 

If your child is unable to do the movements independently help them to move their arms and legs to mimic the movements or you or a sibling do the movements and have them chose between a choice of two or three of which animal movement you are acting out.  This can be done in supported positions (standing or sitting) to work on balance and strengthening.

Have fun moving like some of our animal friends.  Animal sounds are optional!  Have a great week!

 

 

 

 

FINE MOTOR

Here is a fun way to practice writing strokes!

Draw some spiders on a piece of paper. Have your child start at the TOP and draw a DOWN line to the spider. Proficient writers can then turn the paper sideways and write the word SPIDER on the line—-making sure letters touch the line and are aligned correctly.

 

 

 

Draw an animal on a piece of paper. Have your child start on the LEFT side and draw ACROSS to create a fence. Proficient writers can write the name of the animal on a line. Again, making sure letters touch the line and are aligned correctly.

 

 

 

 

Draw a fish on a piece paper. Have your child draw CIRCLES to make bubbles. Proficient writers can write a letter in each bubble—-making sure the letters stay within the bubbles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LANGUAGE

Here’s a fun animal themed recipe for you to make at home!  Here’s the recipe: lets make a zebra striped parfait

When you’re putting all the ingredients together, you can talk to your child about things like:

  • the sizes of measurement tools (BIG/LITTLE)
  • the temperature of the ingredients (COLD/HOT)
  • the ingredients (WET/DRY)
  • if you are ALL DONE with the ingredients or if you have MORE
  • how it tastes (SWEET/SOUR)

 

 

 

 

LITERACY

We recommend reading this book from May 2018:Let_s Go To The Zoo!

And this book from September 2017:On Old McDonald’s Farm

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

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Apr19

Dance Party

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Dance Party

Our distance learning themes continue with more fun at home OT, PT, SLP activities—-and a sprinkling of old photos 🙂

This week we thought it would be fun to have a dance party!

 

 

 

 

 

 

SENSORY

A dance party has to have something to LISTEN to so pick out some music. A lot of our students love Kids Bop but there is a world of music out there—-maybe try something you haven’t listened to before! Does your child like it LOUD or SOFT? FAST or SLOW? What instruments do they prefer—DRUMS, GUITARS, HORNS?

Since it is a dance party, play with lighting—-dim the lights or turn them off completely and use flashlights, maybe put up some twinkle lights!

 

 

 

 

FINE MOTOR

Let’s make some paper chain party decorations! You will need paper of your choice—construction paper, notebook paper, wrapping paper, junk mail flyers etc. and tape, glue, or a stapler.

Start by cutting the paper into 2 inch wide strips. You probably want it to be at least 8-10 inches long.

 

For students who need assistance to use classroom tools: if you have a scrapbooking paper cutter, have your child help by pushing or pulling the handle. If you don’t happen to have one of those, sharply crease the paper and have your child help hold while you tear along the crease.

For students who are learning to use classroom tools: draw lines on the paper and ask them to “cut on the road”.

For students who are proficient with classroom tools: have them draw their own lines using a ruler.

Once all the strips are cut, begin assembling by joining one strip together to form a ring. Slide the next strip through the ring and fasten it into a circle. Continue adding strips until to have the length you want—-or run out of paper, whichever comes first 🙂

Drape your festive paper chain over the mantle piece, over bookshelves, pictures etc.

 

 

 

GROSS MOTOR

At the dance party, have a dance off with your child.  Take turns showing off your moves and then have the other person mimic them.  For students whom can independently move, they can move their arms, their legs, or their wheelchair.  It doesn’t matter, just move.

For students whom need more assistance with movement, move their arms with hand held assistance or push their wheelchair around in different directions (linearly-forward and back, rotation-clockwise and counter-clockwise, or adjust the tilt of the wheelchair).  Dance until you can’t dance any more.

Enjoy the party!

 

LANGUAGE

Here are some communication symbols that can be used during your dance party: Dance Language

  • Have your child tell you what they WANT by giving them a choice of different songs or of different types of music.
  • Turn the music off randomly and have your child tell you that they WANT MORE.
  • Let your child decide when the music can GO and when it has to STOP.  Everyone freeze when the music stops.
  • After a song is over, have your child let you know if they want to hear it AGAIN or if they want a DIFFERENT song.
  • When a song is over, ask your child if they LIKE the song or if they DON’T LIKE the song.
  • Talk about how the song sounds.  Is it FAST or SLOW?  Was it LOUD or QUIET

You can either keep all of the symbols on the single piece of paper, or you can cut the symbols out to hold them up to your child.  Most importantly, HAVE FUN!

 

 

LITERACY

We recommend reading this book from November 2013: Let’s Turn on the Jukebox!

 

Join us again next time for more fun and home learning—-Group by Group!

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Apr12

Color

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Color

Distance learning continues and we hope everyone out there is doing ok. Our SLP, OT, and PT have some more fun activities for you. This week we are going with a COLORFUL theme!

Once again we pulled some photos from our library 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

SENSORY

Let’s make OOBLECK!

This is a pretty messy activity so you might want to go outside for this one. Where ever you choose to do this, definitely have a basin of water, hose, or sink nearby! It you follow our blog regularly you know that oobleck is one of our favorite sensory experiences and SO easy to make at home—-all you need is cornstarch and water!

Mix 2 parts cornstarch and 1 part water and pour onto a cookie sheet. Put a few drops of food coloring on one side and a few drops of another color on the other side. Let your child dive right in with BOTH hands! Talk about the colors they SEE and watch the oobleck change colors as the food coloring swirls and mixes together.

So much fun 🙂

 

 

 

GROSS MOTOR

To address gross motor skills, make up some games to play to work on color identification and incorporate motor movements.  For example, you could place different colored pieces of construction paper or objects on the floor and ask your child to go pick up a certain colored piece of paper/object and bring it to you.

Have them change the way they travel to the colored paper/object.  For example, use movements like crawl, crab walk, bear crawl, hop like a bunny or frog, log roll, walk backwards, side step, etc.

The skill could also be worked on while sitting, by presenting two choices and having your child reach for a requested color.  This could be done in supported sitting or independent sitting.  You can make it even trickier by moving the choices around (up, down, out to the side, forward, etc.) or having them reach with a certain hand.  Hopefully that gives you a few simple ideas to try.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

FINE MOTOR

We saw this idea on Pinterest and we were totally inspired! You will need a black permanent marker, regular kids’ markers, and a paper towel folded in HALF. We found that the cheaper paper towels work best! You will also need a cookie sheet with a layer of water. This activity gets a little messy so you may want to go outside for this one too 🙂

For students who need help using or are learning to use classroom tools: draw an outline their initials or name in block letters with the BLACK permanent marker. Go over the outline a few times!

For students that are more proficient writers: have them draw a word of choice.

 

 

 

OPEN the towel up—you will see a faint outline of the design that was drawn on top.

Use DIFFERENT colored markers to FILL IN color each letter on the bottom half of the towel.

If your child can’t do fill in coloring, just have them add color to the bottom half of the towel—the end product will be great either way!

 

 

 

 

 

Once you have finished coloring, fold the top back over and place the paper towel on the water—–and watch the magic happen!

The colors will bleed from the bottom sheet onto the top sheet—-HOW COOL IS THAT 🙂

 

 

LANGUAGE

You can download this simple color board to point to the different colors that you are targeting.  Here’s the link:  color board

Some fun activities to incorporate color:

  • Pick out one color and go around the house to find different things that are the same color.  You can take the color board with you around the house and point to the targeted color as a reminder.  You can also use the board to show your child if what they found matches the targeted color or not.
  • If you have an ice cube tray, you can make colorful ice cubes by freezing water mixed with food coloring.  You can put them in a glass of water and watch the water change color.  You can also put 2 different colors of ice cubes in the water and see what new color it will make.  Try yellow+blue, blue+red, and red+yellow 🙂

 

 

 

LITERACY

We recommend reaching this book from April 2018: Look At The Colors Of The Rainbow

Here is another book from February 2016: The World is Full of Color

 

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

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