Tag Archives: art

Oct25

Creepy Crawly Critters

Posted on October 25, 2015 by jd785

Many of our students are learning about animal habitats with their Unique Curriculum unit this month. Since it is October which has us thinking about things that bump in the night, a creepy crawly critters theme seemed like the perfect complement ! Our sensory groups explored boxes related to different animals. The fine motor groups painted their animal themed art projects using unusual tools and the language group went on a creepy, crawly critter hunt—-read along to see all the fun we had!

SENSORY GROUP

Spiders—-well those are some pretty creepy crawlies and we put an assortment in this box! One of the spiders scuttled across the table after a string was pulled, which of course elicited a few nervous giggles—-from both students AND staff 🙂 We also included a discovery bottle with some floaty spiders that wiggled up and down as the bottle was turned.

Track objects in motion is a science access point.

This little desert habitat was home to some snakes and lizards. There were 3 of each for sorting and counting. The students also had fun sliding them around making paths in the sand.

Solve simple problems involving joining or separating sets of objects to 3 is a math access point.

Owls aren’t really creepy but their hoots can give you a little shiver if you are out in the woods at night so we went ahead and included them. We put in our fabulous “owl” feather boa and a super cute, totally NOT creepy plush owl.

Recognize a model of a real object is a science access point.

Put some battery operated lights and black paper shred in a box——it looks just like lots of little bug eyes staring back at you! Light boxes are always a hit with our students and this was no exception. Pretty cool—-if we do say so ourselves 🙂

Recognize sources of light is a science access point.

We brought back our black play dough from a couple of weeks ago but this time our students used a bat cookie cutter to make the classic creepy night critter.

The science access point recognize a change in an object is addressed here.

A black light helped make both our oobleck and the 3 centipedes crawling around in it GLOW! While we couldn’t make the classroom completely dark the effect was still—–WAY COOL!

Associate quantities with number names is a math access point.

There was an ENORMOUS water beetle to find in our “pond” this week. Our students quite enjoyed checking out this really big bug! The water was scented with Bath and Bodyworks twilight woods scented bath gel which seemed like the appropriate scent for this unit 🙂

The science access point match common living things with their habitats can be addressed here.

The matching lotion was a hit. The students liked the scent and, as usual, we asked them if they “wanted” some and “where” they wanted it applied—-hands, arms, neck, noses, or toes 🙂

Recognize one or more external body parts is a science access point.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

We made spider webs using marbles on Tuesday! First we counted out 3 marbles into a cup of white paint and asked our students to show us the number 3 using communication symbols.

The math access point associate quantities with number names is addressed here.

Then the students scooped out the marbles and dropped them onto a piece of black paper that was placed inside a lidded box. Of course the shapes of the paper and marbles were also discussed!

Recognize an object with a two-dimensional shape and recognize common three-dimensional shape are math access points.

We closed the lid and started shaking the box! The students REALLY had fun with this part 🙂

Recognize that pushing and pulling an object makes it move and track objects in motion are science access points addressed in this step.

After the lid was taken off it was pretty exciting to see how it turned out!

We removed the marbles and the students glued fuzzy pom pom spiders onto their webs—–great for practicing pincer grasps!

This was another opportunity to address the science access point match animals to their habitats.

TA DA—–

——–such creepy crawly spiders 🙂

On Thursday we painted with SPRAY BOTTLES!

We started by discussing the color of the paint we were going to use and asked the students to identify it using communication symbols.

Identify objects by one observable property, such as color, is a science access point.

The students dropped this rat stencil(made with: rat template) onto a piece of black paper and began spraying! They had so much fun with this and really did a great job of spraying onto the paper and NOT the floor or their friends 🙂

Recognize a change in an object is a science access point.

Ta ratty Da!

Pretty cute—-for a rodent 🙂

LANGUAGE GROUP

For the language group this week, we went on a creepy, crawly critter hunt. While the students were out of the room, we hid 6 different animals and insects from our book all around the room.

We turned off the lights to read the book and kept them off so we could use a flashlight to find the critters. We had real pictures of each of the critters hidden around the room, so one-by-one, we LOOKED for each of them.

Recognize sources of light is a science access point.

If the students needed clues, they had to request HELP and we would give them a clue about where the critter might be.

For example, for the centipede on the refridgerator, we said “it’s where we go to get COLD food and drinks” or for the owl we said “it’s somewhere UP HIGH”.

Seek assistance to clarify the meaning of pictures, symbols, gestures/signs, or words in classroom activities with prompting is a language access point.

Once our students located the critter, we caught it and let each of our friends look at it and feel it.

We counted all the critters we found at the end to make sure that we had the SAME number of real critters and pictures of critters.

We did it! The classroom is once again critter-free thanks to our critter catchers 🙂

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

Apr5

Plants

Posted on April 5, 2015 by jd785

Plants

Spring has sprung and since many of our teachers are busy planting gardens with their students we decided that a unit on plants would be the perfect theme for this week! Our sensory group boxes were filled with plants and plant like materials. The fine motor group made beautiful floral art projects and the language group planted some REAL flowers!

SENSORY GROUP

Lots of different things to discover in this box which was filled with play food fruits, vegetables, and flowers. We also put in some picture cards and toy animals—all plant eaters of course! A piece of fabric was included because the cotton plant was used to MAKE that fabric!

Recognize a model of a real object is the science access point addressed here. The science access point recognize objects related to science by name such as plant or animal is also addressed.

The students really had fun planting seeds (dry beans) and growing carrots (play food) in our coffee ground dirt. There was also a letter G for “grow” and “garden” and hidden at the bottom of the box was a picture of a cute little groundhog…..ok, so perhaps leftover from a previous unit BUT he is a plant eater after all 🙂

The science access point recognize that plants grow is a science access point explored here.

The different parts of plants can be explored in this fun and colorful box filled with silk flowers and leaves.

The science access point recognize the leaf and flower of a plant is addressed with this activity.

We made this pretty pink batch of play dough using koolaid and we really liked the way it turned out! The students had a choice of 2 different flower cookie cutters which allowed for the opportunity to discuss concepts of “same” and “different.

Not only can the flowers be counted, but the science access point. apply a push to move an object is also addressed.

Plant seeds are food sources for many animals such as birds. We filled this box with bird seed and put 3 little birds in it for the students to find. The bird seed had an amazing tactile feel on buried hands—-super cool!

In addition to visual and tactile discrimination, the math access point associate quantities with number names is addressed.

Our green oobleck represents chlorophyll which is the green coloring in plants. We used sour apple koolaid which made it such a pretty color gave it a very enticing aroma!

The science access point recognize the change in motion of an object is addressed here.

We put some cool LIGHTED flowers in our water play this week (thanks Ms. Kim). There was also a little watering can included so the students could water them—-such fun!

Recognize that plants need water is a science access point.

We finished the group with Bath and Body works plumeria scented lotion and the matching bath gel was used in our water play. This floral plumeria scent was very aromatic, a perfect fit for our plant theme this week and a great way to help us remember all the fun we had.

Recognize and respond to one type of sensory stimuli is the science access point addressed here.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday the science access point identify the major parts of a plant such as the root, stem, leaf, and flower with our art project.

First we used the paper cutter to cut out the green stems. Our students are getting so good at this!

This addresses the science access point recognize a change in an object.

Then we assembled the flower by asking the students to place the pre-labled (thank you Dana and Olivia) pieces on the designated places using glue as a visual cue. Our students are still practicing this skill but they are getting better at it! We discussed that the flower went on TOP of the stem, the roots at the BOTTOM, and that there were 2 leaves.

The math access point match one object to a designated space to show one-to-one correspondence is addressed here.

TA DA—-fabulous floral specimens!

On Thursday we made a fun torn paper art project!

We started by choosing which flower (cut from the Ellison machine) to decorate.

Communicate a preference for objects is a language access point.

Then the students chose pieces of tissue paper to tear, crumple, and glue onto their flowers.

In addition to promoting bilateral coordination, the science access point recognize a change in an object is addressed in this activity.

The flowers look fabulous—–especially with the addition of the students cute little faces 🙂

Ta DA!!!!

LANGUAGE GROUP

The weather was beautiful when we went outside and planted some flowers during our language group. We started by showing our students the flowers we were going to plant and they took turns smelling them.

Explore, observe, and recognize common objects in the natural world through observation is a science access point.

Each of our students got to take a turn planting their own flower and we worked through the steps with them—starting with digging a hole. Typically, a spade is used. But since we couldn’t find ours, we improvised and used a spoon 🙂

This is a great opportunity to address the science access point distinguish examples of soil from other substances.

Next, we took the flower and planted it in the hole.

As the soil is pushed back around the roots, the science access point recognize that pushing and pulling an object makes it move.

Recognize common objects related to science by name, such as plant is another science access point addressed.

Once the flowers were planted, we watered them and discussed the fact that water was a liquid. Then we watched as the soil soaked up the water.

Recognize that plants need water is a science access point.

Finally, our nice little garden was finished! Our gardeners were pretty proud of themselves and we were proud of them too!

Happy Spring!!!!

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

Oct5

Native Americans

Posted on October 5, 2014 by jd785

Native Americans

Some of our students are learning about Native Americans as part of their Unique Curriculum unit this month. We did a Native American unit a couple of years ago so figured it would be fun to revisit the activities with a few updates here and there. There were some fantastic boxes for our sensory group to explore while they learned some fun facts about Native Americans. Our fine motor group made drums and an awesome totem pole. The language group made comparisons between Native American lives in the past and what lives are like today.

SENSORY GROUP

This box was filled with items important for many tribes. Corn was an important food source for the Apalachee and Ponca tribes so corn kernels were a perfect base for this box. This was a “something for everyone” box with lots of fun things to discover.

We included other play food such as a corn cob, squash and fish—-types of food many tribes enjoyed. Strands of raffia represented “swamp grass” which the Chinook used to make baskets.

Animals like sheep, which the Navaho raised and horses that the Comanche rode could be found hidden in the kernels. Sioux and Arapaho lived in tipis like the one in our box! Finally we included the word “Family”.

The social studies access points recognize differences in food or clothing from other cultures is addressed with this box and recognize a characteristic of early Native Americans.

The Sioux, Omaha, Comanchee, and Arapaho tribes are known for wearing feathers. We filled this box with variety of feathers of all shapes and sizes. Full of ticklish fun, while a little messy—-feathers ended up everywhere—–this really was a great box for our students 🙂

The feathers have a wonderful tactile feel but they are also fun to toss up and watch drift down addressed the science access point track objects in motion.

We had an awesome jam session listening to some Native American music we recorded on the voice output device. Even some of our students who often need help to press the switches responded to the music—-we were pretty excited! Our students also enjoyed making their own music with shaker bottles made with acorns which the Yokuts ate and beads used by the Wampanoag, Cherokee, and Kiowa tribes.

The science access point recognize and respond to common sounds was addressed here.

The Pueblo play dough was made using Black Cherry and Orange koolaid. We thought the color turned out pretty perfect! Whether trying to make their own “pots” like the famous Pueblo pottery or using the deer cookie cutter—-the students had a great time exploring!

The math access point associate quantities with number names can be addressed as the deer are counted.

The science access point apply a push to move an object is also addressed.

The Zuni are famous for their beautiful turquoise jewelry. We thought our box of turquoise beans looked pretty beautiful also! Neon blue food coloring was used to achieve the color and while it is a great effect, get ready for some “blue” fingers!

Besides the wonderful feel as they sift through fingers, there were also 4 letter Z’s to find hidden among the beans.

Track objects in motion is a science access point that can be addressed here.

Of course that can be hard to do when your teacher is distracting you with kisses 🙂

Buffalo and deer were very important to many Native American tribes. The Comanchee hunted buffalo and the Arapaho wore buckskin clothing. This box contained some fake fur “buffalo” hide and ultra suede “buckskin” invited touch. We also included some matching beanie babies for our students to cuddle.

The social studies access point identify practices of Native American is addressed again here.

Many Native Americans gathered around campfires to celebrate special occasions. Our campfire was made by mixing yellow and red food coloring with shaving cream to make orange campfire “flames”.

As always, our messy play was a huge hit 🙂

Looking at how the shaving cream changes as the colors are mixed addresses the science access point of recognizing that the appearance of an object or material has changed.

We thought that juniper breeze scent from Bath and Body works was the perfect scent to represent the importance of nature to Native Americans. All the shaving cream we used was rinsed off with water scented with this nice outdoorsy aroma—–perfect.

Two different sized measuring cups were added to the water dish. They were great for rinsing and addressing the science access point recognize differences in sizes of containers that hold liquids!

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday after listening to some Native American drum music we made our own really cool drums! We started by cutting 2 squares into 4 triangles using our paper cutter.

Recognize common objects with 2 dimensional shapes and recognize parts of whole objects are math access points that can be addressed here.

Then we glued them onto a piece of rectangular paper. We started with a blue triangle then placed a red one.

Next we asked our students which color came next in the pattern—–this addresses the math access point recognize the next step in a simple pattern or sequence of activities!

After the paper was taped around a coffee can it was time for our drum circle! We put on some Native American music and the students joined in. They LOVED making their own music——so much fun!!!

On Thursday we made a super awesome totem pole! We covered some cereal boxes with art paper and let our students choose which box they wanted to decorate.

Use body movement or nonverbal expression to communicate preferences is a language access point.

Then we discussed body parts and asked the students to point out their eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.

Recognize one or more body parts is a science access point.

We also counted the pieces—–1 nose and 1 mouth, 2 eyes and 2 ears. The students used communication symbols to indicate their understanding of associate quantities 1 and 2 with number names.

They totally rocked this—–our students are so awesome!

Our wonderful volunteers had made a selection of stylized facial features for our students to choose from to decorate their totems. We placed glue on the boxes to reinforce the concept of one to one correspondence and eye hand coordination.

Match one object to a designated space to show one to one correspondence is a math access point.

TA DA!!! Our students were so excited about their totems and they loved when we stacked—–while counting, of course 🙂 them on top of each other to made a totem pole.

This is going to look SOOOO cool outside Jeannie’s classroom!

LANGUAGE GROUP

This week was all about comprehension for our language group. Before reading the book, we reminded our students to pay close attention to what was being read. We also reminded them to look closely at the pictures included.

After the book, we went around and asked our students a yes/no question, one-by-one. We printed out the pictures that were included in the book, along with modern items seen today that would contrast things Native Americans might have used a long time ago. For instance, with the canoe we put a car, with the headdress we put a baseball cap, with the breechcloth we put jeans, etc.

Use technology resources to support learning is a language access point.

We presented one picture at a time to each student and asked if it was something a Native American from long ago would have used. They had to indicate YES or NO using a pre-programmed voice output device with the Boardmaker symbols for yes/no located on it. If they answered incorrectly, we referenced the book to check our answers.

Listen and respond to stories and information text is a language access point.

After the comprehension check, we got the voice output used in the sensory group with Native American music on it and turned it on. We passed out the shakers used in the sensory group as well as drums and bells.

Our students played along to the music——so much fun!

It was another great week of fun and learning—–join us again Group by Group!

Apr13

The Circus

Posted on April 13, 2014 by jd785

The Circus

FSU High Flying Circus performs this month in Tallahassee and that inspired this weeks theme! We had a blast planning all our different groups—-with an emphasis on COLORFUL fun! Our book is fantastic and we are so grateful to all the people who helped us with the costumes (Ms. Kim and Ms. Robin), props (Mr. Noah, Ms. Harrison, and Ms. Christy), and painted backdrop (Ms. Judy).

SENSORY GROUP

We filled this box with popcorn kernels and some colorful cornstarch packing “peanuts”. We added a variety of animals you might see at the circus such as lions, horses, and elephants. Also included were some clown figures and a ringmaster puzzle piece (an amazing find on the giveaway table!). The big red pompoms——clown noses, of course!

It really was a fabulous box filled with fun! Our students had a great time discovering all the different items we had included.

Respond to new vocabulary that is introduced and taught directly is a language access point addressed here.

Apply a push to move an object is a science access point addressed when pushing the buttons on the animals.

Our next box was filled with our bright red moon sand. It has a great texture, soft yet firm enough to mold. Students used a cookie cutter to cut circle CLOWN noses in the moon sand. This was a nice big cookie cutter so they turned out really cool looking! Of course they also had fun just squishing it with their fingers.

Recognize common objects with two-dimensional shapes, such as a circle is a math access point addressed in this activity.

This fuzzy basket filler was so colorful and totally reminded us of cotton candy! Our students loved pulling it apart or waving and shaking it. We also put in two different size cups—-a “big” one and a “little” one for our students to fill up.

Solve problems involving small quantities of objects using language, such as enough, too much, or more.

Traditionally the floor of the circus tent is sawdust! We thought our yellow cornmeal looked a lot like sawdust—-especially when mixed with some potato flakes! It had a really cool tactile feel to which our students really responded. There was a letter C and a colorful clown picture to find as the sawdust was swept away. It’s always fun to see the smiles on the students faces when they discover the hidden picture.

Recognize that pushing and pulling an object makes it move is a science access point addressed in this activity.

Everybody loves the fabulous, colorful costumes that the circus performers wear. This box contained a piece of cool stretchy spandex that our students had a great time either wrapping around themselves……… or playing tug of war with a partner 🙂 This was a last minute addition and we were so glad we decided to include it!

Recognizing that pushing and pulling an object makes it move is again addressed in this activity.

We also included 4 of our discovery bottles filled with sequins, beads, and glitter—-just like the costumes. These were a huge hit——our students just LOVED them!

Track objects in motion is a science access point addressed in this activity.

Circus clowns do all sorts of silly things like throwing cream pies in each others faces 🙂 As usual, the students had a great time playing in the shaving cream. Whether practicing pre-writing designs or just rubbing it around it’s always a hit!

Track the movement of objects that are pushed or pulled is a science access point addressed in this activity.

Then we rinsed our hands in vanilla sugar scented water using bath gel from Bath and Bodyworks. A measuring cup and measuring spoon were included for scooping and pouring fun

Solve problems involving small quantities of objects or actions using language, such as enough, too much, or more is a math access point addressed here.

We finished with the yummy matching lotion, leaving our students smelling like delicious sweet circus treats! A fabulous way to remember all the fun we had!

The science access point recognize and respond to different types of sensory stimuli—-touch and smell—-is addressed as students smell the lotion and feel it rubbed on their skin.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

This week we decided to do a 2 part art project—–a fun clown costume! We started on Tuesday by making clown shoes out of shoe boxes.

First we discussed the color paint we were going to use and asked our students to show us the color “red” using communication symbols.

Identify objects by one observable property, such as color is addressed here.

Then, we used a circle shaped sponge to stamp on our 2 shoeboxes. This sponge has a little handle which made it easier for our students to hold. Our initial plan was to stamp polka dots but it turned out our sponge was a little to big for most of the shoeboxes so it became a paint tool instead—–and that worked out pretty well 🙂

Recognize a change in an object is a science access point addressed. The math access points recognize a common object with a two-dimensional shape and associate quantities 1 and 2 with number names are also addressed.

On Thursday we made a clown collar using the rim of a regular size paper paper plate. We found this idea at http://www.jugglingwithkids.com

The collar was decorated with colorful pompoms——lots of pincer grasp practice! We discussed the colors of the different pompoms and counted how many were put on each one.

Then, it was time to clown up!

First we put the silly clown shoes on our feet, the collar around our neck, and either a hat or wig on our head—–this addresses the science access point recognize one or more external body parts.

TA DA!

Let’s send in the clowns!!!!

LANGUAGE GROUP

We have found that this group of students does well when there is more movement involved, so we like to include that as much as we can. This week we set up some circus games focusing on taking turns—-sharing objects with a partner is also a science access point.

For our beanbag toss, Joy drew a circus scene on a large piece of paper, taped it to a piece of cardboard and cut a hole in the middle. When our students were at this game, we talked about throwing the beanbag IN the hole. Some of our students were able to do this independently while others required some hand-over-hand assistance.

Track objects that fall to the ground is a science access point that can be addressed in this activity.

Next, we got on the balance beam to practice tight-rope walking skills! We talked about walking ON the beam. Even our students in wheel chairs were able to participate in this game by an adult pushing them OVER the balance beam. We had them hold out their arms so they could maintain their balance 🙂

Another game the students played was bowling. We had to adapt this with some of our students by using a mat so the ball could roll DOWN to get to the pins. Our students had a blast with this, especially because the ball we used made noises when rolled—–perfect for our students with visual impairments.

The science access points track objects in motion and track the movement of objects that are pushed and pulled are addressed here.

Of course, we also counted all the pins and how many got knocked down!

For the last center, we pulled out a couple of the discovery bottles used in the sensory group as well as the stretchy material. Our students loved looking at all of the SHINY colors in the discovery bottles. They also enjoyed trying to see how LONG the material got when it was stretched—–recognize that pushing or pulling an object makes it move again addressed!

Although we didn’t get to see acrobats and gymnasts perform tricks, our students had lots of fun with the games.

Well, that wraps things up for this week! Be sure to join us again for more fun and learning—-Group by Group!

Apr6

Springtime in Tallahassee

Posted on April 6, 2014 by jd785

Springtime in Tallahassee

Flowers, birds, butterflies, eggs—-its springtime in Tallahassee! Spring is a really special time in our hometown and we had a great time celebrating the season this week. Our sensory group boxes were filled with bright colors and textures. The fine motor group made some fabulous butterfly and bird art projects. The language group dyed eggs in different ways and decided which way was the best!

SENSORY GROUP

We used some bright yellow basket filler as the base for this box. Then we put in a variety of flowers, carrots, eggs, bunnies, chicks—-all symbols of spring! There was also a little toy clock to remind us that daylight savings time happens around this time of year. We also included a pair of silly glasses with a flower motif, just for fun 🙂

Distinguishing between a plant and animal, which is part of learning about the organization and development of living organisms, is a science access point addressed in this activity.

Colorful beans—-what would we DO without food coloring!—-looked like tiny eggs scattered on our green rice lawn. Ok, this may totally be our new favorite rice box!

Visual and tactile discrimination skills are addressed as students find the letter S hidden amongst the beans and rice.

Springtime in Tallahassee means the Rough Riders are coming to visit our school before marching in the Springtime Tallahassee parade. These people are really wonderful as they bedeck everyone at the school with beads and give a teddy bear to each of our students—-how cool is that! In their honor, this box is filled with colorful beads and teddy bears. There were 2 bears in the box, 1 little and 1 big one to compare and contrast.

The access point recognize differences in size of objects, related to ordering objects by measurable attributes, is the math access point addressed in this activity. Another math access point addressed is recognize length of real objects, such as big, little, long, or short.

This lovely spring weather we are having, makes everyone think about planting gardens. Our garden box contained coffee ground dirt and some “carrot seeds” (actually brown beans) to plant. We also included some toy carrots and a little scoop. Our students had a great time with this box, they especially loved scooping up the dirt and filling the tops of the carrots!

Recognize that plants grow is a science access point addressed in this activity.

The math access point associate quantities with number names can also be addressed.

While some people plant vegetable gardens, other plant flowers in hopes of attracting butterflies! We have used our colorful pasta box before and we really love it——pink butterflies and green spiral pasta, just so pretty. A laminated butterfly picture and wooden caterpillar were also tucked into this box.

Students were encouraged to match the different pastas which addresses the math access point recognize two objects that are the same size or color.

Store shelves are filled with yummy spring treats including marshmallow peeps in a rainbow of colors. We mixed shaving cream, cornstarch, and some yellow food coloring to make our peeps. This mixture really does end up with a marshmallow consistency. It is light, soft, and moldable—–completely cool!

This is a totally fun and messy way to explore the science access point apply a push to move an object. Most of our students LOVED this gooey mess………others not so much 🙂

Well, that marshmallow mixture is quite messy so we rinsed our hands off in sun-ripened raspberry bath gel from Bath and Bodyworks! We thought a fruity scent was perfect since it reminded us again of spring gardens. Along with 2 different sized measuring scoops, we included a little carrot shaped container for more scooping fun.

Recognize differences in sizes of containers that hold liquids is a science access point addressed. Another one is recognize one way people use water.

We finished with the matching lotion—-leaving our students smelling like yummy little raspberries! The students liked the scent this week, it was quite a hit. Some of our students really anticipate this part of the group and immediately start putting out their hands when they see us bring out the bottle. Rubbing lotion on different body parts is a fun way to promote body awareness.

Recognize one or more external body parts is a science access point addressed in this activity.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

Our Tuesday art project evolved from an idea we got from Mr. Chris (thanks again!). We started with these cute and colorful butterfly placemats we got 2 for a dollar at Target—-we may have mentioned how much we love the dollar section before 🙂 We cut a butterfly stencil out of some black poster board (a freebie on the giveaway table—–another score!) using one of the placemats as a pattern.

Each student got a placemat and when it was their turn, we put the stencil on their placemat while they colored their butterfly with Crayola Pipsqueak markers. We like making our stencil black because we thought it helped reinforce where we wanted the color to go. The markers were used for 2 reasons. First, we like their size which works well for our students little hands. Second, markers have low friction and bright color—-as opposed to crayons—- which is more visually appealing to our students.

We also used our communication cards to work on color recognition as the markers were passed around the table.

This activity worked on lots of science access points including share objects with a partner, recognize a change in an object, identify objects by one observable property, and recognize a change in an object.

TA DA—-

our artists were just so proud!

For our Thursday art project we made little bird nests! We saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it fit perfectly with our springtime theme. Our students started by gluing green paper shred onto a small paper plate. Squeezing the glue works on hand strengthening and eye hand coordination is addressed as the paper is put onto the glue.

Next we used our adaptive scissors to cut 1 diamond shape into 2 triangles—–perfect little wings! Then we did it again because we are making 2 birds!

Recognize an object with a 2 dimensional shape is a math access point. In addition, associate quantities 1 and 2 with number names is another math access point addressed in this activity.

The wings were attached (with tape and a little help) to the 2 halves of a plastic egg that had been pre-decorated with googlie eyes and a beak.

Ta da, our little birdies are now tucked into their nests looking quite adorable!

Just like our students 🙂

LANGUAGE GROUP

We decided to have a little spring experiment! Since people dye eggs during the spring, we decided to find out which way is the best way to dye eggs. We used the colors pink and purple for our experiment. To obtain those colors, we used PAAS Egg Decorating Kit, McCormick’s Neon food coloring, and Kool-Aid.

We used small, clear, plastic cups so our students were able to see the eggs change color. Each cup had a label on it to show us which dye we were using.

We started by taking out a boiled egg which had been in the refrigerator and letting each student feel it. They were asked if it was WARM or COLD and also if it was HARD or SOFT. Then we brought out a plastic egg—-in some ways it was the SAME as the real egg but it was DIFFERENT in other ways!

Recognize the temperature of items as cool or warm is a science access point addressed by this activity.

Recognize similarities and differences in size of common objects is a math access point addressed.

After touching the eggs, the students each picked which color they wanted their real egg to become. Identify classroom objects by one observable property such as color is a science access point.

Very CAREFULLY, and without a lot of adult assistance, the students put their egg in the dye. Yes, we do like to live life on the edge 🙂

We used small, clear, plastic cups so our students could see the eggs as they changed color. Every few seconds, we used a spoon to stir the egg around.

After a few minutes, we lifted the eggs out of the dye and put them in the egg carton. They all came out so differently and SO colorful!

The students told us which egg they liked the BEST. After the eggs dried a little bit, the students put a sticker on the egg they liked the best to decorate it.

It was a neat experiment! The boldest colors came from the PAAS and the neon food coloring, while the Kool-Aid eggs had texture on them. It was lots of fun to see the differences!

As with all our groups this week, we finished by doing the chicken dance along with our dancing chicken 🙂

Fun! Fun! Fun!

Join us again next week for more fun, learning, and occasional dancing——Group by Group!

Mar16

Dr. Seuss

Posted on March 16, 2014 by jd785

Dr. Seuss

We were a little belated with our Seuss celebrations but had a blast anyway! The book Cara wrote last year was so much fun that we decided to use it again and our sensory group also did many of the same activities. Our fine motor group made some Truffula trees and a Lorax. The language group played a fishing game with rhyming words. Silly and seussical—–read along to see all the fun we had!

SENSORY GROUP

This box represents our very favorite cat—-that ONE with a hat! There were red, white, and black pompoms and chenille stems. Both the pompoms and chenille stems were so soft and fluffy but with different colors and shapes—-great for sorting! Our students had a great time with the box, especially enjoying waving the chenille stems around like cat tails. Others creatively joined the chenille stems together to make circles.

The science access point recognize common objects as the same is related to the practice of science.

The math access point recognize 3 dimensional objects, such as spheres is also addressed.

The “ABC “book is one of our favorites so we put lots of alphabet letters to find in our blue and white rice. A picture of the cat in the hat was also taped to the bottom of the box for more fun.

We just love that cat in the hat!

Finding the letters promotes visual and tactile discrimination.

There were a lot of fun animals included in the “If I ran the Zoo” box. It was also a noisy box since some of the animals roared or neighed when a button on their tummies was pushed——great for finger isolation! We found them in the dollar section at Target. We also included some play food for the animals and a little Duplo zoo keeper. The students also had a great time with the binoculars that were included in the box.

The science access points recognize common objects related to science by name, such as an animal and recognize a model of a real object are addressed here. These access points are related to learning the terms that describe examples of scientific knowledge.

We used these cool fabric balls to represent Trufulla trees and our students LOVED them! They were great to run fingers through or to wave and shake. Since we included 3 balls, they could be shared with friends for even MORE fun!

The math access point recognize when 1 or 2 items have been added to or removed from sets of objects to 3 is addressed.

Sharing objects with a partner is a science access point also addressed 🙂

Around here we LIKE green eggs! Our play dough came out a really beautiful shade of green, perfect for making green eggs with the cookie cutter.

Recognizing that pushing and pulling an object makes it move is the science access point related to forces and changes in motion.

The math access point recognize 2 objects that are identical to each other can also be addressed.

Well it just wouldn’t be a Dr. Seuss unit without oobleck and we LOVE LOVE LOVE this stuff! It really is amazing how cool a mixture of plain cornstarch and water can be.

Besides the science access point recognize that pushing and pulling an object makes it move the motion of objects is explored in the science access point track objects in motion.

Again, always more fun when shared with a friend 🙂

We searched for 1 red fish and 2 blue fish in our water play bowl. The blue fish squirted water when squeezed making for a fun way to rinse the oobleck off hands—–or squirt friends across the table 🙂

Properties of matter are explored in the science access point identify common classroom objects by one observable property, such as color.

Math access points are also addressed including recognize 2 objects that are identical to each other and recognize differences in size of objects.

We finished with our 10 apples on top Bath and Bodyworks country apple scented lotion. It was a nice, light fruity scent—–perfect for remembering all the fun we had in group.

Recognize and respond to one type of sensory stimuli is a science access point.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday we made some super cute Truffula trees. We adapted an idea we got from the PreK and K Sharing pin on Pinterest and loved how it turned out!

First our students chose which color background they wanted using communication symbols. We discussed the shape of the paper and then counted how many were passed out.

The language access point effectively communicate wants, with prompting, to a familiar person is addressed.

The science access point identify objects by one observable property, such as color and the math access point recognize common objects with 2 dimensional shapes are also addressed.

Then the students tore green paper to make “hills” and glued them down onto their papers. Both of these are great activities for promoting bilateral coordination!

The students really enjoyed the paper tearing step 🙂

It also addresses the science access point recognize a change in an object which promotes understanding that matter can undergo a variety of changes.

Changes in matter and bilateral coordination are again explored in the next step! Tissue paper—-as always, collected from presents past—–was squished and crumpled into balls.

The tissue balls were then dipped into glue and glued onto the paper.

Pat, pat, pat!

We used these super cool striped paper straws (thanks Courtney!) for tree trunks! They were a little tricky to glue down and while some of our students were able to do it independently, most needed some help aligning them along the glue line.

Ta Da—–soooooo SEUSSICAL!

Our Thursday art project was a Lorax! We started by asking our students to identify the color orange using our communication symbols. Most of our students needed a little help find the correct color but that’s ok—-we just will continue to have fun practicing!

The science access point identify objects by one observable property is addressed in addition to the language access point communicate information about familiar objects using non-verbal expressions, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words.

Then we counted out small paper plates—–discussing the circle shape to address the math access point recognize common objects with 2 dimensional shapes.

It’s so much fun to paint and our students are getting so good at using painting utensils! For our students with physical challenges, we taped a brush to a paint stick to make it easier for them to manage—-it works great! As they move their paintbrushes around the plate they are learning about changes in matter and addressing the science access point recognize a change in an object.

After we finished painting, it was time to add the features to the Lorax’s face. We discussed each body part before gluing it down and asked the students to find the same body part on themselves. Since our students do not have mustaches 🙂 we said it was supposed to go UNDER the eyes.

We used googlie eyes and an orange pompom nose. Joy drew the eyebrows and mustache (here is the pattern: lorax )which were cut out prior to the art activity.

This activity addresses the science access point recognize one or more external body parts.

It also addresses the science access point recognize a movement that reflects a spatial relationship.

Ta Da—-so cute!

LANGUAGE GROUP

Because we are talking about Dr. Seuss this week, what would be more appropriate than targeting rhyming words during our language group!

Our students got to play a fishing game to go with the Dr. Seuss book, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. The game has different colored fish that can be “caught” with a Velcro fishing pole.

Each student had a turn to catch a fish—–a great way to work on eye hand coordination!

Whatever color fish they caught, they had to identify a word that rhymed with it!

The students were given a choice of 2 different words to choose from. For example, if they caught the red fish, they would have to choose what “red” rhymed with: “bed” or “clean”.

Our students did pretty well with this task! If they were unable to figure out the correct rhyming word, the rest of the class helped them out.

Responding to patterns of language in read-aloud rhymes is a language access point.

For our students with a visual impairment students, Joy brought in a big fish that vibrates when it’s squeezed. This vibrating fish was just so much fun—–everyone wanted a chance to play with it 🙂

The science access point recognize and respond to one type of sensory stimuli is addressed here.

At the end of the game, we practiced putting all the fish back IN the fish bowl.

Well that is that for the cat in the hat! We are off for spring break next week——oh the places we are going to go 🙂

See you soon for more fun…..Group by Group!

Mar9

The Oscars

Posted on March 9, 2014 by jd785

The Oscars

With the Academy Awards all over the news these past couple of weeks, the Oscars seemed like a perfect theme for us! Cara’s book was a huge hit and as usual, our groups were tons of fun! In our sensory group each of our sensory boxes represented a different Oscar winning movie. In the fine motor group our students made some movie star art themed art projects. For our language group it was all about the red carpet experience! Read along to see all the fun we had.

SENSORY GROUP

Popcorn—-gotta have some at the movies! Our first box was filled with popcorn kernels and items related to our theme including: Disney princess figures, a pirate ship wreck, pirate beads, and an Indiana Jones duck! There was a “Music Man” maraca to shake and an Alice in Wonderland cupcake that squeaked. Since the Academy Awards take place in California, we tossed in a state magnet and finally—–a mini Oscar statue (thanks Ms. Caressa!) This was a great box—-something for everyone!

In addition to lots of opportunities for vocabulary building, science concepts of forces and changes in motion were explored with some of the items. Specifically the science access point recognize that pushing or pulling an object makes it move is addressed.

The world in spatial terms is also explored and the social studies access point associate an object, picture, or symbol with a location is addressed.

The students got to make their own Shrek ogres using our green Floam, some potato head features and 2 plastic pegboard pegs—–perfect ogre ears :). Floam has an interesting texture and while you can mold it, it doesn’t “feel” sticky. Pretty cool stuff!

It’s great for working on bilateral coordination as it is squished and molded into roundish heads.

We explored organization and development of living organisms addressing the science access point recognize one or more external body parts.

We loved the way our Wizard of Oz discovery bottle turned out! We mixed some green tinted hair gel with water and green glitter. Then we put in 3 red Barbie shoes—–they looked just like ruby slippers!

The Unique Curriculum intermediate unit this month explores the theme of movement so this bottle, along with other items in our boxes compliments it.

Science concepts of forces and motion are explored. In addition motion of objects is explored with the science access point track objects in motion.

Our Wizard of Oz box also included a slinky rainbow and this was a HUGE hit with our students! Some of them loved SLOWLY pulling it apart. Others pulled it as wide as they could make it and then shook it to see it vibrate. Either way——–fun was had!

Of course forces and changes in motion were explored with the science access point recognize that pushing and pulling an object makes it move. Forms of energy are explored with the access point recognize the change in motion of an object.

The students had so much fun with our Pirates of the Caribbean box! Along with tons of sparkly gold beads were an eye patch and hook so they could get into character if they wanted.

Again the science access point recognize external body parts is explored. In addition tool use is practiced as the hook plunders for beads—-arrgg!

The number 3 and 3 plastic snakes were buried in the sand of our Indiana Jones box—–guess he probably wouldn’t like this box very much 🙂

The science access point match animals that are the same can be addressed with this activity. This access point is related to the concept of diversity and evolution of living organisms.

Recognizing when 1 or 2 items have been added to or removed from sets of objects to 3 is a math access point addressed. This access point is related to developing understandings of multiplication and division and strategies for basic multiplication facts and related division facts.

Blue “genie” oobleck——for Aladdin of course!!!! We sprinkled blue raspberry Koolaid onto our oobleck observing as it changed from white to blue!

As usual, fun was had as our little scientists pushed, pulled, and grabbed handfuls of this gloppy goo 🙂

Recognizing that the appearance of a material has changed is a science access point related to the concept of changes in matter.

For our nod to Snow White we washed the oobleck off hands and arms using an apple sponge. The water was scented with lavender vanilla scented bath gel from Bath and Bodyworks chosen because when Snow White ate the apple she fell asleep…….and lavender makes you feel relaxed…… Ok, kind of a stretch but we went with it 🙂

Properties of matter are addressed with the science access point recognize water as a liquid.

The matching lotion was used to send our students off with memories of all the things they learned. Recognize and respond to different types of sensory stimuli is the science access point addressed and is related to the organization and development of living organisms concepts.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

Our Tuesday art project had the students putting their own stars on the Hollywood walk of fame! The students counted the sides of our grey rectangular piece of paper—-and then we counted out one for each student. After they “wrote” their names, we painted their hands with dark grey paint and stamped them onto the paper.

Using appropriate vocabulary to compare shapes according to attributes and properties is promoted as the math access point recognize common objects with 2 dimensional shapes is addressed in this activity.

The students chose which glittery star they wanted and then glued a picture of their face onto the star.

Squeezing the glue is great for hand strengthening of course! Pincer grasp skills and eye hand coordination are promoted when placing the picture.

Effectively communicating wants and needs to a familiar person using gestures is a language access point.

The star was then glued down onto the paper and——–

TA DA!!!!!

A few new stars on the Hollywood walk of fame!

On Thursday we made our own little Oscar statues!

Joy drew an outline of an Oscar onto gold colored paper. You can print out the outline here: oscar award. It was then glued onto a toilet roll so it could stand up.

Glue was diluted with water and the students used a paint brush to apply it to the paper.

Recognizing that pushing and pulling an object makes it move is a science access point addressed as the students paint with their brushes.

Gold glitter was then added for that authentic look 🙂

While some of our students were able to able the glitter independently, most of them needed a little help.

We stopped periodically to ask them “do we need more?”. They used a Go Talk to communicate whether they needed to add more glitter or if they were all done.

Solving problems involving small quantities of objects or actions using language such as enough, too much, or more is a math access point related to understandings of addition and subtraction.

Using technology resources to support learning is a language access point.

The finished product looked fabulous!

We’d like to thank the Academy………..

LANGUAGE GROUP

We’ve talked about some movies that have won Oscars. We’ve earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and received an Oscar. Now it’s time to walk down the red carpet! But of course, before getting near the red carpet, we need to be dressed for the occasion.

We printed out pictures of all of the different things we could wear and bring to the red carpet, such as sunglasses, sports coats, feather boas, top hats, and earrings. The pictures were put on an All-Turn-It Spinner which was activated using a switch.

Our students took turns activating the switch and seeing what they would be wearing. A couple of our students were able to verbalize what they landed on.

Using an input device, such as a switch to interact with a technology resource is a language access point.

We talked about putting the clothes/objects ON. It was neat to see how many of our students got so excited to dress up! Such a fun way to practice dressing skills!

But really, who doesn’t get a LITTLE excited about getting all fancy 🙂

Communicating recognition of familiar objects and communicating about a selected object are language access points.

Time for a quick interview with Entertainment News…….

then off to the red carpet!

We had taped down some red paper to act as our red carpet. One by one our little movie stars walked the red carpet and were photographed in their fancy attire. They had fun with that!

After the red carpet they were treated to a movie on the smart board. Our version of the Oscars was a success! So much so that a couple of our students didn’t want to give back their costumes 🙂 Sadly, they had to and we talked about taking things OFF.

Hope you enjoyed seeing all the fun we had with the Oscars. Be sure and come back next week—–there will be more fun and learning Group by Group!

Feb9

Winter Olympics

Posted on February 9, 2014 by jd785

Winter Olympics

It was all about the Sochi Winter Olympic Games this week! We learned about the Winter Olympics, the country of Russia, and had fun competing in some games of our own.

Our students are learning about maps as part of their Unique Curriculum unit this month so our theme reinforced some of the concepts they were learning about. Read along to see all our activities.

SENSORY GROUP

We looked at a map and traced the way east from the USA to Russia. It is a long way and to get there you have to ride on an airplane. We used a vibrating massager to get the feeling of the engine vibrations. The massager had 2 different speeds which made for a lot of fun—-higher speed if you are flying on a super jet! Most of our students really liked the massager but for those who were more tactile averse, we turned it off completely and let them just touch the soft velvety covering.

Recognizing and responding to different types of sensory stimuli is a science access point.

Recognizing a map is a social studies access point.

The colors of the Russian flag are red, white and blue—-just like ours! Hidden underneath our rice was a map of Russia and the letter S to find (we hid 3 in the rice).

We really enjoy watching the progress of our students as we see some of them begin to realize that there is something to discover as they brush the rice aside.

Associating a picture with a place is a social studies access point.

The Olympic flag has 5 colorful rings. Our next box had big, fluffy chenille stems in the colors of the rings. Our students practiced making circles and linking them together. Most of our students needed help forming the circles but they ALL had fun trying 🙂

The social studies access point recognizing important events in artifacts is a social studies access point.

Recognizing 2 dimensional shapes is a math access point.

Identifying objects by one observable property such a color is a science access point.

One of the most popular olympic sports is ice hockey. Our students used a circle cutter to cut hockey pucks out of the black play dough. This is the same play dough we made for our pirate unit. It was kept in the fridge and has lasted quite nicely!

Recognizing 2 dimensional shapes is a math access point.

Recognizing the appearance of an object or material has changed is a science access point.

Ice skating is another super popular sport. Our discovery bottle was filled with sparkly glitter, beads and sequins—-like the costumes the athletes wear. The familiar Olympic fanfare theme could be heard when the voice output device was pressed. Our students really enjoyed both of these items!

The science access point of tracking objects in motion is addressed here.

Apply a push to move an object is another science access point addressed.

The next box was filled with leaves and flowers like the bouquets winners receive. Our students loved picking them up, tossing them into the air and watching them drop back down. They also loved finding the medals and quickly putting them around their necks……… BUT the most popular item was the little Sochi bear. He came all the way from Russia and was donated by one of our followers, Gena—-thanks so much!

Indicating that an object has fallen is a science access point.

Explore, observe, and recognize common objects in the natural world is another science access point addressed.

We are learning about the WINTER games so we had to include some snow—-the shaving cream version this week! It was perfect for tracing the letter S for snow and SOCHI!

Apply a push or pull to move an object is the science access point addressed here.

Hands were rinsed in Bath and Bodyworks Candy Apple scent. We got it on clearance and decided it worked for our unit—-who wouldn’t want to eat candy apples and watch the Olympics!

Measuring cups were included for scooping fun and to address the math access point recognizing differences is sizes of containers that hold liquids.

Recognizing and responding to one type of sensory stimuli is another science access point addressed.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday for our art project we made bobsleds. In preparation, toilet paper rolls were pinched and one end stapled together. For safety, we put masking tape over the staples.

Then we gave our students the option of painting their sled red, white, or blue. They used the communication symbols to choose their color and then pointed to the paint that matched the color they chose—-they did a really good job!

The science access point identify objects by one observable property is addressed here.

The language access point communicating a preference for familiar objects is also addressed.

The students then painted their bobsleds, addressing the science access point recognizing that the appearance of an object has changed.

After they bobsleds were painted, adults hot glued popsicle sticks to the bottom.

With the addition of some USA flag stickers—-our bobsleds are ready for competition.

Go Team USA!

On Thursday we made a Russian flag. We started by counting the sides of a white rectangle and also counting the rectangles as they were passed out. The math access points recognizing common objects with 2 dimensional shapes and recognizing the sides of a square or rectangle are addressed here.

Then we used our paper cutter to cut strips of red and blue paper—–making 2 more rectangles!

The science access point apply a push or pull to move an object is addressed when using the paper cutter. It is also excellent for promoting a pincer grasp!

The blue strip was glued to the bottom of the white paper and the red strip on top of that. Sochi 2014 was then glued into the middle.

Recognizing a movement that reflects a spatial relationship is a math access point addressed.

Another math access point is recognize when an object is added to a situation.

Ta Da……. a fabulous Russian Flag!

Hurray for Sochi 2014!!!

LANGUAGE GROUP

We decided to have a Winter Olympics event during our language group this week. It’s always so nice to be able to reiterate something we have talked about before, and since we had recently gone over FIRST, SECOND, and THIRD, having an event just seemed appropriate. Recognizing the next step in a simple sequence is a math access point.

We made our bobsleds from some toy boats we found on the give away table—–they were perfect! There were even slots so we could add little people. We cut out some cardboard and made each of our students a bobsled teammate by adhering their picture to a small piece of cardboard. They always love to see their picture and it makes the activity so much more personal.

Identify picture of self is a language access point.

We placed the teammates face down and our students got to pick 3 teammates to race each other randomly. Putting the racers in their bobsled was a great fine motor activity!

Once the racers were placed in their bobsled, it was time to race. A long, skinny cardboard box covered in white paper made a perfect bobsled run—-very authentic looking 🙂

On your mark…get set…GO!

The students had to wait until they heard “go!” which appeared to be harder than it sounds, but they did a great job. They had so much fun watching the bobsleds go down, cheering for their friends, and seeing who won FIRST, SECOND, and THIRD place.

Tracking moving objects is a science access point.

After a few races, we had the awards ceremony. We used a voice out device to play the Olympic fanfare as we handed out the medals—-donated by Jimmy the intern. Thanks Jimmy!

Obviously the medals were a huge hit 🙂

We had a great time learning about the Winter Olympics this week. Join us again next week for more fun and learning Group by Group!

Feb2

Islam

Posted on February 2, 2014 by jd785

Islam

Our regular followers will notice that we do not have a separate book post this week. The reason for this is that we have been wanting to do a unit on Islam for a long time but had difficulty coming up with a meaningful approach for our students. At our last school book fair, we came across the book Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns a Muslim book of colors by Hena Khan. It is a beautiful book that was perfect for our unit. We contacted Ms. Khan and she graciously gave us permission to use the book in any way we chose—-how cool is that!

We hope you enjoy seeing some of the things we learned about the Muslim faith AND please consider adding Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns to your own library collection.

SENSORY GROUP

The first sentence of each of our color boxes is a paraphrase of Ms. Khan’s poetry, and the reason behind the contents choices.

Silver is a glowing fanoos (lantern). We made our lantern by putting some battery operated lights and silver garland in a clear shoebox.

Our students love looking at lights and so this box was both pretty and fascinating for our students—-and for some of the adults also 🙂

This addresses the science access point recognizing sources of light.

Red is the color of the rug that is kneeled upon to pray to Mecca each day. We filled our first box with an assortment of yarn, wool, and chenille strands—–the kinds of materials that might be used to make rugs. Pompoms were also included to compare/contrast component: the pompoms are soft like the yarn strands but round rather than long and thin.

Our students really loved all the differing textures in this box! They love pulling the yarn apart, shaking it around, and……seeing how far it would stretch!

The science access point identify objects by one observable property, such as color—-in this case red—-is addressed in this activity.

The math access point identify 3 dimensional objects (sphere) is also addressed.

Gold is the color of dome of the mosque. For this box we put in a mixture of hard gold beads and soft gold garland. Our students love shiny things that they can shake and move so this box was a definite favorite! It was also fun seeing which textures different students preferred, for most of them the beads were a clear favorite 🙂

Exploring the materials using vision and touch addressed the science access point explore, observe, and recognize common objects in the natural world. Applying a push or pull to move an object can be addressed 🙂

The math access point recognize length of real objects, such as long or short is also addressed.

White is the color of a round, flat kufi hat. The illustration in Ms. Khan’s book shows a group of men drinking tea so we used tea leaves as a base for this box. While we have used our tea leaves for other themes, it has been fairly infrequently so it is still a novel substance for our students. They were definitely intrigued by it’s texture and aroma. We also added 3 round, white foam core circles to represent the kufi hats.

We discussed where hats were worn and asked students to touch their heads addressing the science access point recognize external body parts.

The math access points identify 2 dimensional objects and solve problems involving joining or separating sets of objects to 3 are also addressed in this activity.

Purple is the color of Eid (an Islamic holiday) gifts. We put a variety of purple paper shred and ribbons in this box along with 3 small purple toys. Our students had a lot of fun discovering the hidden treasures and some of the toys had moving parts—–perfect for practicing fine motor skills!

Identifying objects by one observable property is the science access point again addressed in this activity.

Yellow is the color of the box filled with zakat for those in need. Our box was filled with yellow rice and 3 plastic coins for our students to find. There was also a picture of 2 children in traditional muslim attire hidden underneath the rice. The students really enjoyed discovering the items in this box—-especially the coins!

The social studies access points recognize differences in clothing from other cultures and recognize coins as money are addressed here.

Orange is the color of henna used to draw designs on hands. Orange oobleck became our henna this week. We made it a little thin ——-perfect for dripping designs on to hands!

The science access points track objects in motion and recognizing external body parts are addressed here.

Brown is the color of sweet dates eaten at Ramadan. While we wanted to reference the scent of dates in our lotion and water play it was a little challenging since dates are not an item found readily in our area or a scent found on bath product shelves. We went through our collection and the consensus was that our plumeria scent was the closest to the scent of dates! So while not perfect, the point is to give our students an olfactory component to help them remember the information they learned—-so it still works.

Our students used the date/plumeria scented water to rinse the “henna” off of their hands—-addressing the science access point recognize one way people use water.

We used our sense of smell to explore the lotion and the science access point recognize and respond to one type of sensory stimuli and well as the science access point recognize external body parts as it was applied to hands, necks, and arms.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday we made our own orange henna hands! We started by tracing each students hands on white paper. Then our students were asked to identify the color orange using our communication symbols.

This addresses the science access point identify an object by one observable property, such as color.

Next we used a variety of orange markers to decorate the hands. The bright orange color really contrasted nicely with the white paper—–addressing the science access point recognize a change in an object.

Adults cut out the paper hands as our students cutting skills are still at the emergent level. The students then glued their henna hands down onto blue rectangular paper.

Spatial relations, hand strengthening, and eye hand coordination are addressed with this activity.

The math access points recognize 2 dimensional shapes and recognize a movement that reflects a spatial relationship, such as up and down are also addressed.

TADA—-look at our henna hands! They are fabulous!!!!

On Thursday for our art project we made fanoos! We started with folded rectangles of gilded wallpaper. This paper was perfect for our project and best of all—–free 🙂 Discussing the shape of the paper addresses the math access point recognize 2 dimensional shapes.

As the students chose which paper they wanted for their lantern they are communicating their preferences—–a language access point!

We used our adaptive tabletop scissors to cut slits in the paper—–counting as we snipped, of course!

As the slits are cut into the paper it is changed, addressing the science access point recognize a change in an object.

We really wanted to get the affect of a twinkling lantern so we put some battery operated lights in a clear plastic cup. Once our fanoos were put together (using double stick tape) we slipped them over the cup.

Pretty darn magical—–if we do say so ourselves 🙂

LANGUAGE GROUP

To reinforce all the new words we have been learning, we played Bingo! Everyone got a different Bingo sheet with pictures from Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns.

One of our students acted as the “caller” and was put in charge of pushing the All-Turn-It switch to determine which picture to find. We reviewed the Muslim vocabulary words that were associated with each picture, such as “zakat,” “Eid,” and “kufi.”

Responding to new vocabulary that is introduced and taught directly is a language access point.

Our students did a great job of finding the same picture on their board. They also did well with asking for help (either by vocalization or using their Pixon boards) if they could not find the picture.

Picking up the tokens and placing them on a picture reinforces lots of fine motor skills including pincer grasp and eye hand coordination. It also addresses the math access point match one object to a designated space to show one-to-one correspondence.

Seek assistance to clarify the meaning of pictures, symbols, or words in classroom activities is a language access point.

And of course, the best part of Bingo is when you can yell “BINGO!” You could tell our students have played this game before because no prompting was needed 🙂

This was so much fun and needless to say, we played quite a few more rounds before our time was up.

Using language and nonverbal expression for specific purposes is a language access point.

We had a great time this week despite the polar blast that left icy roads and classes cancelled. We really enjoyed Ms. Khan’s book and again thank her so much for allowing us to use it.

Please join us again next week at Group by Group——-the Winter Olympics are coming to our school!

Jan27

Winter

Posted on January 27, 2014 by jd785

Winter

It is pretty chilly out there—-even in our part of the country 🙂 Perfect timing for this weeks winter theme! We explored a variety of wintery textures and scents in our sensory group. Our art projects were all about snowmen in our fine motor group, and in the language group we explored the concepts of warm and cold.

We also brought back our snowflake umbrella which was a hit in all the groups.

SENSORY GROUP

We made our snowflake umbrella by using packing tape to attach a variety of dollar store snowflakes to a clear umbrella. Then we strung silver and white beads, snowflake ornaments and white pompom yarn from the spokes and around the edge. It looks pretty fabulous—–if we do say so ourselves 🙂

Our students were quite entranced and loved watching the dancing snowflakes when the umbrella was slowly twisted back and forth.

The science access point tracking objects in motion is addressed here.

This artificial snow (a purchased powder with added water) is pretty fantastic, it looks and feels like the real thing—-especially when put into the fridge for a few minutes! It certainly had our students quite fascinated, they were not quite sure what to make of this interesting texture.

Just like the real thing, we were able to make small snowballs by grabbing a handful and squeezing it together—-FUN!

The science access point explore, observe, and recognize common objects in the natural world is addressed here.

We made more snowballs with our white Floam. This stuff with its’ slightly tacky texture is perfect for making snowballs because it molds and sticks together easily.

Of course, some of our students got even more creative 🙂

The science access point recognize a change in an object is addressed and the math access point recognize 3 dimensional shapes (sphere) are addressed in this activity.

More snow fun with our shaving cream and cornstarch mixture—-equal parts of both. This stuff is really just so COOL! It is squishy but can be molded and has such an interesting texture.

Recognizing that pushing an pulling an object makes it move is the science access point addressed here.

All that snow sure looks like fun BUT we don’t get many white winters around here. So as a nod to our Florida winters we HAD to include a box with sand!

We used our moonsand for this box. It is more dense than sandbox sand and more like the sand you would find on a beach. A round cookie cutter was included. Our students had fun using the cookie cutter to make circles in the sand. Some of them also went ahead and made some Florida “snowballs” 🙂

The science access point recognize a change in an object is addressed here. The math access points recognize a 2 and 3 dimensional objects is also addressed.

Brrr—-time to warm up by the fire! We made our “fire” by attaching colorful shiny ribbon strips to our switch operated fan. It was fun watching the smiles and giggles of our students as the ribbons fluttered and the breeze hit their faces.

Indicating awareness of air moving is the science access point addressed here.

We used the “chimney” scent from our Follow Your Nose Game to add to the sensory experience of this activity. We started by holding it near our students noses but then got the idea (thanks to Jimmy our new OT intern) to hold it behind the fan so the aroma really wafted around the room!

Recognize and respond to different types of sensory stimuli is another science access point addressed in this activity.

This pompom yarn would make a wonderful warm afghan to snuggle under on a cold winters day! Our students love its’ soft texture. Some of them like to drape it around their shoulders or heads while others just love to pull it apart or shake it around.

Then you have those who like to do BOTH 🙂

The science access points addressed here are use senses to recognize objects and recognize that pushing and pulling an object makes if move.

We made this discovery bottle by mixing a little bit of glitter glue, glitter, and snowflake confetti—-we were really pleased with the way it turned out. The snowflakes looked so pretty as they swirled and drifted around with the glitter.

Tracking objects in motion is the science access point addressed with this bottle.

Twisted peppermint from Bath and Bodyworks was our scent this week. Whether scooping water with our measuring cups (and addressing the math access point recognize differences in containers that hold liquids) or indicating which body part to rub the lotion on (addressing the science access point recognize external body parts)——it was the perfect cool aroma to help us remember our winter theme!

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday we started our group by talking about snow globes. We brought out our snowflake umbrella so our students could experience what it felt like to be in a snow globe.

They really got so excited when it was their turn to be under the umbrella and were very good about just touching (rather than pulling at) the dangling items.

Our students got to work on the art project by using a small circle punch to cut out pictures of their faces. This was a little tricky and they did need some help with alignment. To make it easier to use the punch, we had the students push down on the lever rather than try to pinch it. Either the way, it is still a great hand strengthening activity.

After punching out their faces, they glued them onto a snowman. The snowman was made using heavy card stock and glued to a card stock circle—–thanks again to Jimmy the intern!

In addition to eye hand coordination, the math access point recognize a 2 dimensional shape (in this case circle) is addressed.

Then we instructed the students to scoop 3 spoonfuls of artificial snow into a small clear plastic cup. We used our number chart to help our students identify the number 3. Most of our students still need help in this area.

The math access points recognize quantities 1 to 3 using objects, pictures, or number names and solve problems involving joining or separating sets of objects to 3 are addressed in this activity.

The adults hot glued the cup to the snow man base and VOILA—–a snow globe!

Our students were pretty fascinated with their creations and kept turning them around to watch the snow move about. Tracking the movement of objects that are pushed or pulled is the science access point addressed here.

Such cute little snowmen!

On Thursday we made melted snowman pictures. We have seen this art project all over Pinterest and thought it would be perfect for our students.

We started by discussing the colors (blue and white) in our project and asking our students to point to the color using our communication symbols.

Identify common objects by one observable property, such as color is the science access point addressed here.

Recognizing a 2 dimensional shape—-the rectangle paper—-is a math access point.

Then we used paint sponges to paint our mixture of glue, shaving cream, and fake snow onto the paper. We saw the idea for adding the fake snow on the Growing a Jeweled Rose blog—-such a great blog with so many creative ideas!

Applying a push or pull to move an object is a science access point addressed.

Recognizing a change in an object is another science access point addressed.

Next we added paper hats, scarves, triangle noses, and googlie eyes onto our mixture. The beauty of this project is that is doesn’t matter where they go as long as they are on the glue! Thanks to our volunteer Courtney for cutting out all the little pieces!

We also added the words “my melted snowman” to increase the literacy component.

The math access point recognize when an object is added to a situation is addressed in this activity.

TA DA!

These pictures are super cute—-and when dry the shaving cream and glue mixture will feel just like puffy paint!

LANGUAGE GROUP

Today our focus was on teaching the concept of cold versus warm. We had 5 different objects that were found around the room, such as metal spoons, scissors, and jars. We used 2 of each object. One of the objects was left out and the other object was put in the freezer or the refrigerator (i.e., one spoon in the freezer, one left out and so on).

We made a small board with the Boardmaker symbols for “cold” and “warm” on it. Each student got to feel an object and indicate if it was cold or warm using either their words or indicating the picture symbol.If the student had difficulty correctly indicating, we would place a warm object and a cold object on their cheeks and ask them to show which one was cold/warm. This helped them to decipher the difference a little easier.

The science access point recognize the temperature of items as cool or warm is addressed in this activity.

The language access point communicate about a selected object using nonverbal expression, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words is also addressed.

After going through each object, we decided it was time to warm up with some hot chocolate—-of course for safety it will actually be “warm” chocolate! First we opened the package and let our students smell the chocolaty goodness!

This addresses the science access point recognize and respond to one type of sensory stimuli. They definitely recognized and responded to this scent 🙂

We emptied the chocolate powder into a cup and added water. This addresses the math access point recognize when an object is added to a situation.

Each of the students took turns stirring the mixture, addressing the science access points apply a push or pull to move an object and sharing objects with a partner.

And what good is warm chocolate without marshmallows! We drew out a number board with 1, 2, and 3 written on it along with dots under the numbers. The students chose how many marshmallows they wanted in their drink and we counted them out as they were put on the number line. We counted them again as they were dropped into the student’s cups.

In addition to working on pincer grasp skills, the math access point match objects to marked spaces to show one-to-one correspondence for quantities 1 to 3.

And, of course, it also addresses the language access point communicate a preference for familiar objects.

After tasting its yummy goodness, our students again used the Boardmaker symbols to indicate if the chocolate was warm or cold.

That is all for this week, join us again for more fun and learning—–Group by Group!