Tag Archives: eye hand coordination

Dec15

Christmas Traditions

Posted on December 15, 2013 by jd785

It was a busy week with a special program affecting our group schedule a little but we still had fun exploring our Christmas Traditions theme! Cara used pictures submitted by staff members for her book and our students really enjoyed looking at the pictures and labeling things they saw—-such as the Christmas tree and Santa Claus. Our sensory boxes were bright and colorful with lots of Christmas related items to explore. The fine motor group had two cute projects and the language group went on a Christmas parade!

Sensory Group

Colorful lights are a Christmas tradition that we find decorating trees and houses. We put 2 sets of colorful battery operated lights and some shiny garland in this box. The garland reflected the lights and made the box even more eye catching—–and mesmerizing 🙂

This one was a favorite!

This addresses the science access point recognizing sources of light.

This box was filled with plastic pine branches and holly leaves. We also put in some red garland, shiny beads, and a little Christmas stocking. All sorts of fun textures and items to explore! Of course, we had to include a couple of Santas, a little elf, a wrapped present, a nutcracker, and some jingle bells—all traditional Christmas symbols.

We also included a voice output device with the song Jingle Bells—-it got played ALOT 🙂

Science access points addressed include recognizing common objects related to science by name, such as plant and recognizing a model of a real object.

This activity also addresses the social studies access point, associating a celebration with an event, such as a holiday.

Red and green are considered Christmas colors. We put shiny, hard beads and soft, round pom poms in this box.

Lots of opportunities to compare and contrast materials. It addresses the science access point identifying common objects by one observable property, such as color. It also addresses the science access point recognizing two objects that are identical to each other.

The math access point recognizing a 3 dimensional object (sphere) is also addressed.

Red and green are also the colors of our rice box—-red rice and green split peas! Wow, this was such a pretty box—so eye catching! Hidden in the box were 3 letter C’s to find. We also taped some Christmas tree wrapping paper to the bottom of the box—-a fun picture to find as the rice was pushed aside.

In addition to tactile and visual discrimination skills, the science access point of applying a push to move an object is addressed.

A giant Christmas tree cookie cutter was used with our peppermint scented green playdough. Although is smelled pretty yummy, our students did a really good job of refraining from tasting it!

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

As more than 1 tree is formed, the science access point recognizing two objects that are identical to each other is also addressed.

We swirled red food coloring into our “candy cane” oobleck. It turned out pretty cool—starting out with swirling color and ending up a delightful pink!

As usual, our students loved playing with it—oobleck is simply amazing stuff 🙂

The science access points recognizing a change in an object and recognizing that pushing and pulling an object makes it move are addressed here.

This week, we found our scent at Joann’s—-Gingerbread!

We used the water to rinse the oobleck off our hands AND address the science access point recognizing water as a liquid.

As well as the science access point observing and recognizing that people need water —to clean off oobeck, of course 🙂

The matching lotion smelled very yummy and after the students had smelled the lotion, we asked them which body part they wanted the lotion rubbed on. This scent was a real hit, ALL our students loved it!

This activity addresses the science access point recognizing external body parts and the language access point communicating a preference for a familiar action.

Fine Motor Group

On Tuesday we made some super cool reindeer using floor puzzle pieces. We have done this before and we liked them so much, we decided to do it again! Our super volunteer, Sarah, glued the pieces together for us.

We started by using our sponge brushes to paint the reindeer brown.

Recognizing a change in a object is addressed as the white puzzle pieces become brown.

Next we asked our students to find their eyes, then put 2 round googlie eyes on their reindeer. Placing the googlie eyes helps to promote pincer grasp skills.

It also addresses the science access point recognizing external body parts.

Rudolph needs a bright shiny red nose, of course! We added a cute pompom noses after asking the students to find their own nose.

Again, this activity addresses pincer grasp skills and identifying external body parts.

Our students were thrilled with their reindeer!

Time to run, run Rudolph—-

TaDA!

On Thursday, our students turned into little elves!

We started by discussing the color of the paper we were going to use. Our students did a great job of finding the color green. We were so excited when we realized that everyone had answered correctly!

Identifying classroom objects by one observable property, such as color is a science access point addressed here.

Then we used our paper cutters and electric scissors to turn our green rectangles into triangles!

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

The math access point recognizing 2 dimensional shapes is also addressed.

Time to add some decorations—working on pincer grasp and eye hand coordination skills!

Of course, we counted each decoration as it was added to the hat.

We glued the hat onto our pre-made faces, made from paper plates (thanks again Sarah!).

Elves ready and reporting to work 🙂

HO HO HO

Language Group

After reading Cara’s book, we made Christmas cards for the other elementary classes. The students got to pick what they wanted on the front of the cards by activating the All-Turn-It spinner. The pictures on the spinner were: Christmas tree, Santa Claus, bells, angel, reindeer, snowman, and an elf.

Our students did so well watching the spinner and they are also learning not to hit the switch but to push it to activate it.

The language access point, use technology resources to support learning is addressed here.

After finishing up the cards, we dressed our students up with different Christmas props. We let them look in the mirror to see themselves which is always fun to do. The different props we had coincided with the different pictures that were on the spinner. We talked about putting things “on” and trying not to take them “off”.

Responding to specific information about familiar objects and routines is a language access point addressed here.

We also made sure everyone had some jingle bells 🙂

Time for a Christmas parade! We went over who was “first” and who was “last” then we turned on some Christmas music, rang bells, and paraded through the halls to deliver the cards. SO FUN!

Surprisingly, the props stayed on our students the entire time! The students in the other classrooms loved watching our language group parade around their room!

The math access point, recognizing the next step in a simple pattern or sequence of activities is addressed here.

Responding to familiar persons is a language access point addressed.

It’s been a great celebration these past 2 weeks, but now we’re all ready for a break! Since next week there are only 2 full days of school, we decided not to have groups. We’ll see you in 2014 with some more fun Group by Group!

Nov10

Jukebox

Posted on November 10, 2013 by jd785

Jukebox

This was such a great week, our students love music so this was the perfect theme for them! We had fun coming up with sensory boxes that matched the different musical genres for our sensory group. The fine motor group had fun making musical instruments and we had a dance party in the language group!

SENSORY GROUP

These wands that light up when tapped made perfect “drum sticks” (found at Target) for our rock and roll box. Way fun, the sticks were perfect for drumming and the flashing lights reminded us of light shows at a rock concert! Needless to say, these were a huge hit with our students.

Recognizing that pushing and pulling an object makes it move is a science access point. In addition, recognizing the change in the motion of an object—-when the lights stop—is another science access point.

Our classical music box was black and white just like the keys of a piano. We added black beans to white rice to get the effect. A piece of sheet music was taped to the bottom of the box and we put a large letter M inside. Most of our students used their hands to explore the box—-they love the way the rice feels and looks as it shifts around. A few, however, used the large M kind of like a scraper to move large amounts of the rice and beans around.

The science access point of recognizing that pushing and pulling an object makes it move is addressed again with this activity.

As the sheet music and letter M are covered and uncovered the math access point of recognizing when an object is added to or taken away from a situation is addressed.

Our lava lamp discovery bottles were a HUGE hit with our students! One was filled with water, corn syrup, gold glitter, and some plastic jewels. The other was filled with water (tinted purple), green tinted corn syrup, cooking oil, glitter and some beads……

Totally groovy 🙂

The science access point tracking the movement of objects that are pushed or pulled is addressed with these bottles.

There are have been so many fabulous musicals and one of the most popular today is Wicked.

We whipped up some pretty wicked oobleck this week using green food coloring and black glitter. It was pretty thick so it slowly dripped down from fingers and took a little more effort to push aside.

In addition to color identification, the science access point tracking the movement of objects that are pushed or pulled is addressed again.

Opera singers always get roses at the end of the performance so rose seemed the perfect scent to put into our rinsing water. We used rose scented bubble bath we found at Target.

We included 2 different sized scoops to address the math access point of recognizing differences in sizes of containers that hold liquids (capacity).

Solving problems involving small quantities of objects or actions using language, such as enough, too much, or more is another math access point addressed as students pour water from one container to another.

Rap singers like gold chains AND gold records! This box contained some hard gold beads and soft fluffy gold garland. Pretty, sparkly—very eye catching.

Fun to explore, fun to wear 🙂

Sorting objects by an observable property such as texture is a science access point addressed here.

A cookie cutter shaped like a boot, along with cherry scented playdough (we made it with kool-aid) —–perfect for a country music box!

Using just one shape gave the students an opportunity to work on counting, associating quantities with number names addressing math access points.

Of course, playdough is always a great activity for promoting hand intrinsic functions—we OT’s like stuff like that 🙂

We finished the group with some rose scented lotion from Crabtree and Evelyn. This is some pretty strong smelling stuff—you can smell it across the room so it’s VERY memorable!

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

Communicating a preference for a familiar action such as holding out a hand for lotion is a language access point addressed.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday, after reading the book, Jeannie brought out a real guitar for the students to play. Everybody got a chance to strum the strings and our students loved the sounds they made!

Can you tell that the students totally had a blast 🙂

Sharing objects with a partner and recognizing common sounds are science access points explored here.

For our art project the students made their own guitars! We started by cutting out the words ROCK STAR from a piece of paper—-turning one piece of paper into 2 pieces of paper. These were taped onto our “guitars”

T0 prep the guitars, we flattened paper towel rolls and taped them to the back of these really colorful tissue boxes.

Recognizing a change in an object and applying a push or pull to move an object are the science access points addressed here.

The math access point is associating quantities 1 and 2 with number names.

The words were glued onto the box and then the students were given a choice of stickers to decorate their guitars.

These stickers were little so there were lots of opportunities to practice pincer grasp skills.

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

Then we asked the students to let us know how many strings (rubber bands) they wanted on their guitars. Putting the strings on the guitar required bilateral coordination and pincer grasp skills. Our students needed varying degrees of assistance for this step.

Again, the language access point using body movement or nonverbal expression to communicate desires or preferences is addressed.

Associating quantities with number names is the math access point addressed.

TA DA!!!

Our rock stars loved their guitars and had a great time making their own music 🙂

On Thursday we continued with our musical instrument theme by making drums! First we tried out a real drum—–so much fun!

The science access points recognizing common objects in the environment and recognizing and responding to common sounds is addressed with this activity.

We started our art project by passing out rectangular pieces of paper and helping our students to identify the colors red and purple using our communication symbols.

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

Recognizing common objects with a two dimensional shape is a math access point.

Then we stamped stars and swirls with the paint. We made handles for the stamps by using double stick tape to affix plastic thread spools—-this worked out really well!

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

Then we taped the paper around plastic coffee containers and added some glitter——we never pass up the opportunity to add glitter to a project 🙂

As we are shaking the glitter we are working on the math access point recognizing a movement that reflects a spatial relationship, such as up and down!

We discovered that we needed to let the paint dry BEFORE letting our students play with their drums lol. When they were finally dry, it was time to boogie….

Dum diddy dum diddy dum….

LANGUAGE GROUP

We started the group reading Cara’s book. We have a few students in here who were able to name their friends who were in the book. It was very exciting for them 🙂

After reading the book, we went around with the Go Talk and let the students decide the genre of music they wanted to listen to. We put the pictures that were in the book on the Go Talk to keep it consistent for our students.

Communicating recognition of familiar persons in daily activities and communicating a preference for familiar persons, objects, or actions are language access points addressed.

We then had the students press a switch to activate the All Turn It spinner to see what kind of dance moves they would have to do. The different dance moves were: clap your hands, stomp your feet, spin around, tap your knees, nod your head, wave your hands in the air. We used iTunes for the clips of music, making sure that they were appropriate before we turned them on 🙂

The language access point responding to a technology resource is addressed with this activity.

This was definitely a fun group! Although only one student would pick a genre at a time, everyone had to participate in the dance moves. Some of our students really got their groove on!

Communicating information about familiar actions using non-verbal expression, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words is a language access point addressed.

Hope you enjoyed seeing all the fun we had this week. Join us again next week for more smiles, Group by Group!

Nov4

Things that go Bump in the Night

Posted on November 4, 2013 by jd785

Things that go Bump in the Night

This week we explored things we imagine might be out there to scare us when its dark at night! It seemed an appropriate topic for this time of year 🙂 Our sensory items had a really high contrast of light and dark which was very visually appealing to our students. The fine motor group had a great time making some spooky art projects. The language group students used adjectives to compare items. We also made it fun by turning off the lights while reading our book in all our groups.

SENSORY GROUP

This first box was filled with black paper shred and assorted creepy crawlies! Some of the critters were black so they were hidden really well. Others were brightly colored and could be easily spotted. We also threw in some fun fur for an added textural component.

Our students explored the box in different ways, some sifted through the paper while others……..

had a different approach…….. 🙂

The most popular item in the box was the little vibrating spider toy. Pulling it’s string was perfect for addressing bilateral coordination!

Visual and tactile discrimination skills are also addressed here.

The science access point of recognizing common objects related to science by name was addressed.

Battery operated orange lights (found at Walmart) made for perfect glowing eyes peeking out from garland. We kept these in the box to add to the effect—our students were fascinated!

Recognizing sources of light is the science access point addressed here.

We used our green Floam and some Mr. Potato Head features to make our own aliens. This purchased Floam has a wonderful easily moldable texture that made it perfect for making silly alien creatures while working on bilateral coordination and hand intrinsic functions!

The science access point recognizing external body parts is addressed with this activity.

The letters B O O could be found in our black bean and orange rice box. This is one of our favorite rice boxes—-so colorful and eye catching! So much fun to sift and run fingers through.

For added interest, we taped a picture of a jack o lantern to the bottom of the box.

Visual and tactile discrimination is again addressed as well as literacy skills.

Black shadows can certainly make you jump! We made ours by bringing back our pirate playdough from a few weeks ago along with bat and cat cookie cutters. The black glitter we added to the playdough gave it an added shimmer which we loved and it really contrasted with the bright orange cookie cutters. Again, a terrific substance to squish and pound.

Recognizing that the appearance of an object or material has changed is the science access point addressed here.

Glowing purple ooze (oobleck with purple tinted tonic water) looked pretty fabulous under our black light!

We added some pop rocks candy (we were inspired by the folks on the Growing a Jeweled Rose blog who added it to finger paint) and our ooze became pretty spectacular—-think rice krispie cereal on steroids! Not sure who was more impressed, the students or the adults 🙂

Recognizing that pulling or pushing an object makes it move is the science access point addressed in this activity.

We used Bath and Bodyworks Twilight woods scent to finish. In our water play we had 2 different size measuring cups for scooping and pouring fun—-and addressing the math access point of recognizing differences in sizes of containers that hold liquids.

The lotion has a light soft scent—not scary at all 🙂 and our students really liked it.

The science access point recognizing and responding to different types of sensory stimuli is addressed with both these activities.

FINE MOTOR

On Tuesday we made some mummies! We started by talking about the color of out mummy (black) and the color of our paint (white). All of our students correctly picked the colors we asked them to identify. Oh yes we were proud!!

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

The language access point communicating information about objects using non-verbal expressions, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words is also addressed.

To begin our art activity we put our mummy IN a clear lidded box. Then we scooped out marbles covered in white paint, counting as we dropped them 1 at a time into the box.

This is a fun way to work on eye hand coordination and scooping skills!

This also addresses the math access points of associating quantities with number names AND recognizing common three-dimensional objects, such as balls (spheres).

Then we closed the lid and…..shake shake shake!

Totally fun way to address the science access points of applying a push or pull to move an object and tracking objects in motion.

We opened the lid and took our mummy OUT of the box and added 2 googlie eyes—giving us a chance to practice pincer grasp skills.

This activity addresses the math access point associating quantities 1 and 2 with number names.

It also addresses the science access point recognizing a change in the appearance of an object or material.

Hmm, lets check this out——-

—yep, he’s pretty cool!

For our art activity on Thursday we made great big eyeballs! We started by comparing the different size circles and asked our students to show us the big one.

Recognizing common objects with 2 dimensional shapes, such as a circle is a math access point.

Recognizing the larger of two objects is a science access point.

We used assorted markers to color red veins on the big circle (dessert size paper plates). Of course we counted the plates and discussed their size and color as we passed them out.

Our students then chose which color they wanted their eye to be using our communication symbols. Some of our students touch the symbols, while others used eye gaze.

Using body movement or nonverbal expression to communicate desires or preferences is the language access point addressed here.

Next we used a circle punch to cut out a small black circle.

The science access point applying a push or pull to move an object is addressed here.

We compared the different sized circles again and began assembling our eyeballs.

This activity works on eye hand coordination and graded motor control—you don’t want to crumple up your circles!

The math access point of recognizing the next step in a sequence of activities is also addressed.

Somebody is watching you….

…..spooky!

LANGUAGE GROUP

After we finished Cara’s book we stayed with the spooky theme using the iPad app Spooky Box (it was free)—just for fun! Our students enjoyed listening to the different sounds and we had fun watching their reactions 🙂 We do need to note that some of the sounds are a little intense, so be sure to prescreen them!

For our ACTUAL learning activity—– we focused on using adjectives to describe two different objects. The students used Boardmaker pictures and put the adjectives in the appropriate column to describe the objects. They did need a little bit of help with this, but over all, they did well.

Communicating information about familiar objects using pictures or symbols is a language access point.

The first object we explored was some mystery green play dough that Joy had made using a recipe from the Growing a Jeweled Rose blog (this is a great site filled with all sorts of ideas and recipes, we love it!).

The other object was a yellow and blue ball with fringes all over it.

Identifying objects by one observable property and recognizing and responding to different types of sensory stimuli are science access points addressed with this activity.

Some of the adjectives used were: hard/soft, heavy/light, cold/warm. Mrs. Robin got out a scale for us to use when working on heavy/light so the students could see which one was heavier.

So neat!

Recognizing objects as warm or cold and sorting objects by weight (heavy and light) are science access points.

We also used vinegar and sprayed each of the objects. We smelled the vinegar first.

Some of students found the aroma intriguing—-others let us know by their gestures, not so much 🙂

Communicating preferences for objects is a language access point.

The play dough reacted with the vinegar because of the baking soda in it and that made it bubble up, while the vinegar made the ball wet (and STINKY!). We then asked the students to choose an adjective (bubbly/wet) to describe the objects after vinegar had been sprayed on them.

Recognizing a change in an object and assisting with investigations with a partner are science access points addressed here.

Hope your week was as great as ours—- filled with treats not tricks 🙂

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

Oct27

Seasons

Posted on October 27, 2013 by jd785

Seasons

This week our theme followed the Unique Curriculum unit some of our classes were learning about this month. Lets dive right in and explore all our fun activities……

SENSORY GROUP

We started with winter—and a wish for snow! We don’t get a lot of that stuff down here in Florida but we can still dream…..

Assorted snowflakes (paper, ornaments, etc), white pompom yarn, white and silver beads along with twist ties and clear packing tape turned a clear umbrella into a winter wonderland—-pretty darn magical, if we do say so ourselves 🙂

This really was a great experience for our students, they really loved it!

Exploring, observing, and recognizing objects in the natural world is the science access point addressed in this activity.

No winter wonderland is complete without snow! We made ours using cornstarch and shaving cream. Adding the cornstarch gave the shaving cream some texture and allowed it to be shaped into small “snowballs” if desired.

This was totally fun messy play, with MESSY being the operative word—–our students dived in and this stuff got everywhere 🙂

Bilateral coordination is addressed when making snowballs.

Applying a push to move an object and recognizing and responding to different stimuli are the science access points addressed with this activity.

Spring is such a colorful time of year with plants growing and flowers blooming. In this box, we sprinkled some dried bean “seeds” into our colorful green rice—and taped a hidden surprise of pictures of colorful plants just waiting to bloom as the rice was swept away. The picture was actually a piece of wallpaper from one of those wallpaper sample books that someone always seems to be giving away

We also put in the letters W (winter), F (fall), and S (spring, summer)

This box helps address visual and tactile discrimination as well as fine motor skills for picking up the little “seeds”.

Recognizing that pushing or pulling an object to make it move is a science access point addressed here. In addition, the science access points of recognizing the leaf and flower of a plant and recognizing that plants grow can be addressed.

Our second box was filled with our caterpillar and butterfly pasta—-now this is one COLORFUL box! It’s also a wonderful box for sorting concepts of same/different and counting activities—-lots of math access points covered, including:

Solving problems involving small quantities of objects using language such as “more”, recognizing objects that are identical to each other, recognizing when an object is added to (addition) or taken away (subtraction) from a situation, recognizing two objects that are the same size or color……

It’s amazing all the learning you can fit into one little box!

Fall has so many pretty colors with the changing leaves and colorful gourds and pumpkins that are seen everywhere.

Our students loved picking up and shaking the leaves as well as watching handfuls of them drift down. Others found a couple of scarecrow friends.

This was another great box for visual and tactile discrimination, so many things to explore!

The science access point of exploring, observing, and recognizing common objects in the natural world is addressed here.

Recognizing models of real objects is another science access point addressed.

Fall also means colorful warm sweaters and blankets—at least to look at in the stores, NO WAY is it cold enough to need them here yet 🙂

This soft pompom yarn has such pretty fall colors and is just so touchable—-wouldn’t it make a fabulous blanket or poncho!?

Our students had a great time with this yarn, draping it around themselves or just shaking it. Pulling it apart is a great way to work on bilateral coordination!

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

The science access point of recognizing clothing worn by humans in different seasons can also be addressed.

In the same box, we also included a shaker bottle filled with acorns. Our students love shaker bottles—-it’s always fun to make noise!

The science access points recognizing and responding to common sounds, recognizing and responding to one type of sensory stimuli AND applying a push to move an object are all addressed here.

Discussing that acorns turn into oak trees also helps relate to the science access point recognizing that plants grow.

That’s a lot of science in one bottle!!!

Summer means going to the beach! We put in 3 seashells and 1 starfish for our students to find in our summer fun sand box. We used fine soft play sand that our students really loved touching.

Whether addressing the science access point of tracking objects in motion or the math access point of associating quantities with number names—–this is a great box!

Other access points addressed include for math: recognizing objects that are the same size or color and for science: recognizing common objects related to science by name.

Finishing up summer, our scent this week was Bath and Bodyworks aruba coconut. It was a wonderful summer aroma for our warm water play which included 2 colorful squirter fish. You would be hard pressed to find a more fun way to work on strengthening grip skills 🙂

Identifying objects by one observable property such as color and recognizing materials as warm or cold are science access points addressed here.

We finished with a little lotion, addressing the science access point of recognizing external body parts. This scent was a real favorite with the students and they left smelling like they had spent a day at the beach!

FINE MOTOR GROUP

For our art activity this week we made seasonal trees using torn tissue paper (our usual stash from presents past). Our tree trunk came from a reproducible in the book Apples, Apples Everywhere by Peggy Hundley Spitz OTR which can be purchased from Flaghouse.

On Tuesday we made our spring and summer trees. We used pink and purple paper for spring and green paper for our summer trees. On Thursday we used brown and orange for the fall trees and white paper with silver swirls for the winter trees.

We started by asking the students to match the communication symbols with the different paper colors. You may have observed that the literacy component for this student might have been improved if we had actually presented the words right side up 🙂

Recognizing two objects that are the same color is a science access point.

Responding accurately and consistently to referent objects or pictures used in routines is a language access point.

For each tree, we tore and crumpled up the paper. This is a great activity for addressing bilateral coordination and the students really had fun with it!

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

The crumpled paper pieces were then dipped in glue………

and placed on the tree. This activity addresses pincer grasp skills and eye hand coordination.

We also counted the pieces as they were applied—-of course!

Recognizing that the appearance of some plants in the environment changes throughout the year is a science access point.

TA DA!!!!

Our students were pretty pleased with the way their trees turned out—–can you tell 🙂

LANGUAGE GROUP

We started off the group by reading Cara’s book and asking the students to point to the picture of their favorite season.

Communicating preferences using non-verbal gestures is a language access point.

After the students had indicated their favorite season, we used some of the boxes and objects from the sensory group as props.

For summer we used the sand, autumn we used the box of leaves, spring we used the green rice, and for winter we used the umbrella. What a hit!

This activity addresses the language access point of exploring and interacting with the functions of selected objects.

Next we played a memory game. We made cards using Boardmaker symbols and laminated them.

The pictures on the cards were: summer, autumn, winter, spring, beach, rake, mittens, and bird. They were presented with 4 pictures at a time which were turned over, face down. Each student took a turn and flipped over 2 cards at a time.

Using referent objects or pictures from a familiar read-aloud story is a language access point.

PIXON picture symbols for “same” and “different” were presented to the students and they were asked if the cards they flipped over were the same or different. Some of our students required some assistance figuring it out, but for the most part, they did pretty well.

Using pictures, symbols, gestures/signs, or words to communicate meaning is a language access point

This week turned out to be so much fun! We hope you enjoy seeing what we did as much as we enjoyed experiencing it! Please join us again, Group by Group.

Oct20

Alice in Wonderland

Posted on October 20, 2013 by jd785

Alice in Wonderland

We had such a great time this week exploring the classic story of Alice in Wonderland. Cara’s book was wonderful and it was so exciting for our students to see themselves in her book! Hope you enjoy seeing how we made Alice’s adventures a multi-sensory learning experience!

SENSORY GROUP

Our first box was filled with paper shred since most books are made from paper—or at least they used to be 🙂

Nestled among the paper were some playing cards (hearts of course), some Mad Hatter party hats, rose petals, heart garland and ribbon, caterpillars, a variety of white rabbits…..

AND a cute fluffy “dormouse” that makes a crinkly sound when squeezed! We found it at the dollar store—-score!

We also included a play food cupcake with the label “eat me” and a plastic bottle with the word “drink me”.

It was so fun to see what the different students gravitated towards—-everyone had their favorites!

Exploring and interacting with a selected object is a language access point addressed in this box.

Visual discrimination in addition to reach and grasp skills are also addressed while exploring the fun contents of this fun box!

A is for Alice and we hid 4 letter A’s in this box of tea leaves. The tea leaves have an interesting texture, kind of crunchy and mild aroma—–a different sensory experience!

The students also had fun using the small scoop to cover them up again.

The math access point recognizing when items have been added to or removed from sets of objects to 4 is addressed here.

Picking up the letters is an opportunity to work on pincer grasp skills—–most beautifully illustrated by this picture—and eye hand coordination.

Chenille stems make for great caterpillars! This box was filled with regular size and giant size ones for some size comparisons. Soft and colorful—-you just HAVE to reach out for one!

These are perfect for twisting together (and promoting bilateral coordination) to make some new creations—-sensory group meets fine motor group 🙂

This also addresses the science access point of recognizing a change in a object.

All the different colors and sizes help address the science access point of identifying common objects by one observable property, such as size or color.

Pink and purple are the theme of this next box—-for the Cheshire Cat, of course! All that was left was his grin!

We used a Mr. Potato head mouth for the grin and hid it in the hard beads and soft pompoms 🙂

This box addresses the science access point of identifying common objects by one observable property such as size or color.

Recognizing common 3-dimensional objects, such as balls (spheres) and two objects that are the same size or color are math access points addressed here.

We used black cherry kool-aid to make the perfect red for our Queen of Hearts playdough. It turned out really well, a perfect squishy texture! Not only did it look pretty but it smelled wonderful also!

We used our heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out lots of pretty hearts.

Counting how many hearts were cut out addresses math skills and one to one correspondence.

It also addresses the math access point of recognizing 2 dimensional shapes that are the same shape and size (congruent).

The science access point of recognizing a change in an object is also addressed.

These flowers didn’t sing but our students sure had fun making them dance in the air!

Tracking objects that fall to the ground and indicating that an object has fallen are the science access points addressed here.

Continuing with our floral theme, the students had fun with our sweet pea scented water. We put 2 different size measuring cups for scooping fun…….but sometimes it’s just more fun to play with the bubbles!

Recognizing water as a liquid is the science access point addressed here.

We finished with some Crabtree and Evelyn rose scented lotion. Wow this stuff really had a strong aroma. Some of our students really like it…………

Others not so much 🙂

Either way, it made for a memorable experience—–and an opportunity to address the science access point of recognizing and responding to one type of sensory stimuli.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday we made some Mad Hatter hats! These were assembled by gluing a paper bowl onto a paper plate. We cut a hole in the plate to help it fit onto our students heads.

We had one of our students decide what color to start with and began painting. Jeannie’s favorite color is purple—-hmm, I think someone is looking for extra brownie points from his teacher 🙂

The different colors were then passed around so that everyone ended up with a very colorful hat.

Adjusting nonverbal expression, referent objects to communicate wants and needs to familiar persons is a language access point.

Everybody had a great time painting their hats.

The paintbrushes were taped to paint stirring sticks to adapt them for our students with physical disabilities.

The science access points sharing objects with a partner and recognizing a change in an object are addressed with this activity.

Ta DA!

Love it!!!! This Mad Hatter is ready for the tea party!

On Thursday we made some card soldier puppets. We pulled some of the heart (of course!) cards from a deck. 4 holes were punched and a popsicle stick was glued to the back.

The rectangle shaped cards were counted as they were passed out and then we counted out 2 chenille stems for each student.

We also counted the number of hearts on each card.

Recognizing common objects with two dimensional shapes and associating quantities with number names are math access points.

Chenille stems were threaded through the holes to make the arms and legs. Pincer grasp, eye hand coordination, bilateral coordination—–a PERFECT fine motor activity!

These were a huge hit, our students loved their puppets!

Recognizing that the appearance of an object has changed and recognizing one or more external body parts are science access points addressed here.

Did we mention our students LOVED their puppets 🙂

LANGUAGE GROUP

We placed pictures from our book on the All Turn it Spinner. With each turn, our students got to try on a costume prop that matched the character.

Using nonverbal expression, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words to responds to familiar read-aloud stories by identifying characters, objects, or events is a language access point addressed here.

Responding to a technology resource is another language access point addressed here.

Some of the props we used were the Queen of Hearts scepter, Dormouse ears, Cheshire Cat mask, Mad Hatter hat, a Singing Flower hood……………………..

AND some White Rabbit ears! This student really got into character, making sure we took a picture of his rabbit impersonation 🙂

We held up a mirror for our students to be able to see themselves, and BOY what a hit that was! The students who were verbal expressed WHAT they had on and WHO they were while the nonverbal students followed directions with prepositions such as “hold it UP”, “put it ON”.

Selecting a familiar object to explore and communicating about the selected object using nonverbal expression, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words is the language access point addressed with this activity.

The students had a great time and the adults in the room definitely enjoyed themselves as well.

REALLY—–who doesn’t love to dress up!?

That’s it for this week, we had so much fun going down the rabbit hole with Alice and making a wonderland of experiences for our students!

If you are looking for some more traditional October themes—be sure to check out what we did last year—–BUT don’t forget to join us again next week for more Group by Group fun!

Oct13

Look Up in the Sky

Posted on October 13, 2013 by jd785

Look Up in the Sky

This week our groups complimented the Unique Curriculum theme which explores things you see when you look up in the sky.

The students really loved all our activities and we got more than the usual super cute pictures—-our students really are quite adorable 🙂

SENSORY GROUP

After reading Cara’s book, we turned off the lights and looked up into the starry sky!

We made it by using twist ties to attach battery operated lights, beads, and some glow in the dark planets to a black umbrella—— SUPER easy! The battery operated lights were from Target and are usually on the shelves around holiday time.

Our students were all quite enchanted!

Associating stars with the night sky is a science access point. This activity also helps address the science access point of recognizing sources of light.

They also enjoy exploring this lighted moon. It had a rough surface as well as this fabulous glow–very mesmerizing.

Thanks Ms. Pam for letting us borrow it!

Associating the moon with night is a science access point.

Distinguishing light and dark is also a science access point that can be addressed with this activity.

When the lights came back on we began exploring our sensory boxes. This first one was filled with blue basket filler “sky” and lots of things found in the sky to discover.

We put in feathers, toy birds, bats, and butterflies for some of the animals you see in the sky. We also put in some toy airplanes .

Of course, we also included some cookie cutter stars and a crescent moon.

Weather related items included soft white pom pom clouds, grey craft foam storm clouds….

AND…….a fabulous stretchy rainbow slinky which ended up being the big hit of this box!

Exploring, observing, and recognizing common objects in the natural world is a science access point.

Recognizing models of real objects is also a science access point.

And yet more science access points….tracking the movement of objects that are pushed or pulled AND recognizing that pushing and pulling an object makes it move!

Speaking of rainbows, our students really loved both looking at and touching our rainbow mat (found yet again at Target!).

As well as encouraging our students to touch the mat, we also discussed all the different colors that could be found in the rainbow.

Using senses to recognize objects is the science access point addressed here.

Our next box of Bubber reminded us of a beautiful blue sky! We love it’s soft tactile feel and it comes in so many cool colors, although we don’t have all of them—–YET 🙂

We included an airplane cookie cutter which helps build hand strength when pushed down into the Bubber. While fairly soft it does take some pressure to cut out a shape.

Recognizing that the appearance of an object or material has changed and applying a push to move an object are the science access points addressed in this activity.

We went from the blue daytime sky to the black night time sky with our next box. Lots of yellow craft foam stars were hidden for our students to find in the black beans.

The stars not only look different but feel different from the beans, making this a good activity for both visual and tactile discrimination.

Associating stars with the night sky is again addressed with this box.

Recognizing objects (the stars) that are identical to each other is another science access point addressed here.

We must admit the science access point of tracking objects in motion, as watching a few beans tossed into the air, was also addressed in each of our classrooms.

We have VERY understanding teachers 🙂

What’s a day without sunshine! This box was filled with sunglasses, yellow paper shred, a wooden sun, sun shaped manipulatives and yellow pom poms.

Whether shaking the paper shred, squeezing the pom poms or pushing and pulling apart the manipulatives ——-our students had a great time with this box!

The pom poms can be used to address the math access point of recognizing two objects that are identical to each other.

Applying a push to move an object and identifying objects by one observable property, such as color are the science access points addressed.

The science access point of recognizing that the sun is bright can also be addressed with this activity.

These sunglasses were the favorite item in this box. As you can see, our students had a lot of fun getting their cool on 🙂

Next we made our own fluffy clouds with shaving cream. Wonderful fun to dive into with both hands and squish around!

Using senses to recognize objects is the science access point addressed with this activity.

The language access point of communicating about a selected object using nonverbal expression is beautifully demonstrated in this picture—-pure joy!

After rinsing our hands in “rain kissed leaves” (from Bath and Bodyworks) scented water, the students took turns smelling the lotion and showing us where they wanted it applied.

The science access points of recognizing and responding to one type of sensory stimuli and recognizing external body parts are addressed here.

This had a nice soft scent that our students really seemed to like and to help them remember all the fun things we learned about today!

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday, for our art project we made a starry night time sky. We started by counting out 6 pieces of black rectangular paper. Some glue was poured onto the paper and then the students used paint brushes to spread the glue around.

The math access points of recognizing a two dimensional shape (rectangle) and recognizing differences in the length of the sides of rectangles are addressed.

Identifying objects by one observable property and applying a push to move an object are also the science access points addressed.

We added some sparkly silver glitter——our students LOVED shaking the glitter out!

What fun 🙂

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

Next we let our students choose how many stars to glue onto their picture. We used these plastic glow in the dark stars we found at the dollar store.

These little stars were perfect for promoting pincer grasp skills.

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

Counting up to 5 objects is also a math access point.

Look at the milky way—-

TA DA!

These turned out really quite cool and looked striking in Jeannie’s hallway.

On Thursday we turned from night to day and constructed our wonderful sun!

We started by asking our students to show us the color orange using our communication symbols.

Then we asked the students to glue an orange circle onto their white rectangular paper.

Bulls eye—-nice eye hand coordination!

Again, the math access point of recognizing 2 dimensional shapes (rectangles and circles) is addressed.

Recognizing objects by one observable property (color) is the science access point addressed in this activity.

The rays of the sun were made by stamping hand prints using yellow ink. Fortunately none of our students have tactile sensitivity so we did not have to adapt this for anyone. All of them did a really great job of keeping their hands open so we could help them make their prints.

We counted the hand prints out loud as they were pressed onto the paper.

Recognizing the appearance of an object has changed is the science access point addressed here.

Yep, this looks pretty good 🙂

LANGUAGE GROUP

In this group, we talked about things that go UP in the air and things that go DOWN on the ground.

Using Boardmaker, we made 9 different pictures of objects: rainbow, sun, clouds, bird, airplane, moon and stars, person, car, and house. We had real objects to go along with the pictures as well, which seemed to be a hit with the students!

Each student was given a picture and asked if it was UP in the sky……….

or…….. DOWN on the ground.

One of our students used the arrow as a road for a car—-too cute 🙂

Effectively communicating information using referent objects, pictures is the language access point addressed in this activity.

After they told us or showed us if the object was something seen UP or DOWN, they glued the picture onto a piece of paper with grass and sky drawn on it.

Our students did so well with this activity……we were SO proud!

Communicating about selected objects using pictures is a language access point.

That is it for this week. We had so much fun and learned a lot about things that we can see when we look up!

Join us again next week, you KNOW it’s going to be fun—–Group by Group 🙂

Oct6

3 Little Pigs

Posted on October 6, 2013 by jd785

3 Little Pigs

This week we had so much fun exploring this traditional fairy tale! We made our wolf by adding some white felt teeth to a plush dog—-who admittedly looks more like a dog in need of an orthodontist rather than a big bad wolf……

Well, you have to work with what you’ve got after all, and our students didn’t see to mind a bit 🙂

SENSORY GROUP

Our students had so much fun exploring the first box filled with rafia (straw), popsicle sticks (wood), and duplo blocks (bricks) for the 3 little pigs houses! There were 3 different pigs to find—a laminated picture symbol, a plush one, and a sound producing one (found in Target’s $ section). Brown pom poms and pieces of yarn reminded us of the wolf’s fur.

You need tools to build a house so we put in a ruler and some toy tools. And finally, the word “home”. This was a really great box and our students LOVED exploring all the different items.

So many access points were addressed with this box including the science access points of recognizing common objects in the natural world through observation, and recognizing a model of a real object.

We stamped bricks in our red moon sand with a duplo block—it made the perfect brick impression!

Of course, it was also fun to grab and squeeze a handful—making it a great activity for hand strengthening also!

Applying a push or pull to move an object and recognizing the appearance of an object or material has changed are the science access points addressed here.

Our pink rice seemed perfect for a story about 3 little PINK pigs 🙂 Hidden in the rice was the letter P and the number 3. Our students always get a kick out of finding “hidden” things .

Tactile and visual discrimination are addressed here.

Continuing with our exploration of the color pink we put in BIG and LITTLE pink beads. In addition to the hard beads we put some soft pink pom poms.

Great for texture and size comparisons! Recognizing similarities and differences in size of common objects is a math access point.

Recognizing two objects that are the same size or color is also a math access point.

We had to include a wolf box! We put in some brown “wolf” fur, a nice soft texture to rub and touch. A stretchy wolf (actually a stretchy dog that we gave some felt teeth). Excellent for working on bilateral coordination! Tracking the movement of objects that are pushed or pulled is a science access point.

That wolf sure likes to huff and puff! We used our little hand held fan to get some air blowing like that wolf—-and it also addresses the science access point of indicating awareness of air moving.

We added some chocolate cake mix to our shaving cream to make some “mud”, we figured our students would like to play in it just as much as those 3 little piggies——–and they did 🙂

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

Of course as the shaving cream is smooshed around, our students also explored the science access point of applying a push to move an object.

The little pigs lived in the woods so Twilight Woods from Bath and Body Works seemed the perfect scent for this week. Of course, by the time a few little hands rinsed the shaving cream off, it smelled like CHOCOLATE woods lol.

We put 2 different size measuring cups for scooping and pouring fun addressing the math access point of recognizing the different sizes of containers that hold liquids.

Its also a FUN way to practice eye hand coordination 🙂

The Twilight Woods scent was a hit with all the students and they so loved having the lotion rubbed on their hands or arms or necks to help them remember the story of the 3 little pigs!

It also encourages some nice social exchanges and the opportunity to communicate preferences and the desire for “more” of an action which is a math access point.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday we built a brick house for our 3 pigs. We started by stamping red bricks on a square piece of paper.

We’ve used this stamper before, made from a dish scrubber, its knobbed top makes it easier for our students to use. The stamp itself was made from thick craft foam.

Recognizing 2 dimensional shapes is a math access point.

Recognizing a repeated pattern of stimuli is also a math access point.

Then we glued a big triangle to the TOP of the square.

We counted 3 small rectangles which made up the windows and door and after they were glued down we put 3 pigs safely into their house!

More opportunities to address the math access point of recognizing 2 dimensional shapes!

TaDA

We get pretty excited about our art work—-can you tell 🙂

On Thursday, Joy drew a Big Bad Wolf for our students to color. First we wrote our names on our rectangle paper then used pipsqueak markers to color the wolf brown.

We completed our wolf by adding a googlie eye—OF COURSE 🙂

TADA—all ready to blow your house down!

LANGUAGE GROUP

For this group, we wanted to see if certain objects were able to be huffed, puffed, and blown away. We put together several different items such as feathers, straw, a weighted ball, twigs, paper, a Beanie Baby wolf, and a rock.

For each of the items, we had a corresponding real picture of them. Each student got to choose which item they wanted to “blow”.

Effectively communicating wants using referent objects, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words is a science access point.

The students enjoyed holding and touching the different objects. We encouraged them to make predications about what might happen when we turned the hair dryer on.

Exploring, observing, and selecting an object or picture to respond to a question about the natural consequence is a science access point.

The students really got a kick out of using the hair dryer to huff, puff, and BLOW the items to see if they would move.

They especially liked watching the objects that were light enough to be blown away—-addressing the science access point of tracking objects in motion!

Indicating awareness of air moving is also a science access point.

After each attempt, we put the picture of the object on a chart showing if that object was “light” or “heavy”. Charting really helped our students better visualize how things are grouped by weight.

Sorting objects by physical properties such as weight is a science access point.

Communicating about a selected object using nonverbal expression, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words is a literacy access point.

We had a blast this week and hope you did too! Join us again for more fun next week—-Group by Group.

Sep29

Mount Everest

Posted on September 29, 2013 by jd785

Mount Everest

This week we went to the top of the world—-Mount Everest! We had a lot of fun learning about a place so different from the one where we live.

SENSORY GROUP

When you think of Mount Everest you think of the snow that covers it. We had two snow boxes to explore. Our first one contained white floam—perfect for making snow balls…..

…..or a snowman!

Isn’t that what you would want to do on the mountain ? 🙂

Floam is a purchased moldable substance (non toxic but not to be eaten so we watch our students very closely). It has a slightly sticky feel which can be aversive to some of our students (and staff also!). Hand skills such as palmer arching and bilateral coordination can be addressed when molding it into shapes.

Recognizing a 3 dimensional object such as a sphere is a math access point.

Recognizing when an object is added or taken away from a situation is another math access point.

We brought back our fun snow from a couple of weeks ago. Keeping it refrigerated makes for some chilly fun……Brrr!!!!!!!

Again, while non-toxic, this substance is not meant to be consumed so we watch our students closely.

Fun to explore alone but even more fun when shared with a partner!

Distinguishing between items that are wet and items that are dry and recognizing materials as warm or cold are science access points that can be addressed here.

Sharing objects with a partner is also a science access point.

After that cold snow, it was nice to rinse hands in some nice warm water. Our water was scented with Old Spice Denali scent—-we thought it had the appropriate rugged aroma for mountain climbing 🙂

A large measuring cup and a small spoon were placed in the water for scooping and pouring fun. This addresses the math access point of recognizing differences in sizes of containers that hold liquids.

Of course, just splashing around and checking out the bubbles with friends is fun also— addressing the science access point of applying a push or pull to move an object.

he country of Nepal borders Mount Everest. It’s flag has two colors, red and blue. We filled this box with a variety of textural objects such as shiny basket filler, hard blocks, soft pom poms, large chenille stems, rough scrubbers, soft plush toys etc. So many fun things to explore, compare and have FUN with!

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

Identifying common objects by one observable property is also a science access point.

Lentils are part Dal, which is a soup eaten in Nepal. Lentils feel so cool as they slip through your fingers, quite soft and silky! Once you put your hands in you just want to keep playing with them—–kind of a zen thing 🙂

Hidden in them were the letters N and T. We used ones with some nice textural bumps which added an extra sensory element (thanks to our intern for suggesting this!)

N for Nepal and T for Tibet the other country that borders Mount Everest.

Tactile and visual discrimination is addressed when locating the letters in the lentils.

Discussing the different countries addresses the social studies access point of recognizing a cultural characteristic of a population.

A lot of people in Tibet put prayer flags around their house. Our students had so much fun exploring these colorful flags we found at an import store.

We also included a voice output device with a Tibetan zymbol recording. The zymbol has a really unusual sound that our students found really appealing. We found the recording on Sound Bible—-check it out!

Some of out students really like draping or shaking the flags, while others were more intrigued by the music.

This activity also addresses the social studies access point of recognizing a cultural characteristic of a population.

For our lotion we used Bath and Body Works Be Enchanted——because wouldn’t it be ENCHANTING to visit Mount Everest? Ok, YES a bit of a stretch lol, but we went with it 🙂

As usual, the lotion helps address the science access point of using senses to recognize objects and the science access point of recognizing one or more external body parts.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday we made a mountain for our art project—-OF COURSE!!!!

We started by turning a rectangle into a triangle with our paper cutters. Our students with physical challenges used an adapted switch operated electric scissors—-totally cool!

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

Recognizing a common object with a two-dimensional shape is a math access point.

We glued our triangle mountain to a piece of blue rectangular paper. We used our communication symbols and asked our students to “show us blue”.

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

Then we started adding snow to the mountains with our shaving cream and glue mixture. We have done this before and when the mixture dries it has a spongy texture to it—-very, very cool!

A brush was taped to a paint stirrer to make it easier to hold for some of our students.

Tracking the movement of objects that are pushed or pulled is a science access point.

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

TA DA—-

Mount Everest!!!!

On Thursday we got our students ready for a mountain expedition by making parkas! We started with an orange circle plate (using our color communication symbols again to reinforce color concepts) with a precut hole. We chose an orange plate because……… well, that was the color we had!

Then we counted out 5 cotton balls and had the students show us number 5.

Recognizing a common object with a two-dimensional shape is a math access point.

Counting from 1 to 5 using objects is also a math access point—-we probably didn’t need to point that one out 🙂

We glued the cotton balls onto the plate, adding more to the first 5. This is a great activity for practicing pincer grasp and eye hand coordination skills.

Recognizing when an object is added to a situation is a math access point that is also addressed by this activity.

Ready to climb that mountain…….

Ta Da!

LANGUAGE GROUP

We decided to help the teacher, Mrs. Robin, summit Mt. Everest in our language group.

Joy made a replica of Mt. Everest using a big cardboard box that she cut into the shape of triangle and covered it with some brown paper. White paper was crumpled and taped on the top to create snow. She drew a person with a snowsuit and added Robin’s face to it. The students really got a kick out of seeing their teacher on a cutout 🙂

We used a big die that the students rolled to see how many steps Robin could go UP the mountain.

Applying a push or pull to move an object, such as the die, is a science access point.

We emphasized that she was going UP by writing the word and holding an arrow to show “up”. The students then had to use the dots that were located on the mountain and move Robin the exact number shown on the die up the mountain.

After Robin safely summitted Mt. Everest, it was time for her to go DOWN the mountain. Our students rolled the die to see how many steps she could go DOWN and got her safely back to the bottom of the mountain. Again, we used an arrow to show “down” as well as wrote the word.

Using pictures, symbols, gestures/signs, or words to communicate meaning is a language access point. Matching objects to marked spaces to show one-to-one correspondence is a math access point.

The students really seemed to enjoy this activity and did a GREAT job with helping their teacher climb Mt. Everest!

This was another great week at Group by Group, join us again next week—-its going to be so much fun!

Sep22

Pirate Day

Posted on September 22, 2013 by jd785

Pirate Day

Avast ye land lubbers—-we celebrated Talk like a Pirate Day this week.

Cara had written such a great book last year that we used it again. Repetition is always good for our students and helps reinforce concepts and language learned. We kept some of the same sensory boxes but did add a few new ones. Our fine motor and language group activities were different from last years celebration.

Shiver me timbers, we do have the cutest pirates to ever sail the seven seas! Read along to see all the fun we had and be prepared to smile 🙂

SENSORY GROUP

We filled this box with some basket filler in a pretty light ocean blue. Then added some cool pirate stuff like a shipwreck (from an old aquarium), black beads and pom poms, an eye patch, and “parrot” feathers. Rubber duck and action figure pirates completed the box.

Lots of things to make you go argg 🙂

Visual discrimination skills are targeted as students look through the box and decide which items to pick up and examine.

The language access point responding to new vocabulary that is introduced and taught directly, is addressed in this activity.

Pirates are always looking for buried treasure on deserted islands and X marks the spot!

Our students were able to stamp an X in the sand with their cookie cutter. Shifting the sand aside reveals a treasure map and some gold coins taped the bottom of the box.

Math skills are addressed as the hidden coins or stamped X’s are counted.

In addition, applying a push or pull to move an object, such as stamping an X or pushing the sand aside, addresses science access point.

If you find the right spot you can dig up a treasure chest filled with GOLD. Our students just couldn’t resist grabbing these gold beads by the handfuls!

Of course, adding a pirate hat really helps one get into character 🙂

Exploring, observing, and recognizing objects in the natural world is a science access point.

More treasure was contained in our discovery bottle. Filled with plastic jewels, gold glitter, water and corn syrup—-the bottle swirled and glittered as it was shaken. This was a really one of the prettiest bottles we have made—-very, very eye catching!

Picking up and grasping the bottle addresses eye hand coordination and gross grasp skills.

Recognizing that pushing or pulling an object makes it move and tracking objects as they move are science access points.

We made some super cool black pirate playdough this week—and added some black glitter to it for additional sparkle! Did we mention this stuff was SUPER COOL 🙂

Our students could roll the playdough into cannon balls or use the bone shaped cookie cutter to make shapes.

Squeezing, pushing, pulling and otherwise manipulating playdough is great for strengthening hand intrinsics.

This activity addresses the science access point of recognizing that the appearance of an object or material has changed.

Then we turned off the lights and turned on our black light to help us explore our pirate swamp! We mixed up our oobleck using tonic water, which contains quinine, instead of ordinary water to help give it even more glow.

Our students practiced making prewriting strokes and the letter X in the oobleck and really had fun watching it drip and flow down hands!

Using the senses—-in this case vision and touch—to explore objects is a science access point. Tracking the oobleck as it flows also addresses a science access point.

We finished by rinsing hands in Bath and Bodyworks Ocean scented bath gel with an added element—–ocean spray (from our mister)! Some of our students got quite giggly as they felt the mist come down around them 🙂

A large measuring cup and measuring spoon were available in the water bowl for scooping fun.

The science access point of recognizing and responding to one type of sensory stimuli is addressed as the water spray comes down. The math access point of recognizing differences in sizes of containers that hold liquids while scooping.

As usual, we also used the companion lotion to help our students learn external body parts and address the math access point of indicating a desire for more of an action or object.

This also addresses the science access point of recognizing external body parts.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

Every pirate needs a pet so on Tuesday we made a paper plate parrot for our art project!

We counted out a circle shaped paper plate for each student then gave them a choice of 3 colors to paint their parrot. Since the Florida Alternate Assessment has an array of 3 format, we like to give our students lots of practice making choices out of sets of 3.

Our students are getting to be such good painters!

Recognizing a common object with a 2 dimensional shape is a math access point.

Effectively communicate wants and needs to a familiar person using referent objects, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words is a language access point.

Then we used our circle cutter to cut out 2 small circles. We glued these onto the paper plate and added 2 googlie eyes on top.

We also added a precut beak and some fluffy feathers.

Picking up and placing the smaller pieces promotes pincer grasp and finger isolation skills in addition to eye hand coordination.

Recognizing differences in size of objects and associating quantities 1 and 2 with number names are math access points.

TA DA!!!!!!!

Looks like Polly parrot is ready to set sail!

On Thursday our little pirates made some telescopes—–all the better to see those treasure filled islands 🙂

We used paper towel and toilet paper rolls that fit inside each other—-to get telescoping action, way cool! They were decorated with paper strips. We started by using our paper cutters to cut rectangle shaped strips of paper and taped them to the rolls. The electric scissors attached to a switch were used for our students with physical impairments.

Recognizing a change in an object ( as the paper is cut) and recognizing a model of a real object are science access points.

Recognizing a common object with a 2 dimensional shape (the rectangular paper) is a math access point.

The strips of paper were taped around each roll. We discussed the fact that one roll was large and one was small—-addressing the math access point of recognizing the differences in size of objects.

Bilateral coordination and eye hand coordination are addressed as the paper is taped around the roll and as one roll is inserted into the other!

Land Ho!!!!

ARGHH 🙂

LANGUAGE GROUP

A pirate came by and left clues to his buried treasure in our language group. Our students had to use the clues to find the hidden treasure. Each of the clues incorporated a preposition, like “up”, “next to”, “under” and “on”. They also had a rhyming word to help figure out what to look for. For example, “this thing rhymes with carrot. Is it parrot or car?” The students did such a grrrrrreat job figuring out the rhyming words and finding the things associated with pirates.

Using pictures, symbols, gestures/signs, or words to communicate meaning.

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

Hidden around the room and also outside were a parrot, a pirate vest, a hook, a pirate hat, and of course, the hidden treasure on the X.

Recognizing the next step in a simple pattern or sequence of activities is a math access point.

Associating information with referent objects is a language access point.

When the students found the treasure, they opened it up to find a little treat wrapped in gold wrapping paper. Excitement galore!

It was fun fer all 🙂

Arrrgg, be sure to ship out with us next week for more fun and learning, Group by Group!

Sep15

Friends Live in Different Places

Posted on September 15, 2013 by jd785

Friends Live in Different Places

Our groups complimented the Unique Curriculum theme that our students are studying this month. As usual, we address math, language and science access points but with this unit we also address social studies access points such as recognizing differences in climates or vegetation.

Cara wrote a fantastic book with such cute pictures of children around the world—-it was a real hit with our students in each of the groups.

We had so much fun exploring the different continents. Read along to see all the fun we had!

Sensory Group

We started our world tour in a South American tropical rainforest! Our umbrella was decorated with plastic leaves and christmas garland, bead, and yarn vines. Foam butterflies, toy snakes and frogs were attached with more yarn. A huggable monkey and jungle sounds recorded on a voice output device completed the experience.

Our students always get excited when we have an umbrella experience and this one was no different. So much fun to see their smiling faces!

Lots of access points can be addressed with this box, including the science access point of distinguishing between a plant and an animal and the language access points of communicating recognition of familiar persons or objects and responding to a technology resource.

Next came North America where we explored the colors of the Canadian flag—red and white! Our box contained soft pom poms and hard beads to compare and contrast.

Beads are always a favorite—fun to shake AND fun to wear!

The math access points of recognizing two objects that are the same size or color and recognizing 3 dimensional objects are addressed here.

Other countries have flags that are red, white and blue like ours. In Europe, two of them are France and the United Kingdom. Our colorful rice had the letters U and F to find in addition to the French and UK flags hidden at the bottom of the box.

Rice is always a wonderful tactile experience. Our students love running their fingers through it—-and grabbing handfuls to toss in the air which we try to discourage. Although, tracking objects in motion IS a science access point 🙂

Tactile and visual discrimination skills are promoted with this activity.

On to Asia where flowers are a highlight of many festivals. This box contained pink petals and 3 sunflowers for sorting, counting—–or tossing into the air to watch as they drift down 🙂

The math access points of comparing quantities to 3 using language, such as more, less, or the same and or solving simple problems joining or separating sets of objects to 3 can be addressed here.

How exciting would it be to visit the African savannah! We filled this box with rafia and green easter grass so it looked like the different grasses you might see while on safari.

We also included some zebra striped pom poms and a variety of toy animals. Some of the animals had a button that made noise when pressed—-perfect for working on finger isolation.

The science access point of recognizing and responding to common sounds and distinguishing between a plant and an animal are addressed here.

As the students push the animals button, they also are addressing the science access point of applying a push to move an object.

What continent is covered with snow? Antarctica!!! We made a batch of our fake snow and put it in the fridge. Cold AND wet, some of our students thought it was pretty neat—–others not so much 🙂

This activity addresses the science access point of recognizing objects or materials as warm or cold.

We used eucalyptus scented water and lotion to remind us of the leaves that Australian koala bears like to eat! It was a pretty strong scent which all our students seemed to like.

As the lotion is rubbed on arms, hands or back of neck (for those students who engage in hand mouthing behaviors) we talk about the different body parts—-addressing the science access point of recognizing one or more external body parts.

This activity also addresses the science access point of recognizing and responding to different types of sensory stimuli and the math access point of requesting “more” of an action or activity.

Fine Motor Group

On Tuesday for out art project, we cut out and colored the seven continents. Joy drew a gross outline of each continent on a rectangular piece of construction paper (each a different color). Each student chose their favorite…..

…..and proceeded to color it!

Discussing the shape of the paper addresses the math access point of recognizing 2 dimensional shapes.

This also addresses the science access point of identifying objects by one observable property.

Since the outlines were too complex for our adaptive scissors or paper cutters, we used our electric scissors to cut them out——what fun! The students really had a blast and were so fascinated by the action 🙂

This was a great activity for practicing switch usage and learning to keep your hand on the switch to keep the scissors cutting.

This activity addresses the math access point of solving problems involving actions using language such as enough, too much, or more.

Then we glued the continents down on a blue background to make our world map—-addressing the social studies access point of associating a picture with a place.

TA DA!!!!

On Thursday, before we started our next art project, we told the students we were going to paint with green paint, showing them the color on a communication symbol. Then we asked them to show us “green” from a choice of two by either touching the symbol or using eye gaze to make their choice.

This addresses the language access point of responding accurately and consistently to referent objects, pictures, or symbols used in routines.

Then it was time to paint a large circle that was cut from blue poster board——we’re making a global map! These sponge brushes are perfect for the job.

Discussing the shape of the poster board addresses the math access point of recognizing 2 dimensional objects.

It also addresses the social studies access point of recognizing a picture of land or water.

Of course, its also a great activity for practicing prewriting skills!

The words “Friends Around The World” were glued onto the circle.

The language access point of responding to new vocabulary as it is taught is addressed here.

Also eye hand coordination is practiced as the students place the paper on top of the glue.

Joy made some paper dolls in traditional costumes from around the world, and added the student’s photos to them. They took turns gluing them to the map—-quite fascinated by their photos!

This activity addresses the social studies access point of recognizing differences in clothing from other cultures.

Our finished product looks so cute hanging in the hallway outside Jeannie’s classroom….

too cute!!!!!

Language Group

While reading Cara’s book, each time we read about a continent we would hand the student who “read” the repetitive line an animal native to that continent.

Here is a breakdown of the animals we used with each continent: Africa–lion, Europe–bird, Asia–tiger, North America–black bear, South America–lizard, Australia–platypus, and Antarctica–penguin. We have found that our students really enjoy holding objects and using props throughout our group seems to bring more meaning to what we are talking about.

Matching common living things with their habitats is a science access point.

After reading the book, we unrolled a big map of the world. On an All-Turn-It Spinner, we taped each of the 7 continents. We asked the students “where” they were going to go while holding up the PIXON symbol for “where”. The students took turns activating the All-Turn-It Spinner to see which continent they were going to visit.

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

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

We had print outs of the students’ faces and would tape their face to the continent they landed on.

When they were through, we used PIXON symbols and the students had to verbalize or point out, “I go here”.

They had so much fun with this activity and so did we!

Matching objects, pictures, gestures/signs, or symbols to tasks in routines is a language access point.

Completing a pictorial map using pictures or symbols for designated areas is a social studies access points.

We loved exploring our wonderful world this past week and hope we gave you some inspiration for your own explorations! Come back next week where more surprises await—-Group by Group!