Tag Archives: Fine motor

Sep8

Jobs At School

Posted on September 8, 2013 by jd785

We celebrated labor day this week by talking about what different jobs there are at our school. There were a lot of familiar faces in Cara’s book and the students in all our groups got so excited when they recognized someone. One of our students was able to verbalize what the music and art teacher did right when seeing their picture!

SENSORY GROUP

One of the most important jobs at school is “teacher”—the person who helps us learn to read and count! We have some pretty fabulous ones at our school 🙂 and for their box we used our blue moonsand—-one of our school colors is blue! Our students had the choice of pressing A B C or 1 2 3 cookie cutters into the sand.

Pushing the cookie cutters helps strengthen hand intrinsics as well as working on letter and number identification.

Our students really love music and we had such fun with our “music teacher” box. We brought out our shakers—lentils in one bottle and acorns in another—-and recorded some lively music on the voice output device.

It was so cute to see little heads start bobbing as soon as the button was pressed—-even Ms. Joi started rocking out to the beat 🙂

This activity addresses the language access point of responding to rhythm in familiar songs.

By pressing the voice output device, students address the math access point of indicating a desire for more.

Who doesn’t love art—-especially when it involves finger painting! Our sensory group version was shaving cream with food coloring. Messy fun, always a favorite with us. It’s a great tactile experience but also an opportunity to practice prewriting designs and letters.

This activity also addresses the science access point of recognizing and responding to one type of sensory stimuli.

As the food coloring is mixed with the shaving cream, the science access point of recognizing a change in an object is addressed.

Water play is always fun, whether in the swimming pool during PE or our little splash pool!

As hands—both little and big—splash the water, the science access point of applying a push to move an object is addressed.

We used SOFT cotton balls and HARD tongue depressors for our “nurse” box. Some of our students enjoyed sorting the items by texture, practicing counting or even imitating some letters!

Of course, just exploring the items was a popular activity also 🙂

The science access point of recognizing common objects as identical to each other can be addressed here.

This also addresses the math access point of recognizing two objects that are the same size or color.

LUNCH—everyone’s favorite part of the day 🙂 Our lunchroom staff serve us lots of choices of yummy food!

We filled our box with some green paper shred “lettuce” and a variety of play food. Eating utensils, an identification card and a mini lunch tray.

Hmm………a burger or chicken, decisions decisions……

The math access point of recognizing common activities that occur every day can be addressed with this box.

In addition, the science access points of recognizing models of real objects and recognizing that people need food can be addressed here.

One of the most exciting jobs at school has to be “school bus driver”. Our students love their big yellow buses and drivers! Our yellow rice was wonderfully bright and perfect for driving a little bus around in. A picture of the bus was also taped to the bottom of the box.

The science access points of applying a push or pull to move an object and recognizing models of real objects are both addressed in this box.

We finished with Bath and Bodyworks Country Apple scent—-apples for teacher, naturally 🙂

Our students are always given the opportunity to communicate their preferences for the week’s scent and this one was pretty much a favorite of everyone.

Fine Motor Group

On Tuesday we stamped with an assortment of fruit and vegetables—-on rectangle shaped paper.

just like those we get at lunch!

This was a great art activity, our students really had a great time and were fascinated by the impressions they made. And……nobody took samples 🙂

The math access point of recognizing 2 dimensional shapes is addressed here.

TA DA—-didn’t these turn out so cute and colorful!

On Thursday we made paper plate tambourines. We started by counting out our circle plates and then decorated them with markers.

The math access point of recognizing 2 dimensional shapes is addressed here.

You may notice our students don’t always have a perfect “tripod grasp” of their writing utensil but we feel that active involvement is more important than perfect grasps.

Then we attached 3 jingle bells which were pre-threaded with small chenille stems. Our students did need help pushing and pulling the chenille stems through the holes but what a great opportunity to work on pincer grasp skills —–Joy really likes that, one of those OT things 🙂

We counted the bells as they were strung, asking our students to find the number on the communication board—–they did an awesome job, we were so proud!!!!!

Time to rock out, our students LOVED shaking their tambourines……

TA sha la la DA 🙂

Language Group

We used the same pictures of the people used in our book and Boardmaker symbols for pictures of what each person could be associated with at school. We taped the people on the left side and the picture symbols on the right side of a piece of board.

Using black yarn that was connected to each of the pictures of people, the students had to figure out what picture symbol went with which person.

This activity addresses the language access point of recognizing familiar persons and objects associated with routines.

For our students who needed more support to understand the concept, we used auditory scanning and had them answer yes or no or eye gaze to indicate their choice, for example “Does the music teacher use a bandaid? Does she use a paintbrush? Does she use musical instruments?”).

After finding the correct picture symbol, Cara modeled the PIXON symbols “she uses this” and had the students verbalize if they were able to or point in the correct order if they were unable to vocalize.

This addresses the language access point of communicating information about familiar persons, objects, or actions, using non-verbal expressions, gestures, signs, pictures, symbols, or words.

For some of our students with visual impairments and also for the students that do not have a great understanding of pictures yet, we used real objects, including: paintbrush for the art teacher, maraca for the music teacher, ball for PE teacher, stethoscope for nurse, play food for lunch lady, and a recording of bus sounds for bus driver.

This worked out SO great and made it more meaningful for ALL the students.

It was another great week and we had so much fun, join us next time…….Group by Group 🙂

Sep2

Florida Vacation

Posted on September 2, 2013 by jd785

Florida Vacation

We’re BACK!

While its great to be back at school, we can’t help but think about all the fun times we had this summer. We love living in Florida and just like the rest of the world, we love Florida vacations—-the perfect theme for our first post of the year.

Cara wrote another terrific book that we read in each of our groups and our students did a great job of using the voice output device to “read” the repetitive line!

So put on your sunglasses and join us for a tour of sunny Florida 🙂

Sensory Group

Our beautiful sandy beaches are one of the many reasons to visit Florida. We made our sand from wheat flour and oil (we found the recipe on Pinterest). Its basically cloud dough made with wheat instead of white flour.

We liked the texture it made—a little firmer than regular sand but not as firm as moon sand. Supremely touchable stuff! Three sea shells were hidden to find and make impressions…..

….And also perfect for scooping!

This activity addresses the science access points of recognizing common objects in the natural world through observations and recognizing common objects as the same.

It also addresses the math access point of recognizing quantities 1 to 3 using sets of objects.

Situated on the east coast of Florida, St. Augustine is the oldest city in the United States! How cool is THAT!

We colored our rice red and yellow, the colors of the Spanish flag, in honor of the first European settlers.

We have made some pretty colorful rice combinations in the past but this has got to be one of the most vibrant—really eye catching stuff that you can’t stop reaching out to touch 🙂

F is for Florida and we hid 3 letters in the rice!

Visual and tactile discrimination skills are addressed in this activity.

If you love learning about the space program, Cape Canaveral is the place to visit. You can see all sorts of rocket ships and pretend to be an astronaut!

We used our black beans to represent the night sky and put in some glow in the dark stars and crescent moons in addition to a little astronaut.

Tactile and visual discrimination skills are addressed as students discover the items hidden among the beans.

This activity also addresses the science access point of associating stars with the night sky and the math access point of recognizing common objects with two-dimensional shapes.

Everglades National Park is located in the southern part of our state and riding on an airboat is an exciting way to explore it!

We used our vibrating massager and battery operated fan to simulate what it would feel like to ride in one.

Our students really loved the feel of the fan and the massager.

Some of our students were able to work on thumb strengthening while turning the fan on/off.

This activity addresses the science access points of recognizing and responding to one type of sensory stimuli and indicating awareness of air moving.

We have so many fun theme parks to visit and Sea World is one of our favorites—everybody loves Shamu!

Toy sharks and whales swam in our water this week and as always, our students love to splash in the water……

….especially with friends 🙂

This activity addresses the science access point of distinguishing between items that are wet and items that are dry, as well as the science access point of sharing objects with a partner!

And finally, one of the biggest tourist attractions—Disney World!

We put colorful, soft pompoms in the colors of Mickey Mouse—-red, yellow, white and black—great for sorting and counting.

Lots of math access points can be targeted here, including solving simple real-world problems involving joining or separating small quantities of objects and recognizing the next step in a simple pattern or sequence of activities.

We also recorded the Mickey’s club house theme song on our voice output device. This was a total favorite that had some of our students getting up to dance, what FUN!

Recognizing and responding to common sounds is a science access point 🙂

When you visit sunny Florida you have to wear sunscreen! We thought Bath and Body Aruba coconut was the perfect scent for this week…

It smelled really yummy 🙂

This is a super fun way to work on the science access point of identifying external body parts.

Fine Motor Group

We had two really fun art projects this week! On Tuesday after reading our book, we talked about all the animals we could see while visiting Sea World, painting blue corn syrup water.

We started by showing the bottle of blue corn syrup and then asking our students to show us “blue”.

The students then used their brushes to spread the mixture all over the paper.

This is a great way to practice using writing tools.

We then gave the students a choice between a precut dolphin or orca to put in their water. The corn syrup, being naturally sticky, means you don’t need to use glue!

Eye hand coordination is addressed when placing them onto the paper.

This activity also addresses the math access point of recognizing when an object is added to a situation.

Ta Da—we just love how it dries but still looks shiny and wet!

………….Don’t they look terrific 🙂

On Thursday our art project was all about the mouse 🙂 We started by stapling 2 smaller black plates to a large white plate.

We used an oval hole punch to cut out a nose. The hole punch was a little hard to push so our students needed assistance.

Then we put the nose in the middle of the white circle.

As we put together our mouse we discussed the different facial body parts.

We also discussed the similarities and differences in sizes of the paper plates which addressed math access points.

Then we used the paper cutter to cut a red square into 2 triangles to make a bow and placed it either at the top or bottom of the face……to make Mickey or Minnie!

As a final flourish we added 2 googlie eyes—-you know how much we love them!

Circular eyes, triangle bows and an oval nose—-more math access points.

Super cute!

Language Group

In the past, we have focused on working with the alphabet each week for the language group. However, since things went so well at the end of the year when we changed the language group to coincide with the theme of the other two groups, we decided to keep it that way.

Next, we used a drawn outline of Florida (drawn by our very talented Art teacher, Judy). We used the pictures of the different places from our book and glued them to where they would be located on the map.

Then, we went around to each student, one at a time, and had them match the given picture to where it was located on the map. We used the PIXONs “where” to ask the question “where is it?”, “match” in order to reinforce that we were matching photographs, and “find” to have them find it on the map. After each photo was matched correctly, we had the PIXONs “I put it here” in a row and each student had to read the sentence by pointing to each PIXON while verbalizing the word if they were able to.

Some required a little more help than others, but they all took their time to look at the pictures to see if they could match the correct ones!

When we were all done matching, we asked each of the students where they would like to take a trip.

The count at the end was 1 student for Sea World and the rest of them for the Everglades to ride on an air boat:)

Let us know if you have traveled to any of these places 🙂

Well that is it for the first week! We have so many more fun groups planned for the rest of the year, so be sure to join us—-Group by Group 🙂

May27

Memorial Day

Posted on May 27, 2013 by jd785

Memorial Day

It was all about the red, white and blue as we learned about Memorial Day this week. Cara wrote a wonderful book that really helped our students understand the meaning behind the holiday.

Our Sensory Group had lots of exciting boxes to discover—and we got lots of adorable pictures of our students in sunglasses 🙂

The Fine Motor Group made 2 patriotic art projects, learning about shapes in the process.

And finally, our Language Group had fun playing a game and learning some action words.

All in all, a great week!

SENSORY GROUP—

As we said, it was all about the red, white, and blue this week. This first box was filled with soft red and white pompoms to contrast with hard blue beads. Our students loved sorting the items and its always interesting watching which items the students prefer—some love the pom poms while others always go for the bling beads 🙂

This activity addresses the science access points of recognizing common objects as the same and recognizing objects by one observable property such as color.

Our discovery bottle continued our red, white, and blue theme. A little corn syrup was added to our water to slow down the movement of the beads as the bottle was tilted back and forth. The colorful beads were very eye catching and the bottle was a hit!

This addresses the science access point of tracking objects in motion.

We also brought some auditory input with a recording of “America the Beautiful” on our voice output device (we found the music on Youtube). Our students are really drawn to music and the recording was no exception.

We love how this student is creating his own multi-sensory experience 🙂

These items address the science access point of recognizing and responding to common sounds.

We love the texture of our homemade playdough but we made it extra special this week by adding cherry koolaid to the mixture! Some of our students enjoyed the aroma while others had fun cutting out big and little stars with the cookie cutters.

For some extra fun, we used a patriotic themed placemat—thanks Ms. Kim!

This addresses the math access point of recognizing differences in sizes of objects and the science access point recognizing and responding to one type of sensory stimuli.

We also used big and little star shaped cookie cutters with the blue moonsand. It has a different texture than the playdough—soft but much drier and more crumbly.

We found the cookie cutters were better used to make impressions on the surface—of course it was also fun to just grab handfuls and squish between fingers 🙂

Our students looked for the letters U S A and a hidden flag picture taped to the bottom of our red, white, and blue box. Not only bright and colorful, the rice has a wonderful tactile feel which is an important feature as some of our students are also visually impaired.

This box addresses both visual and tactile discrimination.

It also addresses the social studies access point of recognizing the american flag.

Our next box was a HUGE hit!

We filled it with bright blue foil paper shred (thanks again Ms. Kim!), toy soldiers, chenille stems, beads, sunglasses, star garland, flags, and other assorted red, white, and blue items.

This box addresses the social studies access points of recognizing the american flag and recognizing a symbol or event that represents America.

Red and blue glitter made our oobleck super sparkly and pretty this week! Our students had fun practicing prewriting patterns, watching it drip off fingers…..

or just enjoying the FEEL of it 🙂

The science access point of recognizing a change in an object is addressed as the oobleck changes from solid to liquid and back again as it is touched.

Just wonderful, wonderful stuff!

Our water play scent is always a favorite with our students. This week we added the scent Country Apple from Bath and Bodyworks. We also vary the temperature from cold to warm (never hot, of course) each week.

Our measuring cups help address the science access point of recognizing different containers that hold liquids.

This activity also addresses the science access points of recognizing water as a liquid and recognizing the different ways people use water……

……in our case for FUN 🙂

The matching Country Apple lotion was rubbed on hand, arms or necks and left our students smelling like yummy apple pies—-and what could be more american than that!

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

It also provides an opportunity to address the math access point of indicating a desire for more of an action or object.

FINE MOTOR GROUP—

On Tuesday we decorated some great big stars! We divided our markers into trays by color (red and blue) and asked the students to tell us what color was in each tray using communication symbols.

Our students are getting better and better at identifying their colors!

This addresses the science access point of recognizing objects by one observable property such as color.

It also addresses the language access point of identifying obvious differences between referent objects.

Then, of course, we used the markers to color our stars!

First we colored with blue markers—then with the red ones. There were a variety of markers to choose from. Some had rounded tops (from RoseArt) that are particularly easy for our students to hold and manipulate. We also really like the smaller Pipsqueak markers from Crayola. Some of our students are working on increasing the time they spend scribbling while others are working on making directional strokes.

They have all made such good progress this year!

This activity also addresses the math access point of recognizing objects with 2 dimensional shapes.

We finished with some gold glitter—-we never pass up the opportunity to add a little sparkle to our projects 🙂

TA DA!!!!

Didn’t they turn out cute!

On Thursday we continued our patriotic theme by making flags!

We started by cutting 4 strips of red paper with our paper cutter—-counting aloud as each strip was cut.

Applying a push or pull to move an object is a science access point and associating quantities with number names is a math access point.

Then we glued the strips to a large white rectangle piece of paper.

We used our colored glue (food coloring added to white glue) to help our students position their strips in a horizontal manner—

some students, of course, had their own artistic vision 🙂

This activity addresses spatial relations and eye hand coordination. Squeezing the glue helps hand strengthening.

It also addresses the math access point of recognizing objects with 2 dimensional shapes.

Then we stamped white stars onto a small blue rectangle. We made the stamp by cutting out stars from thick craft foam and using double stick tape to adhere them to a kitchen scrubber (our always handy adaptive art tool).

Instead of ink, we used white paint—-mixed with gold glitter 🙂

Our students really enjoyed this part of the activity and had a lot of fun stamping their stars

This activity addresses eye hand coordination and the math access points of recognizing objects with 2 dimensional shapes and recognizing differences in the size of objects.

It also addresses the science access point of recognizing objects by one observable property, in this case color.

TA DA!!!!

Our flags turned out super CUTE!

LANGUAGE GROUP—

To get the students into the spirit of Memorial Day, we had them following some patriotic directions. We got this idea from the Carrots are Orange blog. The directions we used were: flag waving, drum beating, bell ringing, stars twinkling, eagle soaring, and legs marching.

We put the directions on an All Turn It spinner which is operated by a switch. Our students used PIXON symbols to convey the message, “it’s my turn” before they pressed the switch to see what direction they had to carry out. They really seemed to like watching it spin. After it stopped, the students used PIXON symbols to convey the message, “I do it”.

This activity addresses the language access point of associating information or wants and needs with pictures, symbols, or words.

For “flag waving”, the students waved a flag, for “drum beating” the students beat on bongo drums, for “bell ringing” they shook a bell, for “stars twinkling” we turned on battery operated christmas lights, for “eagle soaring” they outstretched their arms to mimic a bird in flight, and for “legs marching” they marched their feet.

The students totally got into the activity and loved playing with our different props!

All sorts of access points are addressed while performing the various movements including the language access point of exploring and interacting with the functions of a selected object and the science access point of recognizing external body parts!

Well that is it for the week and our last group post of the school year! We plan to be back for more fun and learning in the fall. We hope you will be joining us—Group by Group!

For now we are “too cool for school” and ready for summer 🙂

May20

Earth Science

Posted on May 20, 2013 by jd785

Earth Science

The theme for the Unique Curriculum is earth science this month so we tied our groups to go along with the theme. Cara wrote another great book and found some great pictures to go along with it.

Our students were AMAZED 🙂

When we got to the page about rain, we used our spray bottle to mist water up into the air to then fall gently down on the students. They LOVED this part and needless to say there were lots of giggles AND lots of opportunities for them to request “more”—-one of their math access and language points!!!

Do we make learning FUN or what???!!!! 🙂

Sensory Group—

The surface of our earth is covered by a variety of plant life. In this box we put in silk leaves, easter grass, plastic trees, flowers to represent all the different plants to be found. We loved these bright and colorful sunflowers!

We included yarn pieces and beads in the colors of green and brown. The sun and moon affect our planet so we also put in a moon shaped cookie cutter and little wooden sun.

Finally a little globe was included—our earth!

This box addresses the science access point of recognizing common objects related to science by name, such as a plant. It also addresses the science access point of recognizing a model of a real object.

Noting that the globe is a sphere addresses the math access point of recognizing a 3 dimensional shape!

Wind is one of the forces that affects the surface of our earth. We created our own windstorm using our little battery operated fans.

We had some different reactions to the tactile feel of the blowing air—-some of our students loved it and couldn’t wait to push the buttons themselves—-others had to think about it for a while 🙂

They were also pretty fascinated by the soft spinning blades!

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

Underneath all the plants and trees is soil.

We buried 3 circular puzzle pieces for our students to find and they loved pushing aside the coffee ground soil to find them—-and then pushing the grounds back to cover them back up 🙂

This box addresses the math access point of recognizing a 2 dimensional shape.

Digging down deep enough into the earth’s crust and you will find layers and layers of different rocks—-just like our mixed beans!

E is for Earth! We put in some letter E’s to find and match—-and then bury again!

We included a measuring spoon for some scooping fun, although most students prefer to run their hands through the beans for that wonderful tactile feel that they have.

Now we do try to keep a close eye on students when they have the bean box—to make sure there is no “sampling” but also to watch for our little scientists who want to see if gravity REALLY works with handfuls of beans 🙂

We used this grey floam to represent our earths mantle which is one of the many layers that form our planet. By squishing it together, our students could form it into a hard ball, kind of like the hard rock that makes up the mantle.

This floam is pretty cool stuff and everyone, adults included, is pretty fascinated by it.

Forming the ball is great for building hand strength, bilateral coordination, and palmer arches.

Of course our ball of floam can also be called a “sphere” and recognizing 3 dimensional shapes is one of our math access points!

Digging down still deeper we will get to earth’s liquid core! We mixed yellow and red food coloring with our shaving cream to make our lava. What fun to mix it all together and come out with this fabulous orange lava!

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

Its also a great opportunity to practice prewriting skills with a wonderful tactile experience.

The earth has a magnetic field. We used a magnet discovery bottle to help our students learn about magnetism……it really is pretty fascinating to watch the magnetic wand “capture” the little metal pieces inside the bottle!

Its also a great activity for bilateral coordination.

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

Finally we rinsed our hands in Ocean scented water from Bath and Bodyworks and then used the matching lotion to help us remember all the cool things we learned about our planet today!

Our little ocean had 2 different sized measuring cups to address the math access point of recognizing differences in sizes of containers that hold liquids.

Exploring the aroma of the lotion addresses the science access point of recognizing and responding to one type of sensory stimuli.

Fine Motor—

On Tuesday we thought making a volcano would be a great art project for our students. We started by turning our brown rectangle into a triangle by using our paper cutter to cut the 3 sides—counting each side as we cut.

Then we glued in onto our blue rectangle paper.

Recognizing 2 dimensional shapes is a math access point.

Now for the really fun bit—the lava! We mixed glue, shaving cream, and orange paint to make our lava. We wanted a three dimensional tactile texture and this stuff turns out just like puffy paint when it dries—-if you haven’t tried this concoction you really should!

Our students did a great job using their brushes to spread the mixture. They are spending more time painting and visually attending to their projects—we are so proud 🙂

This activity addresses spatial relations and eye hand coordination.

We had lots of Ta Da’s as usual.

Don’t these volcanos look SO COOL!!!!!!

Some of them were so proud of themselves they asked for hugs also—

needless to say we obliged 🙂

On Thursday we continued our explorations of earth science with our next art project. We started with a blue circle—addressing the math access point of recognizing a 2 dimensional shape again! We are going to make a picture of our earth.

Tissue paper was then torn and crumpled and glued onto the blue circle—to make some continents.

Tearing and crumpling the paper promotes bilateral coordination and addresses the science access point of recognizing a change in an object.

We asked the students to identify the colors of the paper we used today. Identifying an object by one observable property (in this case color) is a science access point.

Are students are just so smart!!!!

TA DA!!!!

Language Group—

We decided to make a visual of the Earth’s different layers. We found this idea on www.birdandlittlebird.com and thought it would be PERFECT, as well as lots of fun. The students had to follow the directions which consisted of PIXON symbols, Boardmaker symbols, and real pictures.

Since the pictures depicting the Earth’s layers are color coded, we decided to base our visual support off of some of the pictures we found. We started with 1/4 cup of liquid dish soap. The dish soap was pink and we added a little red food coloring to it to show how hot the Earth’s inner core is.

Graded motor control and eye hand coordination are needed to pour the liquid from the measuring cup into the jar.

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

Throughout this activity we are also addressing the math access point of solving problems involving small quantities of objects or actions using language, such as enough, too much, or more.

For the next layer, the outer core, we used 1/4 cup of water. We dropped red and yellow food coloring in the water in order to make orange. Since our visually impaired students could not see the color changes they participated by being in charge of shaking the liquid (we used a lidded juice bottle).

They really enjoyed this bit 🙂

The science access points of applying a push or pull to move an object and recognizing a change in an object are addressed here.

Now, as scientists conducting experiments, sometimes things don’t go QUITE like you had planned——- after putting the water in, we did not see any distinct layers! We couldn’t figure out what we did wrong—- so we decided to start over and use karo syrup at the bottom instead of the dish soap.

Although the colors were very similar in appearance when in the jar, you could see a little more layering than before.

The third layer, or the mantle, consisted of 1/4 cup vegetable oil. We did not add any coloring since it was already yellow.

On an added note, it is important to pour the liquids SLOWLY—a funnel helps.

For the last layer which is the crust, we used 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol which we colored blue. The students seemed to LOVE watching the liquids separate into different layers, and the adults enjoyed it too!

All in all, the experiment was a success AND we learned some new words!

We turned off the lights and held a flashlight behind the jar to really see the layers.

Science experiments are just so FUN!!!

Join us again next week for our final groups of this school year—

Its going to be filled with more fun things to learn and discover—–Group by Group 🙂

May12

Mother Goose

Posted on May 12, 2013 by jd785

Mother Goose

It’s Children’s Book Week and we decided to go with the classic Mother Goose as our theme—-everyone loves a good rhyme after all 🙂 Hope you enjoy reading about all our activities.

Sensory Group—

The Mother Goose box was filled with a variety of items representing different nursery rhymes.

There were some white feathers—-lost by Mother Goose herself no doubt—– Contrary Mary silk flower petals (as well as a cockle shell and silver jingle bell), Rock a Bye Baby leaves, London Bridge bricks (duplos), Jack and Jill’s pail, a mouse to run up a clock, a craft foam moon and….. a cow to jump over it.

The cow made a mooing sound when a button was pressed making it quite popular. Other students enjoyed filling up the little pail with the feathers and leaves. With all the different objects and textures, there was something for everyone!

The language access point of recognizing and responding to familiar objects is one of the access points addressed here.

Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was WHITE as snow! This box was filled with an assortment of items all colored white.

We put in beads, pompoms, a plush seal, plastic dog, pearls, a snowflake ornament, faux lambswool, hair scrunchies, and a dusting mitt—this was especially popular. Our students loved putting it on their hands.

In addition to lots of textures to compare and contrast, this box addresses the science access point of recognizing common objects in the natural world.

Our Little Boy BLUE box was filled with all things blue—blocks, beads, dusters, shakers, pompoms etc.

Like our white box this was filled with a variety of textures and shapes to explore. Especially popular were the shakers and the accordion tube.

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

Students had fun using our dog and bone cookie cutters with the “Cow jumped over the Moon” sand.

Our students used the cookie cutters in different ways. Some of them pressed them into the sand to make impressions, while others used them like mini little shovels. Moon sand is a lot denser than regular sand so either way—–a great activity for hand strengthening!

As the moon sand gets dug up or smashed down into the cookie cutter the science access point of recognizing a change in an object is addressed.

In addition the language access point of communicating recognition of familiar objects is addressed when discussing the cookie cutter shapes.

Our Itsy Bitsy Spider bottle was also a huge hit, our students were really fascinated by it. We made the discovery bottle by putting some toy spiders in a bottle with water, cornsyrup, and some green glitter.

The students loved watching the little spiders scuttle back and forth as the bottle was tilted.

A totally fun bottle, one of our best ever!

This addresses the science access points of applying a push or pull to move an object and tracking objects in motion.

You can also count the spiders and discuss their colors for additional learning fun 🙂

Peas Porridge hot? Cold?…..Ok we were not sure what exactly “peas porridge” was but lentils are a type of “pea” so figured they would work for this box 🙂

They really have a wonderful soft texture as you run your hands through them, very relaxing—this box was a hit with the students AND the adults!

Hidden amongst the lentils were 2 sets of Mother Goose’s initials for our students to find.

Matching the letters addresses the math access point of recognizing 2 objects that are identical to each other—-in addition to letter recognition of course!

We also including 2 different sized measuring spoons for scooping practice and to address the math access point of recognizing similarities and differences in the size of common objects.

Poor Humpty Dumpty 🙂 We put a little yellow toy flying saucer in our oobleck and it looked just like an egg—pretty cool!

This addresses the science access point of recognizing and responding to different types of sensory stimuli—exploring the tactile aspects of the oobleck while observing the visual aspect of the yellow disc.

Of course, oobleck is always just flat FUN 🙂

After rinsing our hands in water from Jack and Jill’s well, we rubbed Ring Round the Rosies rose scented lotion on hands and arms to help us remember all the fun and learning of todays group.

This rose lotion had a pretty strong aroma—it brought back a lot of memories for the adults—-and our students loved it!

Rubbing the lotion on various body parts helps address the science access point of recognizing external body parts.

Fine Motor Group—

On Tuesday we made a picture of Humpty Dumpty. After writing our names on our BIG, rectangular piece of paper……we stamped LITTLE, red rectangles to make a wall. The stamp was made using thick craft foam attached to a kitchen scrubber using double stick tape.

We counted the paper as we passed it out and also counted as the students stamped their small rectangles. We also encouraged our students to stamp from left to right across the page—the same direction you take when reading or writing.

This activity addresses the math access points of recognizing a 2 dimensional shape and recognizing the differences in size of objects.

We cut oval eggs out of craft foam and let our students choose their color using picture cards.

Then we used our circle cutter to make Humpty’s face. Some of our students drew their own faces while others needed some help.

The circle was glued onto the oval and then Humpty was glued onto the wall.

Again, we are addressing the math access point of recognizing 2 dimensional shapes but we are also addressing the math access point of recognizing a movement that reflects a spatial relationship.

The language access point of effectively communicating wants to a familiar person using symbols is also addressed.

Eye hand coordination is addressed as the various pieces are assembled to make the final product.

Ta DA!!!

A very happy Humpty Dumpty on his wall before his fall—-hey its Mother Goose time and we are ready to rhyme 🙂

On Thursday in preparation for our art project Ms Barrett’s class had watched a video of nursery rhymes including Hickory Dickory Dock in preparation for our second art project which is all about shapes again!

We started our activity by counting the sides of our BIG rectangular piece of paper and then practiced writing our names on it. A LITTLE rectangle was glued to the BOTTOM.

This addresses a lot of math access points including recognizing a 2 dimensional shape, recognizing the sides of a square or rectangle, and recognizing the length of real objects, such as big, little etc.

Then we glued a circle clock face onto a square piece of paper—that was then glued to the top of our little rectangle.

This addresses the math access points of recognizing 2 dimensional shape and recognizing a movement that reflects a spatial relationship.

Next we used our paper cutter to change our square into 2 triangles—addressing the science access point of recognizing a change in an object.

We glued the square onto the rectangle at the top and put the triangle on top.

Pat pat pat!

Again addressing the math access point of recognizing a movement that reflects a spatial relationship.

Add one cute little pink craft foam mouse (complete with purple yarn tail) and our clocks are complete——

TA! DA!

Language Group—

Our language group especially enjoyed Cara’s book this week because 2 of the models in the book are instructional assistants in the class! The students had so much fun pointing them out.

One of the things we focused on today was sequencing. We picked 4 different nursery rhymes; Jack and Jill, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Humpty Dumpty, and Little Miss Muffet, and printed out sequencing cards found on EnchantedLearning.com. Using the PIXON picture symbols for “first”, “second” and “last”, we had our students put the cards into order.

We said the nursery rhymes line by line so the students could find the card that matched with the line read. They would then have to place the card under the correct PIXON to show first, second, and last.

This activity addresses the language access point of effectively communicating information using referent objects, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words.

It also addresses the math access point of recognizing the next step in a simple pattern or sequence of activities.

For our students with visual impairments, we adapted the activity by using a voice output device. The phrase “that’s the one” was recorded on it for our students to press as we read the choices aloud.

After completing this task, we turned off the lights and brought out our light up moon—-so cool, we love it!

We then presented 3 different cows to our students. One was plush, another was a large inset puzzle piece, the third was a small plastic model. We deliberately chose these to make them very easy for our students with visual impairments to differentiate. The students got to pick which cow they wanted and practiced having the cow jump over the moon.

The students again used their Pixon symbols to say “I want” and then pointed to the desired cow. Addressing the language access point of effectively communicating wants using referent objects, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words.

This activity is great for promoting shoulder stability and crossing midline as the cow jumps from one side of the moon to the other.

It also addresses the science access point of recognizing a model of a real object and the language access point of listening for informative purposes.

This was such a great week, all our groups were so fun and our students are making so much progress—-we are so proud! Join us again next time—-Group by Group!

May5

Cinco de Mayo

Posted on May 5, 2013 by jd785

Cinco de Mayo

We had a really great week here at Group by Group. First we found out we had been nominated for the Liebster Award (selected by our fellow blogger over at I Teach Speech) which was pretty exciting for us. Second—-its Cinco de Mayo—-time for a fiesta full of bright colors, music, food and fun! Cara wrote another great book which our students loved and we had a blast with all our different activities. Here is what we did—

Sensory Group—

Red, green and white are the colors of the Mexican flag. Our colorful pompoms and beads, great for comparing and contrasting, were a hit as always. Our students love to sort the pompoms or shake the beads—such fun! This box was so bright and colorful, who could resist 🙂

This activity addresses the science access points of recognizing common objects as the same and identifying objects by one observable property, such as color. It also addresses the math access point of recognizing two objects that are the same size and color and the math access point of recognizing common objects with three dimensional shapes (spheres).

We put a great big letter M (Mexico) into our red, green and white rice. A map of Mexico was hidden at the bottom, waiting to be discovered as the rice is pushed aside.

The social studies access point of associating a picture or symbol with a location is addressed here.

Our fiesta box was filled with lots of fun things. We included colorful paper streamers and garland, a Mexican flag, a piece of serape fabric, a large shell (for the beautiful beaches), and a sun.

Also fun to find were some lizards, snakes and colorful birds—some native wildlife you might see there.

Finally, we put in the word “friends” because the people of Mexico are our friends 🙂

In addition to lots of language opportunities, this activity addresses the social studies access point of recognizing a cultural characteristic of a population.

Tacos, tortillas, empanadas—all made from cornmeal! One of our more popular textures and we love its silky tactile feel. Our students used their hands or a small measuring spoon to explore.

This addresses the science access point of applying a push or pull to move an object.

We recorded some traditional Mexican music on our voice output device. Our students love music and this was no exception. With the addition of our homemade maracas they had a rocking good time 🙂

Lots of science access points were addressed here including applying a push or pull to move an object, tracking moving objects and recognizing an action as fast or slow.

Monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico every year so we included our butterfly and caterpillar box. We dyed farfalle and rotini pastas to make our little insects and they turned out so bright and colorful—very eye catching for our students. The contrasting shapes and colors and great for working on sorting skills. Thumb finger grasps are promoted as students pick up the pieces of pasta.

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

Our version of guacamole—-yellow and blue food coloring were added to our shaving cream and we discussed what we thought might happen when the colors were mixed together.

We did discover from class to class that we needed to add a lot of yellow or we ended up with something closer to aqua rather than green 🙂

This addresses the science access point of recognizing that the appearance of an object or material has changed. It also addresses the science access point of exploring, observing, and recognizing common objects in the natural world.

We rinsed our hands in Coconut Lime scented water from Bath and Body Works. As usual, we included different sizes cups to allow them to practice scooping and filling.

The different sizes of the cups help address the math access point of recognizing differences in sizes of containers that hold liquids.

Our students all loved the matching lotion. What a yummy aroma to help them remember all the fun we had today!

Fine Motor Group—

On Tuesday we made some Guiros. We got the idea on Pinterest. This art project was all about the number 3—putting 3 of each item into our plastic water bottles. The items we added to our bottles included pieces of red, green and white chenille stems, macaroni, colorful beads AND……

3 scoops of glittery confetti! Needless to say, this stuff got everywhere and it certainly looked like a fiesta in the classroom 🙂

The math access point of recognizing quantities 1 to 3 using sets of objects, pictures, or number names was addressed in this activity.

TA DA!

Our guiros are finished, time to grab a popsicle stick and begin making music……

Ok, these were truly a hit—-the students LOVED them!!!!!

On Thursday we had a great time in the sensory room pretending we were riding some burros! Then we went back to the classroom to make our own! We cut the silhouettes from cereal boxes. We used the cereal boxes because we wanted something stiffer than construction paper and the boxes were FREE 🙂

We mixed black and white paint to make grey and our students started painting.

We are just so proud of how independent some of our students are getting—-PURE AWESOMENESS!!!

Eye hand coordination, tool use, and spatial relations skills are addressed here.

In addition, the science access point of recognizing that the appearance of a material has changed is addressed.

After they had finished painting they glued on square blankets (cut from an old purse—we were totally into trash to treasure art this week!).

The math access point of recognizing a 2 dimensional shape is addressed in this activity.

A googly eye finished the little burro.

TA DA!!

Super cute 🙂

Language Group—

We took turns wearing traditional Mexican clothing including a sombrero and serape. As you can see, we got some super cute pictures.

This activity addresses the language access point of responding to new vocabulary that is introduced and taught directly.

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

We also took turns playing with some maracas which our students absolutely loved.

What a great way to work on the science access point of applying a push or pull to move an object!

You can’t have a fiesta without some yummy food—-time for tacos!

We put a soft taco on a plate and the students used their communication symbols to tell us what toppings they wanted.

This addresses the language access point of effectively communicating wants and needs with prompting of familiar persons.

They had such a great time building their tacos—and, of course, EATING them 🙂

All our activities addressed the social studies access point of recognizing differences in food or clothing from other cultures.

With tummies full we looked at some of the words we learned today.

Its adios for now…….but don’t forget to drop by next week and share some more fun with us at Group by Group!

Apr21

Dinosaurs book

Posted on April 21, 2013 by jd785

Dinosaurs book

This week, we’re going prehistoric! We are learning about dinosaurs through sensory, fine motor, and language activities. They all LOVED the pictures in the book this week, taken by our very own OT, Joy! Each page has a different dinosaur and tells something about it. The students were asked, “when did dinosaurs live?” to which they answered, “dinosaurs lived long ago”. We are working on having the students pass the voice output device to the person who is next. It is still a hand over hand process, but the students are doing very well with it. Maybe in the next few weeks they’ll have it down! Enjoy the book.

Here is a link to the book: Dinosaurs Lived Long Ago

Apr21

Dinosaurs

Posted on April 21, 2013 by jd785

Dinosaurs

ROAR!!!! There were some dinosaurs roaming around around campus this week—you have to check out our visitors in Cara’s latest book. Kids love dinosaurs and ours are no exception! Hope you enjoy seeing how we carried out the theme throughout all our groups this week.

SENSORY GROUP

The land the dinosaurs ruled was filled with lots of vegetation so we filled this box with moss and leaves. We put in some plastic eggs and a variety of dinosaurs. Some of them had a button you could push to make them ROAR—needless to say, this was a huge hit!

We put in a variety of play food—meat for the meat eaters and vegetables for the plant eaters. Some fossils (playdough molds), a large letter D, and a bone shaped cookie cutter.

So much language and play included in this box—don’t you just love the action going on in this picture.

In addition to lots of fine motor skills addressed as students manipulate the various objects, press buttons etc., lots of access points are addressed. These include the science access point of distinguishing between a plant and an animal—if you are trying to feed your dinosaur, you know its an animal! It also addresses the language access point of selecting a familiar object to explore.

So while it’s not totally clear if dinosaurs became oil, we decided to go ahead and make a “fossil fuel” goo bag which was tons of fun.

It was made by mixing cooking oil and black paint and putting it in a heavy duty freezer bag, We then taped the bag onto a tray—and kept a supply of packing tape handy in case of slight rips. As the week went along and multiple classes participated in our groups—we did find DOUBLE bagging and TAPING worked best 🙂

While some of our students practiced prewriting strokes or even wrote their names— others were fascinated by watching the oil and paint swirl around—-so cool!

This addresses the science access point of applying a push or pull to move an object.

Dinosaurs are reptiles so they don’t have fur like mammals!

We used our plush fabric to represent mammals and we cut up an old green leather purse to make our dino skin. Our students enjoyed running their hands over the different textures, comparing and contrasting them.

This activity addresses the science access point of using the senses to recognize objects.

We wanted to convey the idea of dinosaurs sharp teeth without the item actually BEING sharp—this pin board seemed the perfect fit. It doesn’t really have pins, just small plastic dowels with rounded ends.

Our students had a blast with it, finding it utterly fascinating. They loved the impressions as they moved their hands and pushed against the pins.

Really, really, REALLY fun!

This activity addresses the science access point of applying a push or pull to move an object.

Our discovery bottle was filled with black glitter, sequins and orange colored corn syrup and we think it looks just like molten lava—something the dinosaurs may have encountered!

As the bottle is rotated or rolled, everything slowly moves around and is pretty fascinating to look at.

This addresses the science access point of tracking moving objects.

We included a variety of scents this week. From the “Follow your Nose” game we smelled pine, mushroom and fire scents which we thought would be similar to the ones dinosaurs might have smelled as they roamed around.

These were some pretty funky scents and it was fun watching the different reactions we got—-giving our students lots of opportunities to communicate preferences 🙂

This addresses the science access point of recognizing and responding to one type of sensory stimuli.

Dinosaurs also roamed around in some swampy places—-so we made a green jello swamp. Totally messy fun with some dinosaurs, palm trees and a dinosaur cookie cutter.

This is a really different texture and as usual, some of our students dived right in while others were quite hesitant 🙂

Grasp skills are promoted as our students pick up the various items buried in the jello or use the cookie cutter.

Science access points are also addressed including applying a push or pull to move an object, distinguishing between a plant and animal, and identifying objects by one observable property—in this case GREEN jello.

Our play snow reminded us of how climate change may have caused the dinosaurs to become extinct. We were really excited about how well it lasted—we kept it re-fridgerated which may have helped!

Our students were really not quite sure what to make of it at first—-cold and wet, hmmmm??

So much fun to grasp and squish!

The science access points of distinguishing between items that are wet and those that are dry and recognizing objects as warm or cold are totally explored in this activity!

Finally we rinsed our messy hands in Juniper Breeze scented water and then rubbed the lotion on our hands. We added a large measuring cup and a small spoon for scooping and pouring fun.

As students play with the different scoops they are exploring the math access point of recognizing the differences in sizes of containers that hold liquids.

In addition, as seen in this picture, the science access point of recognizing external body parts and the math access point of indicating a desire for more of an action or object is addressed.

So much fun today and a wonderful scent to help us remember the wonderful things we learned about the dinosaurs today!

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday we “discovered” some fossils! Ok so coloring all those dino skeletons was a little labor intensive prep but our students were so excited as they watched their fossils appear on the paper that it made it well worth it! Joy lightly sketched the skeletons and Jeannie’s assistants—she has some really nice assistants 🙂 —colored them in with a white crayon. We adapted this activity from a glue resist art activity we saw on Pinterest.

First we discussed what color paint we were going to use (showing them the container) and had them identify the color using our communication symbols.

They did a really good job!

Identifying an object by one observable property is a science access point.

Then we discussed the shape (rectangle) of our paper, counted its 4 sides…..

….and started painting! We used diluted brown paint (it needs to be watercolor like) and wide foam brushes. Our students got so excited as the bones became more visible! This was totally fun!

The math access points of recognizing a common object with a 2 dimensional shape and recognizing the sides of a square or rectangle were addressed.

This turned out pretty cool, right!

AWESOME!!!!!

On Thursday we continued our dinosaur theme by making a shape stegosaurus.

First our students chose what color stegosaurus they wanted from a variety of colors.

We used the communication symbols to increase literacy and to promote their ability to recognize two objects that are the same color which is a math access point.

Then they chose 2 squares which we cut into 4 triangles using our paper cutter and glued these to the dinosaur’s back.

Next we used our circle punch to cut out 2 circles which were also glued onto our stegy.

1 big googlie eye and our stegy came to life!

Bilateral coordination is addressed as the students use the different cutting implements. Pincer grasp, eye hand coordination and spatial relations are promoted as the pieces are added to the dinosaur body.

As the paper is cut the science access point of recognizing a change in an object is addressed. Discussing the different shapes addresses the math access point of recognizing a common object with a 2 dimensional shape.

Counting the various objects additionally (no pun intended ha ha) addresses math access points.

—Ta Da super cute!

Peace Love and Dinosaurs 🙂

LANGUAGE GROUP

We started group out reading Cara’s book. We are super excited to finally have all our groups totally integrated with the same theme and our students totally enjoyed her fun book—-really who can resist dinosaurs 🙂

We brought a variety of dinosaurs into the group, some of which also appeared in the book. The students got to hold them and compare them. They were especially excited when they found out that some of them made noise when squeezed!

While the book was being read, we had the students locate which dinosaurs they saw in the classroom that were also in the book.

This addresses the language access points of responding to a familiar person reading a book aloud and responding to referent objects used in routines.

It also addresses the science access points of applying a push to move an object and recognizing and responding to common sounds—-they got lots of practice with this one 🙂

After the book, we brought out a simple dinosaur puzzle. Students with fine motor difficulties took the puzzle pieces off of the board using our adapted puppy. He was made by hot gluing a shower curtain ring to his back and some velcro to his mouth. Other students took out the pieces using their hands. After taking them out, the dinosaurs were placed back on the board.

Picking up and placing the pieces back into the board addresses spatial relations and eye hand coordination.

Since the title of our book is “Dinosaurs Lived Long Ago”, we went over things that we see today versus things that were around during the age of the dinos.

The students got to pick from 2 different rows of Boardmaker symbols. Students used a communication board to request their choice by indicating “I want” and pointing to the row of pictures.

Of course, vocalizing is always encouraged as well!

Once they picked their choice, they had to cut out one of the pictures. We used adaptive scissors for the cutting.

After cutting the picture out, the students had to decide whether the picture went “here” (a picture of a neighborhood representing “now”) or “there” (a picture of a jungle representing “then”).

The “here/there” picture symbols are taken from the PIXON 50 core vocabulary communication board that we have implemented into each class at our school. For the most part, the students did really well with indicating where their picture should go.

Such smart students we have 🙂

The language access points of recognizing referent objects, pictures or symbols used in classroom activities—responding to differences in referent pictures or symbols used in routines—-and effectively communicate information using referent pictures, symbols or words. WOW!!!

And here are some of the dinosaur related words we found today—-such fun!

Join us again next week for more fun, learning and great big smiles—-Group by Group 🙂

Apr15

Gardening

Posted on April 15, 2013 by jd785

Gardening

Well things got a little crazy this week with two school wide events and LOTS of IEP meetings. As a result, we ended up having to cancel most of our Sensory and Language Groups this week. We used month’s Unique Curriculum theme for our Fine Motor Groups which by some miracle were not impacted by the above events 🙂

Here is what we did…..

We re-read our Spring book which we thought went along with our gardening theme and then proceeded to begin our art activity—making a flower garden!

First we folded 2 cupcake liners and then used our adaptive scissors to make snips—counting each snip.

Oh yeah—-have we got this cutting business down or what?!!! 🙂

Folding and cutting the cupcake liners changes the way they look, addressing the science access point of recognizing a change in an object.

We glued the cupcake liners together and THEN glued them on top of a popsicle stick.

Pat! Pat! Pat!

Holding down the popsicle stick while patting down the cupcake liners promotes bilateral coordination.

Gluing the cupcake liners together addresses the math access point of solving simple problems involving putting together small quantities of objects.

Placing the cupcake liners ON the popsicle stick addresses the math access point of recognizing a movement that reflects a spatial relationship.

Our flower was finished with a cute little yellow pompom glued right in the middle.

Pincer grasp skills and eye hand coordination is addressed during this activity.

The math access points of recognizing when an object is added to a situation and recognizing 3 dimensional shape (sphere) is addressed.

TA……

…….hey what happened to my flower?????

Once we gave the glue a chance to dry 🙂 , we planted our flowers and got our Ta Da’s.

This piece of pool noodle with a slit cut in it works perfectly as a planter.

We counted the flowers as we put them in 1,2,3,4,5!

And here is our little garden—doesn’t it look so cute!

On Thursday we continued our gardening theme by reading Cara’s book again then playing with these cute little bee puppets. Our students were pretty tickled with them 🙂

The 2 bees were different sizes giving us a chance to address the math access point of recognizing differences in sizes of objects.

What fun!!

We started our art project —-making a bee, of course! First we cut strips of black paper with our paper cutter, counting each cut and then counting the strips.

Look at this concentration, don’t you just love it!

We also discussed the color of the paper, addressing the science access point of identifying objects by one observable property.

Then we glued the black strips onto our yellow circle.

And added some heart shaped wings (made from waxed paper) 2 googlie eyes and a triangle tail.

In addition to the math access point of recognizing 2 dimensional shapes, spatial relations skills are addressed while putting together our cute little bumble bee!

Ta Da!!!

Our students looked so cute as they made their little bees fly around—and also demonstrated the science access points of applying a push or pull to move an object AND recognizing a model of a real object!

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz 🙂

Come by next week when we will be back in business with all our groups—its going to be SUCH FUN………

Group by Group 🙂

Apr7

The Ocean

Posted on April 7, 2013 by jd785

The Ocean

This week our theme was The Ocean and we had so much fun learning about it in our various groups.

Sensory Group

We started with a box filled with blue basket grass, a shipwreck figure from a long ago aquarium, a piece of netting, sea shells, green chenille yarn that looked like seaweed, blue beads, pearls and a variety of sea life including a shark, dolphin, fish, lobster and a big spiky ball that looked just like a sea urchin.

This was a great box with interesting things to explore and discuss…..

…or just act silly with 🙂

Reach and grasp skills are promoted as the students explore the boxes contents. In addition visual and tactile discrimination skills are promoted.

This box addresses the language access point of responding to new vocabulary that is introduced and taught directly.

This also addresses the science access point of recognizing a model of a real object.

The ocean has a sandy bottom just like our moon sand. We used our cookie cutters to make either the letter O for “ocean” or a starfish.

Since our moon sand is pretty dense, you have to push a little harder to make an impression—great for hand strengthening!

This box addresses the math access point of recognizing 2 dimensional shapes—a circle and a star.

Math access points can be addressed as the number of impressed shapes are counted.

Doesn’t this pink Floam look just like coral! This is the first time we used this material and everyone was pretty fascinated. It looks sticky but doesn’t FEEL sticky. Its pretty cool and can be molded or squished easily—lots of fun.

It is non-toxic but we made sure to watch for any exploratory “tasting” and made sure to re-direct any motions in that direction 🙂

This is great material for promoting reach and grasp skills.

The science access point using senses to recognize objects is addressed as students touch and squeeze the “coral”.

Our discovery bottles were a lot of fun. The first one we have used before and it was filled with some colorful jewel like shells.

In addition to being pretty to look at, it could be rolled or shaken making a satisfying noise.

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

We made the second bottle by putting a little plastic submarine (found at the dollar store) and some Dawn detergent and water. When shaken the sub floated around and looked really cool!

When shaken to produce the foam, the science access point of recognizing an action as fast or slow is addressed.

When holding the bottle the sub can be tracked, again addressing the science access point of tracking moving objects.

Discovery bottles are so easy (and cheap, which you know WE love) to make and are endlessly fascinating—-we love them!

This pom pom yarn has a variety of blue shades—-just like the ocean. Our students loved this yarn and had so much fun touching, shaking and draping it.

In fact, some of them got just plain silly with it—-kids will be kids after all 🙂

The yarn is touchable and soft, perfect for our students who might have tactile aversions.

It also addresses the science access point of tracking objects that are pushed or pulled.

We used Ocean scented products from Bath and Body Works—-with a name like that we HAD to use it! In our water we put 3 fish: 1 big one and 2 little ones. The little fish are also squirters so they made for lots of splashy fun.

The fish can be counted and since the fish are different sizes, the math access point of recognizing differences in the size of objects is also addressed.

The little fish squirt water when squeezed so they are great for increasing grip strength.

As you can imagine, there were lots of giggles with this activity 🙂

The highlight of our group was an underwater tour—-or at least our version of one! We used packing tape to adhere strips of clear garbage bags, blue paper and paper whale silhouettes to an umbrella.

On the inside we hung curling ribbon, beads, and some fish.

It turned out really great—-we were actually quite proud of ourselves 🙂

Lots of visually interesting things to look at as well as touch inside the umbrella BUT we added an extra auditory component—-

—-we taped whale and dolphin sounds (found on Sound Bible) onto our voice output device……….SO COOL!!!!!!

Did we mention how much fun our students had 🙂

While the scent doesn’t exactly smell like the ocean, our Ocean lotion did have a very pleasant scent that all our students seem to like!

This activity addresses the science access point of recognizing and responding to one type of sensory stimuli.

After our students have a chance to smell the scent we give them the opportunity to communicate their desire to have some lotion rubbed on their hands or arms. This addresses the language access point of adjusting body movement or nonverbal expression to communicate wants and needs.

What a lovely aroma to help us remember what we learned about the ocean today.

Fine Motor Group

On Tuesday we made some oysters (another great Pinterest idea).

We started by passing out and counting our circular paper plates.

After writing our names on the back we painted them purple (hmm—isn’t that Jeannie’s favorite color!)

Identifying objects by one observable property (in this case color) is a science access point.

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

We mixed a little glue in with our paint so our glitter would stick. You know how we love to add a little sparkle to our projects!

Asking the question “is that enough?” addresses the science access point of solving small quantities of objects or actions using language, such as enough, too much or more is a math access point—-

—-of course, with glitter the answer is always “MORE” 🙂

After folding our plate in half we added a pretty white pom pom pearl.

Nice pincer grasp and eye hand coordination practice!

As the plate is folded in half it changes shape—-addressing the science access point of recognizing a change in an object.

Everyone was pretty tickled with their oyster—

……………………TA DA!!!!!!!!

Honestly, can our students be any more adorable 🙂

On Thursday we gave our students a choice of three different fish shapes. Then we tore and crumpled pieces of tissue paper (recycled present paper).

The pieces were dipped in glue and applied to the fish.

Tearing and crumpling the paper again addresses the science access point of recognizing a change in an object.

Lots of fine motor skills addressed including eye hand coordination and pincer grasp.

They turned out so cute and colorful. Our students took turns glueing their fish onto our underwater scene.

We cut it out of an old cardboard box and painted it green earlier in the week.

This activity addresses eye hand coordination and spatial relations skills.

Doesn’t it look fantastic—or should we say FINtastic 🙂

Language Group

We started by playing with a magnetic fishing puzzle. Our students used their communication boards to indicate that it was their turn.

As the various sea creatures were “caught” we wrote the names down on our sticky notes and put them onto the table—-giving the students the opportunity to address the language access point of responding to new vocabulary.

This is also a great activity to promote shoulder stability and eye hand coordination.

Then we played the “over” or “under” game. The students chose a strip of board maker symbols, indicating their choices using either gestures, body language or communication boards.

After using the adaptive scissors to cut off a square…

they told us whether it went “over” the water or “under” the water and glued it in the appropriate place on our picture.

We learned all sorts of new vocabulary, communicated choices, and responded to referent pictures used in routines—all sorts of language access points addressed today AND it was a lot of fun!

That wraps up another week. Join us again next week for more fun and learning, Group by Group 🙂