Tag Archives: grasp

Apr16

Week 28—Under the Sea and the Sun

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Week 28—Under the Sea and the Sun

This week our Sensory and Fine Motor Groups explored the ocean Under the Sea. Our Language Group learned about the Sun.

Sensory Group—Under the Sea

We started by reading Cara’s book and answering questions about whether different animals are found in the ocean.

Our students used a yes/ no visual support or verbalized their responses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While we read the story, Ms. Bennet blew some  bubbles around to help give the effect of being underwater.

The students really loved watching the bubbles drift around.

Visual tracking is addressed in this activity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we began exploring our sensory boxes starting with our moon sand box. Just like the bottom of the ocean!

We used cookie cutters shaped like starfish or round bubbles.

Comparing the different shapes addresses math access points.

Fine motor skills are addressed when manipulating the cookie cutters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our ocean sensory box turned out really great, although our picture doesn’t do it justice.

We put in some blue easter grass and some green chenille stems that reminded us of seaweed. We also included a variety of beads—white like the pearls that you might find, green and blue like the ocean colors. Green and blue pompoms added a contrasting textural component. Different koosh balls and kitchen scrubbers reminded us of sea urchin and other marine life. There were also some plastic fish and sea shells to discover.

 

 

 

 

We placed some blue aloe lotion in a freezer bag along with some sea shells. It was SO pretty!

…. and great fun to run fingers across to “squish” the gel in different directions practicing prewriting patterns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isn’t our blue play dough awesome!

We love the way it turned out, perfect for our fish shaped cookie cutter.

Counting the fish as they were cut addresses math access points.

Fine motor skills are also addressed when using the cookie cutter.

 

 

 

 

 

This adorable vibrating fish, purchased from the Special Needs Toys catalog, was great for body awareness.

Vibration can be a pretty intense input and we made sure to respect our students responses to it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our pompom yarn has a variety of shades of blue—-

just like ocean waters!

This yarn is soft and easy to grasp, our  students just love the way it feels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We filled a plastic bottle with water, dishwashing liquid and blue food coloring.

When shaken you get foam—just like waves in the ocean—so much fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We discussed the photo luminescent animals at the bottom of the ocean.  Mixing our cornstarch with tonic water to make it glow under the black light—very cool stuff!

Really, oobleck that glows in the dark—-how could you possibly make exploring science access points more fun 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We rinsed our hands in Bath and Body Works Ocean scent.

The outdoorsy scent reminding us of a day at the ocean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fine Motor Group—Under the Sea

After reading Cara’s book, we began our art activity.

We used our paper cutters to cut out fish. Counting the fish addresses math access points.

The fish were set aside and a staff member taped short strands of fishing line to them and to the inside of a tennis ball container lid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we squeezed glue into a tennis ball

container.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We tore blue tissue paper into little pieces (saved from birthday presents past, of course!), crumpled them and dropped them into the tennis ball container.

Bilateral and grasp skills are addressed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We put the lid on and our little fish aquarium is finished—

TaDa!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Thursday we made an aquarium for a jelly fish! We got the idea from bhoomplay.wordpress.com   just brilliant!

First we cut strips of some scrap bulletin board trim. Then squeezed on some glue.

Squeezing the glue along the strip addresses visual spatial skills and hand strengthening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we brushed the glue to make

sure the strip was fully covered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colorful aquarium gravel was sprinkled on top—Jeannie had some lying around 🙂

Picking up the gravel promotes pincer grasp skills.

We set this aside to dry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue food coloring was squeezed into a  gatorade bottle filled with water— practicing those pincer grasp skills again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had pre-made the jelly fish by cutting a square from a plastic grocery bag, gathering it up in the middle, and wrapping a rubber band about 1 inch from the middle–making a head. We snipped some “legs” along the bottom part. Then we held the “head” open under a faucet, leaving room for a little bit of air.

 

 

Then we put our jelly fish into his habitat!

Eye hand coordination is addressed when placing the the jelly fish into the bottle.

Wrist rotation is addressed when tightening the lid—-

make sure its really tight!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isn’t this just awesome! When shaken the jelly fish moves around and looks just like the real thing. Our students LOVED watching it…. well not just the students 🙂

You really have to try this!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Language Group—The Sun

Now that we have finished the alphabet, we are trying some new things with our Language Group so things may change from week to week—but always fun 🙂

We first looked at a stuffed sun and talked about what it looked like: what color it was, what shape it was, how it felt (hot or cold).  Then we took turns making it rise and set.

This activity addresses math and science access points!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We used our tongs to pick up yellow pompoms.

Counting the pompoms and comparing their shape and size to our stuffed sun addressed math access points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next we play Cara’s latest language game. We went over things we do when the sun is out during the day and things we do during the night. Then we categorized them.  Each student looked at a picture like “eat breakfast” and pointed to a picture of day or night.

We glued on the pictures and discussed that we do more things during the day when the sun is out than at night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had to have an art activity 🙂 so we made our own sun picture!

The students chose either  a light or dark blue sky.

We then passed out  a yellow circle to each student and  discussed its shape, then glued it to the paper.

Of course, we counted them as they were passed out— addressing math access points.

 

 

 

 

 

Then we  passed out a strip of yellow paper and cut them along lines to make sun rays.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lining up the rays with the sun addresses spatial relationships.

We also counted the rays….

never passing up an opportunity to address math access points!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


But wait—there’s more!

We counted out 4 cotton balls (our non-verbal students used a voice output device) and added some clouds to our sky.

Awesome!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And to finish off—some of the fantastic sun related words we found today!

Wow, this week was fantastic—we had so much fun!

Come back next week for more fun and learning Group by Group!

Apr9

Week 27—Easter Time

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Week 27—Easter Time

This week the theme for our Sensory and Fine Motor Groups was Easter. We did not have a Language Group this week because the class went on a field trip.

Sensory Group—Easter Time

We read Cara’s book and used our voice output device to read the repetitive line.

Some of our students use their hands or their heads and a few even use their feet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we started exploring our sensory boxes. Our first box had a variety of easter related items including easter grass, plastic eggs and carrots, easter cookie cutters, purple/pink/yellow pompom’s, a little plush chick and duck.

The Easter grass was a huge hit and pulling apart the strands promotes bilateral coordination in addition to fine motor skills.

Counting pompoms or carrots addresses math access points. Discussing size, shape, color and texture addresses science points.

It’s amazing how much you can fit into one little box!

 

 

 

Next we explored bright yellow feathers and big white pompoms—-our version of chicks and bunnies! These items let  us compare  and contrast the various properties of these materials, addressing science access points.

We loved these fluffy feathers. It was so much fun to pick up a handful and watch as they drifted down. There were so many feathers, that some of the students ended up looking a little like  Big Bird 🙂

Visual tracking is addressed as the feathers drift down and pincer grasp skills are addressed as the students pick up the feathers. Tactile discrimination is also addressed.

 

 

 

 

We also had fun with our easter garland. We draped on or wrapped it around our students. It was also fun to grab it and shake it.

The little egg decorations really fluttered around, very visually interesting and soft to the touch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We looked for the letter E in our green rice. Its bright green color looked just like grass with tiny little white easter eggs (navy beans).  We also taped some easter egg pictures to the bottom of our box which could be found as the rice was brushed aside.

It was really eye catching and our students loved sifting it through their fingers.

This activity addresses visual and tactile discrimination in addition to literacy.

 

 

 

 

 

We also addressed visual skills with our sensory bottle filled with jelly beans. Our students loved shaking it and listening to the rattle as it was shook.

We did have to carefully watch the bottle as a few of the staff really wanted a sample 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our bunny and sheep fake fur was fun to rub and touch. Soft and cuddly just like little bunnies and lambs.

While it was the same color  the textures were different (science access points).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made our own version of marshmallow peeps by mixing cornstarch, shaving cream and yellow food coloring.

Soft and squishy just like marshmallows! This is the same stuff we made last week (minus the food coloring) and it was just as much fun this week—awesome stuff you HAVE to try it 🙂

We discussed how the materials changed as we mixed them, addressing science access points.

 

 

 

 

Finger painting in chocolate pudding, practicing prewriting strokes and the letter E.

It doesn’t get much messier than this!

Our students were pretty good about not sampling but as you can see in the picture, our hands needed to stay pretty close!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We rinsed off in vanilla sugar scented water and rubbed our hands in vanilla sugar scented lotion—to remind us of all the yummy candy we hope to find in our easter baskets, YUM!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fine Motor Group—Easter Time

We read Cara’s book and students took turns using our bunny puppet.

It was so cute to watch as they waved it around or made it hop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For our art activity we started by passing out 8 pieces of blue paper.

We counted the papers as we handed them out and discussed their rectangular shape addressing math access points.

Of course they have to “sign” their names!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we used our hole punches to cut out circle shapes and compared them to larger circles we had previously cut on the ellison machine addressing more math access points.

Squeezing the hole punch helps with hand strengthening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We squeezed glue onto our blue paper.

Also great for hand strengthening and bilateral coordination.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We put some green easter grass and the big yellow circle onto the glue.

We found we probably should have put the easter grass on last instead of this early in the process—it was very entrancing to our students, making it hard to move onto the next step 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we glued on our small circle and a precut orange triangle—more math access points 🙂

Spatial relationships are also addressed.

 

 

Our little chick is starting to come together!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We added a yellow feather—the finishing touch 🙂

 

Spatial relations and fine motor skills are addressed when completing this activity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ta-Da—a cute little chick

complete with googlie eye!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t they look awesome hanging outside Jeannie’s classroom!

Love it! Love it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Thursday, we read Cara’s book again

and all had fun pointing to our

favorite candy—although it was kind of

hard to make a choice 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we gave our students a choice of 3 craft foam eggs.

We discussed their oval shape addressing math access points.

We got these eggs (10 in a package) in the dollar section at Target—we love a bargain!

 

 

 

 

 

We decorated the eggs using craft foam stickers—so cute.

We helped the students peel the backing off of the stickers, practicing pincer grasp skills.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we counted the stickers, addressing math access points.

Our students are also working on being able to identify numerals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Super cute!

What a  colorful bright egg!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hippity Hoppity!

We had a great time this week, join us again next week —-our Language Group will be back—for more fun and learning Group by Group!

Apr1

Week 26—Butterflies and the Letter Z

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Week 26—Butterflies and the Letter Z

This week are theme was Butterflies for our Sensory and Fine Motor Groups. We are finishing the alphabet with Letter Z in our Language Group.

Sensory Group—Butterflies

Cara’s book explored the life cycle of the butterfly with our students asking the question “what happens next” using the voice output device.

In addition to literacy and math access points, we are going to be addressing science access points today!

 

 

 

 

Our first sensory box was filled with colorful flowers, leaves, a variety of  butterflies, caterpillars made from chenille stems and a body scrubber—its that long pink and white thing in the picture—doesn’t it  look like a giant caterpillar :).

This box was so colorful with lots of contrasting colors and textures.

Discussing how these items relate to each other in the life cycle of the butterfly addresses science access points.

 

 

 

Our next box was filled with caterpillar eggs, AKA lentils. Our students hunted for the letter C and found a cute little caterpillar peeking out as well.

The students grasped these lentils by the handfuls—they loved them!  Even our students who are quite tactile sensitive, couldn’t resist these tiny beans 🙂

This box addresses visual and tactile discrimination skills.

 

 

 

 

We used a cookie cutter to cut letter B’s in our purple Bubber (available from Amazon in addition to a variety of catalogs).

We chose the Bubber because its soft powdery texture reminded us of butterfly wings. Its pretty purple color also a lot like that of a butterfly.

Of course, we also just love the way it feels–not just our students but the adults couldn’t put it down 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

The white fiberfil in our next box reminded us of the silky strands of the butterfly cocoon.

Its just so much fun to grab this stuff and shake it around or pull it apart!

Pulling apart the strands addresses bilateral and fine motor skills.

Contrasting smaller pieces from larger pieces addresses math access points.

 

 

 

 

Our next box contained some colorful red butterflies (bow tie pasta) and green caterpillars (celletani pasta). Very eye catching with the bright colors. You dye it in basically the same way you do rice but it takes a LOT longer—so be patient!

Pincer grasp skills are promoted when picking up individual pieces. Counting them and comparing the contrasting shapes addresses math access points.

Making one of the caterpillars crawl up a students arm promotes giggles 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

These fuzzy colorful caterpillars (some  pencil covers!) filled our next box. Very eye catching also and our students dived in. They loved grabbing handfuls and watching as they dropped back into the box—or the floor 🙂

Tracking falling objects is a science access point.

Counting caterpillars is an opportunity to work on math access points.

 

 

 

 

We mixed shaving cream and cornstarch which turned into this really cool texture—sort of a cross between playdough and Bubber. It was so much fun to squeeze and mold into cocoons.

We just loved this stuff, its just really hard to resist!

Science access points are addressed in addition to fine motor skills during this fun activity!

 

 

 

 

 

We rinsed our hands in plumeria scented water and then rubbed on the lotion, its floral scent reminding us of the flowers the butterflies go to for their food.

Recognizing water as a liquid and whether it is warm or cold addresses science access points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fine Motor Group—Butterflies

On Tuesday we started by reading Cara’s book.  We also practiced making the butterfly sign with our hands.

Butterflies start out as caterpillars and that is what we made in our art activity. We started by dipping pom pom’s into glue then placing them on a clothespin.

This is a great activity for practicing pincer grasp skills and eye hand coordination.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We counted the pom pom’s using our multi-message voice output device, addressing math access points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We finished by adding some chenille stem antenna and googlie eyes.

Aren’t these caterpillars just so cute 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Thursday after we read our book again—- we turned our caterpillar into a butterfly!

First we placed a 3 dimensional butterfly (found in one of the schools science kits) on a light board for our student with a visual impairment.

Of course, all the students enjoyed running their hands over the contours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we began our art activity by counting out our coffee filters (addressing math access points).

Then we colored them using markers. Some of our students made just a few marks but others enjoyed using a variety of colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After they were finished coloring, we sprayed the coffee filters with water.The water makes the colors run, kind of like tie dye—pretty cool.

Squeezing the spray bottle is great for hand strengthening and spraying water is always fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We let them dry for a few minutes and then scrunched them up—working on thumb/finger grasping patterns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We placed it between the clothespin from Tuesday and…….

Ta Da—the caterpillar has turned into a butterfly!

This student really enjoyed making hers “flutter” around—so cute!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our butterflies look so beautiful clipped to these branches…..

aren’t they just fabulous!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Language Group—Letter Z

We started by unZipping bags and taking Zoo animals out (we used Beanie Babies).

The students had fun seeing what animal ended up coming out of their bags.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A chenille stem loop made a great

adaptive Zipper pull for some of

 

our students.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we squeeZed scrap paper to make matZo balls to “feed” our animals a Zesty meal.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we tore black paper into strips—some of them in a Zig Zag pattern.

We glued them onto a white lunch bag.

Tearing the paper addresses bilateral hand functions.

Squeezing the glue addresses hand strengthening

Placing the black paper on the bag addresses visual spatial skills.

 

 

 

 

We adapted this for our students with physical challenges by letting them color their Zebra instead. Our students love pressing the switch to make the airplane color their picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we glued on 2 ears and a snout.

And added some googlie eyes—we love googlie eyes 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look another Zany Zebra!

Our students had so much fun playing with their puppets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everybody had a turn playing Cara’s

sound game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And we looked at all the fun Z words we found today.

Whew!  We made it to the end of the alphabet but there is still more fun ahead so  join us again next week Group by Group!

Mar18

Week 25—St.Patricks Day and the Letter Y

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Week 25—St.Patricks Day and the Letter Y

This week we had fun learning about St.Patricks Day in our Sensory and Fine Motor groups. Letter Y was the theme in our Language Group.

Sensory Group—St. Patricks Day

We read Cara’s book and learned all about symbols associated with the holiday. Our students used the voice output device to ask “what do we see on St. Patricks Day”.

Our first box was filled with a variety of green items such as silk shamrock leaves, silk leaves, easter grass, shamrock beads, manipulatives, chenille stems, mini kitchen scrubber and toys. We also included play food—some vegi’s you might use for irish stew and a couple of  rubber snakes St. Patrick missed when he was driving them out of Ireland 🙂

Lots of different textures to explore and compare (addressing science access points). Lots of interesting items to look at and talk about.

 

 

Legend has it there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and we found some! We used some gold mardi gras beads and green pom poms in our treasure box.

This box let us address science access points when contrasting properties of materials and address math access points when counting the items.

 

 

 

 

 

We looked for the letter P, for Patrick,  in our rainbow rice. Its just so bright and colorful!

As always, lots of fun to sift through and scoop.

Looking for the letters addresses visual and tactile discrimination skills, in addition to literacy.

 

 

 

 

We turned the light off and had more rainbow fun with our rainbow light.

Everyone had to be touched by rainbow!

Visual attending and tracking are addressed during this activity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We turned the lights back on and made shamrocks out of our green sparkly play dough. Joy used lemon-lime Koolade and LOTS of green glitter, it looks fabulous!

Play dough activities are great for working on hand strengthening. We counted 3 leaves on each shamrock, addressing math access points.

 

 

 

 

 

Next, we practiced scooping with our potato flakes. Potatoes are popular in Irish cooking and play an important role in Irish history.

We also taped a surprise to the bottom of the box—a little leprechaun peeking out!

Visual discrimination and social studies access points are addressed.

 

 

 

 

 

Some chunky bright orange yarn made a great leprechaun bread. Soft and stringy, its so much fun to reach and grab, working on shoulder strengthening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Green oobleck with gold glitter. So pretty and sparkly. Green to remind us of Ireland and gold to remind us of the leprechaun’s gold.

Very eye catching and fun to draw prewriting patterns in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We finished by rinsing our hands in Bath and Body works Juniper Breeze scented water and then rubbed the scented lotion on our hands.

This lovely outdoor scent reminded us of the Irish countryside and will help us remember all the fun we had learning about the symbols of St. Patricks Day.

 

 

 

Fine Motor Group—St. Patricks Day

We read Cara’s book “Symbols of St. Patricks Day”. Our students did an excellent job activating the voice output device to participate in reading the book.

We started our project by using our adaptive table top scissors to cut some yellow squares.

We discussed the square shape, addressing math access points.

What a great job our students are doing, they are really visually attending to the scissors.

 

 

 

 

We glued a small black square on top of the big yellow square.

This addresses math access points and spatial concepts. In addition, pincer skills are practiced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The yellow square was then glued to a strip of black paper.

It looks like a belt but its not 🙂

We set it aside and began our next step.

 

 

Then we practiced writing our names on a small paper plate. Our students are given a model to copy.  Our students have varying skill levels in this area. Most are working on scribbling.

Then we turned the plate over and painted it green.

Our students are getting lots of practice using classroom tools. We get very excited when they start scribbling or painting independently.

 

 

We glued a green solo cup onto the paper plate. We used just regular old elmers glue and it held pretty well.

We then wrapped the black paper strip around the cup and taped it.

This activity addresses eye hand coordination and bilateral functions.

Have you guessed what we are making yet?

 

 

 

 

Why some fabulous green

hats, of course!

Just waiting for

some leprechauns:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Thursday we read Cara’s book again and then started our next activity. We are going to make a leprechaun beard.

 

We started by asking each student to cut 3 pieces of orange yarn. We counted outloud while each student took their turn.

Everyone did a great job!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then squeezed a bunch of glue (Jeannie colors it with food coloring to make it easier for her students to see) on a strip cut from a large paper plate. Then we practiced our pincer grasps by picking up the yarn and dropping it on the plate.

 

The darker orange strings are actually pipe cleaners threaded through holes to make ear hangers.

 

 

 

When everyone had put their 3 pieces of yarn on the plate we used a voice output device to ask our students if we were finished or needed more yarn. Those students who chose “more”, got to add additional yarn to the beard. Most of the students chose “finished”—it was time for snack 🙂

This activity addresses math access points and communication skills.

 

 

 

 

Here is Ms. Martha (the OT intern), our leprechaun model for the day!

Jeannie (classroom teacher) also took lots of pictures of her cute little leprechauns for her yearbook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Language Group—Letter Y

We started by stringing some Yellow beads. Some of our students were able to manipulate standard beads and laces.

This activity helps bilateral coordination and fine motor skills.

 

 

Some of our students needed the activity to be modified by using pipe cleaners which are stiffer than regular laces.

We also used larger beads which are easier to grasp.

 

 

 

 

 

Other students strung beads on aquarium tubing which is even easier.

After stringing their beads, our students practiced one to one correspondence by counting how many Yellow beads were on their string. For our students who are non-verbal, we used a step-by-step voice output device.

 

 

Love how the voice output device matches our Yellow theme—we planned that 🙂

 

 

Next, we tasted some sour apple spray candy! We checked with nursing and they said it was ok for our students who are tube fed in this classroom (some students are completely NPO, so we always check with the nurses before any tastings).

Here is Ms. Garland taking her turn!

For our students who were hesitant to have something sprayed in their mouth, we sprayed a spot on their hands so they could lick it instead.

 

 

Everyone got a chance to communicate whether it was Yummy or Yucky!

As You can imagine, everyone had a definite opinion 🙂

 

 

 

 

Then we started on our project—making Yachts!

First our students used scissors to trim a Yellow  triangle (math access points). Some of the students in this class are able to manipulate regular scissors, others use adaptive ones.

We also modified this activity for the individual students by changing the amount of lines they had to cut. For example, this student only had to trim one side. Other students had to cut along 2 lines or even the complete shape.

 

 

Then we cut 2 holes with a hole punch. Some of our students really enjoyed the hole punch so they cut a few more 🙂

This is a great hand strengthening activity.

 

 

 

 

 

A straw (with the bendy part cut off) was treaded through the holes to make a mast.

Our Yacht is starting to come together!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stuck the straw into a slice of pool noodle and tested the Yacht’s sea-worthiness— it floats!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our students were so excited watching their Yachts float on the water. We wished we had gotten a bigger container but the smaller one gave the students an opportunity to take turns and also do some math problem solving—how many Yachts can fit into the container.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We came back to the table to play Cara’s sound game.

A Yellow Jacket—Yikes! If it stung, You might Yelp!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we finished by looking at some of the Y words we found today.

Did we have good time?

YEAH!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

We are off on spring break for the next week but we’ll be back soon with more fun Group by Group!

Mar12

Week 24—Money and the Letter X

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Week 24—Money and the Letter X

This week our Sensory and Fine Motor Groups learned about money. We picked the theme to relate to the schools Unique Curriculum theme of economics. The Letter X was the theme for our Language Group.

Sensory Group—Money

We read Cara’s book “There are Many Different Kinds of Jobs”.  We chose careers that children often say they want to be when they grow up and related each of our boxes to the different jobs.

Our first box was related to money. It had green paper shred because our money is made of paper and dyed green. We also put in some paper money and coin replicas. Our coins were larger than real life to avoid any choking hazards. We put in beads with dollar signs (we found these at Target in their St. Patricks Day section!) and some  gift/credit cards. We also put in a money clip, car key (you often drive to work), and a piece of leather (purses and wallets are often made of leather).

Our students had a lot of fun with this box—some of them really enjoyed collecting the money. Which, of course, gave us an opportunity to work on math access points!

 

 

 

The next box had a construction  theme—what fun to drive a dump truck! We used assorted beans for our gravel and put in a couple of toy trucks and the letter C. We  also hid a little surprise at the bottom—a picture of a dump truck was taped to the bottom of the box!

In addition to practicing scooping skills, uncovering the truck addresses visual and tactile discrimination skills.

 

 

 

How about becoming President! We filled our next box with the patriotic colors of red, white and blue.

Soft pompoms and hard beads allow us to contrast properties of materials which is a science access point. Sorting and counting the different colored pompoms relates to math access points.

We also included a letter P for President to address literacy skills.

 

 

 

 

Pink and white rice, a crown—yes, its a princess sensory box!

Nancy made this bracelet we by wrapping strips of tulle around a rubber band. This was a huge hit with some of the students. Very visually interesting to watch the tulle move as a hand was waved.

Concepts of same and different are addressed—the 2 crowns are the “same” and the spoon is “different”.

We also included the letter P to address literacy.

 

 

 

 

Another exciting job would be a circus performer which is the theme of our next box. We filled it with some colorful packing peanuts, puzzle pieces depicting different circus performers, and the letter C.

The packing peanuts can be sorted by color and allow opportunities to practice pincer grasp skills.

 

 

 

 

 

We talked about being a firefighter while finger painting in shaving cream. It looks just like the foam used to douse fires!

We practiced prewriting patterns and letters by finger painting in the foam.

Encouraging students to interact with the foam helps address tactile sensitivity issues.

 

 

 

 

When finished finger painting, hands were rinsed in water. Our students always enjoy the opportunity to play in water. Its fun but can also be very calming and relaxing for our students.

 

 

 

 

We also included some theme related items to encourage visual tracking. A glittery baton—just like a circus performer—was a great tool to practice forearm rotation movements. Watching the movements of the glitter as it moved in the water water from one end of the tube to the other related to science access points.

 

 

 

 

One of our I-spy bottles (made from some plastic juice bottles with lids tape shut) contained some toy coins (along with rice and beans for contrast).

Fun to roll and watch the coins sift through the rice.

 

 

 

 

The other bottle contained some brightly colored princess jewels.

Both of these bottles could be rotated to encourage visual tracking or shaken for auditory input.

Coin and color identification skills can be addressed using these bottles.

 

 

 

 

We finished by using some rose scented lotion—

to remind us our  future looks “rosy” 🙂

It had a very distinct aroma that all our students reacted to.

Rubbing the lotion on our hands promotes bilateral coordination. For those students who tend to put their hands in their mouths, we rub lotion on their upper arms or the back of their necks.

 

 

 

 

Fine Motor Group—Money

We read “There are Many Different Kinds of Jobs”  which our students loved. They recognized the different professions and all seemed to have a favorite.

After reading the book we made some piggy banks. We started by using an electronic cutting machine. Our students were SO excited and could hardly wait for their turn to press the button– their eyes were glued on the machine 🙂

Listening skills, following directions, turn taking  and finger individuation skills are addressed while operating the machine. Watching the mat board move as the machine cuts encourages visual tracking.

 

 

 

 

We counted out the 7 pink circles that we cut, then we counted 8 students.

Hmm, I think we need 1 more circle!

Working on math access points 🙂

 

 

 

 

We cut out some smaller circles and some triangles—getting lots more turns to press that button and make the machine go!

Counting the circles, and comparing their sizes addresses math access points. We also worked on shape identification and the concept of same and different  with the circles and triangles.

 

 

 

 

Now to assemble our little piggy! We  glued 2 triangles to the big circle to make ears. Then we glued the small circle on top of the big circle.

We used our food coloring enhanced glue to give the students additional visual cues for placement.

Picking up those small pieces really works on precision grasping skills! Squeezing the glue helps strengthen grasp.

Comparing all the sizes and shapes, in addition to counting different items addresses math access points.

 

 

 

 

We glued the piggy on a piggy bank.

The bank was made by  wrapping paper around some different  containers, such as mixed nuts or icing, and cutting a slit in the top.

Here is a cute little piggy bank—just waiting to be filled on Thursday!

 

 

 

 

On Thursday, we read Cara’s book again.   It was fun seeing which jobs the students became excited about —construction worker and princess were some of the top choices 🙂

Lets start filling up the piggy bank! We printed some dollar bills (we found these on the Activity Village website).

Our students used the paper cutters to cut along lines that we highlighted—“follow the yellow brick road”!

This activity addresses eye hand coordination and visual tracking.

 

 

 

 

Time to color the money, green of course!

We used a variety of markers. We like these Crayola pipsqueaks that are perfect for little hands.

We really like how this student is demonstrating some nice bilateral coordination skills—stabilizing her money with her right hand while coloring with the left! She has not always been able to do this, so we were pretty excited.

 

 

 

 

 

We also like these Crayola tripod markers that are easy for little hands to grasp. Talk about Universal Design!

This is a fun way to practice using writing tools and coloring in a designated area.

 

 

 

 

 

Some of our students knew exactly what to do with the money. After all,  its never too early to start saving 🙂

This student folded her money up to fit in the designated space, performing some algebraic functions——related to math access points!

 

 

 

 

 

We did save some of the dollars to buy snacks—a great opportunity to reinforce what money can be used for.

This student just handed his dollar to Jeannie and is signing “more”. He knows the value of a dollar 🙂

Those little hands are just so cute!

 

 

 

 

 

Language Group—Letter X

We did something a little different (Ms Garland came up with this awesome idea) in our language group this week, a scavenger hunt—X marks the spot!

First we eXmined our map, looking for treasure all around the school.

Using maps addresses social studies access points, sequencing and following directions.

This is going to be eXciting!!!

 

 

 

 

At our first stop we found 2 stretchy tubes.

Pulling the tubes apart—using maXimum effort—works on upper extremity strengthening and bilateral coordination.

They also have a very satisfying sound as they are pulled apart.

 

 

 

 

We used our stretchy tubes to make an eXtreme X!

Crossing the tubes to make the X and laying it on top of the tape addresses visual spatial skills.

 

 

 

 

 

We found this boX at the neXt spot.

Looks like we are in for some bubble fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instead of blowing the bubbles, you have to squeeze!

How eXtraordinary!

Dipping the wand into the bubble mix addresses eye hand coordination. Squeezing the blower works on grip strength. Visual tracking skills are also addressed while following the bubbles.

Discussing the effect of wind of the bubbles addresses science access points.

 

 

 

 

We followed the map to this spot were we had to imitate an X.

This student did an eXcellent job, don’t you think!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We finally reached the treasure—cookies iced with an X—eXactly what we were looking for!

Needless to say, we all wanted to eXamine them pretty closely 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Time to make our

eXit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some of the X words we found today— we may have lost a post-it or two on our trek today 🙂

 

 

 

 

Please join us again next time for lots more fun and learning Group by Group.

Feb25

Week 22—Mardi Gras and the Letter V

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Week 22—Mardi Gras and the Letter V

This week the theme for our Sensory and Fine Motor Groups was Mardi Gras. Letter V was the theme for our Language Group.

Sensory  Group—Mardi Gras

Cara’s book “At the Mardi Gras Parade” had such bright colorful pictures that our students loved. We continue to encourage them to press the voice output device to help read the story.

Our first box focused on the Mardi Gras colors of purple, yellow, and green. We included yarn, garland, curling ribbon, feathers, beads, small toys, and crowns. We also included a little toy baby because of the Mardi Gras tradition of luck coming to the person who finds it in their piece of King Cake.

This box helps work on color identification skills. All the different textures explored properties of materials (science access point). Fine motor skills are addressed while reaching for, grasping, and releasing the different objects. And, of course, talking about all the different objects addresses language skills.

This was such a colorful box and we all loved it!

 

We continued exploring textures and colors

with our next box. Easter grass made a great stand-in for cotton candy that you might buy some from a street vendor while watching the Mardi Gras parade!

Its light and easy to grasp and Pulling the it apart encourages bilateral coordination.

 

 

 

There are lots of lights on the floats at the Mardi Gras parade so course we had to have some! We included some of our spinning light up toys as well as these battery operated lights we found at Target.

Our students had fun touching them or having them draped around their shoulders.

Looking at the lights encourages visual attending and tracking.

 

 

Our next box contained some purple“macaroons” that you might find at the French Quarter! Well, actually, its a substance called “Bubber”  which can be purchased from a variety of catalogs. It has the most amazing feel—light and silky just like a macaroon! The adults loved it as much as the students —-you just can’t stop touching this stuff!

 

 

 

 

BEADS! BEADS!! BEADS!!!

Of course we had to have beads, its Mardi Gras! We filled a box with them and to say our students loved them would be an understatement. Everyone had to grab one or two or a handful 🙂

The beads are excellent for addressing color identification and size comparisons. Their shiny texture makes them very eye catching when shaken and an auditory component is included when rolling across a table.

 

 

We looked for the letter M in our Mardi Gras rice—green, yellow, and purple of course! We loved the way it turned out, reminding us of a box of confetti.

 

Scooping, pouring, sifting—FUN!

 

 

 

 

 

 

King Cake is always served at Mardi Gras. Its yummy and topped with a sweet white sugar glaze that was easy to imitate with our oobleck!

Playing with the oobleck improves tactile awareness and provides a medium for practicing prewriting strokes—or you can have fun just watching it drip off fingers.

 

 

 

 

 

After playing with the oobleck, our students rinsed their hands in vanilla sugar scented water and then rubbed  on some hand lotion.

Everybody left smelling like sweet yummy King Cakes to remind them of all our Mardi Gras fun!

 

 

 

 

 

Fine Motor Group—Mardi Gras

On Tuesday, we read Cara’s book and learned about all the things we might see at the Mardi Gras parade. Then we decided to make some masks.

First we let our students choose whether they wanted a green or purple mask. We found these foam masks at Michaels on clearance after Halloween.

We counted the masks to work on one to one correspondence.

 

 

 

Then we added some

glue. Squeezing the

glue helps improve

hand strength

and eye hand

coordination.

 

 

 

 

 

Now for the fun part —decorating! We decorated the masks with feathers, glitter, sequins!

Our students had fun choosing which items to include on their masks. This student especially LOVED the glitter 🙂

A variety of fine motor skills are addressed during this activity from a pincer grasp to pick up feather to shoulder stability needed to shake the glitter.

 

 

 

 

 

Jeannie got some great pictures of her students holding their masks in front of their faces. They are going to look so cute in the yearbook.

Aren’t they just so bright and colorful!

 

 

 

 

 

Snack time comes after our fine motor activity and we just had to include a picture of this students spontaneous food art.

Isn’t it just fabulous—he was just so proud 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

On Thursday we read our Mardi Gras book again and then made some jester hats.

We started by letting our students choose which color to use for their hat band. After they made their choice, they practiced writing their names on their bands.

We made sure to reinforce color identification skills by naming the colors and encouraging our students to vocalize the color names when possible.

 

 

 

Then we used our paper cutters to cut out purple and green triangles. We really like using these paper cutters. They make it so easy for the students to cut straight lines and they really enjoy using them.

Identifying the triangle shapes addresses math access points.

 

 

 

 

We cut out yellow circles with our hole punches.

By either squeezing or pushing down on the hold punch our students are working on strengthening their hands.

Counting and identifying the circle shapes—more math access points!

 

 

 

Next, we taped the triangles to the band in an alternating pattern.

After 3 triangles, we asked the students to pick which color in the pattern came next.

Sequencing is another math access point. Putting the triangle beside the previous one addresses spatial relationships.

 

 

 

We added a yellow circle to the point of each triangle. Picking up the circle promotes a pincer grasp and placing it on the glue promotes visual spatial skills.

Its starting to come together!

 

 

 

 

 

Our hats are all done!

Time for the Mardi Gras parade 🙂

 

 

Language Group—Letter V

We started our group by talking about the letter of the week and we practiced forming the letter V with our fingers.

Making letters and other signs gives our students an opportunity to practice finger individuation skills.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we made Vertical

lines on the magna

doodle to practice

pre-writing strokes.

We Voted on

which line was the longest!

 

 

 

 

We opened the Velvety bag by pulling apart the Velcro.

Then we reached in and pulled out one of the Vehicle beads.

Reaching into the bag and pulling out a bead without seeing it helps address tactile discrimination.

We purchased the bead set at Target.

 

 

 

He put a vibrant Van on

the string—Vroom Vroom!

After everyone had  a turn, we counted  the beads, working on one to one correspondence.

We really like this bead set because the end is a wooden dowel which makes it easier for our students.

 

 

We started our next activity with a Vulture that Joy drew—thanks for the inspiration Ms. Cathie 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our students tore black paper into Very small pieces to make “feathers”.

Tearing the paper helps improve bilateral coordination and pincer grasp.

The feathers were glued onto the Vulture working on eye hand coordination and visual spatial skills.

 

 

 

We like this View of the Varmint 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We played Cara’s latest sound game.

This game addresses listening and language skills.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We finished by looking at our V words. The post -its work so well in our group. Sometimes it hard to write down the words fast enough! Another advantage of them is that they are easy to move around and stick to different objects. They are also easy for our students to pick up and point to.

 

 

 

 

What an awesome week, we really enjoyed it! Please join us again next time for more fun Group by Group.

Sep24

Week 4—Fall and the Letter D

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Week 4—Fall and the Letter D

Our themes this week were Fall for the sensory group and fine motor groups and the Letter D for the alphabet group.

Sensory Group—Fall

We read Cara’s book “Its Beginning to Feel Like Fall” using our voice output device.

While reading the book, we took turns shaking a leaf garland to listen to the “rustling leaves”. We also used a hairdryer to simulate the cool fall breezes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We looked for the letter F hidden in assorted dried beans. Our students really enjoyed the varied colors of the beans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We looked for soft squirrels, hard pumpkins and strands of soft yarn in the fall colors of brown, yellow and orange. It was fun to watch our students pick out their favorites. Some of our students on the autism spectrum were particularly drawn to the colorful yarn strands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We found some silk leaves at the dollar store.

We used the hair dryer to blow the leaves away to reveal the word FALL that was taped to the tray. Blowing the leaves (great for visual tracking) was a huge hit and our students loved gathering them all back up (working on grasp patterns and eye hand coordination). Yes, it was a little chaotic but lots of fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joy made brown playdough using coffee and whole wheat flour. We used cookie cutters to make fall leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Corn flakes made a delightful crunching sound, just like dried leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We finished up with water play using Spiced Apple body wash and then Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin lotion from Bath & Body Works. Lovely scents reminding us of the fall season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fine Motor Group—Fall

We started by reading Cara’s book,  shaking the leaves, the cool breeze from the hair dryer and stroking the soft squirrel.

We tore pieces of tissue paper into small pieces. A great bilateral coordination activity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We talked about the shape of our paper and number of leaves (drawn by Joy) which are both math access points. We added food coloring to our glue to help our students differentiate the designated areas on which to glue their tissue paper. We found this to be very helpful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our student with a visual impairment glued silk leaves onto his paper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Thursday we continued our Fall theme.

We cut brown yarn into small pieces. Many of our students use adaptive scissors, such as this tabletop version. We set the yarn aside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The students then painted a squirrel (drawn and precut from poster board, by Joy) with brown paint. We like these brushes made with larger handles that are easier to grasp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then squeezed some glue onto the tails and the students practiced their thumb/finger grasp patterns by picking up the yarn and dropping it onto the glue. A googlie eye was the finishing touch! We talked about the color brown and that the paint and the yarn were the “same” color.

After the paint and glue dried, Jeannie practiced number skills with the students by counting the number of squirrels they had made.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Alphabet Group—Letter D

We used our home made playdough again. We rolled it out into long snakes, working on graded fine motor control.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We joined the ends to make a Donut.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, our students Decided how many bones to feed the Dog. We like giving our students choices of 3 as they have to choose between 3 answers when taking the alternate assessment. This activity also works on number identification and as we count the bones out: one to one correspondence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we used tongs to pick up the bones and feed the Dog. This toy was purchased from the Lakeshore company catalog. Tong activities are great for building pre-scissor skills and eye hand coordination.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For our students whose motor difficulties preclude tong use, we adapted (hot glueing a plastic shower curtain ring) a toy Dog. Loop velcro was glued to his mouth and hook velcro to some of the bones. Linda Burkhart (if you ever get a chance to hear her speak—don’t miss it!!!) originally came up with the idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For our next activity, we put Dots (round stickers) on a Duck Drawn by Joy. Peeling off the stickers works on developing a pincer grasp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Placing the sticker on the students thumb was a way to adapt the activity for those students with increased muscle tone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Delightfully Decorated Dotty Duck!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We played Cara’s sound matching game. She used Boardmaker pictures to make the board and computer generated sound bites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our students really enjoy the post-its. We try to pick up the post-it or point to it each time we repeat a word and the students really enjoy watching the array of words build up during the session. We also try to give them opportunities to identify some of the words.

Wow, another week gone by! Please join us next week for more fun Group by Group!