Tag Archives: literacy

Sep22

Pirate Day

Posted on September 22, 2013 by jd785

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

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

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

SENSORY GROUP

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

Lots of things to make you go argg 🙂

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FINE MOTOR GROUP

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

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

Our students are getting to be such good painters!

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

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

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

We also added a precut beak and some fluffy feathers.

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

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

TA DA!!!!!!!

Looks like Polly parrot is ready to set sail!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Land Ho!!!!

ARGHH 🙂

LANGUAGE GROUP

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

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

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

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

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

Associating information with referent objects is a language access point.

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

It was fun fer all 🙂

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

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 🙂

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

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 🙂

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 🙂

Apr1

Spring and Letter Z

Posted on April 1, 2013 by jd785

Spring and Letter Z

This week we enjoyed talking about Spring in our Sensory and Fine Motor Groups. We finished up the alphabet with letter Z in our Language Group.

Sensory Group—Spring

So many things associated with spring in our first box! Scattered about in our colorful yellow grass were plastic eggs, a variety of bunnies, chicks and ducks (plush, felt, cookie cutters etc.), a little basket, play food, and some fun funky flower glasses. We also included a little clock to remind us about daylight savings time. Some of our students are really fascinated by clocks and had fun turning the hands on it! Others enjoyed finding the eggs and putting them into the little basket.

This box addresses the language access point of attending to informational materials.

As the colorful eggs are placed in the basket, math access points of solving problems involving small quantities of objects using language such as enough, too much, or more and associating quantities of 1,2 or 3 with number names are addressed.

Spring means colorful flowers everywhere and this box was filled with them. All different sizes and colors. We loved picking them up in handfuls, watching as they drifted back down and scattered on the table or on the students 🙂

This box addresses the math access point of recognizing differences in sizes of objects. It also addresses the science access points of tracking objects in motion and identifying objects by one observable property.

Spring also means cute little caterpillars that turn into pretty butterflies. Corkscrew and bowtie pasta dyed with food coloring made for such a pretty box. This was a perfect box for sorting and discussing things that were the “same” and things that were “different”.

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

A favorite thing to do in the spring is to plant a garden—we planted 3 little carrots in our coffee ground “soil”. This was a super fun box and our students had a great time planting their carrots. They were so cute, sticking the carrots into the soil and then using the scoop to cover them up—we have quite the group of little gardeners here 🙂

This box definitely addresses the science access points of recognizing a model of a real object and recognizing that plants grow.

Some of us might go hunting for eggs to celebrate Easter. Our pretty green rice with dried lima beans looked just like a lawn scattered with tiny eggs—–isn’t it just so cute! There were 3 more colorful egg pictures to find at the bottom of the box as well as a giant letter E.

More math access points here: associating quantities with number names and recognizing 2 dimensional shapes (the egg pictures were oval shaped).

Who doesn’t love those cute and colorful marshmallow Peeps that you see everywhere in the spring! Shaving cream, cornstarch and yellow food coloring gave us a very similar texture. As the white cornstarch and shaving cream mixture turned yellow the students were able to recognize a change in an object—one of their science access points.

Its been fun to watch over the year as some of our students who were quite hesitant at first are now starting to interact with our messy play materials.

We rinsed our hands in Sweet Pea scented water and rubbed the lotion on our hands and arms. As always, we include our olfactory sense to help our students remember the things they learned today. The soft floral scent was perfect for our spring time theme.

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

We found some fun spring themed temporary tattoos and thought that they would a fun finish to our group. The students got to pick which tattoo they wanted—-communicating a preference addressing language access points AND where they wanted the tattoo—addressing the science access point of identifying body parts.

In addition we addressed the math access point of rote counting as we applied the tattoos.

Everyone had to check out how they looked 🙂

Fine Motor Group—Spring

On Tuesday we made some beautiful spring flowers using these fun bunny and egg shaped chalks. They were perfect for our students little hands!

After the students finished coloring their flowers, they sprayed them with water to blend the colors. We were going for a watercolor effect but found out that the process works better on construction paper rather than the cardstock we used 🙁

Despite that, we had a great time and the students LOVED spraying the water and were so excited when their turn came. As the water made the picture look different the science access point of recognizing a change in an object is addressed. They also addressed the science access point of recognizing one way people use water 🙂

After we finished spraying our flower we glued it to a rectangular piece of paper. We pointed out that the rectangle had 4 sides addressing the math access point of recognizing the sides of a rectangle

Ta Da—

—-ready for spring!

On Thursday, after reading Cara’s book again we began our art project (we found this idea on Pinterest)—cute bunny noses!

Earlier in the day we pre-glued 2 white chenille stems to each craft stick—-we wanted to make sure the glue was dry before going to the next step.

After we counted (of course) the chenille stems we grabbed both ends and twisted them together. We adapted this activity by inserting the craft stick in a pool noodle to help stabilize it which worked out pretty well.

This activity addresses bilateral coordination and crossing midline.

Can’t help but notice the little photo bomb action by the students classmate 🙂

Then we added a little pink pom pom nose—perfect pincer grasp practice!

Identifying the pom pom as a sphere addresses the math access point of recognizing 3 dimensional shapes.

Identifying the color of the pom pom addresses the science access point of identifying objects by one observable property.

This activity also addresses eye hand coordination and spatial relations.

Hippity Hoppity 🙂

What cute little bunnies!

Language Group—Letter Z

Well we have really Zoomed through the alphabet this year!

We started our last letter of the week group by playing Cara’s sound game—working on recognizing and responding to common sounds, a science access point.

Next we unZipped a back pack and pulled out some Zoo animals—including Zebras!

Manipulating the zipper is a great bilateral coordination activity and discussing the animals addresses the language access point of communicating recognition of familiar objects.

The science access point of identifying external body parts was addressed in a fun way as we played with the beannie babies.

Then we got into a meditation groove with our Zen garden. The students had fun trying to draw Z’s in the sand.

To make it easier to manipulate, we adapted one of our sticks by taping it to a small ruler—worked like a charm 🙂

As the stick is manipulated the students are applying a push or pull to move an object which is a science access point.

We finished by decorating a letter Z with Zig Zag lines.

TA DA!

Another week done and we might be finished with the alphabet but there is more fun yet to come.

Join us next week, Group by Group!

Mar17

St. Patrick’s Day book

Posted on March 17, 2013 by jd785

St. Patrick’s Day book

Get ready to put on some green, because we’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day this week! The students asked us the question this week which was “what do we see on St. Patrick’s Day?” The book explores many different things that are associated with St. Patrick’s Day, such as four-leaf clovers, leprechauns, and even a pot of gold. At the end of the book it talks about how people wear green so the students were asked to identify people in the room who were wearing green. It was a bunch of fun and the students really enjoyed it.

Here is a link to the book: What Do We See On St. Patrick’s Day

Mar17

St.Patrick’s Day and Letter Y

Posted on March 17, 2013 by jd785

St.Patrick’s Day and Letter Y

We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in our Sensory and Fine Motor Groups and looked at words that start with letter Y in our Language Group.

Sensory Group—St. Patrick’s Day

After reading Cara’s book about St. Patrick’s Day, we got our celebration going with the sound of a rousing irish jig recorded on a voice output device.

Our little leprechauns are usually very responsive to music and this was no exception—- who can resist an irish jig after all! This upbeat music was very appealing to them and they got so excited when it was their turn to press the switch.

This activity gave the students lots of opportunities to gain practice with cause and effect skills. In addition, using technology resources to support learning and responding to rhythm in familiar songs are language access points.

As you can see, we couldn’t resist added a FEW select props to add to the fun 🙂

St. Patrick’s Day is all about the color green! We put in some easter grass, beads, leprechaun hats, curling ribbon, shamrock garland, silk shamrocks, kitchen scrubbers, green manipulatives and toys—-so many things to discover! Reaching for and grasping the different items helps build fine motor skills. In addition, since all the objects are the same color, visual discrimination skills are addressed.

With boxes like this, it is always fun to see what items are particularly appealing to the individual students. The shiny curling ribbons and strands of silk shamrocks were enticing to some of them. While others had fun with the little hats and silly glasses we put in the box

Exploring, observing, and recognizing common objects is a science access point. Recognizing objects by one observable property, such as color, is also a science access point.

Our next box contained our rainbow rice—-rainbows are a symbol associated with St.Patrick’s Day and our rice is just so colorful and pretty!

We put in a large letter I (for Ireland) and taped a picture of a shamrock to the bottom of the box. Two different sized measuring spoons were also placed in it. While some of our students like to sift through and pick up handfuls of rice—and yes occasionally toss it 🙂 —others prefer to use the spoons. We have found that many of our students especially seem to like covering and uncovering the objects we have put in our boxes.

In addition to object permanence, letter recognition, tactile and visual discrimination, this box addresses the math access point of solving simple problems involving putting together and taking apart small quantities of objects. It also addresses the math access point of recognizing differences in sizes of containers.

Our leprechaun box was totally fun—great for comparing colors and textures! First we put in some soft orange yarn just like a leprechaun beard. Then we added his pot of gold (aka shiny mardi gras beads).

Beads are always a favorite with our students. They love looking at them, shaking them—-wearing them 🙂

Others got quite creative with the yarn—making not just beards but wigs also. Our students are sure creative!

This box addresses the science access points of identifying objects by one observable property.

Super cute and lots of fun!

When you think of Irish food you can’t help but think of POTATOES!

In our case we used dried potatoes and we included 3 little snakes hidden among the flakes. St. Patrick was supposed to have driven all the snakes out of Ireland but apparently these little guys got overlooked 🙂

Potato flakes are soft and slightly crunchy. They have a very cool feel that is different and pretty irresistible! We also included a large measuring spoon which is helpful for practicing scooping skills but most of our students preferred to use their hands.

The math access points of associating quantities up to 3 with number names and solving simple problems involving joining or separating sets of objects up to 3 are addressed with this box.

To liven up our shaving cream and make it into “St. Patrick’s Day shaving cream”, we put green and gold glitter sparkles in it. Shaving cream is always such fun and our students love putting their hands into it and “scribbling” around. Some students had fun practicing their prewriting patterns of straight lines or circles.

Recognizing and responding to different types of sensory stimuli is a science access point. This activity also helps address tactile desensitization.

One of the reasons there is so much green in Ireland is all the RAIN! So when we found this Rain Kissed Leaves scent from Bath and Body Works we knew it was the perfect scent to tickle our olfactory sense and help us remember our St. Patrick’s Day fun.

We rinsed all the shaving cream off of our hands in Rainkissed Leaves (from Bath and Body Works) scented water. Our water started off pretty clear with some bubbles but soon turned white and soapy as hands were rinsed…..just a perfect opportunity to address the science access point of recognizing a change in an object—how cool is that!

After our hands were rinsed our students had the opportunity to explore the scent some more with the lotion.

Using their body movements or nonverbal expressions our students communicated their desires and preferences—its not hard to guess what he is communicating 🙂

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

Fine Motor Group—St. Patrick’s Day

We had too much fun painting with corn syrup last week —-so we HAD to do it again 🙂

We started by asking our students to show us the picture card with the color green. Our students are getting so good at choosing the correct color. We are so proud of them!

Communicating information about objects using non-verbal expressions, gestures, symbols or words and responding to referent pictures used in routines are language access points.

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

Then we painted our precut shamrocks with delightfully gooey corn syrup tinted with green food coloring.

We are so proud of the progress our students are making—learning to handle writing utensils and developing eye hand coordination.

Isn’t this student doing such a great job!

Then we glued the shamrocks onto a rectangular piece of paper, but not before adding some gold glitter—since we can never pass up the opportunity to add a little sparkle to our projects 🙂

Each student got to pick the color paper that they wanted which addressed the language access point of using nonverbal expression to communicate preferences.

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

Our shamrocks are so shiny and sparkly we love the way they turned out.

Of course, we couldn’t end the group without saying a big…….

…………..TA DA!!!!!

On Thursday we read Cara’s awesome book again. The students really enjoyed the bright colorful pictures and were excited when it was their turn to activate the voice output device.

Responding to a familiar person reading a book aloud, attending to print materials by touching, looking, or listening, and responding to a technology device are all language access points addressed EVERY week when we read our books!

Our art project was so much fun—making a leprechaun beard! We used our picture symbols again but this time asked our students to pick the color orange—then got to work!

First we painted some precut paper plate rim pieces (these were left over from a previous project, sometimes Joy’s hoarding pays off ha ha) with a mixture of orange paint and glue. On an added note, we also taped a popsicle stick to the back of the plate to make it easier for the students to hold.

Then we cut some pieces of orange yarn and sprinkled the pieces on top—addressing both fine motor and spatial relations skills.

The science access point of recognizing a change in an object is also addressed as the different items are added.

Top of the Mornin’ to you from some little leprechauns—–pretty darn cute!!!!

Language Group—the Letter Y

We started out by listening to Cara’s sound game. Towards the end of the alphabet, it gets harder to find different words and sounds—but we made it happen 🙂

As our students played the game, we told them “it is Your turn”.

Recognizing and responding to commons sounds is the science access point addressed here. In addition, the language access points of communicating recognition of familiar persons or objects and responding to familiar print media are also addressed.

After the sound game, we got out a bumpy Yellow ball. Some of our students requested the ball using their static communication boards—communicating their wants is a language access point!

We had so much fun tossing or rolling the ball back and forth Yelling ” Yay” each time it was caught. A totally fun way to work on eye hand coordination as well as turn taking skills—-is it my turn or Yours?

Next we made some Yo Yo’s! We started with small circular paper plates (discussing the shape addresses the math access point of recognizing 2 dimensional shapes) and also counting them out aloud—we NEVER pass up a chance to practice counting 🙂

After coloring them with markers we taped a piece of Yarn to the back.

Ta Da! Here is a homemade Yo-yo!………. Yeah!!

Our students were really tickled with them and had a lot of fun moving them around—-addressing the science access point of tracking objects moving up and down as well as the science access point of recognizing an action as fast or slow.

We finished by looking at some of the Y words we found!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day from all of us here. Next week we’re off for spring break but we will be back soon for more fun and learning…..Group by Group 🙂