Tag Archives: Oprah

Women’s History Month

Women’s History Month

March is Women’s history month and March 8 was International Women’s Day so this week we chose to learn a little bit about some women who have made history. The sensory group boxes, fine motor group art projects, and the language group’s healthy snack, are all related to women featured in our book!

We had fun and learned a lot!

 

 

 

SENSORY GROUP

Ellen Ochoa is the first female Hispanic astronaut! This space themed box was filled with some “outer space” black beans. We added a little astronaut and some stars to find.

 

 

 

 

Recognize a space related object is a science access point.

 

 

 

 

Muriel Siebert was the first women to be on the New York Stock Exchange. There were all sorts of money related items in this box including some play money, a coin filled discovery bottle, and a wallet. They really had fun with this box!

 

 

The social studies access point identify coins as money that can be used to buy things can be addressed here.

 

 

 

 

Oprah is a multimedia giant—-actor, producer, talk show host, and philanthropist! One of her best known roles was in the movie The Color Purple so we chose purple kinetic sand and a letter O stamp for her box.

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

Misty Copeland is the first African American woman promoted to principal dancer at the American Ballet Theater. Her box is filled with swatches of tulle and satin, some ballet shoes, and a tiara.

 

 

Recognize and respond to different types of sensory stimuli is a science access point.

We also put in a stretchy tutu that doubled as a very fun hat 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beyonce is one of the most well known singer/songwriters of today! We recorded one of her songs on a voice output device then put in some musical instruments so our students could play along.

 

 

Recognize objects that create sounds is a science access point.

We also included some cool sunglasses——-

 

 

 

 

——–which our students totally rocked of course!

 

 

 

 

We recently watched Chloe Kim become the youngest woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the half pipe snowboarding event! We thought she was amazing!! The students had fun making their own “snowboard” trails through our shaving cream “snow”.

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

Natalie Coughlin is a swimmer who has won 12 Olympic medals and was the first ever woman to swim the 100 meter backstroke in less than a minute—-how cool is that! There were foam numbers 1 0 0 to scoop out of the water this week.

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

 

 

 

 

Our fruity raspberry scent from Bath and Body Works reminded us of farm to table item that Alice Waters might serve at her restaurant. The aroma was sweet—-just like our students 🙂

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday as another nod to Alice Waters, we chose some healthy apples to PAINT with rather than eat this week!

First our students identified the shape of the paper we were using and then it’s color. They also identified the color of our paint.

 

 

 

 

Identify objects by one observable property, such as color is a science access point. Recognize an object with a two-dimensional shape is a math access point.

 

 

 

 

To make it easier for our students to hold the apple we inserted a fork into it then we asked the students to stamp UP and DOWN.

 

 

 

 

Recognize a movement that reflects a spatial relationship, such as up and down is a math access point.

 

 

 

 

TA DA!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are celebrating Women’s History Month!

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday we made some scales—-like those that represent the Supreme Court Judge Sandra Day O’Conner!

First the students identified the shape of the our kleenex boxes.

 

 

 

 

 

Recognize and object with a two-dimensional shape is a math access point.

 

 

 

 

Then the students used colorful markers to decorate their boxes.

 

 

 

 

The science access points recognize a change in an object and recognize that pushing and pulling an object makes it move, both can be addressed here.

 

 

 

 

Our scales (made from some cut up cereal boxes, paper plates, and yarn by our wonderful volunteers) were attached with brads by the adults then we got to try them out! The students were pretty fascinated with seeing how their scales worked!

The math access point describe objects in terms of measurable attributes (longer, shorted, heavier, lighter, etc.) is addressed here.

 

 

 

 

TA DA!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are celebrating Women’s History Month!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LANGUAGE GROUP

Michelle Obama launched a campaign to end childhood obesity while she was First Lady of the U.S. so we thought a healthy treat would be a great snack to make this week!

Here is what we used throughout the activity: Let_s Make A Healthy Parfait

We started out a little bit backwards today by counting out how many cups we needed for our snack.  We counted out 7 cups for 7 students.

Associate quantities with number names is a math access point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before we put together the first step of the parfait, our students had to choose the healthier food item: yogurt or ice cream.  This can be a little bit challenging, especially since some students like to pick what they’d LIKE to eat rather than what’s BETTER for us to eat 🙂

 

 

Once they chose the correct ingredient, it was put into the cups.  Next, we moved on to choosing whether chocolate chips or strawberries was the healthier choice.  Once we decided the correct ingredient, that was put into the cups.

 

 

 

 

Next up was oreos or cheerios.  Again, the healthier choice was added to the cup.

Finally, our students had to indicate whether honey or chocolate sauce was healthier.  (You can really see which kiddos love the sweets more with these types of quizzes!).  Of course, the honey went on top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each student had to request that they WANTED their snack before they got it.

 

 

 

 

 

Healthy choices aren’t so bad after all——–YUM!

 

 

 

We had fun celebrating Women’s History Month and hope you did too! Our spring break is coming up so we will be back in two weeks for more fun and learning—–Group by Group!

 

Talk Show Host book

Talk Show Host book

img_4243This isn’t just a random theme this week!  We are celebrating TV Talk Show Host Day which is October 23.  Our book takes a look at some different talk show hosts and gives a couple of facts about them.  We now know some neat little things about Conan O’Brien, Ellen, and Oprah, along with several other TV talk show hosts.  The cover of the book features a student of ours on the Tonight Show and also features another student helping out behind the scenes.

 

 

 

 

 

img_3600Here is a link to the book:   fun-facts-about-talk-show-hosts

Talk Show Hosts

Talk Show Hosts

img_4247October 23 is National Talk Show Host day—-yes, there really is a day for everything!! While kind of an unusual theme, we had a lot of fun with it.

Our sensory group explored boxes related to some of our favorite talk show hosts. The fine motor groups made some fun art projects and the language group looked to Rachael Ray to make a tasty treat in less than 30 minutes 🙂

 

 

 

 

SENSORY GROUP

img_3622img_4304Oprah is a legendary talk show host. The base of her box was green paper shred—-we learned that green is her favorite color! We added things that we associate with Oprah like books (for her book club), a peace sign, the word FRIENDS (she has lots of them), and some little play people (one in a dress that is the color purple). We also included lots of hearts because of all the love Oprah spreads 🙂

img_4072Recognize a model of a real object is a science access point.

 

 

 

 

img_4268img_4055Harry Connick is not only a talk show host but is also an actor and singer. He starred in the movie Dolphin Tale. Our students got to swim with the dolphins with our underwater umbrella. There were also some dolphin sounds we recorded on the voice output device.

They LOVED this umbrella!

 

 

 

img_3639img_4065The science access point match common living things with their habitats is addressed here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

img_4087img_4151Whoopi Goldberg is another talk show host who is also an actor. She starred in the Sister Act movies. We took a cue from the colors of the nun’s habit that she wore in those movies and used white rice and black beans for her box. There were lots of letter W’s as well as a picture to find at the bottom of the box.

img_3607The science access point recognize common objects as the same can be addressed here.

 

 

 

 

img_3609img_4078Our super cool galaxy play dough would be a sure hit with astrophysicist and host of Star Talk——Neil DeGrasse. We added regular gold glitter in addition to some chunky silver glitter to make the black play dough look out of this world! There were two different sized star shaped cookie cutters for our students to make size comparisons.

img_4384Recognize similarities and differences in size of common objects is a math access point.

 

 

 

 

img_3633img_3653Lots of people turn to the Dr. Oz show for health advice so his box was filled with “doctor” stuff. There were some gauze bandages, medicine cups, cotton balls, tongue depressors, and a stethoscope.

Of course, we included a little patient for our students to take care of.

img_4165Associate an object with a person is a social studies access point.

 

 

 

 

img_4109img_4129Conan O’Brien is well known to late night talk show fans. He is also famous for his red hair. We laminated a picture of a bald Conan and our students had a lot of fun re-styling his hair using orange shaving cream. Perhaps he should come to our school for a makeover 🙂

img_4453Track the movement of objects that are pushed or pulled is a science access point.

 

 

 

 

img_4163img_4340Ellen DeGeneres not only has a hit talk show but starred as the voice of Dory in two movies that are huge hits among our students! Ms. Kim found a fun Dory pool toy that, when it’s string was pulled, swam around our little ocean. We didn’t have a Nemo toy but we did include an orange toy fish that resembled him—– and squirted water when squeezed!

The science access point recognize the change in the motion of an object can be addressed with this activity.

 

 

 

 

img_3670img_4172Our scent this week is one we are pretty sure Rachel Ray would like—-cucumber melon from Bath and BodyWorks! Our students really liked this aroma.

img_4500Recognize one or more external body parts is a science access point.

 

 

 

 

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday our students made microphones!

img_3812First we discussed that styrofoam balls were spheres and identified their shape using communication symbols. We had pre-painted the balls with silver tempera paint.

This activity addresses the math access points: recognize objects with two-dimensional shapes, and recognize three-dimensional shapes.

 

 

 

 

 

img_3819img_3709Then the students used cutting tools such as paper cutters or switch operated scissors to trim some black construction paper. We noted that the shape of the paper was a rectangle.

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

 

 

 

 

img_3750img_3834Next the students used a glue stick to apply glue to the paper and then they rolled it around a toilet paper tube. The styrofoam ball was pushed onto the top for a finishing touch.

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

 

 

 

 

img_3835img_3765Ta Da—-

img_3806                                                           —-time for an interview!

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday the fine motor group made picture frames—to hold a picture of each student with Jimmy Fallon (cleverly made by Power Point whiz Cara).

img_4191We started by discussing the shape of the picture frame and asked the students to identify it using communication symbols.

Recognize objects with two-dimensional shapes is a math access point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

img_4201img_4208Then the students painted the frame with some watered down glue.

img_4213The science access point recognize pushing and pulling an object makes it move is addressed here.

 

 

 

 

img_4230Time to add gold or silver glitter—-a celebrity photo needs to be framed in shiny glitter 🙂

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

img_4237img_4226Ta Da!

img_4217                                                   We are just a little starstruck!

 

 

 

 

LANGUAGE GROUP

We channeled Rachael Ray today and made one of her recipes for the language group.  We made her recipe Whole Wheat Sweet Cinnamon Chips with Creamy Honey Dip (recipe found here: http://www.rachaelray.com/recipes/whole-wheat-sweet-cinnamon-chips-with-creamy-honey-dip).

img_4513img_4514Since the tortillas had already been pre-cut, we talked to our students about what shape they were.  They had to indicate the triangle out of a field of 2 shapes.

Recognize an object with a two-dimensional shape is a math access point.

 

 

 

 

img_4521img_4534Our students got to HELP us spray the tortillas with cooking spray and then SPRINKLE cinnamon and sugar on top.  Of course, they got to smell the cinnamon first!

img_4525Recognize and respond to one type of sensory stimuli is a science access point.

 

 

 

 

img_4545img_4556While the tortillas were in the oven, our students helped PUT the yogurt and honey in a bowl.  We observed how the ingredients MIXED together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

img_4559img_4572While we were waiting for the tortilla chips to finish, we got out our Dolphin Tale umbrella for them to look at

img_4581—–what a fun way to pass the time!

 

 

 

 

img_4588img_4591Once the chips were done baking, we counted out bowls for each of our students and put together our snack.

Lots of opportunities to use communication devices with this yummy treat!

img_4593Thank you, Rachael Ray, for the wonderful recipe!

 

 

 

img_4136We had a great time with our talk show host theme. Join us again next week for more fun and learning——Group by Group!