Tag Archives: pincer grasp

Dec16

Winter Holidays part 2 and the Letter O

Posted on December 16, 2012 by jd785

Winter holidays are so much fun that we had to spend another week learning about them! We kept our same book but added different sensory boxes for and art activities for our Sensory and Fine Motor Groups. Our Language Group looked at words that start with the letter O.

Sensory Group—Winter Holidays Around the World

Our first box was filled with all things Christmas. We included jingle bells, Santa and Nutcracker figures, reindeer, christmas trees (felt and plastic), stars, garland, a doll sweater, and the word “HOME” all in some red paper shred …..to remind us of all those exciting packages !

Some of the items made noise, like the jingle bells and squeaky toys. The squeaky toys were VERY popular!

The students were able to explore different ways to apply force either by shaking or squeezing the items to make noise. This addresses the science access point of identifying objects that create specific sounds.

In Mexico, they celebrate Las Posadas as part of their Christmas celebrations with processions, carols, and PINATAS! At the bottom of our red, white and green rice we placed a picture of a pinata which could be uncovered as the rice was moved aside.

It was so pretty and festive looking…..

quite irresistible 🙂

Visual discrimination skills are addressed when differentiating the hidden picture from the colored rice.

We also put in 2 different sizes of measuring spoons. While playing with them our students have the opportunity to learn about capacity—differences in sizes of containers which is a math access point.

Lights, lights lights—–Hanukkah, Diwali, Las Posadas all festivals of light.

We can’t get enough of them! This week we put them in a box which reminded us of the luminaries used during Las Posadas.

This addresses the science access point of recognizing sources of light.

Straw mats, and fruits of the harvest are part of the Kwanza celebration. We used raffia in place of straw and included some ribbon printed with fruit in addition to our play food.

The ribbon was soft as compared to the rough feel of the raffia. Finding the pieces of fruit hidden amongst the ribbon and raffia addresses visual and tactile discrimination skills.

Comparing the texture of the ribbon and raffia addresses the science access point of comparing the different properties of materials.

Dropping the raffia onto the floor allowed them to address the science access point of tracking objects that fall to the ground.

If they let us know what they did…..

it addresses the science access point of indicating that an object has fallen 🙂

Bodhi celebrations often involve decorating trees with colorful beads. In this box we added lots of colorful beads and pompoms.

Sorting these objects addresses the science access point of recognizing objects by one observable property.

…….NAILED IT 🙂

Our students are just so

awesome!!!!

Our last box was filled with winter snow—at least our Florida version 🙂

We mixed some cornstarch, shaving cream and fake snow. Its about 2 boxes of cornstarch to 1 can of shaving cream. We found the idea at this website http://growingajeweledrose.com.

This stuff was so much fun, similar to cloud dough but with a little wetter feel. Totally cool— the students just loved running their fingers through it, squishing it, pushing a letter W for winter into it, or watching it as it fell down (addressing the science access point of tracking a falling object).

When molded into little “snow balls”, the math access point of recognizing a common three dimensional object.

Hands were rinsed in twisted peppermint scented body wash from Bath and Body Works. It has a really strong scent which really draws our students attention.

Measuring cups allow our students to practice scooping while addressing the math access point addressing capacity.

This student is addressing the math access point of indicating a desire for more of an action by reaching out his hands as the water is poured on them.

As this student is cupping his hands, he is also working on developing his palmer arches—nice!

The matching lotion was rubbed on hands, arms—-or the back of the neck for students who engage in a lot of oral exploration.

We present the lotion and give the students an opportunity to indicate their desire for more by facial expression, gestures, body movements or vocalizations.

Our students left the group smelling like delicious peppermint candies to help them remember all the different winter celebrations we have learned about the last 2 weeks.

Fine Motor Group—Winter Holidays Around the World

On Tuesday we started by reading Cara’s book again before starting our art project—–turning into Christmas Santa’s!

First we used our paper cutter to turn a red rectangle into a triangle. This addresses the science access point recognizing a change in an object. It also addresses the math access point of recognizing an object with a 2 dimensional shape.

To do this we had to make 2 cuts with our paper cutter. We counted the cuts—-addressing math access points again!

Then we passed out some white plates—-they were circles with the center cut out. Again, addressing the math access point of recognizing a 2 dimensional shape.

We glued the triangle hats onto the circle.

We pulled apart some fiber fill and glued a big piece onto the circle and then a smaller piece at the top of the hat.

This activity addresses spatial relationships as pieces are placed down. In addition, fine motor skills are addressed as the pieces of fiber fill are pulled apart.

Merry Christmas

HO HO HO

On Thursday we celebrated Hanukkah by making menorahs.

First we chose yellow paper for the flames.

As our students point to the color and word “yellow”, they are addressing the language access point of attending to print materials by touching, looking, or listening.

By picking up the card and handing it to an adult, they are building communication skills.

Then we tore the yellow paper into small pieces and placed them in a bowl.

Tearing the paper helps build bilateral coordination and pincer grasp skills. It also addresses the science access point of recognizing a change in an object.

Placing the pieces into the bowl addresses eye hand coordination. Deciding when we have enough addressed the math access point of solving problems involving small quantities of objects using language, such as enough, too much, or more.

We colored 8 popsicle sticks. We adapted this activity for our students by taping the sticks to a piece of cardboard (a cut up cereal box). Taping the sticks down helps to stabilize them and is easy to remove when done.

The sticks were counted……

……….Of Course!

We also used some rounded animal markers from Roseart which are easy for our students to grasp.

This activity addresses math as the sticks are counted and helps our students practice with writing tools.

We removed the tape and glued our little yellow flames to the top of our candles and placed them in our base.

The base was made from a section of a pool noodle cut in half. We also cut a slit across the top to make it easier to insert the popsicle sticks.

Fine motor skills such as eye hand coordination and pincer grasp are addressed as the “candles” are placed into the menorah.

We then added our 9th candle (pre-made by gluing 2 popsicle sticks together). This addresses the math access point recognizing when 1 item has been added to a set.

Happy Hanukkah 🙂

Language Group—Letter O

First we played Cara’s sound game and listened for some Cool O words!

Then we put put the blocks On top of each other.

This addresses the math access point of recognizing a movement that reflects a spatial relationship. Counting the blocks also addresses math concepts.

Eye hand coordination is also addressed in this activity.

Then we knocked the tower Over!

……Of course!

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

Needless to say, some of our students REALLY enjoyed this part of the

activity 🙂

Next we Opened a jar….

….and pulled Out One Orange pom pom.

We used a plastic peanut butter jar because it has a nice wide opening making it easier for our students hands to fit.

We adapted this activity for some of our students by pulling out the pom pom for them and then encouraging them to visually track the pom pom, addressing the science access point of tracking a moving object.

We also adapted this activity for our students who have visual impairments by encouraging them to explore the pom pom with their hands.

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

We finished by making a creature found in the Ocean!

To start, we crumpled 5 pieces of scrap paper and put them into a bag which we closed it with a rubber band. We found these blue lunch bags at Target.

We noted that the number 5 is an ODD number.

Bilateral coordination skills are addressed when crumpling the paper and placing it in the bag.

We used decorative scissors to cut some strips at the bottom of the bag.

A couple of googlie eyes added….great for working on pincer grasp skills,

and a happy smile drawn with a marker!

Ta Da—-a cute little Octopus

On a cute little student’s head 🙂

Wow, we found a lot of O words today

in our Language group.

Hope you enjoyed learning about all these winter holidays and whichever one you celebrate…

……it is filled with light and laughter.

Nov19

Thanksgiving and Letter L

Posted on November 19, 2012 by jd785

Thanksgiving and Letter L

It was all about Thanksgiving in our Fine and Sensory Groups this week. In our Language Group we looked at words that started with Letter L.

Sensory Group—Thanksgiving

We filled this box with play food (squash and other vegetables), turkeys and corn (popcorn kernels)—things you might find at your Thanksgiving feast. We also put in some crochet squares—like the blanket you might snuggle under after the feast!

Of course there is always a game on TV, so we had to put in a small football!

Some pilgrim and native american stickers, and feathers to remind us of the first Thanksgiving. A gift card and small box reminded us of all the shopping we might do after the big day 🙂

And finally, the words Home and Family to remind us what the holiday is all about.

We just loved the different ways our students interacted with the items in the box. In this picture, this little girl is making her turkey eat the corn—-so CUTE!!!

This student, after examining the other items,

became really intrigued by the words

—-working on his literacy, gotta love it 🙂

This box addresses a variety of access

points related to language including

attending to print materials by looking

and touching, and

communicating recognition of familiar

objects.

Our brown feather boa looked just like turkey feathers. As we discuss the fact that birds (like turkeys) have feathers, we address the science access point related to sorting animals by observable characteristics.

Of course, we are also addressing the science access point of responding to sensory stimuli! Our students love to touch and rub the feathers or watch them move about.

Draping the feathers around your neck is kind of fun also 🙂

We thought of pilgrims with our black and white box.

Big soft pompoms and small, hard beads gave us

materials to contrast, compare and count.

This addresses the science access point of

identifying objects by observable properties.

It also addresses the math access points of

recognizing a three-dimensional object (sphere),

differences in size of objects, recognizing two

objects that are the same size and/or color and

as seen in this picture—comparing quantities to 3.

The two discovery bottles reminded us of the first Thanksgiving participants. Beads for the native americans (Wampanoag) and a blue one like the ocean the pilgrims sailed across.

As the students interact with the bottles they are exploring the science access points of applying a push or pull to move an object and tracking objects as they move.

Some of our students loved shaking the bead bottle really hard to hear them rattle, others (as seen in this picture) turned them slowly, watching the beads move around.

Wrist rotation is addressed while turning the bottles in this manner.

Our next box reminded us of more yummy Thanksgiving

food! We filled it with some potato flakes.

A turkey was taped to the bottom of our next box and

could be seen when the potato flakes were

pushed aside.

We also put in the letter T for Thanksgiving—

and turkeys!

The potato flakes have an interesting texture—

soft yet slightly crunchy—-very intriguing.

Locating the letters amongst the flakes

addresses tactile discrimination.

We pushed a turkey cookie cutter into ooey gooey cranberry sauce in our next box.

And just like the response “what is this stuff” given at the Thanksgiving table to canned cranberry sauce—our students weren’t quite sure what to make of it 🙂

Interacting with the cranberry sauce addresses the science access point of responding to sensory stimuli.

Handling and manipulating the cookie cutter addresses grasp skills.

Hands were cleaned in Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin

from Bath and Body Works.

And then we rubbed the lotion on our hands to

leave the group smelling like delicious

pumpkin pies.

Rubbing the lotion on the different extremities

helps build body awareness. Of course, the

lovely aroma is there to help them build

memories of all the wonderful things we

learned today!

Fine Motor Group—Thanksgiving

On Tuesday, after reading Cara’s awesome book, we passed out these cute craft foam turkeys we found in the dollar section at target—10 for a dollar, thats a pretty good deal!

We counted our turkeys as we passed them out, addressing math access points.

Then our students picked out “gobble” sticker from a choice of 3 colors. It will be alternate assessment time before we know it so we are really trying to get as much practice as we can, choosing from an array of 3.

We decorated the turkeys with foam stickers.

Foam stickers are a little thicker than

paper ones, making them easier to grasp

for our students.

We further adapted the activity by

partially peeling off the backing. This

allowed them to work on their pincer

grasp skills.

A few feathers and a fun googlie eye completes a rather fabulous turkey….

TA DA!!!

These turkeys are almost as cute as our students 🙂

On Thursday, for our art activity we made

some pilgrim hats!

We started by cutting a small rectangle

off a strip of paper using our

adaptive scissors.

This addresses the math access point of

recognizing a 2 dimensional shape.

Then we cut out a yellow rectangle—bigger than the white one!

We glued the small rectangle onto the large rectangle.

This addresses the math access point of recognizing similarities and differences in size of common objects.

It also addresses grasp and release skills in addition to spatial relationships.

This was then glued onto the white paper strip.

Placing the pieces addresses spatial

relationships and eye hand coordination.

It always helpful to get a second opinion on

placement—to make sure you got it just

right 🙂

We set aside our paper strips and then counted out our paper plates and after writing our names, turned them over and painted them black.

The shape of the paper plates was discussed addressing the math access point of recognizing a 2 dimensional shape.

While the students were painting, their paper strips

were taped to some black cups (found in a

Halloween clearance section).

An adult made a circle of colored glue on the

plate and asked the students to put the cup on

“top” of it.

This addresses spatial concepts and eye hand

coordination.

This cute little pilgrim hat deserves a pretty big…..

TA DA!!!!!!

Language Group—Letter L

We started by Listening for L words in Cara’s sound game.

It was Lots of fun.

Then we Listened to a Little Lion roar. This toy was found

in Target’s dollar section—our favorite part of

the store 🙂

It has a button on the stomach that you push so

it is also great for addressing finger individuation

skills.

Then we strung some Large beads…a great activity for promoting bilateral skills.

For our students who are more physically impaired, we adapted the activity by putting the bead on the string and letting them pull the string “up”—-addressing spatial concepts.

After the beads were all strung we counted them, targeting math skills.

Of course we also talked about the different colors of the beads—so much learning in one little activity 🙂

Next we Lit some Lights using our Powerlink and a

switch to enable all our students to participate.

We Loved Looking at the Lights!

This activity addresses the science access

point of recognizing and responding to

sensory stimuli and the access point of

recognizing a change in an object—the lights

come on when the switch is pressed.

After Listening and Looking, we moved to smell and touch with some Lavender Lotion.

Most of our students really Loved it!

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

We finished by stamping some spots on a Leopard!

Our stamper was made by wrapping a dish

scrubber with bubble wrap (using a twist tie to

secure it).

This activity addresses eye hand coordination

and visual discrimination as students stamp

on the leopard—not the table 🙂

He’s so cute you just have to roar—Loudly!

That was our Last activity, we did a Lot more than usual today!

There was a Lot of fun and Laughter in our Language group today! Here are some of

the L words we found.

We had a great week and hope you join us again after Thanksgiving for more fun, Group by Group!

Gobble gobble 🙂

Nov5

Fall and Letter J

Posted on November 5, 2012 by jd785

Fall and Letter J

It got a little chilly this week, perfect for talking about Fall in our Sensory and Fine Motor Groups! In our Language Group we learned about words starting with Ms. Joy’s favorite letter—J. We hope you are enjoying seeing our students—we think they are awfully cute 🙂 One of our teachers, Ms. Bennett, has been projecting the blog onto a big screen and her students have been having so much fun looking for their pictures.

Sensory Group—Fall

Jumping into a pile of leaves…….AKA the sensory room ball pit!

Is this fun or what!

Our students love both jumping into and burying themselves in the colorful balls. So much wonderful vestibular and proprioceptive input to help build body awareness!

This also helps address the science access point of recognizing one or more external body parts as we discuss which parts of their body are covered by the balls.

Now, back to the classroom…..

We started with Cara’s book, as usual, and

when we got to the page about the wind

blowing the leaves we turned on the hair

dryer (on “cool” setting of course). Each

student got a chance to hold the leaves

and feel the “wind”. They all loved it!

Lots of smiles all around 🙂

This activity addresses the science

access point of indicating awareness of

air moving.

More leaves in our next box, along with a variety of fall related items. We put in a small football, scarecrows, squirrels, playfood apples and hamburgers (for tailgating at those football games), pine cones, pieces of yarn in fall colors, and LOTS of silk leaves. A lovely assortment of textures to feel and examine.

Finding objects in the box involves both visual and tactile discrimination skills.

This box also addresses the science access point of recognizing that plants have leaves.

Our colorful pom pom yarn was so much fun.

It reminds us of nice warm sweaters that we

wear when it starts to get chilly outside!

We found this yarn at Michaels.

Its wonderfully soft and fun to pull apart

addressing bilateral skills.

It also addresses the science access point

of recognizing clothing worn by humans

in different weather (seasons)

Of course, its so great for draping over

and around you like a scarf or hat.

This, of course, addresses the access point of giggling at least once daily 🙂

A box of assorted dried beans made us think

of some yummy warm soup on a cool

autumn evening. Our students love to bury

their hands into the beans as well as

empty and fill the different containers.

You have to love the two fisted approach

shown here 🙂

This addresses the math access point of

recognizing differences in sizes of

containers (capacity).

Here in the south, fall means FOOTBALL! We put in some pom poms, mardi gras beads and shakers in the colors of our favorite teams. Our students LOVED the shakers—they were a huge hit.

Most of them even ignored the mardi gras beads in favor of the the shakers—and the beads are usually a favorite!

This box addresses the science access point of recognizing an action as fast or slow.

Our cornflakes sounded just like dried leaves.

Wonderfully noisy, our students had a great

time with this box.

A few did try to sample

the “leaves’ but for the most part they just

enjoyed smashing and crunching them.

This activity addresses the science access

point of recognizing and responding to

common sounds.

Cool weather means warm breakfasts…like oatmeal!

We searched for the letter F as we sifted through it. A delightful tactile experience.

You can’t really see it in this picture, but a piece of paper with leaves was taped to the bottom of the box to be found as the oatmeal is cleared away. With these boxes being clear, we can tape pictures to the bottom of the box thus being seen without getting torn up as students explore the contents.

Our own little genius moment 🙂

Fall means camping and campfires—and

that means s’mores! Yum Yum!

Our oobleck looks

just like melted marshmallow don’t

you think?

As the oobleck changes from a solid

to a liquid this addresses the science

access point of recognizing that the

appearance of an object or material

has changed.

Always fascinating!

Fall is also apple picking time and our Country Apple scent from Bath, and Body Works was the perfect scent to help us remember all the wonderful things we did today.

Smell is an important memory trigger, so we always end our group with some aromatic water and lotion activities.

Fine Motor Group—Fall

Fall is our theme so OF COURSE on Tuesday

we had to make a colorful tree! First we

passed our our rectangular pieces of paper

and practiced writing our names on the

back. Then we used our assorted

adaptive scissors to snip colorful pieces

of paper. What a great way to practice our

emergent cutting skills.

This also addresses the math access point

of recognizing a common object with a

two-dimensional shape.

The colorful paper pieces were dipped into glue and placed onto the tree.

Those tiny pieces of paper are just perfect for facilitating a pincer grasp. In addition, eye hand coordination and spatial relationships are addressed in this activity.

What a fabulous colorful fall tree!

TA DA!!!

Love how the artist added his

own touch by crumpling

some of the pieces to add

more dimension.

Pure genius!

On Thursday, after reading Cara’s book again, we made some cute little scarecrows.

First we used our adaptive scissors or paper cutters to cut 4 strips of yellow paper.

This addresses the math access point of using quantities to 4.

As the paper cutters are shared with classmates, the students address the science access point of sharing objects with a partner—-sharing and taking turns is a very important skill!

We said we needed 4 strips…

Here is 1!

They need to look just

like this 🙂

The science access

point of recognizing a

change in an object is

addressed here.

We glued them to a round white paper plate and……

…..added a precut brown hat.

This addresses the math access point of recognizing common objects with two-dimensional shapes.

Next came an orange triangle nose and 2 googlie eyes!

More math access points!

TA DA—done without any assistance…..

pure AWESOMENESS!!!!!!!!

These little scarecrows are ready for duty….

…..you crows out there better watch out 🙂

Language Group—-Letter J

We started with Cara’s sound game.

It had some really cute sounds this week.

This activity addresses the science access point of recognizing and responding to common sounds.

We helped Tigger…..

Jump!

This addresses the

math access point of

recognizing a

movement that reflects

a spatial relationship.

Then we unscrewed a Jar…….

……to find a Jungle animal.

Unscrewing the jar addresses bilateral coordination and wrist rotation.

We finished by making Jingle bell Jewelry!

Threading the pipe cleaner through the bell addresses bilateral skills.

Counting the bells also allows for the opportunity to address more math access points—-and we love that.

Jazzy and Jingly….totally fun don’t you think! These were a total hit with our students, they really loved shaking their arms and listening to the bells.

We loved finding all those cool J words today!

Join us again next week for more fun and learning—–Group by Group 🙂

Oct7

Animal Habitats and the Letter F

Posted on October 7, 2012 by jd785

Animal Habitats and the Letter F

This week our Language Group looked at words that start with the letter F. Our Sensory and Fine Motor Groups learned about animal habitats which tied into this month’s Unique Curriculum theme.

Sensory Group—Animal Habitats

We started out in the rainforest. Joy twist tied some green garland, curling ribbon, and twisted paper strips to a black umbrella to make the rainforest “canopy”. We added jungle sounds to a voice output device, a water mister, and a stuffed monkey.

Simple idea but very effective—our students were enchanted! We prompted them to activate the voice output device then brought the rainforest over their heads. They got soooo excited when it was their turn!

Pressing the voice output device after cessation of the sounds addresses the math access point of indicating a desire for more of an action or object.

Had to put another picture in…. our students are just so cute!

We couldn’t get the shot but she was using the monkey to

activate the voice output device—could that be any

more adorable 🙂

From the rainforest to the arctic tundra!

We used about 5 boxes of instant tapioca granules which look just like snow crystals. They have an interesting, slightly coarse feel. We put in a polar bear and some white felt bunnies which blended into the background—just like they do in the arctic! Our letter A’s being different colors really contrasted well.

This box addresses visual discrimination skills. It also addresses the math access point of one to one correspondence—counting 2 bunnies and 1 polar bear.

Our desert box had the letter D, sand, rocks, snakes,

scorpions, and lizards.

Again lots of opportunities to count things and to

compare the different properties of the

soft sand and hard rocks.

The forest/woodland box was filled with pine cones,leaves and moss. Since it was a larger box we put in a large letters F and W, along with a variety of little animals to find hidden in it.

Using the finger puppets addresses bilateral coordination as the student places them on their fingers and also finger individuation as they animate the animals.

Comparing the differing colors of the leaves and differing textures the other materials addresses the science access point of comparing objects by observable properties.

We looked at a soil habitat next (using our coffee grounds for the dirt).

Its strong aroma immediately engages the students! It contained

some spiders, bugs, worms, and centipedes.

Our students loved running their fingers through the soil

and glimpsing the word “soil” taped to the bottom of the box.

Of course, it was also so much fun to pick up and examine all the different bugs to be found hidden in the soil.

Pincer grasps are promoted when picking up the small animals and math access points are addressed when counting them.

Green jello made an excellent swamp habitat for our frogs

and gators!

The cold jello added another sensory dimension and

allowed us to discuss the science access point of

recognizing materials as warm or cold and also the

science access point of recognizing objects that are

identical to each other when counting the frogs.

Some students were a little hesitant to touch this cold and wet material….

…..but others dived right in 🙂

Hands were rinsed in our pond habitat. We used

“Into the Wild” body wash from Bath and

Bodyworks—it seemed perfect for our habitat

theme!

Grasping skills were promoted while

reaching for the floating fish or ducks.

In addition, one to one correspondence and the

concepts of large and small which are math

access points.

We finished with some banana scented lotion (yes banana scented lotion, can you believe it!) we found at World Market.

Our students loved the aroma and feeling it rubbed on their arms—or back of the neck, for students who do a lot of hand exploration.

A lovely scent to help us remember all the wonderful animal habitats we visited today.

Fine Motor Group—Animal Habitats

We started as usual by reading Cara’s book and using the voice output device to help read the repetitive line.

On Tuesday we jumped like rainforest monkeys in the sensory room.

What a fun way to get some proprioceptive and vestibular input which is so important for our students to help build body awareness and gross motor skills.

Then we came back to the classroom and began our

art project—-paper plate fish!

We counted out our plates as they were handed out

and we discussed the plates color (white) and

circular shape.

Then we cut out a triangle shape using our adaptive

scissors. Discussing the different shapes addresses

the math access point of recognizing

two-dimensional shapes.

Joy twist tied some bubble wrap to handled pot scrubbers (these things make the best adaptive art tools) and we stamped our fish—lots of fun!

Then we added one great big googlie eye!

Pincer grasp, finger isolation skills are

addressed here in addition to visual

spatial relations and math concepts.

TA DA! Ok, we realize you don’t really see the fish but this was such a great picture we had to put it in. Their TA DA moment if very important to our students as you can see 🙂

On Thursday we made some turtles.

We started by counting out our poster board turtles and then our

egg carton shells—working on the math access point of rote

counting yet again 🙂

We asked our students to put the shells ON TOP of the turtles,

addressing spatial concepts and eye hand

coordination.

While the adults hot glued the shells to the bodies, our students put on their paint shirts—working on dressing skills.

Then we painted the little turtles. Using the brushes

gives our students practice with writing tools and

addresses eye hand coordination.

They really got into this!

Isn’t this awesome, our own little pond habitat—

we LOVE it!

Language Group—Letter F

First we used our Fingers to operate the Fan—-

which blew air into our Faces.

Can you see that dimple, just too cute 🙂

Then we Found Five Fish with different Features.

YIKES, we didn’t get a picture of all the fish but to give you an idea: a Fantail one from a Fishing game, a Fat ball shaped one, a Felt one, a water squirter that blew Fresh air.

We dropped them into a Fishbowl, addressing eye hand coordination and the math access point of rote counting.

Our Favorite was the Fidgity Fish —it vibrated!

Lots of sounds were Found while playing

Cara’s latest sound game.

We had a Fiesta to say Farewell to

Ms. Robin’s Fabulous intern Julie.

And Finished by using a Funnel to help

get the salsa back in the jar.

Some of the F words we Found today!

Join us again for more fun and learning next week, Group by Group.

Sep30

Hispanic Heritage and Letter E

Posted on September 30, 2012 by jd785

Hispanic Heritage and Letter E

Hola, everyone! This week our Sensory and Fine Motor Groups celebrated hispanic heritage month. Our Language Group looked at words that start with letter E.

Sensory Group—Hispanic Heritage

Cara’s book focused on many aspects of hispanic culture including famous people with hispanic heritage. Our students loved it!

Hispanic culture is so colorful and so was our

first box! We filled it with flowers and paper

streamers just like a fiesta. We also put some

plastic fruit to remind us of Cesar Chavez

who fought for farm workers rights. We

put in Dora the Explorer stickers, magnets

from places with hispanic names, a gavel for

Sonia Sotomayer a supreme court judge, and a voice output device with a snippet of one of Selena Gomez songs. So many cool things to talk about. In addition to the wonderful opportunities to increase language this box addresses the social studies access point of recognizing people from diverse backgrounds make contributions.

Severo Ochoa won the Nobel prize for synthesizing RNA (riboneucleic acid). These springs (found at the junk store) looked similar to its shape.

As these springs move around they are very eye catching and look at this smile—beautiful 🙂

This box addresses the science access point of tracking objects up and down.

Our next box contained cornmeal which reminded

us of yummy foods like tacos and tortilla chips.

This stuff is so much fun to sift and run fingers

through and discover the letter H for hispanic

heritage.

Another nod to hispanic cuisine with our box of dried pinto beans. This box gives our students a wonderful opportunity to practice their scooping skills…..

….and develop tactile discrimination as the

individual beans touch their fingers.

Oscar de la Renta uses fabric to make beautiful clothes. This box had lots of different textures to compare and contrast. Some of our students used them to make their own fashion statements 🙂

We placed pairs of fabrics in the box to address the access point of recognizing objects that are identical to each other.

Some dried lentils in a water bottle made a wonderful

noisy maraca.

Bilateral functions are addressed as

the students move the bottle from hand to hand.

We have found that hot glueing the lid prevents

accidents 🙂

We made some finger paint to honor painters Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo.

We used a free coloring page and let our students explore the interesting texture. So much fun to squish around! The difference between the dry paper and the wet finger paint helps our students with the access point related to distinguishing between objects that are wet and objects that are dry.

Then we rinsed our hands in grape scented water—

remembering Delores Huerta who co-founded

the National Farm Workers Association. We

used some inexpensive bubble bath from the

dollar store and it had a really strong scent to

which our students really responded.

We finished with some orange scented lotion and discussed Spain where many hispanic ancestors came from. As we rubbed the lotion on their hands, our students were given the opportunity to indicate a desire for more or no more addressing math access points.

Fine Motor Group—Hispanic Heritage

On Tuesday we practiced hitting the pinata (hanging bolster) in the sensory room—what a great activity for bilateral coordination and crossing midline.

We had so much fun with the maraca in our

sensory group and we had to make more!

We started by picking out ONE egg—

addressing one to one correspondence.

Then we scooped ONE scoop of dried beans into our egg. Holding the egg with one hand and scooping with the other addresses bilateral functions.

What a nice job shown in this picture, although most of our students needed some help….. And in case you are wondering, not all our students stopped at one—a couple dove in with both hands and beans went flying everywhere 🙂

The adults placed masking tape around the egg then

taped on two plastic spoons—which we counted

out, of course!

Next we colored the eggs with markers to make them bright and colorful.

TaDa—these were a HUGE hit. The students loved

shaking them and laughing as we tried singing

La Cucaracha.

We had the best time 🙂

On Thursday we made some ponchos out of grocery bags (we saw this on the Family Fun website). We precut the opening for the head and the slits up the sides and then had our students practice writing their names on the back.

Then we flipped them over and began decorating the ponchos. We used Crayola’s pipsqueak markers which are easy for our little hands to hold.

We used our adaptive scissors to make fringe

Making multiple cuts addresses the math access

point of recognizing the next step in a sequence.

Completely awesome poncho,

don’t you think!

Can our students possibly get any cuter 🙂

Language Group—letter E

We brought back our Edible cornmeal and had fun tracing the letter E.

Then we strung some Enormous beads—-two beads

for Each student!

Next we Explored the contents of this bag…..

…..and Extracted an

Elephant!

Time to decorate an Egg. We used Eggplant colored Elbow macaroni—giving us an Excellent opportunity to work on our pincer grasp.

And here it is …….

an Elegant Egg!

Everybody got an opportunity to play Cara’s sound game….so Exciting!

We finished as usual by looking at some of the wonderful

E words we found today.

Adios for now, join us next week Group by Group!

Sep24

Pirates and the Letter D

Posted on September 24, 2012 by jd785

Pirates and the Letter D

Our theme was Pirates for our Sensory and Fine Motor groups and our Language Group looked at the letter D. We had so much fun with the pirate theme and everyone got into the action—even Jeannie

Our own pirate queen 🙂

Sensory Group—Pirates

Ahoy matey’s there be pirates, arrgg 🙂 After reading Cara’s book we looked at our first box. It was filled with so much fun pirate stuff. We put in a bunch of “parrot” feathers,

an eye patch, hook, black pompoms, a shipwreck……

(left from a long gone aquarium), spanish moss,

and a variety of pirate figures including

Winnie the Pooh!

And one more super cute picture

—-how could we possibly resist 🙂

X marks the spot in our moon sand!

The moon sand is quite dense and you have to press fairly hard to get an impression, work on hand intrinsic strengthening.

A weighted ball made a great stand in for a cannon

ball (and was fairly close to life size). Lots of rope

on pirate ships so we had to add some of course!

Concepts of heavy and light were explored in this

box. This addresses math access points including

recognizing common 3 dimensional objects

(spheres) and comparing the weight of objects.

We taped a treasure map and some gold coins to the bottom of this box then filled it with some black beans. This addresses cause/effect—as the beans are moved, the coins appear.

In addition, numeric concepts are addressed as the coins are counted.

We continued to talk about the color black with our

pirate playdough. We used lots of black food

coloring to get the color right, then added some

sparkly pirate gold glitter. It was just so COOL

looking! Pressing the bone shaped cookie cutter

addresses hand strengthening.

Treasure found (gold mardi gras beads)! We found this old “treasure chest” that was perfect. The gold beads were so eye catching and so much fun to grab one— or a handful, arggg 🙂

We put some tonic water and a little green food

coloring into our oobleck to make some

swamp water.

Then we turned the lights out, brought out

the black light—-GLOWING swamp water!

This addresses the science access point of

recognizing that the appearance of an object

or material has changed.

Then we rinsed our hands in some Bath and Body Works Ocean scented water and rubbed our hands with the lotion.

Fine Motor Group—Pirates

On Tuesday we read Cara’s book and then made some pirate hats! We used our paper cutters to cut out white squares. We discussed that we had to cut 4 sides.

This activity addresses the math access point of recognizing a common object with a two dimensional shape.

We stamped a pirate symbol onto the square. Joy

made the stamp by cutting a skull and cross

bones out of thick craft foam. She used double

stick tape to attach it to a pot scrubber from the

dollar store. It makes a great adaptive art tool!

We counted out our pre-made hats (simply drawn and cut out of craft paper then stapled together). Adults drew glue squares onto the hats and asked the students to put their pirate emblem on top of it.

This addresses eye hand coordination and the math access point of matching one object to a designated space to show one-to-one correspondence.

Ta Da—3 really cute pirates!

Aren’t they just ADORABLE:)

On Thursday we practiced walking the plank in the sensory room. Our plank has a lot of different textures to increase tactile discrimination in addition to addressing gait and balance, of course.

Then we took out a big poster board. We discussed its

rectangular shape and that we were going to paint

it blue.

Then we got to work! Since the poster board was so big, more than one student could paint at the same time—so much fun.

We addressed the math access point of solving problems involving quantities of action using the language “have we used ENOUGH paint?”

While the paint was drying, we took some cotton batting

and tore it apart. The addresses

bilateral coordination and grasp skills.

Next, we took each student and teachers picture and put it on a paper pirate which was then put on a pirate ship (all drawn by Joy).

We counted 10 pirates!

Now the paint has dried its time for The Owl to

set sail. Ahoy matey’s 🙂

Language Group—Letter D

First we played some finger Drums—great for practicing finger isolation!

Next our Dog Devoured some Donuts—-Delicious!!!

We hot glued a plastic shower curtain ring to a

plush dog to make him easy to grasp. Velcro on

the dog and donut (actually a wooden stacking

toy ring) allows the donut to be picked up.

Then we Decorated a Dinosaur! We used markers because they glide easily across the paper and have such vibrant eye catching colors. Our picture was placed on a light box for our student with a visual impairment.

We used a printable from the book Learn to Move, Move to Learn by Jenny Clark Brack (its a great book with so many great ideas for group activities).

TaDa—just Delightful!

Is this a great

picture or what 🙂

Our students did an awesome job with Cara’s sound game—way to go!!

Just a few of the great D words we found today.

Whew what a fun week!

Join us again….

Group by Group

Sep18

Paralympics and Letter C

Posted on September 18, 2012 by jd785

Paralympics and Letter C

This week the theme for our Sensory and Fine Motor Groups was the London Paralympics and our Language Group looked at words starting with the letter C.

Sensory Group—London Paralympics

We started as usual by reading Cara’s lastest book and using our voice output device to read the repetitive line.

You have to get on an airplane to travel to London!

When we got to the page in Cara’s book about riding in an airplane, we all took turns with the massager to simulate the vibration you would feel on the plane. Some of our students really like the feel of vibration, others not so much.

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

Our first box contained so many cool things. We included a double decker bus and british mailbox, wheelchair, a bag with the british flag, an athletic medal, strips of black fake fur (the soldiers guarding Buckingham Palace wear bearskin hats), some miniature sport balls, and a keychain with the 2012 logo among the rose petals (the british national flower).

We are addressing the access point of responding to new vocabulary that is introduced and taught directly. We are also addressing the social studies access point of recognizing the cultural characteristics of a population.

The British flag banner was so much fun to drape around our students or to grasp and wave around. It also gave a chance to talk about the different colors. This box also included some British coins we placed in an old spice container—-fun to shake and listen to them rattle.

Reach and grasp skills in addition to visual tracking as the objects move are addressed here. We are also targeting the science access points of pushing and pulling an object to make it move and tracking objects in motion as well as the social studies access point of recognizing coins as money.

More red, white and blue with our rice but with a hidden surprise of the Olympic 2012 logo at the bottom. We also put the number 4—the Paralympics happens every 4 years!

Look at this colorful collection— our next box filled with pompoms, yarn and ribbons in the colors of the Olympic flag. A great opportunity to work on color identification as comparing and contrasting shape, color and texture.

The pompoms have such a nice soft texture and are easy to grasp. Picking up the ribbon and yarn strands encourages pincer grasp skills.

This targets the access point of identifying objects by one observable property.

The British love their tea and our students loved exploring the aromatic tea leaves.Wonderful tactile input as hands slide around and sift through it. We put in some circular puzzle pieces, again in the Olympic colors. We are working on the access point of recognizing objects with 2 dimensional shapes.

We added red and yellow food coloring to our shaving cream—to make the olympic flame! So much fun practicing pre-writing strokes.

Gold medals—-thats what all the athletes want to win. We made some terrific sparkly gold playdough and used circle cookie cutters to make our own medals.

We finished with some rose scented lotion to help us remember all the wonderful things we learned about the London Paralympics.

Fine Motor Group—London Paralympics

After reading Cara’s book and taking turns reading the repetitive line on our voice output device we began our art project—we’re going to make an olympic flag!

We counted out 6 pieces of white rectangular paper addressing one to one correspondence and the math access point of recognizing common objects with 2 dimensional shapes.

Then we took a toilet paper roll and stamped a ring. We emphasized stamping just 1 time before passing to the next student.

After we stamped a ring with all 5 of the olympic flag colors we glued a strip with the 2012 logo at the bottom. We helped our students place glue in an “across” fashion addressing pre-writing patterns.

This also addresses the math access point of recognizing a movement that reflects a spatial relationship, such as up and down.

Placing the strip onto the glue encourages bilateral skills, eye hand coordination, and graded motor control.

Perfectly done as you can see here 🙂

Ta Da—our olympic flag

Awesome!!!

OnThursday we had our own mini paralympics in the sensory room then came back to the classroom to read Cara’s book before making an Olympic torch.

We passed around 7 pieces of rectangle paper—bright neon!

We always practice writing our names.

Then we glued on a grey rectangle.

Again working on the math access point of recognizing a common object with a 2 dimensional shape.

Next we tore pieces of red, yellow, and orange tissue paper. Tearing paper is a great pre-scissor skill activity.

We dipped the pieces into glue and placed them onto the top of the triangle.

Look at that concentration—-love it 🙂

Wow look at those flames—

let the games begin!

Language Group—letter C

First we Cleared the Clutter—a Comb, Card, Cup, Chip Clip, Car, Coin, Clock, Cord. The students got to Choose which item they wanted to put in the Container.

then we Closed the top—using both hands and squeezing

tightly!

Next we Clapped to make the Crab Crawl around the table. Our students just really loved this wiggly little guy and they all had to take turns holding it 🙂

We Colored aCardboard C using Crayons. Then Continued decorating it with Cotton balls working on our pincer grasp skills.

So darn Cute

—-and Creative!

Sssh—its time to listen to Cara’s sound

game.

We found some really Cool C words today.

“C” you next time—Group by Group!

Sep3

Back to School and Letter A

Posted on September 3, 2012 by jd785

Back to School and Letter A

We are so excited to be back at school and starting our groups! We have some changes—new students, different classes—-the usual for a new school year but the fun and learning factor remains the same 🙂 To start the new year our theme for our Sensory and Fine Motor Groups was Back to School. The theme for our Language Group is letter A.

Sensory Group—Back to School

We read Cara’s new book using our voice output device for the repetitive line. Responding to a familiar person reading a book aloud is an access point related to print concepts.

Our first box included school related items such as paper shred (we use a lot of paper at school), straws, a little hat (we get new clothes), a school bus, a plastic combination lock, a mini backpack, a play food milk carton, a spoon, a ball and the word “Friends” as well as some little people.

Lots of things to talk about to help vocabulary development!

Pincer grasp skills and visual figure ground skills are addressed while picking up small pieces of paper and straws.

The big yellow school bus is the ultimate symbol for back to school. This box contains a variety of yellow items to compare and contrast for science access points related to properties of matter.

Items in the box included pom poms, curling ribbon, school bus puzzle pieces, plastic shapes, and easter grass.

We can also count the items addressing math access points.

Our school mascot is the owl and this feather boa looks just like owl feathers. So soft to touch and great for calling awareness to various body parts.

Interacting with with the feathers targets the science access point of recognizing and responding to one type of sensory stimuli.

Back to school also means time for art class with Ms. Judy!

Every year she does some fabulous clay projects with the students. So we made some playdough with sparkly sequins. We used our ABC cookie cutters to go along with our back to school theme. We wanted a darker brown more clay like color for our playdough but as you can see, it didn’t turn out that way—-still lots of fun anyway 🙂

Music class with Ms Jen and Ms Brenda is always a favorite place and our shakers helped us make some music during group.

Comparing and contrasting the differing sounds of the jingle bells and dried peas addresses science access points related to properties of matter.

In addition, as the bottles are moved they can be visually tracked which is a science access point related to motion of objects. As our student push or bat at the bottles they are exploring access points related to forces and changes in motion.

Our rice is in our school colors of yellow and blue. We tucked in an owl puzzle piece to uncover, as well as the letter S.

Scooping the rice also lets us practicing scooping skills. Our students love the rice box, its always one of their favorite things to explore.

And OOBLECK—because back to school means time for Sensory Group again!!! We could write sonnets about this stuff, we just love it 🙂

Finally, we rinsed our hands in apple scented water and rubbed with apple scented lotion—apples for the teacher!

So much fun to be back at school 🙂

Fine Motor Group—Back to School

We read Cara’s book and enjoyed seeing students faces light up as they recognized various classrooms.

After we put on paint shirts (working on dressing skills), we passed out rectangular pieces of paper (recognizing 2 dimensional shapes is a math access point) with painters tape initials . As we passed the papers to the students, we discussed these were the first letters of their name—learning the first letter of your name is an important literacy skill related to the access point of responding to names of familiar persons!

The students chose which color paint they wanted to use.

Using the communication board gives a chance to practice color identification in addition to making choices.

We used foam brushes to paint all over the paper.

Then we pulled the tape off—a great opportunity to practice pincer grasp

skills.

Ta Da—-look how cool all the letters look!

On Thursday, after reading our book it was time to get on the bus!.

We started with a strip of yellow paper and asked each student to cut 3 pieces, counting out loud as each piece was cut. This addresses color identification and math access points. We used our number strip to point to number 3.

Ms.Melissa signs for our student who is hearing impaired.

Then the pieces were dipped in glue and placed on the bus.

This activity promotes pincer grasp skills and eye hand

coordination.

We added 2 black wheels….

circles of course!

With the school bus colored we needed to add some riders of course!

We held up staff pictures and asked “who is this?”, then glued them onto the bus. Repeating this with the student’s pictures.

We finished with a chorus of “The Wheels on the Bus”

Language Group—Letter A

We started by using our Animal tongs to pick up some red Apples (pompoms) to put in Assorted bowls

We also used a number chart to count the Apples, addressing one to one correspondence (math access point).

Then we Added An Animal to the String.

We made Aliens by using shapes with Angles. The black lines seen in the picture are the cutting lines.

We Added googlie eyes

And Antennae.

Note, the fabulous pincer grasp 🙂

They looked

Awesome!!!

Cara’s sound game was lots of fun.

We wrote a lot of sticky notes today—–what a lot of A words we found!!!

Please join us again next week, Group by Group 🙂

May8

Week 31—Mexico and Measuring Time

Posted on May 8, 2012 by jd785

Week 31—Mexico and Measuring Time

Our Fine Motor and Sensory Groups learned about Mexico this week in preparation for Cinco de Mayo! The theme for our Language Group was Telling Time.

Sensory Group—Mexico

Our students really enjoyed Cara’s book. We had fun discussing what we saw in all the bright colorful pictures and took turns wearing this awesome hat—thanks Ms. Dani!

Our first box contained a variety of items related to our theme to give lots of language opportunities. We put in straw which is what traditionally is used to make baskets and sandals and paper streamers like the ones on pinatas.

Hidden amongst this were sea shells (for the beautiful beaches), a Mexican flag, a toy taco (yum), butterflies and a colorful bird. We put in the word “Friends” because the people of Mexico are our friends.

We also recorded some traditional Mexican music on a voice output device that was tucked into the straw and activated by both accidental and deliberate touches.

The colors on the Mexican flag are red, white and green. This box filled with soft round pompoms and long hard beads addresses color identification in addition to math access points when counting items or comparing shapes.

More red, white and green with our box of rice.

A great tactile feel as it sifts through the fingers and as the rice is shifted a surprise picture of a cactus (there are lots of cacti in Mexico) taped to the bottom of the bottom of the box.

We love eating refried beans, burritos and other Mexican foods that contain beans—yum yum 🙂 With the addition of a spoon, scooping skills are addressed. The beans are also a wonderful tactile sensation as they trickle through fingers….

…. or when in a bottle, fun to

shake!

Corn tortilla’s are also a part of Mexican cuisine and were represented here with our cornmeal. Students searched for the letter M for Mexico and the number 5 for Cinco de Mayo.

Of course, its also fun to scoop and catch as it spills down—-just plain wonderful stuff!

Monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico each year, so we brought back our pasta butterflies and put in some laminated pictures of monarch butterflies.

The green caterpillars and orangey red butterflies had both shape and color comparisons.

And they are just so bright and colorful 🙂

We added green food coloring to our shaving cream and made guacamole (unfortunately not edible though!). Before we added the green food coloring we hypothesized “what will happen” to address science access points.

Shaving cream is always popular and a fun medium to practice pre-writing strokes.

We rinsed our hands in lime scented water and then rubbed some lime scented lotion on our hands to help us remember all the wonderful things we learned about Mexico.

Fine Motor Group—Mexico

On Tuesday, we had a great time reading Cara’s book and had fun discussing what we saw in all the bright colorful pictures. For our art activity we made some Papel Picado banners which are colorful paper fiesta decorations.

First gave our students a choice of 3 colorful rectangles of tissue paper (recycled from presents past).

Then we folded it over twice and made sure that the folds were pressed really flat. We had pre-folded and then opened the paper back up as we anticipated most of our students would need help with this step.

We used either hole punches or our table top scissors to make cut outs in the tissue paper.

Counting the cutouts in the paper addresses math access points.

This is how it ends up looking when

unfolded, pretty terrific!

And look at how bright and colorful they look decorating the hallway.

On Thursday, we read Cara’s book again and proceeded to make some maracas for our fiesta!

First we used our paper cutters and adaptive scissors to cut a strip of bulletin boarder trim (it was a give away and therefore free, and we like that!)

We gave each student a recycled water bottle, counting as we passed them out, of course. The strip of boarder trim was then taped around the bottle.

Manipulating the tape promotes thumb finger opposition in addition to eye hand coordination.

Then we placed 8 cups filled with different items onto the table.

We discussed what each cup contained and then gave 1 to each student.

The students were instructed to put their items into their bottles. This activity promotes bilateral coordination and pincer grasp skills.

We adapted this activity by using a funnel for those students whose grasp and release patterns were not as precise.

The cap was screwed on (working on wrist rotation) and Ta Da—-a fabulous maraca!

As each student got their Ta Da and shook their maraca, we discussed the different sounds they each made (addressing science access points, differing properties of materials).

Everyone LOVED shaking their maracas 🙂

Language Group—Measuring Time

We talked about different ways to measure time and then had each student begin putting together their own Friday schedule. Using a completed schedule for reference, they were given 3 choices as to what came next on the schedule.

We also referenced time of day, addressing math access points.

Breakfast being first was easy but choosing “what comes next” was more difficult.

Some of our students needed us to give them some assistance by pointing to the model’s visual cue.

And here is the final product!

Continuing with our look at time measurement, we discussed the end of the school year and began making a summer countdown paper chain.

We started by using our paper cutters to cut strips of paper.

Don’t you just love the teamwork in this picture 🙂

Next we used the stapler to fasten a strip into a circle.

And took turns putting another strip

of paper into the chain.

We counted the loops periodically and discussed how many more we needed—addressing math access points. Its getting bigger!

Wow, 18 loops in the chain. It will be so much fun to take a loop off day by day as we countdown to summer 🙂

We finished as usual by looking at some of the time related words we discussed today.

Its been a great week but things are getting a little crazy around here with IEP’s, field trips, special programs and some unexpected surgeries! We may not be posting regular groups for a while but we are planning some alternate posts such as how we organize all our “stuff” and other logistical information. We are also planning to upload some of Joy’s original drawings as templates for you to download. And we will DEFINITELY be back in the fall with new ideas and activities Group by Group!

Apr1

Week 26—Butterflies and the Letter Z

Posted on April 1, 2012 by jd785

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!