Summer vacation is coming up soon so you know what that means—–let’s go to the beach!  The sensory groups explored boxes filled with items you might find at the beach. The fine motor groups made beach themed art projects out of paper plates and the language group made a beach inspired treat.

It was a fun filled week and a great theme to end this school year!

 

 

 

 

SENSORY GROUP

Play sand is a great medium to explore. Not only is it soft to the touch but so fun to watch stream down through the funnel we put in this box!

Track objects in motion is a science access point.

 

 

 

 

 

Down near the water the sand denser and perfect for building sandcastles—–like our moon sand! In this box a plastic crab, toy sea turtle and 2 shells could be found. There was also a fun play dough toy. It could be used to make sand castles or rolled along to make footprints in the sand—-very cool!

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

 

 

 

 

 

While we don’t have any black sand beaches here, we think they would be pretty cool to explore! Our black sand beach was actually kinetic sand—-always popular with both students and staff! Everyone loves the way kinetic sand feels but since it molds well, we put a cute starfish mold in this box.

The science access point apply a push to move an object can be addressed here.

 

 

 

 

 

Playing along the seashore means feeling a cool breeze and water spray. There were a variety of hand operated fans to mimic ocean breezes. We had some with whirling lights and others that did not have blades at all—-very cool!

The students found them fascinating.

The really fun part of this box was our misting water bottle! After we sprayed the water into the air, there were LOTS of giggles from the students as the water droplets fell down on them 🙂

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

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, with a beach unit we HAD to include our ocean umbrella! Both dolphin and whale sounds were recorded on a voice output device. As usual, this umbrella was a hit—-it really is one of our favorites 🙂

The science access point match living things with their habitats can be addressed here.

 

 

 

 

Since this is our last post of the year—–and our students are so VERY cute,

                                                here are a few more photos 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

For our messy play this week we asked the students to make wavy ocean wave lines in our “sea foam” shaving cream. A really fun way to work on pre-writing skills!

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

 

 

 

 

 

Our water play featured a fun little fish and some different sized scoops. Water is always fun for our students and a great way to rinse off messy hands 🙂

Recognize differences in sizes of containers that hold liquids is a math access point.

 

 

 

 

 

Sunscreen is a MUST for a day at the beach! Bath and BodyWorks aruba coconut bath gel in our water and its matching scented lotion left our students smelling like they had spent a day at the beach!

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

 

 

 

 

 

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday our students made paper plate sea shells. To make the plates look like shells we just freehanded a little curve along each side of a small paper plate—-pretty easy.

To start out we asked the students to identify the color of our paint using communication symbols.

Identify objects by one observable property, such as color, is a science access point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the students painted their sea shells PINK!

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

 

 

 

 

 

We added some glitter to give the shell a little sparkle!

Recognize when an object is added to a situation is a math access point.

 

 

 

 

 

TA DA!

Fabulous sea shells!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday the students made crabs using paper plates. Paper plates were folded in half and stapled prior to the group. We also pre-made the crab pincers.

Using communication symbols, the students identified the color of the paint they were going to use to paint their crabs.

Identify objects by one observable property, such as color, is a science access point.

 

 

 

 

They also identified a semi-circle—–the shape of our crabs!

Recognize a half of an object as part of the whole object is a science access point.

 

 

 

 

 

The students added 2 crab pincers (made with chenille stems and construction paper) by putting the chenille stem through holes punched in the plates. They did a really great job with this!

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

 

 

 

 

Then the students painted their crabs with bright YELLOW paint!

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 glue dots were added for 2 googlie eyes! We pre-glued the googlie eyes on to paper circles to make for easier handling.

Match an object to a designated space to show one-to-one correspondence is a math access point.

 

 

 

 

 

TA DA!!!

Such cute little yellow crabs!

 

 

 

 

They are super cute BUT…….

better watch out for those crab claws 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

LANGUAGE GROUP

We did things a little bit differently today.  Instead of making something to eat, we made ourselves a nice cool drink!  We made a copycat recipe of Sonic’s Ocean Water drink.  Here’s the recipe we used: Let_s Make Sonic Ocean Water

We started out by measuring some sugar.  We talked about how we use measuring spoons rather than measuring cups.  We added some water and then microwaved the ingredients for 30 seconds.

 

 

 

 

 

While the ingredients were in the microwave, we talked about how things get HOT when they are heated up.  Once the sugar and water was finished, we stirred it up and let it sit for a bit to cool down. When it was safe, the students got to feel the warm bowl.

Recognize objects or materials as warm or cold is a science access point.

 

 

 

 

 

We counted out 4 drops of food coloring and then added some coconut extract.  We stirred it all up and watched as the color CHANGED.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We POURED 2 cans of sprite into a pitcher.

Then we poured the other ingredients in and stirred it all up and……

VOILA! We created our own Ocean drink!

The math access point associate quantities with number names is addressed here. The science access point recognize a change in an object is also addressed.

 

 

 

 

 

Our students got to request if they wanted any goldfish crackers to go with their drink.  They were only given a small amount and had to ask for MORE if they wanted more.

Both the drink and the crackers were hits 🙂

Indicate desire for more of an action or object is  math access point.

I think we’re all ready to visit the beach!

 

 

 

 

Well thank you for joining us! We hope you enjoy your summer as much as we plan to! Hope to see you in the fall for more fun and learning Group by Group!