Tag Archives: tactile

Mar16

Dr. Seuss

Posted on March 16, 2014 by jd785

We were a little belated with our Seuss celebrations but had a blast anyway! The book Cara wrote last year was so much fun that we decided to use it again and our sensory group also did many of the same activities. Our fine motor group made some Truffula trees and a Lorax. The language group played a fishing game with rhyming words. Silly and seussical—–read along to see all the fun we had!

SENSORY GROUP

This box represents our very favorite cat—-that ONE with a hat! There were red, white, and black pompoms and chenille stems. Both the pompoms and chenille stems were so soft and fluffy but with different colors and shapes—-great for sorting! Our students had a great time with the box, especially enjoying waving the chenille stems around like cat tails. Others creatively joined the chenille stems together to make circles.

The science access point recognize common objects as the same is related to the practice of science.

The math access point recognize 3 dimensional objects, such as spheres is also addressed.

The “ABC “book is one of our favorites so we put lots of alphabet letters to find in our blue and white rice. A picture of the cat in the hat was also taped to the bottom of the box for more fun.

We just love that cat in the hat!

Finding the letters promotes visual and tactile discrimination.

There were a lot of fun animals included in the “If I ran the Zoo” box. It was also a noisy box since some of the animals roared or neighed when a button on their tummies was pushed——great for finger isolation! We found them in the dollar section at Target. We also included some play food for the animals and a little Duplo zoo keeper. The students also had a great time with the binoculars that were included in the box.

The science access points recognize common objects related to science by name, such as an animal and recognize a model of a real object are addressed here. These access points are related to learning the terms that describe examples of scientific knowledge.

We used these cool fabric balls to represent Trufulla trees and our students LOVED them! They were great to run fingers through or to wave and shake. Since we included 3 balls, they could be shared with friends for even MORE fun!

The math access point recognize when 1 or 2 items have been added to or removed from sets of objects to 3 is addressed.

Sharing objects with a partner is a science access point also addressed 🙂

Around here we LIKE green eggs! Our play dough came out a really beautiful shade of green, perfect for making green eggs with the cookie cutter.

Recognizing that pushing and pulling an object makes it move is the science access point related to forces and changes in motion.

The math access point recognize 2 objects that are identical to each other can also be addressed.

Well it just wouldn’t be a Dr. Seuss unit without oobleck and we LOVE LOVE LOVE this stuff! It really is amazing how cool a mixture of plain cornstarch and water can be.

Besides the science access point recognize that pushing and pulling an object makes it move the motion of objects is explored in the science access point track objects in motion.

Again, always more fun when shared with a friend 🙂

We searched for 1 red fish and 2 blue fish in our water play bowl. The blue fish squirted water when squeezed making for a fun way to rinse the oobleck off hands—–or squirt friends across the table 🙂

Properties of matter are explored in the science access point identify common classroom objects by one observable property, such as color.

Math access points are also addressed including recognize 2 objects that are identical to each other and recognize differences in size of objects.

We finished with our 10 apples on top Bath and Bodyworks country apple scented lotion. It was a nice, light fruity scent—–perfect for remembering all the fun we had in group.

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

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday we made some super cute Truffula trees. We adapted an idea we got from the PreK and K Sharing pin on Pinterest and loved how it turned out!

First our students chose which color background they wanted using communication symbols. We discussed the shape of the paper and then counted how many were passed out.

The language access point effectively communicate wants, with prompting, to a familiar person is addressed.

The science access point identify objects by one observable property, such as color and the math access point recognize common objects with 2 dimensional shapes are also addressed.

Then the students tore green paper to make “hills” and glued them down onto their papers. Both of these are great activities for promoting bilateral coordination!

The students really enjoyed the paper tearing step 🙂

It also addresses the science access point recognize a change in an object which promotes understanding that matter can undergo a variety of changes.

Changes in matter and bilateral coordination are again explored in the next step! Tissue paper—-as always, collected from presents past—–was squished and crumpled into balls.

The tissue balls were then dipped into glue and glued onto the paper.

Pat, pat, pat!

We used these super cool striped paper straws (thanks Courtney!) for tree trunks! They were a little tricky to glue down and while some of our students were able to do it independently, most needed some help aligning them along the glue line.

Ta Da—–soooooo SEUSSICAL!

Our Thursday art project was a Lorax! We started by asking our students to identify the color orange using our communication symbols. Most of our students needed a little help find the correct color but that’s ok—-we just will continue to have fun practicing!

The science access point identify objects by one observable property is addressed in addition to the language access point communicate information about familiar objects using non-verbal expressions, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words.

Then we counted out small paper plates—–discussing the circle shape to address the math access point recognize common objects with 2 dimensional shapes.

It’s so much fun to paint and our students are getting so good at using painting utensils! For our students with physical challenges, we taped a brush to a paint stick to make it easier for them to manage—-it works great! As they move their paintbrushes around the plate they are learning about changes in matter and addressing the science access point recognize a change in an object.

After we finished painting, it was time to add the features to the Lorax’s face. We discussed each body part before gluing it down and asked the students to find the same body part on themselves. Since our students do not have mustaches 🙂 we said it was supposed to go UNDER the eyes.

We used googlie eyes and an orange pompom nose. Joy drew the eyebrows and mustache (here is the pattern: lorax )which were cut out prior to the art activity.

This activity addresses the science access point recognize one or more external body parts.

It also addresses the science access point recognize a movement that reflects a spatial relationship.

Ta Da—-so cute!

LANGUAGE GROUP

Because we are talking about Dr. Seuss this week, what would be more appropriate than targeting rhyming words during our language group!

Our students got to play a fishing game to go with the Dr. Seuss book, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. The game has different colored fish that can be “caught” with a Velcro fishing pole.

Each student had a turn to catch a fish—–a great way to work on eye hand coordination!

Whatever color fish they caught, they had to identify a word that rhymed with it!

The students were given a choice of 2 different words to choose from. For example, if they caught the red fish, they would have to choose what “red” rhymed with: “bed” or “clean”.

Our students did pretty well with this task! If they were unable to figure out the correct rhyming word, the rest of the class helped them out.

Responding to patterns of language in read-aloud rhymes is a language access point.

For our students with a visual impairment students, Joy brought in a big fish that vibrates when it’s squeezed. This vibrating fish was just so much fun—–everyone wanted a chance to play with it 🙂

The science access point recognize and respond to one type of sensory stimuli is addressed here.

At the end of the game, we practiced putting all the fish back IN the fish bowl.

Well that is that for the cat in the hat! We are off for spring break next week——oh the places we are going to go 🙂

See you soon for more fun…..Group by Group!

Mar2

The Colors of my Country

Posted on March 2, 2014 by jd785

The Colors of my Country

We celebrated the colors of our country this week—–between the Winter Olympics and Presidents Day we were in a patriotic frame of mind and thought this theme would be a fun way to finish out the month! Our sensory group boxes were filled with items that were either red, white, or blue. The fine motor group combined the colors to make fun art projects. The language group had fun sorting the colors.

SENSORY GROUP

So many fabulous things to discover in our red box! All sorts of shapes, textures, and things that made NOISE—-especially important for our students with visual impairments. There was paper shred, chenille ribbon, accordion tubes, stuffed animals, and a squeaky toy that was by far the favorite!

As with all our color boxes our students are engaging in the practice of science by exploring, observing, and recognizing common objects in the natural world. They are also exploring properties of matter and addressing the science access point identify common objects by one observable property, such as color.

Our white box had some wonderful textures including feathers, a dusting mitt, and some imitation sheepskin. A lovely soft box to run fingers through. We also put in some pompom yarn that was perfect for shaking and draping!

The practice of science is again addressed as the access point use senses to recognize objects.

This blue box was also filled with more wonderful textures and items to explore. We included some shiny curling ribbon, basket filler, some kitchen scrubbers, and an accordion tube.

As students pulled the accordion tube apart and pushed it back together they worked on bilateral coordination.

Forces and changes in motion were explored while addressing the science access point recognize that pushing and pulling an object makes it move.

LOOK at the concentration on the students faces—–fabulous!!!!!!

This red moon sand had a great tactile feel and is very moldable. A melon baller helped make it even more fun to explore. Discussing the little spheres that were made addresses the math access point recognize 3 dimensional shapes. Of course, even though it looked like a ball it didn’t quite act the same way——some of the students were quite intrigued when the balls didn’t bounce when dropped!

Exploring, observing, and recognizing common objects in the natural world is an access point related to the practice of science.

White flour filled our next box and it is pretty messy stuff—–we LOVE it! Spoons and scoops of different sizes were included for filling and measuring.

Develop understandings of addition and subtraction strategies are addressed as students solve problems involving small quantities of objects or actions using language, such as enough, too much, or more.

We dyed some navy beans blue for our next box and they turned out really cool! We found the instructions on the Fun and Home with Kids website. Everyone, including the adults, was pretty fascinated by the blue hue! To also go along with this weeks theme, the letters U S A were hidden in the box for our students to find.

Finding the hidden letters addresses visual and tactile discrimination skills.

Forces and changes in motion are explored and the science access point recognize that pushing and pulling an object makes it move was addressed when playing with the white shaving cream. Since the shaving cream is naturally white, we had to include it as part of this unit!

As usual, our students made a mess and had a blast 🙂

We rinsed our hands in cherry scented water—-cherries are RED after all 🙂 We also put 2 foam puzzle dinosaurs in the water. Since one dinosaur was blue and one was red, colors could be discussed and the science access point identify objects by one observable property is again addressed.

Our students also enjoyed exploring our discovery bottles. One was filled with blue beads and glitter while the other was filled with assorted red, white and blue beads.

As the bottles are turned the motion of objects is explored as the science access point track objects in motion is addressed.

We finished our session with some cherry scented lotion—-yummy! Our students loved the aroma and loved when it was applied to hands, arms, or ears 🙂

Concepts related to the organization and development of living organisms are explored while addressing the science access points recognize and respond to one type of sensory stimuli AND recognize one or more external body parts.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday we started by counting out some grey rectangular paper—–counting the pieces of course! We always ask to the students to sign their names by first identifying theirs from a choice of two. Our students are emergent writers and we encourage them to “write” as we say the letters of their names out loud. Some of them are starting to say their letters along with us and stop writing after we say the last letter!

Using pictures, symbols, gestures/signs, or words to communicate meaning is a language access point related to the writing process.

Next we counted out 3 shapes, asking the students to point to the number 3 using our communication symbols. Then we asked them to point to or touch the circle (all our shapes came from a shape sorter toy).

Recognizing a common object with a two dimensional shape is a math access point. Recognize quantities 1 to 3 using sets of objects or number names is also a math access point.

To complete our art project we stamped blue squares, red circles, and white triangles. We asked our students to identify the paint colors we were using, again using our communication symbols.

The students did a great job stamping the shapes, showing really nice eye hand coordination!

As they stamped, we counted to 3 aloud. We were really excited when some of them stopped stamping when we got to the number 3!

TaDa!!!!

On Thursday we made a color collage. We love doing collages——they are so much fun AND a great way to use up all those odds and ends hanging around the art closet!

In addition to eye hand coordination, pincer grasp skills are also addressed in this activity.

As items are added to the collage changes in matter are explored addressing the science access point recognize a change in an object.

Here’s to the RED, WHITE and BLUE!

TA DA!!!!!!

LANGUAGE GROUP

For our language group, we focused on sorting and answering the question, “what color is it?” Each of our students had a turn putting their hand inside the bag of goodies Joy put together.

There was a lot of reinforcement to not peek 🙂

Once an object had been pulled out, the student had to say what color it was——either red, white, or blue. They could do this either verbally or by pointing to a communication symbol with the different colors.

Communicating information that tells about an object is a language access point related writing applications.

After labeling the color, the student then had to put it in the matching colored basket.

For some of our visually impaired students, we talked about how the object felt. We used adjectives such as bumpy, smooth, soft, and hard.

Our students did a pretty great job with the sorting and identification of colors. They sure do know the colors of their country!

Thanks for joining us again this week, it’s been a lot of fun—–hope you smiled along with us! Join us again next week for more fun and learning Group by Group.

Feb23

Famous African Americans at my School

Posted on February 23, 2014 by jd785

Famous African Americans at my School

We celebrated Black History month by spotlighting some very special members of our staff. Our students loved reading Cara’s book about some of the special people in their lives. In our sensory group each of the boxes were filled with items representing a staff member. Our fine motor and language groups honored staff members in their classes with special treats. Here is what we did:

SENSORY GROUP

Ms. Regina is one of our newest owls and when she is not helping keep our school clean, taking care of her children, OR studying she likes to go on nature walks.

We filled her box with leaves, flowers, vines, and spanish moss—–things you always see on a walk in Florida. We put in some wildlife you might see including ducks, butterflies, birds, frogs, lizards. Bird sounds were also recorded on a voice output device to add to that outdoors feeling. It was a very attractive box which definitely invited exploration!

The science access point distinguishing between a plant and an animal is addressed here, helping our students learn about the organization and development of living organisms.

Recognize and respond to common sounds is the science access point related to the understanding of forms of energy.

Coach Brown helps our owls gain new athletic skills. In this blue and yellow rice (our school colors) we put in 3 different sport ball erasers. Since the erasers were a little small we encased them in some photo pockets sealed with packing tape. That kept them visible and able to be handled but avoided any safety issues. It worked really well and our students enjoyed discovering them in the rice—-and of course, burying them back in it 🙂

2 of the balls were round and 1 was oval shaped. Recognizing a common object with a 2 dimensional shape is a math access point.

Ms. Frankie loves the Denver Broncos! Her box had 3 pompom shakers in the Bronco colors of blue, orange, and white. We also put in a “bronco” that neighed when it’s button was pushed.

Our students love the shakers. Not only do they love shaking and waving them around but they also love the rustling sound they make.

Identifying objects by one observable property, such as color is the science access point related to learning properties of matter. Applying a push to move an object is related to learning about forces and changes in motion.

Ms. Jackie loves the colors hot pink and black. We filled her box with colorful hard beads and soft pompoms in different sizes. A great way to explore the properties of matter and the access point match objects by one observable property such as size or color. Working on the concepts “same” and “different” addresses the math access point recognizing similarities and differences in sizes of common objects. This relates to the understanding of geometry and measurement.

Of course, it’s also a great way to work on the science access point identify of external body parts—–as in, let’s put the beads over our heads 🙂

Ms. Metra likes to ride motorcycles with her husband. We put in 2 different motorcycles (one a toy and the other a puzzle piece) on our black bean highway.

The toy was a lot of fun because it was one of the kind that could be pulled back and released to drive along the table. Our students also enjoyed both submerging the motorcycles and their hands/arms in the beans—-they really do have a wonderful tactile feel.

Forces and changes in motion are explored as the science access point apply a push to move an object is addressed.

Grandma Daisy loves to eat sherbet ice cream! We made sherbet play dough by mixing lime gelatin and cornstarch then putting it in the refrigerator. Find the recipe here: http://blogmemom.com. It really looked like the real thing especially when it was scooped. Since it had been refrigerated it was a little hard and some force needed to be applied!

We discussed whether the sherbet was “warm” or “cold” which is a science access point related to properties of matter.

Ms. Shakelia’s favorite color is blue! We mixed blue food coloring with our oobleck this week AND added some blue glitter—–we thought she would appreciate that 🙂 The glitter also adds a nice visual element as it get swirled around with the oobleck as it moves.

As the oobleck goes from a solid to a liquid and back again our students explore changes in matter: addressing the science access point recognize that the appearance of a material has changed.

Ms. Sonya loves when things AND her students are sparkly clean 🙂 so to clean up after our messy play we used Crystal Waters scent that we found at the local pharmacy. Ms. Sonya also loves to cook so we thought an apple shaped sponge would be a fun addition and give the students an opportunity to work on hand strengthening by squeezing water out of the sponge.

Recognizing the water as a liquid is a science access point related to learning properties of matter.

The matching lotion had a light pleasant aroma which our students liked. Recognize and respond to one type of sensory stimuli (in this case olfactory) is a science access point related to the understanding of the organization and development of living organisms.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday we made a handprint peace dove. We started by showing the students the different colors of paper we had available and then asking them which color paper they would like to use for today’s project. They used communication symbols to make their choices.

The students either used eye gaze or pointed to the symbol to indicate their preference.

As we passed out the paper, we discussed its shape (rectangle) and how many sides it had. This addresses the math access point recognize common objects with 2 dimensional shapes.

Then we painted one of their hands with white paint. None of these students are particularly tactile defensive so this was not a problem. In the past we have had students with tactile issues and we adapted the activity by letting them paint a staff members hand instead.

Then we pressed our hands down onto the paper. Some of the students were able to do this part independently but most of them needed a little assistance.

The students were pretty excited to see their hand print appear on the paper! Recognizing a change in an object is a science access point related to the understanding of changes in matter.

Adults added a beak, legs and eye with a permanent marker and our dove was ready to carry its olive branch!

TA DA!

On Thursday we painted a picture frame for Ms. Celeste! She can use it to frame the beautiful picture she took for out book this week. We decided to paint it with her favorite colors of brown and rust!

We started by showing the students the brown paint bottle. We presented the communication symbols and asked them “which one says brown”. Almost all the students answered correctly!

Identifying objects by one observable property such as color—–yep, we’ve got that one!

Then we got out the paint brushes and started painting. They all manipulated their painting tools well! The students did a great job but the hole in the middle of the frame was a little confusing for them and so they needed a little redirection at times.

As the frame is painted, the students track the movement of the brush as it is pushed or pulled——this is a science access point related to the understanding of forces and changes in motion.

The we shook on some rust colored glitter for a little additional sparkle 🙂

As the glitter was applied, it changed the appearance of the frame. Recognizing a change in an object is a science access point related to the understanding of changes in matter.

It turned out really fabulous and Ms. Celeste loved her picture frame!

LANGUAGE GROUP

Since Grandma Daisy works in the room where we do our language group, we based our activity on her favorite food: SHERBET ICE CREAM! In her honor, we decided to make sherbet sundaes.

The focus for the group today was requesting and informing. The students were provided with visuals of the numbers 1-5. They had to tell us how many scoops they wanted in their bowl. As Cara scooped the sherbet out, we all counted.

Counting from 1 to 5 using objects of pictures is a math access point related to geometry and measurement.

Because we were making sundaes, of COURSE we needed some toppings. First we discussed the different toppings and discovered that one of them made NOISE!

Our students with visual impairments were very good at recognizing that the items were nearby—–a science access point related to the understanding of earth in space and time.

Cara made a board that showed the pictures of each topping that was provided: magic shell sauce, whipped cream, and sprinkles. The student whose turn it was would point to the picture of the topping they wanted, verbalizing what it was if they were able to. Cara then put just a little bit of the topping in the bowl.

The PIXON pictures “more” and “all done” were located on the page as well. Our students were able to convey if they wanted more of the topping or if they were all done with it. For the most part, they wanted MORE!

In addition to language/communication aspects of indicating “more” and “all done”, these concepts are also math access points related to representation of quantities.

Everyone seemed to really enjoy their sundae!

YUM!!!

Another great week—-thanks to all the staff members who allowed us to put their photograph in our book! And a great big thank you for all they do to make our school such a great place to be.

Join us again next time for more fun and learning——Group by Group!

Feb9

Winter Olympics

Posted on February 9, 2014 by jd785

Winter Olympics

It was all about the Sochi Winter Olympic Games this week! We learned about the Winter Olympics, the country of Russia, and had fun competing in some games of our own.

Our students are learning about maps as part of their Unique Curriculum unit this month so our theme reinforced some of the concepts they were learning about. Read along to see all our activities.

SENSORY GROUP

We looked at a map and traced the way east from the USA to Russia. It is a long way and to get there you have to ride on an airplane. We used a vibrating massager to get the feeling of the engine vibrations. The massager had 2 different speeds which made for a lot of fun—-higher speed if you are flying on a super jet! Most of our students really liked the massager but for those who were more tactile averse, we turned it off completely and let them just touch the soft velvety covering.

Recognizing and responding to different types of sensory stimuli is a science access point.

Recognizing a map is a social studies access point.

The colors of the Russian flag are red, white and blue—-just like ours! Hidden underneath our rice was a map of Russia and the letter S to find (we hid 3 in the rice).

We really enjoy watching the progress of our students as we see some of them begin to realize that there is something to discover as they brush the rice aside.

Associating a picture with a place is a social studies access point.

The Olympic flag has 5 colorful rings. Our next box had big, fluffy chenille stems in the colors of the rings. Our students practiced making circles and linking them together. Most of our students needed help forming the circles but they ALL had fun trying 🙂

The social studies access point recognizing important events in artifacts is a social studies access point.

Recognizing 2 dimensional shapes is a math access point.

Identifying objects by one observable property such a color is a science access point.

One of the most popular olympic sports is ice hockey. Our students used a circle cutter to cut hockey pucks out of the black play dough. This is the same play dough we made for our pirate unit. It was kept in the fridge and has lasted quite nicely!

Recognizing 2 dimensional shapes is a math access point.

Recognizing the appearance of an object or material has changed is a science access point.

Ice skating is another super popular sport. Our discovery bottle was filled with sparkly glitter, beads and sequins—-like the costumes the athletes wear. The familiar Olympic fanfare theme could be heard when the voice output device was pressed. Our students really enjoyed both of these items!

The science access point of tracking objects in motion is addressed here.

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

The next box was filled with leaves and flowers like the bouquets winners receive. Our students loved picking them up, tossing them into the air and watching them drop back down. They also loved finding the medals and quickly putting them around their necks……… BUT the most popular item was the little Sochi bear. He came all the way from Russia and was donated by one of our followers, Gena—-thanks so much!

Indicating that an object has fallen is a science access point.

Explore, observe, and recognize common objects in the natural world is another science access point addressed.

We are learning about the WINTER games so we had to include some snow—-the shaving cream version this week! It was perfect for tracing the letter S for snow and SOCHI!

Apply a push or pull to move an object is the science access point addressed here.

Hands were rinsed in Bath and Bodyworks Candy Apple scent. We got it on clearance and decided it worked for our unit—-who wouldn’t want to eat candy apples and watch the Olympics!

Measuring cups were included for scooping fun and to address the math access point recognizing differences is sizes of containers that hold liquids.

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

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday for our art project we made bobsleds. In preparation, toilet paper rolls were pinched and one end stapled together. For safety, we put masking tape over the staples.

Then we gave our students the option of painting their sled red, white, or blue. They used the communication symbols to choose their color and then pointed to the paint that matched the color they chose—-they did a really good job!

The science access point identify objects by one observable property is addressed here.

The language access point communicating a preference for familiar objects is also addressed.

The students then painted their bobsleds, addressing the science access point recognizing that the appearance of an object has changed.

After they bobsleds were painted, adults hot glued popsicle sticks to the bottom.

With the addition of some USA flag stickers—-our bobsleds are ready for competition.

Go Team USA!

On Thursday we made a Russian flag. We started by counting the sides of a white rectangle and also counting the rectangles as they were passed out. The math access points recognizing common objects with 2 dimensional shapes and recognizing the sides of a square or rectangle are addressed here.

Then we used our paper cutter to cut strips of red and blue paper—–making 2 more rectangles!

The science access point apply a push or pull to move an object is addressed when using the paper cutter. It is also excellent for promoting a pincer grasp!

The blue strip was glued to the bottom of the white paper and the red strip on top of that. Sochi 2014 was then glued into the middle.

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

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

Ta Da……. a fabulous Russian Flag!

Hurray for Sochi 2014!!!

LANGUAGE GROUP

We decided to have a Winter Olympics event during our language group this week. It’s always so nice to be able to reiterate something we have talked about before, and since we had recently gone over FIRST, SECOND, and THIRD, having an event just seemed appropriate. Recognizing the next step in a simple sequence is a math access point.

We made our bobsleds from some toy boats we found on the give away table—–they were perfect! There were even slots so we could add little people. We cut out some cardboard and made each of our students a bobsled teammate by adhering their picture to a small piece of cardboard. They always love to see their picture and it makes the activity so much more personal.

Identify picture of self is a language access point.

We placed the teammates face down and our students got to pick 3 teammates to race each other randomly. Putting the racers in their bobsled was a great fine motor activity!

Once the racers were placed in their bobsled, it was time to race. A long, skinny cardboard box covered in white paper made a perfect bobsled run—-very authentic looking 🙂

On your mark…get set…GO!

The students had to wait until they heard “go!” which appeared to be harder than it sounds, but they did a great job. They had so much fun watching the bobsleds go down, cheering for their friends, and seeing who won FIRST, SECOND, and THIRD place.

Tracking moving objects is a science access point.

After a few races, we had the awards ceremony. We used a voice out device to play the Olympic fanfare as we handed out the medals—-donated by Jimmy the intern. Thanks Jimmy!

Obviously the medals were a huge hit 🙂

We had a great time learning about the Winter Olympics this week. Join us again next week for more fun and learning Group by Group!

Feb2

Islam

Posted on February 2, 2014 by jd785

Islam

Our regular followers will notice that we do not have a separate book post this week. The reason for this is that we have been wanting to do a unit on Islam for a long time but had difficulty coming up with a meaningful approach for our students. At our last school book fair, we came across the book Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns a Muslim book of colors by Hena Khan. It is a beautiful book that was perfect for our unit. We contacted Ms. Khan and she graciously gave us permission to use the book in any way we chose—-how cool is that!

We hope you enjoy seeing some of the things we learned about the Muslim faith AND please consider adding Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns to your own library collection.

SENSORY GROUP

The first sentence of each of our color boxes is a paraphrase of Ms. Khan’s poetry, and the reason behind the contents choices.

Silver is a glowing fanoos (lantern). We made our lantern by putting some battery operated lights and silver garland in a clear shoebox.

Our students love looking at lights and so this box was both pretty and fascinating for our students—-and for some of the adults also 🙂

This addresses the science access point recognizing sources of light.

Red is the color of the rug that is kneeled upon to pray to Mecca each day. We filled our first box with an assortment of yarn, wool, and chenille strands—–the kinds of materials that might be used to make rugs. Pompoms were also included to compare/contrast component: the pompoms are soft like the yarn strands but round rather than long and thin.

Our students really loved all the differing textures in this box! They love pulling the yarn apart, shaking it around, and……seeing how far it would stretch!

The science access point identify objects by one observable property, such as color—-in this case red—-is addressed in this activity.

The math access point identify 3 dimensional objects (sphere) is also addressed.

Gold is the color of dome of the mosque. For this box we put in a mixture of hard gold beads and soft gold garland. Our students love shiny things that they can shake and move so this box was a definite favorite! It was also fun seeing which textures different students preferred, for most of them the beads were a clear favorite 🙂

Exploring the materials using vision and touch addressed the science access point explore, observe, and recognize common objects in the natural world. Applying a push or pull to move an object can be addressed 🙂

The math access point recognize length of real objects, such as long or short is also addressed.

White is the color of a round, flat kufi hat. The illustration in Ms. Khan’s book shows a group of men drinking tea so we used tea leaves as a base for this box. While we have used our tea leaves for other themes, it has been fairly infrequently so it is still a novel substance for our students. They were definitely intrigued by it’s texture and aroma. We also added 3 round, white foam core circles to represent the kufi hats.

We discussed where hats were worn and asked students to touch their heads addressing the science access point recognize external body parts.

The math access points identify 2 dimensional objects and solve problems involving joining or separating sets of objects to 3 are also addressed in this activity.

Purple is the color of Eid (an Islamic holiday) gifts. We put a variety of purple paper shred and ribbons in this box along with 3 small purple toys. Our students had a lot of fun discovering the hidden treasures and some of the toys had moving parts—–perfect for practicing fine motor skills!

Identifying objects by one observable property is the science access point again addressed in this activity.

Yellow is the color of the box filled with zakat for those in need. Our box was filled with yellow rice and 3 plastic coins for our students to find. There was also a picture of 2 children in traditional muslim attire hidden underneath the rice. The students really enjoyed discovering the items in this box—-especially the coins!

The social studies access points recognize differences in clothing from other cultures and recognize coins as money are addressed here.

Orange is the color of henna used to draw designs on hands. Orange oobleck became our henna this week. We made it a little thin ——-perfect for dripping designs on to hands!

The science access points track objects in motion and recognizing external body parts are addressed here.

Brown is the color of sweet dates eaten at Ramadan. While we wanted to reference the scent of dates in our lotion and water play it was a little challenging since dates are not an item found readily in our area or a scent found on bath product shelves. We went through our collection and the consensus was that our plumeria scent was the closest to the scent of dates! So while not perfect, the point is to give our students an olfactory component to help them remember the information they learned—-so it still works.

Our students used the date/plumeria scented water to rinse the “henna” off of their hands—-addressing the science access point recognize one way people use water.

We used our sense of smell to explore the lotion and the science access point recognize and respond to one type of sensory stimuli and well as the science access point recognize external body parts as it was applied to hands, necks, and arms.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday we made our own orange henna hands! We started by tracing each students hands on white paper. Then our students were asked to identify the color orange using our communication symbols.

This addresses the science access point identify an object by one observable property, such as color.

Next we used a variety of orange markers to decorate the hands. The bright orange color really contrasted nicely with the white paper—–addressing the science access point recognize a change in an object.

Adults cut out the paper hands as our students cutting skills are still at the emergent level. The students then glued their henna hands down onto blue rectangular paper.

Spatial relations, hand strengthening, and eye hand coordination are addressed with this activity.

The math access points recognize 2 dimensional shapes and recognize a movement that reflects a spatial relationship, such as up and down are also addressed.

TADA—-look at our henna hands! They are fabulous!!!!

On Thursday for our art project we made fanoos! We started with folded rectangles of gilded wallpaper. This paper was perfect for our project and best of all—–free 🙂 Discussing the shape of the paper addresses the math access point recognize 2 dimensional shapes.

As the students chose which paper they wanted for their lantern they are communicating their preferences—–a language access point!

We used our adaptive tabletop scissors to cut slits in the paper—–counting as we snipped, of course!

As the slits are cut into the paper it is changed, addressing the science access point recognize a change in an object.

We really wanted to get the affect of a twinkling lantern so we put some battery operated lights in a clear plastic cup. Once our fanoos were put together (using double stick tape) we slipped them over the cup.

Pretty darn magical—–if we do say so ourselves 🙂

LANGUAGE GROUP

To reinforce all the new words we have been learning, we played Bingo! Everyone got a different Bingo sheet with pictures from Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns.

One of our students acted as the “caller” and was put in charge of pushing the All-Turn-It switch to determine which picture to find. We reviewed the Muslim vocabulary words that were associated with each picture, such as “zakat,” “Eid,” and “kufi.”

Responding to new vocabulary that is introduced and taught directly is a language access point.

Our students did a great job of finding the same picture on their board. They also did well with asking for help (either by vocalization or using their Pixon boards) if they could not find the picture.

Picking up the tokens and placing them on a picture reinforces lots of fine motor skills including pincer grasp and eye hand coordination. It also addresses the math access point match one object to a designated space to show one-to-one correspondence.

Seek assistance to clarify the meaning of pictures, symbols, or words in classroom activities is a language access point.

And of course, the best part of Bingo is when you can yell “BINGO!” You could tell our students have played this game before because no prompting was needed 🙂

This was so much fun and needless to say, we played quite a few more rounds before our time was up.

Using language and nonverbal expression for specific purposes is a language access point.

We had a great time this week despite the polar blast that left icy roads and classes cancelled. We really enjoyed Ms. Khan’s book and again thank her so much for allowing us to use it.

Please join us again next week at Group by Group——-the Winter Olympics are coming to our school!

Jan27

Winter

Posted on January 27, 2014 by jd785

Winter

It is pretty chilly out there—-even in our part of the country 🙂 Perfect timing for this weeks winter theme! We explored a variety of wintery textures and scents in our sensory group. Our art projects were all about snowmen in our fine motor group, and in the language group we explored the concepts of warm and cold.

We also brought back our snowflake umbrella which was a hit in all the groups.

SENSORY GROUP

We made our snowflake umbrella by using packing tape to attach a variety of dollar store snowflakes to a clear umbrella. Then we strung silver and white beads, snowflake ornaments and white pompom yarn from the spokes and around the edge. It looks pretty fabulous—–if we do say so ourselves 🙂

Our students were quite entranced and loved watching the dancing snowflakes when the umbrella was slowly twisted back and forth.

The science access point tracking objects in motion is addressed here.

This artificial snow (a purchased powder with added water) is pretty fantastic, it looks and feels like the real thing—-especially when put into the fridge for a few minutes! It certainly had our students quite fascinated, they were not quite sure what to make of this interesting texture.

Just like the real thing, we were able to make small snowballs by grabbing a handful and squeezing it together—-FUN!

The science access point explore, observe, and recognize common objects in the natural world is addressed here.

We made more snowballs with our white Floam. This stuff with its’ slightly tacky texture is perfect for making snowballs because it molds and sticks together easily.

Of course, some of our students got even more creative 🙂

The science access point recognize a change in an object is addressed and the math access point recognize 3 dimensional shapes (sphere) are addressed in this activity.

More snow fun with our shaving cream and cornstarch mixture—-equal parts of both. This stuff is really just so COOL! It is squishy but can be molded and has such an interesting texture.

Recognizing that pushing an pulling an object makes it move is the science access point addressed here.

All that snow sure looks like fun BUT we don’t get many white winters around here. So as a nod to our Florida winters we HAD to include a box with sand!

We used our moonsand for this box. It is more dense than sandbox sand and more like the sand you would find on a beach. A round cookie cutter was included. Our students had fun using the cookie cutter to make circles in the sand. Some of them also went ahead and made some Florida “snowballs” 🙂

The science access point recognize a change in an object is addressed here. The math access points recognize a 2 and 3 dimensional objects is also addressed.

Brrr—-time to warm up by the fire! We made our “fire” by attaching colorful shiny ribbon strips to our switch operated fan. It was fun watching the smiles and giggles of our students as the ribbons fluttered and the breeze hit their faces.

Indicating awareness of air moving is the science access point addressed here.

We used the “chimney” scent from our Follow Your Nose Game to add to the sensory experience of this activity. We started by holding it near our students noses but then got the idea (thanks to Jimmy our new OT intern) to hold it behind the fan so the aroma really wafted around the room!

Recognize and respond to different types of sensory stimuli is another science access point addressed in this activity.

This pompom yarn would make a wonderful warm afghan to snuggle under on a cold winters day! Our students love its’ soft texture. Some of them like to drape it around their shoulders or heads while others just love to pull it apart or shake it around.

Then you have those who like to do BOTH 🙂

The science access points addressed here are use senses to recognize objects and recognize that pushing and pulling an object makes if move.

We made this discovery bottle by mixing a little bit of glitter glue, glitter, and snowflake confetti—-we were really pleased with the way it turned out. The snowflakes looked so pretty as they swirled and drifted around with the glitter.

Tracking objects in motion is the science access point addressed with this bottle.

Twisted peppermint from Bath and Bodyworks was our scent this week. Whether scooping water with our measuring cups (and addressing the math access point recognize differences in containers that hold liquids) or indicating which body part to rub the lotion on (addressing the science access point recognize external body parts)——it was the perfect cool aroma to help us remember our winter theme!

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday we started our group by talking about snow globes. We brought out our snowflake umbrella so our students could experience what it felt like to be in a snow globe.

They really got so excited when it was their turn to be under the umbrella and were very good about just touching (rather than pulling at) the dangling items.

Our students got to work on the art project by using a small circle punch to cut out pictures of their faces. This was a little tricky and they did need some help with alignment. To make it easier to use the punch, we had the students push down on the lever rather than try to pinch it. Either the way, it is still a great hand strengthening activity.

After punching out their faces, they glued them onto a snowman. The snowman was made using heavy card stock and glued to a card stock circle—–thanks again to Jimmy the intern!

In addition to eye hand coordination, the math access point recognize a 2 dimensional shape (in this case circle) is addressed.

Then we instructed the students to scoop 3 spoonfuls of artificial snow into a small clear plastic cup. We used our number chart to help our students identify the number 3. Most of our students still need help in this area.

The math access points recognize quantities 1 to 3 using objects, pictures, or number names and solve problems involving joining or separating sets of objects to 3 are addressed in this activity.

The adults hot glued the cup to the snow man base and VOILA—–a snow globe!

Our students were pretty fascinated with their creations and kept turning them around to watch the snow move about. Tracking the movement of objects that are pushed or pulled is the science access point addressed here.

Such cute little snowmen!

On Thursday we made melted snowman pictures. We have seen this art project all over Pinterest and thought it would be perfect for our students.

We started by discussing the colors (blue and white) in our project and asking our students to point to the color using our communication symbols.

Identify common objects by one observable property, such as color is the science access point addressed here.

Recognizing a 2 dimensional shape—-the rectangle paper—-is a math access point.

Then we used paint sponges to paint our mixture of glue, shaving cream, and fake snow onto the paper. We saw the idea for adding the fake snow on the Growing a Jeweled Rose blog—-such a great blog with so many creative ideas!

Applying a push or pull to move an object is a science access point addressed.

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

Next we added paper hats, scarves, triangle noses, and googlie eyes onto our mixture. The beauty of this project is that is doesn’t matter where they go as long as they are on the glue! Thanks to our volunteer Courtney for cutting out all the little pieces!

We also added the words “my melted snowman” to increase the literacy component.

The math access point recognize when an object is added to a situation is addressed in this activity.

TA DA!

These pictures are super cute—-and when dry the shaving cream and glue mixture will feel just like puffy paint!

LANGUAGE GROUP

Today our focus was on teaching the concept of cold versus warm. We had 5 different objects that were found around the room, such as metal spoons, scissors, and jars. We used 2 of each object. One of the objects was left out and the other object was put in the freezer or the refrigerator (i.e., one spoon in the freezer, one left out and so on).

We made a small board with the Boardmaker symbols for “cold” and “warm” on it. Each student got to feel an object and indicate if it was cold or warm using either their words or indicating the picture symbol.If the student had difficulty correctly indicating, we would place a warm object and a cold object on their cheeks and ask them to show which one was cold/warm. This helped them to decipher the difference a little easier.

The science access point recognize the temperature of items as cool or warm is addressed in this activity.

The language access point communicate about a selected object using nonverbal expression, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words is also addressed.

After going through each object, we decided it was time to warm up with some hot chocolate—-of course for safety it will actually be “warm” chocolate! First we opened the package and let our students smell the chocolaty goodness!

This addresses the science access point recognize and respond to one type of sensory stimuli. They definitely recognized and responded to this scent 🙂

We emptied the chocolate powder into a cup and added water. This addresses the math access point recognize when an object is added to a situation.

Each of the students took turns stirring the mixture, addressing the science access points apply a push or pull to move an object and sharing objects with a partner.

And what good is warm chocolate without marshmallows! We drew out a number board with 1, 2, and 3 written on it along with dots under the numbers. The students chose how many marshmallows they wanted in their drink and we counted them out as they were put on the number line. We counted them again as they were dropped into the student’s cups.

In addition to working on pincer grasp skills, the math access point match objects to marked spaces to show one-to-one correspondence for quantities 1 to 3.

And, of course, it also addresses the language access point communicate a preference for familiar objects.

After tasting its yummy goodness, our students again used the Boardmaker symbols to indicate if the chocolate was warm or cold.

That is all for this week, join us again for more fun and learning—–Group by Group!

Dec8

Hanukkah

Posted on December 8, 2013 by jd785

Hanukkah

This month the Unique Curriculum unit looks at some different holidays celebrated in the winter. Hanukkah is one of the holidays that our students are learning about so we chose it for our theme this week and Cara wrote another great book that all the groups enjoyed! The social studies access point addressed in this unit is recognizing that people from diverse backgrounds make contributions.

SENSORY GROUP

Our first box was filled with blue and silver basket filler, curling ribbon, garland, and chenille strands. In it we placed some dreidels, pictures of Hanukkah related items, and stars. We included some gold bead gelt and some play food donuts! Lots of wonderful textures and shapes to explore!

Some of our students had fun trying to make the dreidels spin, while others loved shaking the colorful textured strands.

They all had fun listening and dancing to the dreidel song that played when the voice output device we had included in the box was pressed!

This box addresses the language access point responding to new vocabulary that is introduced and taught directly.

It also addresses the social studies access point associating a celebration with an event, such as a holiday.

And finally, it also addresses the science access point recognizing and responding to common sounds.

We put 2 different size stars and a dreidel cookie cutter in our blue moon sand. This moon sand has a great texture, it’s easy to push the cookie cutters into but still firm enough to hold the shape.

This box addresses the science access point recognizing that pushing and pulling an object makes it move.

It also addresses the math access points of recognizing differences in size of objects and associating quantities with number names.

Since Hanukkah takes place in the winter, we had to include our blue cuddly pom pom yarn in our next box! So much fun to drape or shake…..

some of our students really had a blast with it 🙂

It addresses the science access points identifying common objects by one observable property, in this case the color blue and tracking objects in motion!

Our waxy Wikki Stix feel just like candles, which are lit for 8 nights during Hanukkah. Our students had fun twisting and bending them into different shapes.

We also included a discovery bottle filled with cooking oil and gold glitter, like little flames dancing around.

This bottle turned out so fabulous with all the gold glitter swirling around—- seriously COOL!

The science access points addressed are applying a push to move an object and recognize the change in the motion of an object.

Potato latkes are often served during Hanukkah celebrations. We just love the interesting soft, crunchy texture that is kind of irresistible. We hid the letter H and the number 8 in the potato flakes for our students to find.

Explore, observe, and recognize common objects in the natural world is a science access point addressed in this activity.

Donuts are another treat eaten during Hanukkah—- so we used shaving cream which is KIND OF like the cream inside of a real donut 🙂

The science access point recognizing that pushing and pulling an object makes it move is addressed as our students push and smush the cream around.

We rinsed our hands in some vanilla sugar scented water and used different size spoons to practice scooping….of course, taking some time out to do a little splashing around also 🙂

Using the different size scoops in the water addresses the math access point recognizing differences in sizes of containers that hold liquids.

Then we used the vanilla sugar scented lotion to leave the group smelling like yummy donuts! The science access point recognizing and responding to one type of sensory stimuli is addressed with the lotion.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday we learned about dreidels and made one for our art project! We started by using our paper cutters and switch adapted electric scissors to cut out the 4 symbols used on a dreidel. We found the symbols online and enlarged them on our copier.

We counted the symbols as they were cut, addressing the math access point associating quantities with number names.

Then we glued 1 symbol on each side of our blue cube. Thanks again to our wonderful volunteer Sarah who covered and assembled these boxes. We also want to thank Noah who cut the dowels for us—-couldn’t have done it without them!

We discussed the shape of the boxes and the paper color.

Recognizing common 3 dimensional objects, such as cubes, is a math access point addressed here. A science access point addressed is recognizing objects by one observable property such as color.

Ta Da—check out these GIANT dreidels—— AWESOME?!!!!!

On Thursday, we continued with a dreidel theme, decorating a dreidel shape cut from cereal boxes (thanks to our volunteer Mackenzie!)

We started by discussing the paint colors we were going to use and used our communication symbols to see if our students could identify the color blue.

Identifying common objects by one observable property, such as color……

NAILED!!!!! 🙂

Next we used a textured roller to paint our dreidel. Using the roller is a fun way to work on bilateral coordination!

It also addresses the science access point of applying a push to move an object.

Then we continued to decorate the dreidel using some sponge stamps dipped in blue paint.

Painting the dreidel addresses the science access point recognizing a change in an object.

We finished by adding some glitter—-for a little bit of sparkle 🙂

TA DA!

Another fabulous dreidel….

AND some fabulous smiles!

LANGUAGE GROUP

As with all the groups, we started off by reading Cara’s book. Our students are getting so good at attending to the book and activating the voice output when it’s their turn! Responding to a technology resource is a language access point.

For our activity, we decided to play dreidel with our students. Of course, they had to start with some chocolate gelt so we counted out 3 pieces for each student. Then we asked students to put one piece of gelt into the pot to start the game.

Since it can be pretty hard to get the dreidel spinning, we adapted it for our students by printing out pictures of each side of the dreidel and taping 2 of each onto an All Turn It spinner.

The students took turns pressing the switch to activate the spinner. It was exciting for them to see what they got! The sides and meanings are: Shin-put one more token in the pot, Nun-do nothing, Gimmel-take all the tokens from the pot, and Hay-take half of the tokens in the pot. This was a great game for following directions and turn taking!

It was so much fun and the gelt was very yummy!

It also addresses the language access point of attending to pictures or informational materials. It also addresses the science access points recognizing when objects have been added to or taken away from a situation.

The students had several chances to use their counting skills as well—-addressing the math access point associating quantities with number names.

After the game, we decided to put on some music—– since this class has so many talented dancers 🙂

Join us again next week and we will continue learning about winter celebrations, Group by Group!

Nov17

Rainbow

Posted on November 17, 2013 by jd785

Rainbow

It was all about COLOR with our rainbow theme this week! Our sensory boxes were so vibrant—just beautiful. Due to a special school activity our fine motor group only had one art project but it turned out pretty fabulous. Our language group had a blast making rainbow toast! All the students enjoyed Cara’s book, in each classroom we discussed the colorful objects on each page and looked around the room to find people wearing the different colors.

SENSORY GROUP

Our primary color boxes were filled with a variety of textures and objects. Lots of things to look at and touch!

There were things to shake….

Pull apart…..

Explore and discover!

All our boxes addressed the science access point identifying objects by one observable property—-color 🙂

Individual items addressed the science access points applying a push or pull to move an object, tracking objects in motion, and recognizing common objects in the natural world through observation.

Purple Bubber filled this box. We have extolled the virtues of this stuff before but we can’t sing its praises enough. It’s so soft and squishy but dry—you just have to keep touching it!

We included a letter R (for rainbow) cookie cutter. While making letters the science access point applying a push to move an object is addressed.

It took a couple of hours to dye our pasta this nice vibrant orange but it was totally worth it. There was also a definite auditory component as the pasta trickled off fingers or was swirled around.

We included 3 orange items to find in the pasta. The items differed in size and shape from the pasta making it especially interesting to our students with visual impairments.

This box addresses both visual and tactile discrimination.

The science access point using senses to recognize objects is addressed here.

The math access point associating quantities with number names is also addressed.

We used dried split peas for our green box with a little scoop and also 3 green items to find—-including a Yoda figure which our students found pretty intriguing!

These peas feel so soft as fingers are run through them—very relaxing!

Responding to new vocabulary that is introduced is a language access point that can be addressed here. After all, it’s important that our students know their Star Wars characters 🙂

Finally, what do you get when you put all the colors together? A rainbow of course 🙂 We had to include our rainbow rice in this unit!

There were 3 letter R’s to find and a colorful rainbow picture taped to the bottom of the box.

Applying a push or pull to move an object is the science access point addressed.

We finished with Rain kissed Leaves lotion from Bath and Bodyworks—without rain you wouldn’t have any rainbows 🙂

A nice soft aroma and a fitting scent to remember all the colorful fun we had!

It also addressed the science access point recognizing and responding to one type of sensory stimuli.

Fine Motor Group

These book dividers were cast offs from the media center—-score! We hot glued them to some dollar store sponges to adapt them for our students. Sometimes it does pay to be a hoarder 🙂

We used them to make sponge painted rainbows seen on the Teaching 2 and 3 year olds blog.

First we counted out pieces of rectangular paper (counting all four sides) and then practiced writing our names.

Recognizing the sides of a rectangle and recognizing objects with 2 dimensional shapes are math access points.

We pressed our sponges onto the paint trays and then slid them across the paper.

Applying a push or pull to move an object is a science access point.

It was kind of magical how the rainbows appeared. Our students were pretty excited about their projects—

Ta DA!

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

Language Group

This week, we decided that it would be fun to make something edible—-food is always fun 🙂 Cara typed out directions for making rainbow bread, using a recipe found on food.com.

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

We started out by pouring sweetened condensed milk into 6 clear plastic cups. Then, we went around the table and the let students pick out which color they wanted to add to the milk using a color board made with Boardmaker symbols. They used food coloring to add the colors. We discussed the fact that 2 colors were needed to make purple or orange.

Effectively communicating information, wants, and needs using pictures, symbols, or gestures is a language access point addressed here.

Next, we mixed the colors into the sweetened condensed milk. This was fun! Each student got their own cup and watched how the colors changed.

The science access points applying a push or pull to move an object and recognizing a change in an object are addressed in this activity.

We counted out the bread and the plates. The students then used the paintbrushes to “paint” the colors onto their bread. The colors looked so vibrant on the bread! Very cool.

After painting the bread, we toasted it and then got to enjoy the goodness! YUM!

Such a fun, colorful week we had! Be sure to join us again next week where there will be more fun things to discover and learn about—-Group by Group!

Oct20

Alice in Wonderland

Posted on October 20, 2013 by jd785

Alice in Wonderland

We had such a great time this week exploring the classic story of Alice in Wonderland. Cara’s book was wonderful and it was so exciting for our students to see themselves in her book! Hope you enjoy seeing how we made Alice’s adventures a multi-sensory learning experience!

SENSORY GROUP

Our first box was filled with paper shred since most books are made from paper—or at least they used to be 🙂

Nestled among the paper were some playing cards (hearts of course), some Mad Hatter party hats, rose petals, heart garland and ribbon, caterpillars, a variety of white rabbits…..

AND a cute fluffy “dormouse” that makes a crinkly sound when squeezed! We found it at the dollar store—-score!

We also included a play food cupcake with the label “eat me” and a plastic bottle with the word “drink me”.

It was so fun to see what the different students gravitated towards—-everyone had their favorites!

Exploring and interacting with a selected object is a language access point addressed in this box.

Visual discrimination in addition to reach and grasp skills are also addressed while exploring the fun contents of this fun box!

A is for Alice and we hid 4 letter A’s in this box of tea leaves. The tea leaves have an interesting texture, kind of crunchy and mild aroma—–a different sensory experience!

The students also had fun using the small scoop to cover them up again.

The math access point recognizing when items have been added to or removed from sets of objects to 4 is addressed here.

Picking up the letters is an opportunity to work on pincer grasp skills—–most beautifully illustrated by this picture—and eye hand coordination.

Chenille stems make for great caterpillars! This box was filled with regular size and giant size ones for some size comparisons. Soft and colorful—-you just HAVE to reach out for one!

These are perfect for twisting together (and promoting bilateral coordination) to make some new creations—-sensory group meets fine motor group 🙂

This also addresses the science access point of recognizing a change in a object.

All the different colors and sizes help address the science access point of identifying common objects by one observable property, such as size or color.

Pink and purple are the theme of this next box—-for the Cheshire Cat, of course! All that was left was his grin!

We used a Mr. Potato head mouth for the grin and hid it in the hard beads and soft pompoms 🙂

This box addresses the science access point of identifying common objects by one observable property such as size or color.

Recognizing common 3-dimensional objects, such as balls (spheres) and two objects that are the same size or color are math access points addressed here.

We used black cherry kool-aid to make the perfect red for our Queen of Hearts playdough. It turned out really well, a perfect squishy texture! Not only did it look pretty but it smelled wonderful also!

We used our heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out lots of pretty hearts.

Counting how many hearts were cut out addresses math skills and one to one correspondence.

It also addresses the math access point of recognizing 2 dimensional shapes that are the same shape and size (congruent).

The science access point of recognizing a change in an object is also addressed.

These flowers didn’t sing but our students sure had fun making them dance in the air!

Tracking objects that fall to the ground and indicating that an object has fallen are the science access points addressed here.

Continuing with our floral theme, the students had fun with our sweet pea scented water. We put 2 different size measuring cups for scooping fun…….but sometimes it’s just more fun to play with the bubbles!

Recognizing water as a liquid is the science access point addressed here.

We finished with some Crabtree and Evelyn rose scented lotion. Wow this stuff really had a strong aroma. Some of our students really like it…………

Others not so much 🙂

Either way, it made for a memorable experience—–and an opportunity to address the science access point of recognizing and responding to one type of sensory stimuli.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday we made some Mad Hatter hats! These were assembled by gluing a paper bowl onto a paper plate. We cut a hole in the plate to help it fit onto our students heads.

We had one of our students decide what color to start with and began painting. Jeannie’s favorite color is purple—-hmm, I think someone is looking for extra brownie points from his teacher 🙂

The different colors were then passed around so that everyone ended up with a very colorful hat.

Adjusting nonverbal expression, referent objects to communicate wants and needs to familiar persons is a language access point.

Everybody had a great time painting their hats.

The paintbrushes were taped to paint stirring sticks to adapt them for our students with physical disabilities.

The science access points sharing objects with a partner and recognizing a change in an object are addressed with this activity.

Ta DA!

Love it!!!! This Mad Hatter is ready for the tea party!

On Thursday we made some card soldier puppets. We pulled some of the heart (of course!) cards from a deck. 4 holes were punched and a popsicle stick was glued to the back.

The rectangle shaped cards were counted as they were passed out and then we counted out 2 chenille stems for each student.

We also counted the number of hearts on each card.

Recognizing common objects with two dimensional shapes and associating quantities with number names are math access points.

Chenille stems were threaded through the holes to make the arms and legs. Pincer grasp, eye hand coordination, bilateral coordination—–a PERFECT fine motor activity!

These were a huge hit, our students loved their puppets!

Recognizing that the appearance of an object has changed and recognizing one or more external body parts are science access points addressed here.

Did we mention our students LOVED their puppets 🙂

LANGUAGE GROUP

We placed pictures from our book on the All Turn it Spinner. With each turn, our students got to try on a costume prop that matched the character.

Using nonverbal expression, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words to responds to familiar read-aloud stories by identifying characters, objects, or events is a language access point addressed here.

Responding to a technology resource is another language access point addressed here.

Some of the props we used were the Queen of Hearts scepter, Dormouse ears, Cheshire Cat mask, Mad Hatter hat, a Singing Flower hood……………………..

AND some White Rabbit ears! This student really got into character, making sure we took a picture of his rabbit impersonation 🙂

We held up a mirror for our students to be able to see themselves, and BOY what a hit that was! The students who were verbal expressed WHAT they had on and WHO they were while the nonverbal students followed directions with prepositions such as “hold it UP”, “put it ON”.

Selecting a familiar object to explore and communicating about the selected object using nonverbal expression, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words is the language access point addressed with this activity.

The students had a great time and the adults in the room definitely enjoyed themselves as well.

REALLY—–who doesn’t love to dress up!?

That’s it for this week, we had so much fun going down the rabbit hole with Alice and making a wonderland of experiences for our students!

If you are looking for some more traditional October themes—be sure to check out what we did last year—–BUT don’t forget to join us again next week for more Group by Group fun!

Oct6

3 Little Pigs

Posted on October 6, 2013 by jd785

3 Little Pigs

This week we had so much fun exploring this traditional fairy tale! We made our wolf by adding some white felt teeth to a plush dog—-who admittedly looks more like a dog in need of an orthodontist rather than a big bad wolf……

Well, you have to work with what you’ve got after all, and our students didn’t see to mind a bit 🙂

SENSORY GROUP

Our students had so much fun exploring the first box filled with rafia (straw), popsicle sticks (wood), and duplo blocks (bricks) for the 3 little pigs houses! There were 3 different pigs to find—a laminated picture symbol, a plush one, and a sound producing one (found in Target’s $ section). Brown pom poms and pieces of yarn reminded us of the wolf’s fur.

You need tools to build a house so we put in a ruler and some toy tools. And finally, the word “home”. This was a really great box and our students LOVED exploring all the different items.

So many access points were addressed with this box including the science access points of recognizing common objects in the natural world through observation, and recognizing a model of a real object.

We stamped bricks in our red moon sand with a duplo block—it made the perfect brick impression!

Of course, it was also fun to grab and squeeze a handful—making it a great activity for hand strengthening also!

Applying a push or pull to move an object and recognizing the appearance of an object or material has changed are the science access points addressed here.

Our pink rice seemed perfect for a story about 3 little PINK pigs 🙂 Hidden in the rice was the letter P and the number 3. Our students always get a kick out of finding “hidden” things .

Tactile and visual discrimination are addressed here.

Continuing with our exploration of the color pink we put in BIG and LITTLE pink beads. In addition to the hard beads we put some soft pink pom poms.

Great for texture and size comparisons! Recognizing similarities and differences in size of common objects is a math access point.

Recognizing two objects that are the same size or color is also a math access point.

We had to include a wolf box! We put in some brown “wolf” fur, a nice soft texture to rub and touch. A stretchy wolf (actually a stretchy dog that we gave some felt teeth). Excellent for working on bilateral coordination! Tracking the movement of objects that are pushed or pulled is a science access point.

That wolf sure likes to huff and puff! We used our little hand held fan to get some air blowing like that wolf—-and it also addresses the science access point of indicating awareness of air moving.

We added some chocolate cake mix to our shaving cream to make some “mud”, we figured our students would like to play in it just as much as those 3 little piggies——–and they did 🙂

Recognizing and responding to different types of sensory stimuli is a science access point.

Of course as the shaving cream is smooshed around, our students also explored the science access point of applying a push to move an object.

The little pigs lived in the woods so Twilight Woods from Bath and Body Works seemed the perfect scent for this week. Of course, by the time a few little hands rinsed the shaving cream off, it smelled like CHOCOLATE woods lol.

We put 2 different size measuring cups for scooping and pouring fun addressing the math access point of recognizing the different sizes of containers that hold liquids.

Its also a FUN way to practice eye hand coordination 🙂

The Twilight Woods scent was a hit with all the students and they so loved having the lotion rubbed on their hands or arms or necks to help them remember the story of the 3 little pigs!

It also encourages some nice social exchanges and the opportunity to communicate preferences and the desire for “more” of an action which is a math access point.

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday we built a brick house for our 3 pigs. We started by stamping red bricks on a square piece of paper.

We’ve used this stamper before, made from a dish scrubber, its knobbed top makes it easier for our students to use. The stamp itself was made from thick craft foam.

Recognizing 2 dimensional shapes is a math access point.

Recognizing a repeated pattern of stimuli is also a math access point.

Then we glued a big triangle to the TOP of the square.

We counted 3 small rectangles which made up the windows and door and after they were glued down we put 3 pigs safely into their house!

More opportunities to address the math access point of recognizing 2 dimensional shapes!

TaDA

We get pretty excited about our art work—-can you tell 🙂

On Thursday, Joy drew a Big Bad Wolf for our students to color. First we wrote our names on our rectangle paper then used pipsqueak markers to color the wolf brown.

We completed our wolf by adding a googlie eye—OF COURSE 🙂

TADA—all ready to blow your house down!

LANGUAGE GROUP

For this group, we wanted to see if certain objects were able to be huffed, puffed, and blown away. We put together several different items such as feathers, straw, a weighted ball, twigs, paper, a Beanie Baby wolf, and a rock.

For each of the items, we had a corresponding real picture of them. Each student got to choose which item they wanted to “blow”.

Effectively communicating wants using referent objects, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words is a science access point.

The students enjoyed holding and touching the different objects. We encouraged them to make predications about what might happen when we turned the hair dryer on.

Exploring, observing, and selecting an object or picture to respond to a question about the natural consequence is a science access point.

The students really got a kick out of using the hair dryer to huff, puff, and BLOW the items to see if they would move.

They especially liked watching the objects that were light enough to be blown away—-addressing the science access point of tracking objects in motion!

Indicating awareness of air moving is also a science access point.

After each attempt, we put the picture of the object on a chart showing if that object was “light” or “heavy”. Charting really helped our students better visualize how things are grouped by weight.

Sorting objects by physical properties such as weight is a science access point.

Communicating about a selected object using nonverbal expression, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words is a literacy access point.

We had a blast this week and hope you did too! Join us again for more fun next week—-Group by Group.