Tag Archives: visual impairment

May12

Mother Goose

Posted on May 12, 2013 by jd785

It’s Children’s Book Week and we decided to go with the classic Mother Goose as our theme—-everyone loves a good rhyme after all 🙂 Hope you enjoy reading about all our activities.

Sensory Group—

The Mother Goose box was filled with a variety of items representing different nursery rhymes.

There were some white feathers—-lost by Mother Goose herself no doubt—– Contrary Mary silk flower petals (as well as a cockle shell and silver jingle bell), Rock a Bye Baby leaves, London Bridge bricks (duplos), Jack and Jill’s pail, a mouse to run up a clock, a craft foam moon and….. a cow to jump over it.

The cow made a mooing sound when a button was pressed making it quite popular. Other students enjoyed filling up the little pail with the feathers and leaves. With all the different objects and textures, there was something for everyone!

The language access point of recognizing and responding to familiar objects is one of the access points addressed here.

Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was WHITE as snow! This box was filled with an assortment of items all colored white.

We put in beads, pompoms, a plush seal, plastic dog, pearls, a snowflake ornament, faux lambswool, hair scrunchies, and a dusting mitt—this was especially popular. Our students loved putting it on their hands.

In addition to lots of textures to compare and contrast, this box addresses the science access point of recognizing common objects in the natural world.

Our Little Boy BLUE box was filled with all things blue—blocks, beads, dusters, shakers, pompoms etc.

Like our white box this was filled with a variety of textures and shapes to explore. Especially popular were the shakers and the accordion tube.

The science access point of applying a push or pull to move an object is addressed here.

Students had fun using our dog and bone cookie cutters with the “Cow jumped over the Moon” sand.

Our students used the cookie cutters in different ways. Some of them pressed them into the sand to make impressions, while others used them like mini little shovels. Moon sand is a lot denser than regular sand so either way—–a great activity for hand strengthening!

As the moon sand gets dug up or smashed down into the cookie cutter the science access point of recognizing a change in an object is addressed.

In addition the language access point of communicating recognition of familiar objects is addressed when discussing the cookie cutter shapes.

Our Itsy Bitsy Spider bottle was also a huge hit, our students were really fascinated by it. We made the discovery bottle by putting some toy spiders in a bottle with water, cornsyrup, and some green glitter.

The students loved watching the little spiders scuttle back and forth as the bottle was tilted.

A totally fun bottle, one of our best ever!

This addresses the science access points of applying a push or pull to move an object and tracking objects in motion.

You can also count the spiders and discuss their colors for additional learning fun 🙂

Peas Porridge hot? Cold?…..Ok we were not sure what exactly “peas porridge” was but lentils are a type of “pea” so figured they would work for this box 🙂

They really have a wonderful soft texture as you run your hands through them, very relaxing—this box was a hit with the students AND the adults!

Hidden amongst the lentils were 2 sets of Mother Goose’s initials for our students to find.

Matching the letters addresses the math access point of recognizing 2 objects that are identical to each other—-in addition to letter recognition of course!

We also including 2 different sized measuring spoons for scooping practice and to address the math access point of recognizing similarities and differences in the size of common objects.

Poor Humpty Dumpty 🙂 We put a little yellow toy flying saucer in our oobleck and it looked just like an egg—pretty cool!

This addresses the science access point of recognizing and responding to different types of sensory stimuli—exploring the tactile aspects of the oobleck while observing the visual aspect of the yellow disc.

Of course, oobleck is always just flat FUN 🙂

After rinsing our hands in water from Jack and Jill’s well, we rubbed Ring Round the Rosies rose scented lotion on hands and arms to help us remember all the fun and learning of todays group.

This rose lotion had a pretty strong aroma—it brought back a lot of memories for the adults—-and our students loved it!

Rubbing the lotion on various body parts helps address the science access point of recognizing external body parts.

Fine Motor Group—

On Tuesday we made a picture of Humpty Dumpty. After writing our names on our BIG, rectangular piece of paper……we stamped LITTLE, red rectangles to make a wall. The stamp was made using thick craft foam attached to a kitchen scrubber using double stick tape.

We counted the paper as we passed it out and also counted as the students stamped their small rectangles. We also encouraged our students to stamp from left to right across the page—the same direction you take when reading or writing.

This activity addresses the math access points of recognizing a 2 dimensional shape and recognizing the differences in size of objects.

We cut oval eggs out of craft foam and let our students choose their color using picture cards.

Then we used our circle cutter to make Humpty’s face. Some of our students drew their own faces while others needed some help.

The circle was glued onto the oval and then Humpty was glued onto the wall.

Again, we are addressing the math access point of recognizing 2 dimensional shapes but we are also addressing the math access point of recognizing a movement that reflects a spatial relationship.

The language access point of effectively communicating wants to a familiar person using symbols is also addressed.

Eye hand coordination is addressed as the various pieces are assembled to make the final product.

Ta DA!!!

A very happy Humpty Dumpty on his wall before his fall—-hey its Mother Goose time and we are ready to rhyme 🙂

On Thursday in preparation for our art project Ms Barrett’s class had watched a video of nursery rhymes including Hickory Dickory Dock in preparation for our second art project which is all about shapes again!

We started our activity by counting the sides of our BIG rectangular piece of paper and then practiced writing our names on it. A LITTLE rectangle was glued to the BOTTOM.

This addresses a lot of math access points including recognizing a 2 dimensional shape, recognizing the sides of a square or rectangle, and recognizing the length of real objects, such as big, little etc.

Then we glued a circle clock face onto a square piece of paper—that was then glued to the top of our little rectangle.

This addresses the math access points of recognizing 2 dimensional shape and recognizing a movement that reflects a spatial relationship.

Next we used our paper cutter to change our square into 2 triangles—addressing the science access point of recognizing a change in an object.

We glued the square onto the rectangle at the top and put the triangle on top.

Pat pat pat!

Again addressing the math access point of recognizing a movement that reflects a spatial relationship.

Add one cute little pink craft foam mouse (complete with purple yarn tail) and our clocks are complete——

TA! DA!

Language Group—

Our language group especially enjoyed Cara’s book this week because 2 of the models in the book are instructional assistants in the class! The students had so much fun pointing them out.

One of the things we focused on today was sequencing. We picked 4 different nursery rhymes; Jack and Jill, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Humpty Dumpty, and Little Miss Muffet, and printed out sequencing cards found on EnchantedLearning.com. Using the PIXON picture symbols for “first”, “second” and “last”, we had our students put the cards into order.

We said the nursery rhymes line by line so the students could find the card that matched with the line read. They would then have to place the card under the correct PIXON to show first, second, and last.

This activity addresses the language access point of effectively communicating information using referent objects, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words.

It also addresses the math access point of recognizing the next step in a simple pattern or sequence of activities.

For our students with visual impairments, we adapted the activity by using a voice output device. The phrase “that’s the one” was recorded on it for our students to press as we read the choices aloud.

After completing this task, we turned off the lights and brought out our light up moon—-so cool, we love it!

We then presented 3 different cows to our students. One was plush, another was a large inset puzzle piece, the third was a small plastic model. We deliberately chose these to make them very easy for our students with visual impairments to differentiate. The students got to pick which cow they wanted and practiced having the cow jump over the moon.

The students again used their Pixon symbols to say “I want” and then pointed to the desired cow. Addressing the language access point of effectively communicating wants using referent objects, gestures/signs, pictures, symbols, or words.

This activity is great for promoting shoulder stability and crossing midline as the cow jumps from one side of the moon to the other.

It also addresses the science access point of recognizing a model of a real object and the language access point of listening for informative purposes.

This was such a great week, all our groups were so fun and our students are making so much progress—-we are so proud! Join us again next time—-Group by Group!

Mar3

My Community and Letter W

Posted on March 3, 2013 by jd785

My Community and Letter W

The Unique Curriculum theme this month was My Community, so we took a trip around Tallahasse in our Sensory and Fine Motor Groups. The Language Group looked at words starting with the Letter W.

Sensory Group—My Community

Our city is built on red clay hills—the same color as our playdough! We used our big and little star shaped cookie cutters since they always use stars to represent capitols on maps.

Squeezing the playdough between fingers or pushing one of the cutters into it helps strengthen hands. In addition, picking up the cutout stars addresses graded fine motor control.

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

Math access points are also addressed: counting the stars, recognizing two dimensional shapes, and recognizing similarities and differences in size.

Tallahassee is the capitol of our state. We searched for letter T’s and a picture of the Capitol in our red, white and blue rice.

Sifting through the rice helps build tactile discrimination skills, especially important for our students who have visual impairments.

This box also addresses the social studies access point of associating a picture with a place.

Two universities make their home in Tallahassee and these boxes represent them. FAMU’s colors are orange and green while FSU’s colors are garnet and gold. Our pom poms and mardi gras beads are perfect for contrasting textures (hard and soft) and colors.

Lots of science access points can be addressed here, including recognizing objects that are identical to each other, identifying objects by one observable property, and tracking the movement of objects that are pushed or pulled—–as you can imagine, sometimes beads and pompoms go flying all over the place 🙂

Visiting the Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science is so much fun. It is especially fun to visit the farm and see all of the animals.

We put some matching sets of farm animal pictures for our students to find in the oatmeal. Matching animals that are the same is a science access point.

Small measuring spoons were also included in this box to give our students an opportunity to practice scooping, however many of them improvised and used the animals cards to scoop instead!

Either way, they had a great time with this box 🙂

It is also fun to visit the Challenger Learning Center to look at the stars! We made our own version of a planetarium by attaching some battery operated lights to a black umbrella. It was really easy to do using some velcro for the battery packs and twist ties to attach the lights to the spokes of the umbrella.

We think it turned out pretty cool and to say our students were fascinated would be an understatement!

This activity helps address the science access points of associating stars with the night sky and recognizing sources of light.

Everybody loves to go to Lake Ella to see the fountains and the ducks—perfect for our water play activity! Water play is always a favorite activity for our students and they had fun finding the little rubber ducks floating around. Picking up the bobbing ducks addresses eye hand coordination. We used Bath and Body Works Dancing Waters—for the fountains, of course :)—-scent in the water and lotion.

Both of these activities are great for working on the math access point of indicating a desire for more of an action or object.

Fine Motor Group—My Community

On Tuesday, we read Cara’s book and had a quick visit to the planetarium before beginning our art project.

Our planetarium was so much fun and we just loved watching our student’s reactions so much that we had to bring it out at any opportunity we got 🙂

For our art project we made a map of Florida. We started by painting our students LEFT hands with green paint and pressing them onto blue paper (its shape discussed as it was counted and passed out 🙂 ). We made sure the thumb was abducted as we pressed hands onto the paper.

This activity really helps build awareness of the hands helping to address the science access point of recognizing one or more external body parts.

For our students that are especially aversive to touch, we allowed them to use paint brushes instead and helped them make an approximation of our state’s shape.

A star sticker was added to mark the location of Tallahassee—perfect for working on a pincer grasp and addressing the social studies access point of locating symbols on a map!

TA DA!!!!!

We always make sure each student gets their Ta Da after they finish their project—some of our students REALLY get in to it 🙂

After the paint dried we did a quick outline around the handprint and we have a pretty cute rendition of our state.

This activity also addresses the social studies access point of recognizing Florida as our student’s state.

Majestic oak trees are found all over our city and there are some beautiful ones around the capitol building. On Thursday we showcased these trees for our art project.

Large blue rectangular pieces of paper were counted out—-guess we were really into blue paper this week :). A sketch of the capitol building (luckily our capitol building is another rectangle so VERY easy to duplicate using a ruler) cut out by the adults was already attached.

Our students crumpled and tore pieces of green tissue paper onto the tree outline. We had some Elmer’s glue poured into containers so the students could dip the “leaves” into the glue and put them on their tree (addressing spatial relations skills).

We are addressing the science access points of recognizing the leaf of a plant and recognizing a model of a real object with this activity.

More Ta Da’s—-some deserving of standing ovations!

Didn’t these turn out great! They look fabulous hanging on the wall outside of Jeannie’s classroom.

Language Group–The letter W

We started out playing Cara’s sound game. Our Wonderful students are getting so good at finding the right picture and pointing to Where it is on the paper (addressing eye hand coordination)!

Recognizing and responding to common sounds is a science access point.

After our sound game We got a Wiggly Water animal. The students are able to activate it by making a sound, either with their voice, Whistling, clapping,…..Whatever!

The Wiggling crab tickled our students, producing lots of giggles 🙂

Our little crab helped us address the science access points of tracking objects in motion and recognizing and responding to one type of sensory stimuli, in this case touch.

Next, We passed around a Wand that lights up when you Whack it. This was a fun item for our students that we found in the $3 bins at Target.

Some students activated it by Whacking it on the table, While other students Whacked it on their hand. What a blast!

Applying a push to move an object is a science access point. In addition, as the lights come on, the students can observe that the appearance of an object has changed—another science access point.

Next, we made Wrist Watches! The Watch bands were made from toilet paper rolls first cut open (by the adults) lengthwise and then width wise to make 3 cuffs from each roll).

Our students decorated their cuff from a selection of foam stickers. We presented the stickers and asked them to make a choice, addressing the language access point of communicating preferences.

Pincer grasp skills and eye hand coordination are addressed as the cuffs are decorated.

We googled “free printable watch faces” and thought they these were pretty perfect as the finishing touch to our project.

Don’t you Wish you had one!

As usual, we finished by looking at some of the W words found today—-Whoa, quite a lot of them!

We hope you join us as we share all the fun and learning we are having here at Group by Group 🙂

Dec16

Winter Holidays part 2 and the Letter O

Posted on December 16, 2012 by jd785

Winter Holidays part 2 and the Letter O

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.

Dec2

Native American Heritage and Letter M

Posted on December 2, 2012 by jd785

Native American Heritage and Letter M

October is Native American Heritage month and we enjoyed learning about a lot of different tribes in our Sensory and Fine Motor Groups. Our Language Group looked at words starting with the letter M.

Sensory Group—Native American Heritage

We started by reading Cara’s book and used the voice output device for the repetitive line. Our students really enjoyed all the pictures she found this week and they are getting so good at activating the voice output device.

This activity addresses the language access points of attending to familiar print forms and responding to a technology resource.

…..perfectly illustrated in this awesome picture—don’t you think!

Our Native American unit addresses the American History access point of recognizing characteristics of early native americans.

Different kinds of beans were a part of the diet of

the Apalachee, Cheyenne, and Cherokee tribes.

We used our mixed beans to represent some of

the different beans they ate.

We also put in the letters N and A.

Some of our students spent time examining

the letters—others dived in with both hands 🙂

Tactile discrimination skills are addressed

when sifting through the beans.

We learned that not all native american tribes wore feathers but the Sioux, Omaha, Comanchee, and Arapaho tribes are known for wearing them.

This box of colorful feathers was great fun to sift through. Our students also enjoyed picking them up and watching them drift down. Some also loved the feel of them stroking their face.

We had so much fun with this box….how can you go wrong with a box full of feathers after all! We have to admit they were a little messy and we did manage to leave a bunch of little pieces behind in each class 🙂

This box addresses the science access point of tracking a falling object. It also addresses the science access point of recognizing and responding to sensory stimuli.

Animals were very important for many native

americans. The Comanchee tribe hunted

buffalo. The Navaho raised sheep.

The Arapaho wore buckskin clothing.

We used our pieces of fake fur, sheepskin

and deerskin to represent these animals.

This addresses American History access

point of identifying practices of Native

Americans. It also addresses the

science access point of using senses

(touch) to recognize objects.

Lots of different tribes were represented in our next box. We put in some corn and play food squash which the Apalachee and Ponca ate. A piece of turquoise like Zuni jewelry was also included.

Some raffia became our “swamp grass” like baskets made by the Chinook. We put in some picture cards of sheep that the Navaho raised and horses that the Comanche rode.

There was a toy buffalo–they were hunted by the Blackfoot and Cheyenne tribes. We found a little tipi like the ones the Sioux and Arapaho used (and we learned that not all native americans lived in tipis). The Seminoles are known for their beautiful patchwork so we had to include a piece of patchwork fabric that resembled their work.

We loved watching our students reactions and

preferences to the different items. We were

really excited when the student in the above

picture correctly oriented the word “family”

demonstrating his awareness of the concept

of print and how it is organized.

Other students, such as the one on the right

loved the native american music we

recorded on a voice output device placed in

the box.

Our red playdough (made using cherry koolaid) looked just like the adobe that the Pueblo made into houses. There were some cookie cutters available but a lot of our students just loved to feel the playdough squish between their fingers 🙂

Playing with the playdough is great for strengthening hand intrinsics.

As we discuss the adobe houses of the Pueblo we are addressing the american history access point of recognizing that people live together in the same location (settlement).

The discovery bottles were filled with acorn

(eaten by the Yokuts) and beads (used by

the Wampanoag, Cherokee, and Kiowa

tribes).

Of course these were fun to shake and

roll around!

By comparing the different sounds the

bottles made when shaken we

addressed the science access point of

recognizing and responding to

common sounds.

Native americans have rich oral tradition and many of their tales are still told around campfires. By adding red and yellow food coloring to our shaving cream we made colors that looked like the flames in a campfire.

So much fun to squish around!

Looking at how the shaving cream changed as the colors are mixed addresses the science access point of recognizing that the appearance of an object or material has changed.

Nature is so important to Native American culture

that we thought the Juniper Breeze scent from

Bath and Body Works was the appropriate

scent in which to rinse our hands.

As students wash the shaving cream from

their hands and apply the lotion, they are building body

awareness and improving bilateral functions.

Fine Motor Group—Native American Heritage

On Tuesday, after reading Cara’s book and learning about Native American heritage, we discussed how drums are often used in native american music. So today, for our art project, we are going to make our own drums.

First we counted out 6 tan rectangles. We ran fingers down and counted each side to help reinforce the concept of the 4 sides of the rectangle.

This addresses the math access point of recognizing the sides of a rectangle.

Then we stamped a variety of animals and plants onto our rectangles, addressing eye hand coordination.

The paper was then taped, with help, around an

oatmeal container.

Hand intrinsic functions are addressed when

applying tape to the paper.

When the project was finished, Cara placed a short video of a native american drum circle—the students LOVED it!!! They couldn’t wait to start drumming their own drums!

So cute!

This was a GREAT activity!

On Thursday, after reading Cara’s book again we made totem poles, like the Tlinglit tribe.

We had a selection of prewrapped empty cereal boxes and

students made their choice from a selection 3 colors.

Our picture cards are so helpful for reinforcing color

concepts and also for building communication

of preferences.

After the boxes were passed around (and counted, of course, to address math access points) we decorated them with a variety of markers.

This is great for practicing manipulating writing utensils by scribbling or drawing (depending on skill level) with markers.

Then we began attaching premade eyes, noses, mouths and wings. We emphasized the placement of the different parts ex. the eyes go on top, the mouth at the bottom.

We helped our students squeeze the glue and encouraged them to place their pieces on the glue. This activity addresses eye hand coordination and spatial relations.

It also addresses the math access point of matching objects to a designated space to show one to one correspondence.

Ta Da!! Our students were so proud of their

totems.

We think they look awesome 🙂

And here is our totem all put together—doesn’t it just look amazing!!!

We had so much fun counting the boxes as we stacked them (using double stick tape). Everyone got excited as it got higher and

higher!

It really looks great outside of Jeannie’s classroom.

Language Group—Letter M

We started by playing with this cute little Monkey. He laughed and rolled around when our students made noise so it was perfect for everyone including our students with physical or visual impairments.

We loved seeing our students reactions, everyone ended up with a smile on their face 🙂

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

Then we put some Money in our piggy bank.

Eye hand coordination is addressed as

the students place the coins in the slot.

Math concepts are addressed as the

coins are counted.

Next we played Cara’s sound game.

Lots of cool sounds starting with the letter M!

We finished by having a party to say goodbye to

Ms. Thea who has finished her internship

in Robins room.

Of course we Munched on some yummy food,

including these crackers that have letters

of the alphabet—-so cool!

Goodbye Ms. Thea!

We will really Miss you 🙁

We had so Much fun today!

Join us again next time,

for lots more fun

Group by Group 🙂

Oct22

Space and Letter H

Posted on October 22, 2012 by jd785

Space and Letter H

This week we blasted off into space with our Sensory and Fine Motor groups. Our Language Group looked at the letter H. It was an extra-special week for us with visitors who came from Jackson County to tour our school and see our groups.

Sensory Group—Space

We practiced throwing and catching our planet spheres in the sensory room. These soft balls came from a science kit and were wonderful fun for throwing around as well as comparing sizes.

After coming back to the classroom we read Cara’s book about space and got started on our sensory boxes.

We brought back our black playdough with additional blue and silver glitter to make our galaxy. It was sooo cool looking. The picture just doesn’t do it justice!

We cut crescent and star shapes with our cookie cutters.

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

This box was filled with black beans which looked just like deep dark space. We put in an astronaut, spaceship puzzle piece, a strand of tinsel stars, star cookie cutters and a small globe. For some zodiac symbols we included a toy goat, little plush crab, bull puzzle piece—well ok, a cow, but it had horns 🙂

And how about the big footprint—almost like Neil Armstrong’s!

This box gave us lots of things to discuss, addressing the language arts access point of responding to new vocabulary.

These battery operated lights looked just like twinkling little stars and students were really fascinated.

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

Our galaxy in a bottle was also intriguing to our students. We borrowed it from Ms. Bennett.

She made it with karo syrup, food coloring, glitter and beads. The beads move around as the bottle is tilted back and forth giving opportunities for visual tracking, addressing the science access point of tracking objects in motion.

Planets are sphere shaped and that’s what we explored in this box. The beads are cube shaped so it gave us a chance to contrast them with our sphere shaped pom poms. Also the beads are hard and the pompoms are soft—other properties to compare and identify by one observable property.

Red and yellow food coloring was added to shaving cream to make it look just like the flames from rocket ships.

One nice benefit of the foam is that it will

stick to vertical surfaces while

practicing pre-writing patterns!

Astronaut food! Who can forget that weird dehydrated stuff in the foil packets 🙂 We thought our Bubber looked just like it. Bubber is REALLY cool stuff, crumbly but moldable but sticky.

We’re not sure who liked it better—the students or the staff 🙂

If you look closely you can see a picture of the planet Mars we taped to the bottom of our box.

We used lavender scent in our water and lotion this week. Since the best time to see space is late at night when its time for bed, we thought it was appropriate 🙂

Lavender is a fairly strong distinctive scent and was especially aromatic in the lotion.

Our students really responded to it.

Thanks Ms. Jen for the donation!

Our blue rice and green split peas represented our planet earth—- for lots of scooping and sifting fun.!

There are some number 8 (there are 8 planets in our solar system) puzzles pieces hidden in there also.

Fine Motor Group—Space

On Tuesday, after reading Cara’s book we passed out our pre-made rocket bases (made with poster board feet placed into slits in the bottom of a toilet paper roll). Besides counting them out, as we usually do, we pointed out that their shape was a cylinder addressing the math access point of recognizing a 3 dimensional shape.

Next we counted out our cones and asked our students to “put the cone on top of the cylinder”.

EVERYBODY did such a fantastic job, we were so proud of them!

This activity addresses the math access point of recognizing a movement that reflects a spatial relationship.

We put on our paint shirts while an adult hot glued the rocket pieces together.

Then we chose which color to paint the rocket.

We gave our students 3 choices to give them practice making choices in the format of our alternate assessment.

Everyone had a great time painting their rockets, giving them practice controlling writing utensils.

As the students hold onto the rocket, bilateral skills are also addressed.

images Our rocket needs a captain! A little

glue in just the right spot…

their picture added……

10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1,………..

……………..Blast off!!!

To infinity and beyond 🙂

On Thursday we looked at this really

cool lighted moon while we

listened to Cara’s book and then

made our own full moon!

First we poured glue into shaving

cream ……

and took turns stirring it…….

………until it was all

mixed together.

Then we counted out a

round paper plate for

each student making sure

to point out the shape of the plate.

We used our hands to paint our mixture onto the paper plates.

Our students loved this stuff, its so wonderfully goopy!

TA DA—-our full moon.

The glue and shaving cream mixture dries just like puffy paint–

—-so COOL!

The science access point of recognizing

a change in an object is

addressed here.

Language Group—Letter H

We switched things up a bit this week and STARTED with Cara’s sound game. Lots of fun sounds to listen for!

Then we Harpooned some sea creatures.

Our Harpoon was a little Heavy, so some of our students needed Help to Hoist their catch.

We found lots of animals—- but no Hammerhead sharks.

This activity is great for building shoulder stability and eye hand coordination.

Next we used our Hands to hold some

Halloween finger puppets.

When placed on fingers, these puppets help address finger individuation.

We finished by cutting some strips

of brown construction paper.

We drew some lines as a guide

to cut along.

Some students used scissors and

others used our paper cutters.

Our strips became spikes for our

Happy Hedgehog.

Placing the strips addresses eye hand coordination in addition to spatial

relations.

A lot of fun H words!

Between our visitors and

our groups—

what a fabulous week!

Hope you come back,

Group by Group 🙂

On a final note, please take a look at our comments section. Peggy Hundley Spitz OTR has offered a discount if you mention Group by Group when you place an order at her site OTtoGo.

Oct14

Italian Heritage Month and the Letter G

Posted on October 14, 2012 by jd785

Italian Heritage Month and the Letter G

It was all about red, white, and green—the colors of the Italian flag— in our Sensory and Fine Motor Groups! In our Language Group we looked at words that start with the letter G.

Sensory Group—Italian Heritage

Cara’s book helped us learn about Italian heritage. Our students did such a great job activating the voice output device to read the repetitive line. With the switch we are working on timing of the hit and activating it just one time.

This addresses the access point of responding to familiar print media.

Our color boxes were filled with assorted red things Joy collected around the OT room.

We included beads (large ones to avoid choking hazards, of course), chenille stems, pom poms, a big bow from a valentine wreath, package ties, finger puppets etc.

You name it—if it was the right color, it went into the box 🙂

Hmmm—-this looks interesting 🙂

The main idea of these boxes is to encourage exploration to compare and contrast the differing properties of materials and our students were definitely intrigued!

Most students dove into every box exploring the contents with equal enthusiasm. A few students, however, either did not engage or became overly excited with one of the color boxes. It appeared that the particular color was either over or under stimulating to them.

Beads are always a favorite……and, of course, if beads are in a box—you have to put them on!

These boxes address a number of science access points, including identifying objects by one observable property and recognizing objects as the same.

We practiced scooping with our mix of red, white, and green beans. They were so pretty and colorful.

As the cup is filled, the math access point of recognizing the differences in the capacity of containers is addressed.

A large letter I was placed in our rice mix —-more red, white, and green of course!

We also taped an Italian flag to the bottom of the box—a little

surprise to find.

We added red pepper flakes and green oregano to our playdough to continue our colorful theme. It also had the added bonus of adding an interesting aroma.

We used our heart shaped cookie cutter—-because we LOVE Italy 🙂

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

Red and green glitter made our oobleck sparkle!

We practiced our pre-writing designs making

vertical strokes.

Most excellently done in

this picture, as you can see 🙂

We rinsed our hands in grape scented lotion. They grow lots of yummy grapes in Italy!

Then we finished with some vanilla sugar lotion so we could leave the group smelling like delicious cannolis—yum yum 🙂

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

Fine Motor Group—Italian Heritage

We rode on some “gondolas” in the sensory room.

Our bolster swing is a huge favorite with our students and a really fun way to work on sitting balance!

After the sensory room we returned to the classroom to read Cara’s book and begin our art project.

We counted out 8 pieces of paper and wrote our names on the back.

Each time we count out our pieces of paper we are working on the math access point of identifying quantities.

Today we are doing spaghetti (well actually string, ha ha) painting.

We asked our students to choose which color they wanted to paint with first…..

…..sometimes its hard to make that choice 🙂

Then we dipped our strings into the paint

and got to work!

This activity addresses eye hand

coordination.

Ta Da!

…….Red,

……………white,

…………………and green!

Gotta love that smile 🙂

On Thursday we made some pizza pies!

We counted out our paper plates and then used red markers to color some

red pizza sauce. A variety of markers were used including these

pipsqueak markers from Crayola.

Our students are spending more time engaged with scribbling and

we are very excited about their progress!

Time to add the cheese—-some shredded yellow paper which looked pretty realistic so we did have to remind some of them that it was paper :).

Eye hand coordination skills are addressed during this activity. Also, strengthening is addressed while squeezing the glue onto the plate.

The math access point of indicating a desire for more of an object is addressed.

Can’t forget the pepperoni!

Our circle cutters work great for making perfect pepperoni pieces and our students really like using them.

Identifying a 2-dimensional shape is a math access point.

Each student counted how many pieces of pepperoni they put on their pizza.

This addressed the math access point of showing one-to-one correspondence.

Time for some pizza.

YUM! YUM!

Language Group—-Letter G

We used our thumbs to Guide our dog.

Go dog Go!

Then we Gathered some Green Grapes using our tongs to

Grab them.

Got to count them as well, to address math access

points:)

Next we Glued 2 black foam circle eyes and 1 black oval mouth on a paper plate.

The texture of the foam was very helpful for our student with a visual impairment.

Then we tore some paper streamers,

Glued them on to the back of the plate to make a……

Ghost!

Good job!

We played Cara’s sound game and listened for some G sounds.

Great fun!

And we finished by looking at some of the

G words we found today.

What an awesome week! Please come

back again, 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

Sep9

Labor Day and the Letter B

Posted on September 9, 2012 by jd785

Labor Day and the Letter B

This week our theme for our Sensory and Fine Motor groups was Labor Day which tied in nicely to the Unique Curriculum unit on community workers. Our Language group looked at words starting with the letter B.

Sensory Group—Labor Day

After reading Cara’s book “We Celebrate Workers on Labor Day” we began exploring our boxes. Our first box was filled with green paper shred and play money—thats why people work after all 🙂

We put in a variety of items representing different jobs, such as doctors, firefighters, a computer cord. We also put in other labor day related items such as a plastic hamburger (lots of people cook out on labor day). The burger made a squeaking sound when squeezed—-and it got squeezed ALOT!

Digging around for different items in the paper shred encourages figure ground perception skills and eye hand coordination.

Our next box was filled with white cotton balls and wooden tongue depressors—well, actually popsicle sticks since we didn’t have tongue depressors but we were going for the same texture and they look pretty similar 🙂 This, of course, reminded us of doctors and nurses.

The popsicle sticks were quite the hit with some of our students. This box allows addresses the science access points comparing the different properties (hard/soft) of the materials.

Our mixed beans looked just like a construction site, complete with a bulldozer. So much fun to bury hands into getting some nice proprioceptive feedback.

Shaving foam made a great stand in for the foam the firefighters use to put out fires. Its fun to practice prewriting patterns such as drawing up/down/across. It also allows our students to explore and respond to a “wet” texture which is different from the previous “dry” texture.

This addresses the science access point of recognizing

and responding to different types of sensory stimuli.

We used our lighted toys while talking about police officers and ambulance drivers. The lights are fun to look at and pressing the button addresses fine motor skills.

Since Labor Day is a holiday, some people go to the beach.

We used our soft sand and looked for the large letter L.

The shell made a great scoop, allowing our students to practice scooping skills or hold out their hands as the soft sand sprinkled down.

We ended the group with vanilla sugar scented water and lotion reminding us of ice-cream cones that we might have eaten on the beach.

Fine Motor Group—Labor Day

Our students loved Cara’s book this week, community helpers are always a big hit—especially the firefighters! As our students look at and touch the different pages they are learning concepts of print which is one of their access points.

On Tuesday we made a firefighter hat out of a paper plate with a precut slit and added brim (we got the idea on Crayola website).

We started by talking about the color we were going to paint the hat and asked our students to show us the color “red”.

…….let the painting begin!

Our firefighter emblem was added. Squeezing the glue

addresses hand strengthening and putting the

emblem onto the hat, eye hand coordination.

Aren’t they super cute!

On Thursday after reading our book, we continued with the firefighter theme and made a fire engine.

We counted out 7 big red rectangles, learning to recognize 2 dimensional shapes—-one of our math access points.

Then we used our paper cutter to cut 2 strips of yellow paper.

We glued them down on the paper horizontally, telling the students to put the pieces in an across direction addressing spatial concepts. Recognizing a movement that reflects a spatial relationship is a math access point.

After cutting a bunch of smaller yellow strips we glued them

in an “up and down” direction to make the rungs of the

ladder. We made sure to have some additional precut

strips for those students who were ready to move onto the

next step.

The fire engine was finished with 2 black circle wheels and 1 small yellow rectangle—with we counted, of course 🙂

Doesn’t it look fantastic! Our students loved gluing their own photos in the drivers seat. We used a cartoon picture for this photo, but you get the idea.

Language Group—Letter B

We started By Blowing Bubbles. For our students who couldn’t blow, they practiced Bilateral coordination Bursting the Bubbles Between their hands. Our student with a visual impairment enjoyed the feel of them on his Bare arms:)

Then we put some felt Balloons on a Button (Joy made this with

a large button, some ribbon and felt—found from the

crafty stash). What a fun way to practice fasteners!

Next we made some Binoculars. We cut along a line to make 1 piece of paper into 2 pieces (fitting in those math access points). We got the paper from a wallpaper sample book. Our students used a variety of adaptive scissors and paper cutters to complete this step.

We taped the paper around toilet paper rolls and

stapled them together.

The students LOVED their Binoculars and were so cute holding them up to their eyes

……..as they looked for Blue Birds, Bison, Butterflies, Bees, Billy goats, Boxers, Black Bears, Bunnies, Bats, Bulls, Bullfrogs, and Boars.

We knew all those Beanie Babies we had saved would come in handy one day 🙂

We finished with Cara’s sound game

And, of course, looking again at all the B words we found today. Oh Boy, did we have a great time. Be sure and join us next week Group by Group.

Jul16

The Fine Motor Group

Posted on July 16, 2012 by jd785

The Fine Motor Group

This is what Jeannie says about the Fine Motor Group:

The best thing about The Fine Motor group is the fun. The students really enjoy and have fun participating in the reading portion and in the making of the final product. All of the students are involved and engaged in the reading activity by taking turns reading using the adaptive communication device. The students then become engaged in the art project that produces a product that corresponds to what they have just read. This gives more meaning and understanding to the book.

The way their faces light up when they finish their project and get their “ta da’s” makes it all worthwhile.

One other thing that makes the group special and increases the collaborative effort is our vision teacher, Melissa. She works

with one of the students in the classroom during the Fine Motor group and her support has been invaluable! Thanks Melissa 🙂

Apr30

Week 29—Earth Day

Posted on April 30, 2012 by jd785

Week 29—Earth Day

This week out theme was Earth Day for our Fine Motor and Sensory Groups. Unfortunately we had to cancel our Language group this week.

Sensory Group—Earth Day

Cara’s latest book gave us lots of ideas on how to save the earth. We passed around a stuffed globe as a prop while reading the repetitive line.

We filled our first box with shredded paper (something we can recycle!). Scattered about were some toy cans and bottles, cardboard, and plastic toys—-all things we can recycle. We also put in the word “home” to remind us that earth is our home and we need to keep it clean. A little energy saver sign, reminding us to turn out the lights when we leave the room. We put little people in the box to discuss that it is people who are responsible for keeping our earth clean.

As you can imagine, our students loved the paper shred, so much fun to shake and wave around!

From space, our planet looks like a big blue and green ball. In our next box we put a variety of green and blue items. From hard beads and blocks to soft pompoms and chenille strings.

Lots to material properties to contrast addressing science access points.

Our next box continued our blue and green theme. We recycled our playdough from our under the sea week!

We added some green glitter which gave it a nice sparkle and had car and tree cookie cutters to remind us to plant trees and combine car trips to save gas.

We love using playdoh to improve fine motor skills but math access points can also be addressed when counting the shapes cut out. In addition, prewriting skills can be addressed when making letters with the playdough.

More blue and green! We added some green split peas to our blue rice and it turned out so pretty and eye catching. Our students looked for big and little letter E’s hidden in the rice.

How about a box of aluminum foil!

Something we can recycle and ever so much fun to crumple and wave around.

It also makes noise as it is played with, adding a nice auditory component!

Our sensory bottles helped us discuss global warming. One bottle was filled with clear hair gel and some foam shapes. The foam shapes don’t move around the gel—it looks just like solid ice, and thats how we want our ice caps to remain! The other bottle was filled with hand sanitizer, clear marbles, and some more foam shapes. The foam shapes and marbles move around in the hand sanitizer, just like melting ice.

They made a really cool visual comparison.

Next we made some clean mud. We tore up a roll of toilet paper (from the dollar store) and sprinkled in a bar of grated soap (from the dollar store). Tearing up the paper help address bilateral coordination.

We added a cup of warm water—eye hand coordination and measurement!

Then squished and squeezed until we ended up with mud! Its got a really cool consistency which some of our students

liked—-and

others absolutely did not!

Fortunately, we had a bowl of Juniper Breeze (from Bath and Body Works) scented water in which to wash hands 🙂

We finished with our Juniper

Breeze lotion to remind us of

our beautiful earth.

Fine Motor Group—Earth Day

We read Cara’s book, again using the stuffed globe as a prop.

Then we counted out 8 large blue construction paper blue circles and used a communication board to find the number 8.

Green paint was added to a mixture of glue and shaving cream and we asked our students to guess what was going to happen.

Everybody got a chance to stir the mixture—-and we watched as the glue and shaving cream mixture turned green!

A fun way to address science access points.

We put the mixture on one hand and counted out loud as we printed on the paper 2 times.

For our students who were unable to tolerate the paint on their palms (tactile defensiveness), Joy adapted the activity by painting her own hand and placed the students hand on top to help make the print.

Ta Da! Doesn’t this just like the earth!

It will be even cooler when it dries because our mixture dries just like puffy paint. The raised texture will also make it perfect for our student with a visual impairment to explore.

On Thursday, after reading Cara’s book again, we made Recycle Man!

We used an aluminum pie plate for the head and counted out 2 bottle cap eyes. 1 yogurt container became a nose and can tabs made teeth.

Of course we counted everything as we put it on but we also described the position (ex. on top, under) to address more access points and spatial relationships.

As our Recycle Man is on a vertical surface, shoulder stability is addressed items are placed.

We chose which cap to use as a

belly button…

….and added it to our aluminum roasting pan body!

Perfect!

Then we counted out 8 cans (1 for

each student.

And used them to make arms and legs

for…..

Recycle Man!!!

Isn’t he awesome!

Hope you had fun celebrating Earth Day with us this week. Join us again Group by Group!.