Tag Archives: voice output device

May20

Earth Science book

Posted on May 20, 2013 by jd785

This week, we chose our topic based on the Unique theme for the month. Teaching this topic to children of this demographic can be difficult because of the complexity of it and how abstract it can be, so simplicity is key! The book covers the make-up of the earth as well as a few things found on the earth such as volcanoes and rain. It was fun this week because we let our students experience “rain” by misting them with water. We’ve found that some of our students REALLY enjoy this! We would ask the students, “what do we know about the Earth” which would lead into the repetitive line, “Earth has many features”. We hope you have as much fun as we did!

Here is a link to the book: Earth Has Many Features

May12

Mother Goose book

Posted on May 12, 2013 by jd785

Mother Goose book

We are celebrating Children’s Book Week this week! We were so lucky to have some of our very own models pose for the pictures in the book. The book takes a short peek at some of Mother Goose’s famous nursery rhymes, like Humpty Dumpty and Old King Cole. Our students get so excited when they are able to identify people in the pictures. To get ready for the repetitive line, we would ask the students, “what time is it?” which the repetitive line answered, “it’s Mother Goose time, get ready to rhyme!” We had so much fun making and reading this book and we hope that you enjoy it as well!

Here is a link to the book:It’s Mother Goose Time, Get Ready to Rhyme

May12

Mother Goose

Posted on May 12, 2013 by jd785

Mother Goose

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!

May5

Cinco de Mayo Book

Posted on May 5, 2013 by jd785

Cinco de Mayo Book

We’re celebrating Cinco de Mayo a little bit early here at school and we decided to have a fiesta this week! When reading the book, we would ask the students “what should we do?” after each of the first lines on the pages. The repetitive line would reply “let’s have a fiesta”. The pictures in the book are so colorful and fun. Our students have really been focusing more on the book when it’s being read and are understanding turn taking more as well. We’ve been having fun at our fiesta, so we hope you have fun at yours!

Here is a link to the book: Let’s Have a Fiesta!

May5

Cinco de Mayo

Posted on May 5, 2013 by jd785

Cinco de Mayo

We had a really great week here at Group by Group. First we found out we had been nominated for the Liebster Award (selected by our fellow blogger over at I Teach Speech) which was pretty exciting for us. Second—-its Cinco de Mayo—-time for a fiesta full of bright colors, music, food and fun! Cara wrote another great book which our students loved and we had a blast with all our different activities. Here is what we did—

Sensory Group—

Red, green and white are the colors of the Mexican flag. Our colorful pompoms and beads, great for comparing and contrasting, were a hit as always. Our students love to sort the pompoms or shake the beads—such fun! This box was so bright and colorful, who could resist 🙂

This activity addresses the science access points of recognizing common objects as the same and identifying objects by one observable property, such as color. It also addresses the math access point of recognizing two objects that are the same size and color and the math access point of recognizing common objects with three dimensional shapes (spheres).

We put a great big letter M (Mexico) into our red, green and white rice. A map of Mexico was hidden at the bottom, waiting to be discovered as the rice is pushed aside.

The social studies access point of associating a picture or symbol with a location is addressed here.

Our fiesta box was filled with lots of fun things. We included colorful paper streamers and garland, a Mexican flag, a piece of serape fabric, a large shell (for the beautiful beaches), and a sun.

Also fun to find were some lizards, snakes and colorful birds—some native wildlife you might see there.

Finally, we put in the word “friends” because the people of Mexico are our friends 🙂

In addition to lots of language opportunities, this activity addresses the social studies access point of recognizing a cultural characteristic of a population.

Tacos, tortillas, empanadas—all made from cornmeal! One of our more popular textures and we love its silky tactile feel. Our students used their hands or a small measuring spoon to explore.

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

We recorded some traditional Mexican music on our voice output device. Our students love music and this was no exception. With the addition of our homemade maracas they had a rocking good time 🙂

Lots of science access points were addressed here including applying a push or pull to move an object, tracking moving objects and recognizing an action as fast or slow.

Monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico every year so we included our butterfly and caterpillar box. We dyed farfalle and rotini pastas to make our little insects and they turned out so bright and colorful—very eye catching for our students. The contrasting shapes and colors and great for working on sorting skills. Thumb finger grasps are promoted as students pick up the pieces of pasta.

This activity addresses the science access point of identifying objects by one observable property.

Our version of guacamole—-yellow and blue food coloring were added to our shaving cream and we discussed what we thought might happen when the colors were mixed together.

We did discover from class to class that we needed to add a lot of yellow or we ended up with something closer to aqua rather than green 🙂

This addresses the science access point of recognizing that the appearance of an object or material has changed. It also addresses the science access point of exploring, observing, and recognizing common objects in the natural world.

We rinsed our hands in Coconut Lime scented water from Bath and Body Works. As usual, we included different sizes cups to allow them to practice scooping and filling.

The different sizes of the cups help address the math access point of recognizing differences in sizes of containers that hold liquids.

Our students all loved the matching lotion. What a yummy aroma to help them remember all the fun we had today!

Fine Motor Group—

On Tuesday we made some Guiros. We got the idea on Pinterest. This art project was all about the number 3—putting 3 of each item into our plastic water bottles. The items we added to our bottles included pieces of red, green and white chenille stems, macaroni, colorful beads AND……

3 scoops of glittery confetti! Needless to say, this stuff got everywhere and it certainly looked like a fiesta in the classroom 🙂

The math access point of recognizing quantities 1 to 3 using sets of objects, pictures, or number names was addressed in this activity.

TA DA!

Our guiros are finished, time to grab a popsicle stick and begin making music……

Ok, these were truly a hit—-the students LOVED them!!!!!

On Thursday we had a great time in the sensory room pretending we were riding some burros! Then we went back to the classroom to make our own! We cut the silhouettes from cereal boxes. We used the cereal boxes because we wanted something stiffer than construction paper and the boxes were FREE 🙂

We mixed black and white paint to make grey and our students started painting.

We are just so proud of how independent some of our students are getting—-PURE AWESOMENESS!!!

Eye hand coordination, tool use, and spatial relations skills are addressed here.

In addition, the science access point of recognizing that the appearance of a material has changed is addressed.

After they had finished painting they glued on square blankets (cut from an old purse—we were totally into trash to treasure art this week!).

The math access point of recognizing a 2 dimensional shape is addressed in this activity.

A googly eye finished the little burro.

TA DA!!

Super cute 🙂

Language Group—

We took turns wearing traditional Mexican clothing including a sombrero and serape. As you can see, we got some super cute pictures.

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

It also addresses the science access point of recognizing external body parts.

We also took turns playing with some maracas which our students absolutely loved.

What a great way to work on the science access point of applying a push or pull to move an object!

You can’t have a fiesta without some yummy food—-time for tacos!

We put a soft taco on a plate and the students used their communication symbols to tell us what toppings they wanted.

This addresses the language access point of effectively communicating wants and needs with prompting of familiar persons.

They had such a great time building their tacos—and, of course, EATING them 🙂

All our activities addressed the social studies access point of recognizing differences in food or clothing from other cultures.

With tummies full we looked at some of the words we learned today.

Its adios for now…….but don’t forget to drop by next week and share some more fun with us at Group by Group!

Apr28

Safari book

Posted on April 28, 2013 by jd785

Safari book

We are taking the students on a safari this week. The pictures in the book are special ones as they were taken by my sister when she was on a real African safari! Thank you, Katie, for sharing your pictures with us! The students appeared to enjoy looking at what all of the different animals were doing in the pictures. Some of our students named the animals along with us. We asked the question “where are we going?” to which the repetitive line answered, “we are going on a safari”. The last page in the book is my personal favorite because it’s an animal looking right at us! Check out the book to find out which animal it is.

Here is a link to the book: We Are Going on a Safari

Apr21

Dinosaurs book

Posted on April 21, 2013 by jd785

Dinosaurs book

This week, we’re going prehistoric! We are learning about dinosaurs through sensory, fine motor, and language activities. They all LOVED the pictures in the book this week, taken by our very own OT, Joy! Each page has a different dinosaur and tells something about it. The students were asked, “when did dinosaurs live?” to which they answered, “dinosaurs lived long ago”. We are working on having the students pass the voice output device to the person who is next. It is still a hand over hand process, but the students are doing very well with it. Maybe in the next few weeks they’ll have it down! Enjoy the book.

Here is a link to the book: Dinosaurs Lived Long Ago

Apr21

Dinosaurs

Posted on April 21, 2013 by jd785

Dinosaurs

ROAR!!!! There were some dinosaurs roaming around around campus this week—you have to check out our visitors in Cara’s latest book. Kids love dinosaurs and ours are no exception! Hope you enjoy seeing how we carried out the theme throughout all our groups this week.

SENSORY GROUP

The land the dinosaurs ruled was filled with lots of vegetation so we filled this box with moss and leaves. We put in some plastic eggs and a variety of dinosaurs. Some of them had a button you could push to make them ROAR—needless to say, this was a huge hit!

We put in a variety of play food—meat for the meat eaters and vegetables for the plant eaters. Some fossils (playdough molds), a large letter D, and a bone shaped cookie cutter.

So much language and play included in this box—don’t you just love the action going on in this picture.

In addition to lots of fine motor skills addressed as students manipulate the various objects, press buttons etc., lots of access points are addressed. These include the science access point of distinguishing between a plant and an animal—if you are trying to feed your dinosaur, you know its an animal! It also addresses the language access point of selecting a familiar object to explore.

So while it’s not totally clear if dinosaurs became oil, we decided to go ahead and make a “fossil fuel” goo bag which was tons of fun.

It was made by mixing cooking oil and black paint and putting it in a heavy duty freezer bag, We then taped the bag onto a tray—and kept a supply of packing tape handy in case of slight rips. As the week went along and multiple classes participated in our groups—we did find DOUBLE bagging and TAPING worked best 🙂

While some of our students practiced prewriting strokes or even wrote their names— others were fascinated by watching the oil and paint swirl around—-so cool!

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

Dinosaurs are reptiles so they don’t have fur like mammals!

We used our plush fabric to represent mammals and we cut up an old green leather purse to make our dino skin. Our students enjoyed running their hands over the different textures, comparing and contrasting them.

This activity addresses the science access point of using the senses to recognize objects.

We wanted to convey the idea of dinosaurs sharp teeth without the item actually BEING sharp—this pin board seemed the perfect fit. It doesn’t really have pins, just small plastic dowels with rounded ends.

Our students had a blast with it, finding it utterly fascinating. They loved the impressions as they moved their hands and pushed against the pins.

Really, really, REALLY fun!

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

Our discovery bottle was filled with black glitter, sequins and orange colored corn syrup and we think it looks just like molten lava—something the dinosaurs may have encountered!

As the bottle is rotated or rolled, everything slowly moves around and is pretty fascinating to look at.

This addresses the science access point of tracking moving objects.

We included a variety of scents this week. From the “Follow your Nose” game we smelled pine, mushroom and fire scents which we thought would be similar to the ones dinosaurs might have smelled as they roamed around.

These were some pretty funky scents and it was fun watching the different reactions we got—-giving our students lots of opportunities to communicate preferences 🙂

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

Dinosaurs also roamed around in some swampy places—-so we made a green jello swamp. Totally messy fun with some dinosaurs, palm trees and a dinosaur cookie cutter.

This is a really different texture and as usual, some of our students dived right in while others were quite hesitant 🙂

Grasp skills are promoted as our students pick up the various items buried in the jello or use the cookie cutter.

Science access points are also addressed including applying a push or pull to move an object, distinguishing between a plant and animal, and identifying objects by one observable property—in this case GREEN jello.

Our play snow reminded us of how climate change may have caused the dinosaurs to become extinct. We were really excited about how well it lasted—we kept it re-fridgerated which may have helped!

Our students were really not quite sure what to make of it at first—-cold and wet, hmmmm??

So much fun to grasp and squish!

The science access points of distinguishing between items that are wet and those that are dry and recognizing objects as warm or cold are totally explored in this activity!

Finally we rinsed our messy hands in Juniper Breeze scented water and then rubbed the lotion on our hands. We added a large measuring cup and a small spoon for scooping and pouring fun.

As students play with the different scoops they are exploring the math access point of recognizing the differences in sizes of containers that hold liquids.

In addition, as seen in this picture, the science access point of recognizing external body parts and the math access point of indicating a desire for more of an action or object is addressed.

So much fun today and a wonderful scent to help us remember the wonderful things we learned about the dinosaurs today!

FINE MOTOR GROUP

On Tuesday we “discovered” some fossils! Ok so coloring all those dino skeletons was a little labor intensive prep but our students were so excited as they watched their fossils appear on the paper that it made it well worth it! Joy lightly sketched the skeletons and Jeannie’s assistants—she has some really nice assistants 🙂 —colored them in with a white crayon. We adapted this activity from a glue resist art activity we saw on Pinterest.

First we discussed what color paint we were going to use (showing them the container) and had them identify the color using our communication symbols.

They did a really good job!

Identifying an object by one observable property is a science access point.

Then we discussed the shape (rectangle) of our paper, counted its 4 sides…..

….and started painting! We used diluted brown paint (it needs to be watercolor like) and wide foam brushes. Our students got so excited as the bones became more visible! This was totally fun!

The math access points of recognizing a common object with a 2 dimensional shape and recognizing the sides of a square or rectangle were addressed.

This turned out pretty cool, right!

AWESOME!!!!!

On Thursday we continued our dinosaur theme by making a shape stegosaurus.

First our students chose what color stegosaurus they wanted from a variety of colors.

We used the communication symbols to increase literacy and to promote their ability to recognize two objects that are the same color which is a math access point.

Then they chose 2 squares which we cut into 4 triangles using our paper cutter and glued these to the dinosaur’s back.

Next we used our circle punch to cut out 2 circles which were also glued onto our stegy.

1 big googlie eye and our stegy came to life!

Bilateral coordination is addressed as the students use the different cutting implements. Pincer grasp, eye hand coordination and spatial relations are promoted as the pieces are added to the dinosaur body.

As the paper is cut the science access point of recognizing a change in an object is addressed. Discussing the different shapes addresses the math access point of recognizing a common object with a 2 dimensional shape.

Counting the various objects additionally (no pun intended ha ha) addresses math access points.

—Ta Da super cute!

Peace Love and Dinosaurs 🙂

LANGUAGE GROUP

We started group out reading Cara’s book. We are super excited to finally have all our groups totally integrated with the same theme and our students totally enjoyed her fun book—-really who can resist dinosaurs 🙂

We brought a variety of dinosaurs into the group, some of which also appeared in the book. The students got to hold them and compare them. They were especially excited when they found out that some of them made noise when squeezed!

While the book was being read, we had the students locate which dinosaurs they saw in the classroom that were also in the book.

This addresses the language access points of responding to a familiar person reading a book aloud and responding to referent objects used in routines.

It also addresses the science access points of applying a push to move an object and recognizing and responding to common sounds—-they got lots of practice with this one 🙂

After the book, we brought out a simple dinosaur puzzle. Students with fine motor difficulties took the puzzle pieces off of the board using our adapted puppy. He was made by hot gluing a shower curtain ring to his back and some velcro to his mouth. Other students took out the pieces using their hands. After taking them out, the dinosaurs were placed back on the board.

Picking up and placing the pieces back into the board addresses spatial relations and eye hand coordination.

Since the title of our book is “Dinosaurs Lived Long Ago”, we went over things that we see today versus things that were around during the age of the dinos.

The students got to pick from 2 different rows of Boardmaker symbols. Students used a communication board to request their choice by indicating “I want” and pointing to the row of pictures.

Of course, vocalizing is always encouraged as well!

Once they picked their choice, they had to cut out one of the pictures. We used adaptive scissors for the cutting.

After cutting the picture out, the students had to decide whether the picture went “here” (a picture of a neighborhood representing “now”) or “there” (a picture of a jungle representing “then”).

The “here/there” picture symbols are taken from the PIXON 50 core vocabulary communication board that we have implemented into each class at our school. For the most part, the students did really well with indicating where their picture should go.

Such smart students we have 🙂

The language access points of recognizing referent objects, pictures or symbols used in classroom activities—responding to differences in referent pictures or symbols used in routines—-and effectively communicate information using referent pictures, symbols or words. WOW!!!

And here are some of the dinosaur related words we found today—-such fun!

Join us again next week for more fun, learning and great big smiles—-Group by Group 🙂

Apr7

Ocean book

Posted on April 7, 2013 by jd785

Ocean book

It’s national ocean week so we’re talking all about oceans. The book this week has the students answering a “where” question. There are pictures of different things that are seen in oceans. We asked the students, “where do we see this?” and the repetitive line answers “in the ocean”. Some of our little students showed us the picture on the page when we asked them “where do we see fish/sharks/etc.?” which is pretty clever 🙂 The pictures are so vibrant and some of our students were able to name what animals were pictured. So dive right in and enjoy the book!

Here is a link to the book: In The Ocean

Apr7

The Ocean

Posted on April 7, 2013 by jd785

The Ocean

This week our theme was The Ocean and we had so much fun learning about it in our various groups.

Sensory Group

We started with a box filled with blue basket grass, a shipwreck figure from a long ago aquarium, a piece of netting, sea shells, green chenille yarn that looked like seaweed, blue beads, pearls and a variety of sea life including a shark, dolphin, fish, lobster and a big spiky ball that looked just like a sea urchin.

This was a great box with interesting things to explore and discuss…..

…or just act silly with 🙂

Reach and grasp skills are promoted as the students explore the boxes contents. In addition visual and tactile discrimination skills are promoted.

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

This also addresses the science access point of recognizing a model of a real object.

The ocean has a sandy bottom just like our moon sand. We used our cookie cutters to make either the letter O for “ocean” or a starfish.

Since our moon sand is pretty dense, you have to push a little harder to make an impression—great for hand strengthening!

This box addresses the math access point of recognizing 2 dimensional shapes—a circle and a star.

Math access points can be addressed as the number of impressed shapes are counted.

Doesn’t this pink Floam look just like coral! This is the first time we used this material and everyone was pretty fascinated. It looks sticky but doesn’t FEEL sticky. Its pretty cool and can be molded or squished easily—lots of fun.

It is non-toxic but we made sure to watch for any exploratory “tasting” and made sure to re-direct any motions in that direction 🙂

This is great material for promoting reach and grasp skills.

The science access point using senses to recognize objects is addressed as students touch and squeeze the “coral”.

Our discovery bottles were a lot of fun. The first one we have used before and it was filled with some colorful jewel like shells.

In addition to being pretty to look at, it could be rolled or shaken making a satisfying noise.

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

We made the second bottle by putting a little plastic submarine (found at the dollar store) and some Dawn detergent and water. When shaken the sub floated around and looked really cool!

When shaken to produce the foam, the science access point of recognizing an action as fast or slow is addressed.

When holding the bottle the sub can be tracked, again addressing the science access point of tracking moving objects.

Discovery bottles are so easy (and cheap, which you know WE love) to make and are endlessly fascinating—-we love them!

This pom pom yarn has a variety of blue shades—-just like the ocean. Our students loved this yarn and had so much fun touching, shaking and draping it.

In fact, some of them got just plain silly with it—-kids will be kids after all 🙂

The yarn is touchable and soft, perfect for our students who might have tactile aversions.

It also addresses the science access point of tracking objects that are pushed or pulled.

We used Ocean scented products from Bath and Body Works—-with a name like that we HAD to use it! In our water we put 3 fish: 1 big one and 2 little ones. The little fish are also squirters so they made for lots of splashy fun.

The fish can be counted and since the fish are different sizes, the math access point of recognizing differences in the size of objects is also addressed.

The little fish squirt water when squeezed so they are great for increasing grip strength.

As you can imagine, there were lots of giggles with this activity 🙂

The highlight of our group was an underwater tour—-or at least our version of one! We used packing tape to adhere strips of clear garbage bags, blue paper and paper whale silhouettes to an umbrella.

On the inside we hung curling ribbon, beads, and some fish.

It turned out really great—-we were actually quite proud of ourselves 🙂

Lots of visually interesting things to look at as well as touch inside the umbrella BUT we added an extra auditory component—-

—-we taped whale and dolphin sounds (found on Sound Bible) onto our voice output device……….SO COOL!!!!!!

Did we mention how much fun our students had 🙂

While the scent doesn’t exactly smell like the ocean, our Ocean lotion did have a very pleasant scent that all our students seem to like!

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

After our students have a chance to smell the scent we give them the opportunity to communicate their desire to have some lotion rubbed on their hands or arms. This addresses the language access point of adjusting body movement or nonverbal expression to communicate wants and needs.

What a lovely aroma to help us remember what we learned about the ocean today.

Fine Motor Group

On Tuesday we made some oysters (another great Pinterest idea).

We started by passing out and counting our circular paper plates.

After writing our names on the back we painted them purple (hmm—isn’t that Jeannie’s favorite color!)

Identifying objects by one observable property (in this case color) is a science access point.

Recognizing a common object with a 2 dimensional shape is a math access point.

We mixed a little glue in with our paint so our glitter would stick. You know how we love to add a little sparkle to our projects!

Asking the question “is that enough?” addresses the science access point of solving small quantities of objects or actions using language, such as enough, too much or more is a math access point—-

—-of course, with glitter the answer is always “MORE” 🙂

After folding our plate in half we added a pretty white pom pom pearl.

Nice pincer grasp and eye hand coordination practice!

As the plate is folded in half it changes shape—-addressing the science access point of recognizing a change in an object.

Everyone was pretty tickled with their oyster—

……………………TA DA!!!!!!!!

Honestly, can our students be any more adorable 🙂

On Thursday we gave our students a choice of three different fish shapes. Then we tore and crumpled pieces of tissue paper (recycled present paper).

The pieces were dipped in glue and applied to the fish.

Tearing and crumpling the paper again addresses the science access point of recognizing a change in an object.

Lots of fine motor skills addressed including eye hand coordination and pincer grasp.

They turned out so cute and colorful. Our students took turns glueing their fish onto our underwater scene.

We cut it out of an old cardboard box and painted it green earlier in the week.

This activity addresses eye hand coordination and spatial relations skills.

Doesn’t it look fantastic—or should we say FINtastic 🙂

Language Group

We started by playing with a magnetic fishing puzzle. Our students used their communication boards to indicate that it was their turn.

As the various sea creatures were “caught” we wrote the names down on our sticky notes and put them onto the table—-giving the students the opportunity to address the language access point of responding to new vocabulary.

This is also a great activity to promote shoulder stability and eye hand coordination.

Then we played the “over” or “under” game. The students chose a strip of board maker symbols, indicating their choices using either gestures, body language or communication boards.

After using the adaptive scissors to cut off a square…

they told us whether it went “over” the water or “under” the water and glued it in the appropriate place on our picture.

We learned all sorts of new vocabulary, communicated choices, and responded to referent pictures used in routines—all sorts of language access points addressed today AND it was a lot of fun!

That wraps up another week. Join us again next week for more fun and learning, Group by Group 🙂