Friday Follow Up-April 30, 2010

We had a lot of fun this week in music! In the Primary class, we learned some new songs about springtime and went on a Bear Hunt. In the Inters classes, we got out a parachute and played some really fun games, like "Floating Down the River," and "You Can't Make a Turtle Come Out!" In the Uppers classes, we had fun practicing our two songs for graduation, "You've Got a Friend in Me" and "Lean on Me." We sang more of our favorite songs and played fun movement games.

During language time, the primary students played go fish with bug cards, working on asking and answering questions, while continuing to learn about different types of bugs. They also participated in smaller group work focusing on following directions, turn taking with peers and expanding on play and language skills!

Thu, April 29, 2010 10:52:09 AM
Re: Friday Blurb
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From:
Patrice Felder [Chat now]
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To: Laurie Schwadron
This week in the social club, we focused on doing group activities. We played three different games in the sensory room that highlighted a few important skills such as team work, positive attitudes, and patience. When we were finished with our games, we cooled down by making cards for the VIP's (Very Important People) in our lives :) We tapped into our creative sides in the Art Club when we did our Colorful Expressions project. The kids used various colors to show different emotions (example: blue=sad, yellow=happy, red=angry, pink=shy, green= silly, etc).We ended the day by going outside to search for inspiration for next weeks art project-- Art in Nature.

In science, we continued to talk about planet Earth and ways to keep it safe and reduce pollution.. We defined liter and came up with a list of ways to prevent people from littering. The primary and inters classes made liter bugs. We used miscellaneous items that were all reused or recycled from previous projects! The uppers classes worked on finishing up their planet Earths. In addition to this, each child came up with two facts about the Earth and ways to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!

The Uppers classes continue to make great strides in Social & Life Skills. We reviewed the components of nonverbal communication including: body language, facial expressions, gestures, tone of voice, and vocal volume. We had a blast engaging in role play and acting out skits to match our body language, vocal tone, volume, and facial expressions to different situations! Ms. Jenni’s class also worked on identifying and using appropriate body language and facial expressions given a variety of different situations. The Inters loved playing What Did You Say? Ms Shannon & Ms Deanna’s Inters made edible compost cups! We read The Little Green Monster and discussed ways we can help our environment. Our compost cups were delicious!

Friday Follow Up-April 23, 2010

Primary students participated in weekly handwriting groups focusing on the letters "I" and "T". They also completed a mystery coloring activity which required them to distinguish between upper and lower case letters. The students did an amazing job during our small group Yoga Bingo activity, where they got to practice yoga postures, as well as their turn taking skills.

Ms. Jenni's inters students worked very hard during their OT groups completing visual motor and brain gym activities in the hammock swing, working on core muscle and upper body strength. They continued to work hard in their handwriting books, completing their repertoire of lower case letters!

This week in music, we practiced our Earth Day songs to sing at Hadley Park! The Primary Class sang "This Old Earth." Miss Jenni's class sang "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." Miss Shannon's class sang "Recycle." Miss Kate's class sang another version of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." Miss Barbara's class sang "We've been Working on the Trash." Miss Deanna was so proud of all of the Diener kids today. Everyone sang beautifully at Hadley Park and it was so fun singing all of these songs with our Bullis pen pals!!

This week in the social club, we went on a safari in our minds! We walked through different habitats and identified the animals that we saw. We concluded with a fun group game out on the playground. We had a great time telling stories through pictures in the art club. Each student made four pictures that told a story, without using words. We also created a silly springtime sticker scene. We wrapped up our first session by using modeling clay to make our favorite animals.

In science, we celebrated Earth day by discussing the 3 R's-- Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. We made giant planet Earth's with large coffee filters, makers, and water. we stuffed them with newspaper and other recyclable paper. We will continue to talk about the Earth and ways to help the environment next week.

We had a fun week in Speech and Language! The Uppers enjoyed being detectives while playing Reading Riddle Maze. We worked hard with our teammates to cooperate, respect one another’s ideas, and share responsibilities. The Inters learned about Earth Day with Fancy Nancy and completed a recycling project by sorting paper products, plastic/glass, and compost items.
In Social & Life skills, the Uppers classes were introduced to conversation vocabulary terms and learned about body language, gestures, facial expressions, and more. We had a blast practicing using different form of body language to convey messages to our peers.

This week our students participated in a fun body awareness activity. We focused on directionality and multi-step gross motor movements. In addition, we have begun out OT re-assessments. Its exciting to see all the wonderful progress!

Friday Follow Up-April 9, 2010

This week in Beyond Cooking, we made cinnamon tortilla chips with fruit salsa. The kids had fun while working on their fine motor skills (cutting, chopping, and slicing fruit). We made comparisions between our fruit salsa and the tomato salsa and used a vin diagram to organize our information. We measured and mixed, sprinkled and sifted. It was a very delicious treat!

In science, we began talking about The Earth and our environment. The primary and inters classes read the book "On Earth" by G. Brian Karas and identified and located all seven continents. The uppers created Earth puzzles and began discussing biomes and animal habitats.


This week our students continued tomake excellent progress with their overall handwriting skills. Several of our students are enjoying learning cursive. This week we also focused on building our upper body strength and maintaining postures.