Hello EES Families,
I am so excited to share our week of learning with you, so excited in fact, that I am having a hard time narrowing down what to write about in our blog!
Students are settling into our daily schedule, starting with our targeted table tasks. Some of these tasks will connect to the theme in our inquiry learning. An example of this is the fine motor task of copying various lines and shapes on different apples. Another task is using pinchers to grab our "apples", small square blocks, and place them on a line from the apple tree to the apple basket. Students are supported when introduced to a new task. Tasks are repeated over time, until the task becomes familiar to the student. During this time, the amount of support is decreased as task mastery is developed.
Whole group shared learning is an important part of our day, and the highlight of this week's blog. I am so proud of all the students and their growing ability to attend and actively participate during circle time. Expectations are presented using I CAN statements and reinforced with visual picture cues. In our circle, we practice Whole Body Listening. The concept is reinforced daily through songs such as this one, https://youtu.be/pQ77Nr6TgZo, interactive activities, adapted stories and lots of positive praise!
After setting expectations for Whole Body Listening, students engage in a series of learning tasks. An important part of our shared learning involves our students' voice. This is done is a variety of ways. The first is that all our learning songs, digital stories and movement activities are chosen by the students. Each learning concept is paired with multiple activities that students get to take turns choosing. When it is the students turn, they come up to the SmartBoard and click on the picture of the activity they want. Sometime waiting your turn or not having your song chosen can be upsetting. Understanding turn taking, regulating when upset, and continuing to be part of the group is an important part of our shared learning. Greetings, day of the week, months of the year, weather and seasons are all concepts that are currently being explored. Students are also supported to use our classroom, or their own personal, AAC device to communicate during our shared learning. This week students have been introduced to our self-regulation and emotional learning program Zones of Regulation. The Zones of Regulation is an approach that is used to support the development of self-regulation. All our feeling are categorized into 4 different zones. Students are learning about the different zones and how to identify how they are feeling. They are responding to the question "How are you?" using the sentence starter "I'm feeling...." Here is a link to the song we are currently using to learn more about The Zones. https://youtu.be/DUYlqF6e_Vs. We will talk more about the Zones of Regulation in future blog posts.
Our inquiry learning on Apples continued with our book of the week, How Do Apples Grow by Jill McDonald. In our room, we use a lot of adapted books. These books use picture cues velcroed onto the book. The highlighted words can then be taken off to isolate certain topics, bring attention to specific parts of the book, highlight terms for our AAC users, or be used to demonstrate comprehension. Students also examined different parts of an apple and completed an interactive and printed activity labeling parts outside the apple such as the skin, stem, leaf and inside the apple; the flesh, core and seeds.
This week we also had our first practice fire drill. To prepare students for the Fire Drill we read books and watched videos that talked about what a fire drill is and the importance of practicing for one. I was so proud of the way the students exited the school and sat in our designated meeting spot until we heard the 3 rings to signal the all clear.
Upcoming Dates
September 20 - Terry Fox Run
September 22 - Meet the Teacher (details to come)
September 23 - CBE Non-Instructional Day (no classes)
September 26-30 - Truth and Reconciliation Week
September 30 - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Day (no classes)
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Rachel
