Have you heard of the Teal Pumpkin Project? Ever since my daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease, we've been excited about this. My daughter cannot eat many of the typical Halloween treats she receives from Trick-or-Treating. There are many kids with allergies that put them in the same predicament. There are also children who are unable to consume anything by mouth. So, the Teal Pumpkin Project is a movement where non-food treats are made available for those children who cannot have the typical treats.
This year, my house will have a Teal Pumpkin by the door with a sign saying that we have non-food treats along with the typical treats. It doesn't take a lot of effort and makes a big difference. Learn more about the Teal Pumpkin Project along with non-food treat ideas here.
Monday and Tuesday we are repeating Week 3 in Miss Jeana's class. But, on Wednesday and Thursday (when I normally conduct Large Group for Miss Julie's class) we're doing Halloween activities and going Trick or Treating around the school. Do you have your costume ready? I'm going to be a witch! This is a good time to practice the phrase "Trick or Treat". If needed, shorten the phrase to "Treat, please!" or just work on simple 1-word phrases("Hi", "Bye", "Please", "Thanks.")
Since my daughter has Down syndrome, I get asked questions about health and what to expect for children with Down syndrome. This is my go-to resource. The American Academy of Pediatrics came out with a clinical health report for recommendations in 2011. It is very helpful. I often print out the entire report and take it to my daughter's doctor. Be sure to check out Appendix 1 for a chart on what to have checked at certain ages. You can find the link at:
I am loving Sesame Street's new "See Amazing" campaign. First check out the cute song involving familiar Sesame Street characters and children of all abilities.
There are also some digital Routine Cards to teach kids the steps to every day activities like brushing teeth. You'll find more videos about children with autism, their friends, and families. The more education and awareness we create, the better the world will be for all our kids. Thanks Sesame Street!
Pre literacy: trace the letter G. Draw half a circle, not a frown. Go across the middle and then down.
Today we are looking at pictures of foods and giving a thumbs up for what we like or a thumbs down for what we don't like. We are looking at pictures of green grapes, spaghetti, crackers, tomatoes, peas, peanut butter, watermelon, apples, popcorn, broccoli, and bananas. It is okay if we like foods that someone else does not. It is okay if we don't like certain foods and someone else does. Miss Carrie LOVES tomatoes, broccoli, watermelon, and popcorn. Miss Carrie does not like peas or peanut butter.
Our next part of the activity was practicing simple Consonant-Vowel combination words and learning sign for those words. We used Rachel Arntson's Let's Eat from Kids Can Talk.
At the end we go around the circle and ask every child what they like to eat. Answers included Mac an Cheese, pizza, chicken nuggets and fries, cereal, jam (this kid seriously liked jam), and chicken noodle soup. At home, try a variety of different foods, especially fruits and vegetables. Let your child play with the food - it is part of exploring. Talk about concepts such as crunchy/soft, sweet/salty, big/little. You can learn ASL signs for different foods at Signing Time's Dictionary.
Gathering song: Five Little Ghosts by the Kiboomers
It's our first week singing a new song for gathering. Five Little Ghosts is a fun song. We learn how to show numerals on our fingers, count backwards, predict what comes next, and pretend to be ghosts.
Preliteracy: Trace a capital G. "Draw half a circle, not a frown. Go across the middle and then down." Go. Girl. Ghost. Good. Gorilla. Good night. Game. Feel your throat with your fingers as you make the g-g-g sound. Your throat vibrates and tickles your fingers.
Concepts: Stop/Go, Fast/Slow, High/Low, What questions, rhyming, rhythm
This week we are talking about GO!.....and Stop. Miss Jeana tells us to GO to Planning Time, to Review Time, to Large Group, to Small Group, and to line up for Outside Time. Sometimes our teachers tell us to STOP at a particular spot, or STOP if we are not being safe. Sometimes, STOP means to freeze.
We are dancing to Jim Gill's Silly Dance Contest where we get to GO and dance fast or slow, jump high or low. Sometimes we freeze which means STOP. This is a very fun activity to do at home with moms and dads, brothers and sisters, or grandmas and grandpas. Don't forget to say GO and STOP (which in this case means freeze).
