Mar./Apr. 2019

We have had a fun and busy few months! We continue to work on our expressive and receptive communication skills through play and practice. We are having a lot of fun exploring how we feel and all the different ways we can express ourselves. We started by looking at what it means to be happy, things and people we like and how to recognize happy feelings in others. We did this, by practicing with our ‘core’ and ‘feelings’ boards. We have been consistently referring to our ‘feelings’ boards throughout the day to practice expressing our own emotions as well as recognizing when others might feel happy, sad, mad, etc.

Currently, we are finishing the ‘waste and our world’ unit- we spent a few weeks exploring the importance of recycling, how and what to recycle and where to find different types of recycling bins around our school community. We really enjoyed the hands-on nature of this unit, as we were able to practice the skills we were learning on a daily basis. This unit included a ton of recycling activities: including recycling real materials, educational smartboard games and activities and moving around and exploring new parts of our school.
Next month, we will be getting a bit messy as we begin to explore the magical world of colours! This unit has a large sensory component as all of the learning will be very hands on- a great way to introduce the five senses, which we will explore in April. As always, we plan to have fun!
Thanks so much for checking in.

Dec. 2018

Wow!  We can’t believe December is already here.  The past few months have flown by and we are super excited to share all the fun things we have been up to.  This year our class consists of 6 amazing students and 3 wonderful EAs. Throughout the year, our class is and will continue to focus on three main areas of growth: communication/literacy, community, and functional academics.  We are focusing on expanding our communication by exploring Project Core- a communication system that allows students to express themselves in meaningful ways.  We have been consistently improving through practice and are learning how to navigate our world with more autonomy on a daily basis.  We have been getting to know our neighbors around the school and in the community.   We have all benefitted from expanding our networks, building friendships and practicing social skills.  Once or twice a week, we spend time learning about project core or listening to music with our friends in room 127. As far as academics, we are always learning lots of cool stuff.  We recently finished our unit on States of Matter, where we were able to play and get our hands dirty!  We are starting our Health unit on Feelings and Emotions this week where we will practice self-regulation strategies and look at the importance of mental health and self-care.

Thanks for checking in.