Outreach Story Time: Thanksgiving and Food

We’re once again offering sensory story time at Wing Lake Developmental Center monthly! It’s a good Friday when we get to visit, especially when we see our regulars. They asked for November’s theme to be related to Thanksgiving, food, and families.


1. Hello (Talk about the visual schedule.)

2. Talk about theme: Today, we are talking about a holiday coming up this month when we get together with our family and friends: Thanksgiving! What is your favorite thing about Thanksgiving? What food do you look forward to at dinner time?


3. Story: There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey by Lucille Colandro

We used props with this book! We have an Old Lady puppet that you can put things in, so we printed out and laminated the objects in the book for the puppet to “eat” while reading the book.


4. Flannel Rhyme: Two Little Turkeys

Two little turkeys sitting on a hill
One named Jack, one named Jill
Fly away Jack, fly away Jill
Come back Jack, come back Jill

Unfortunately, we forgot the flannel board, but we each held a felt turkey and moved them behind our backs and back in front.


5. Story with Sensory Experiences: Rah, Rah, Radishes!: A Vegetable Chant by April Pulley Sayre

This is a great story to use for sensory experiences because all you need are vegetables! There are a lot of different veggies in this book, so we tried to find some that had different textures and smells. We ended up with Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, corn on the cob (still in the husk), onion, kale, and asparagus.

 

6. Goodbye Song: If You’re Thankful and You Know It

If you’re thankful and you know it, clap your hands
If you’re thankful and you know it, clap your hands
If you’re thankful and you know it and you really want to show it
If you’re thankful and you know it, clap your hands
Additional verses: stomp your feet, shout “hooray”, do all three

7. Craft Activity: Dot marker turkeys. We provided turkey outlines printed on cardstock and dot markers for students to use after story time. Staff members took extra turkeys to give to students who couldn't attend story time.

A game changer for our outreach sensory story time visits is using a document camera for the books instead of an iPad. We're not limited to what's available as an e-book, and there's less room for error. We just hook up the document camera to the school's projector using an HDMI cable and we're good to go!

Outreach Sensory Story Time: Fall Open House

 

 

We were so excited to visit the Wing Lake Developmental Center for our first visit since the "before times!" Our new Assistant DH, Lauren, and I updated a previous story time plan from 3 years ago and presented this sensory story time for Wing Lake's Fall Open House in late October, and we are thrilled to have monthly visits scheduled there in the coming months. 

Here's the plan:

1. Hello (Talk about the visual schedule)

2. Talk about theme: "Today we are having fun with things that we experience in the fall! What do you like about fall? (Colorful leaves, apples and cider mills, Halloween) For their Fall Open House, students and their families were invited to wear costumes for some Halloween activities throughout the evening. So we also talked about our costumes and what we find around Halloween time (scarecrows, pumpkins, trick or treaters).

3. Story: Scarecrow, Scarecrow, What Do You See? by Lisa Erwin, SLP

This is an adapted book with interactive images. I enlarged this book and interactive image pieces to poster-size, looped ring clips through the top and attached it to our portable easel to flip through.

(source: My Speech Tools)

4. Flannel rhyme: Apples Juicy, Apples Round (tune: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)

In addition to putting flannel apples in red, green, and yellow on our board, Lauren and I also brought in red, green, and yellow apples to pass around for students and their families to see, feel, and smell.

Apples juicy, apples round,

On the tree or on the ground.

Apples yellow, green, and red,

Give us pie and juice and bread.

Apples juicy, apples sweet, 

Apples are so good to eat!

(source: unknown)

5. Sensory Story: Full of Fall by April Pulley Sayre

Another fantastic picture book from Sayre with beautiful photograph illustrations of outdoor fall scenes and simple narrative. We projected the eBook version on a large screen for better visual accessibility and also passed around different colorful leaves, twigs, and bark to better experience the story and illustrations with our senses of sight, touch (the different textures of the leaves and bark), smell, and hearing (the crinkle of the leaves).

6. Goodbye Song: "If You're a Monster and You Know It" (tune: If You're Happy and You Know It)

If you're a monster and you know it,

wave your arms.

If you're a monster and you know it,

wave your arms.

If you're a monster and you know it,

then your arms will surely show it.

If you're a monster and you know it,

wave your arms.

Additional verses: show your teeth, roar out loud

(source: preschooleducation.com)

7. Craft activity: Apple Trees (blue construction paper, green circle, strip of brown construction paper, glue sticks, and bingo dauber markers)

Outreach: "Animals in the Winter"

Ed and I visited one of our outreach favorites last week! We love bringing our multi-sensory story time programs to the students at the Wing Lake Developmental Center, a year-round school that serves students, ages 3 - 26 years, in Oakland County with severe cognitive impairments (SCI) and severe multiple impairments (SXI). We try to provide as many sensory experiences as we can, so students with visual disabilities, motor difficulties, and other developmental disabilities can truly engage with the story time.

This visit focused on what animals do in the winter time. We chose to read Kate Messner's Over and Under the Snow, a picture book with so many wonderful sensory opportunities!

Here's our plan:

1. Hello (Talk about our picture schedule)

2. Talk about our theme: Animals in the Winter

"Today we are learning about what animals do in the winter time. What do you do in the winter? Do you like the cold? Snow? What do you like to eat when it is cold outside? Do you feel more sleepy, like some animals do?

3. Mindfulness exercise: "(Hibernating) Bear Breath"

Close your eyes and imagine you are a bear going inside your cave to get ready to sleep all winter.

Take a nice, deep breath in for 5 seconds (1,2,3,4,5) and then hold for 3 seconds (1,2,3).

Now breathe out for a count of five seconds (1,2,3,4,5) and then hold for 3 seconds (1,2,3).

Let's repeat.

Now open your eyes and notice how relaxed you feel, like that sleepy bear.

(source: Yoga Pretzels)

4. "(Where is) Sleepy Bear?"

Use two hands or two fingers and sing to tune of "Where is Thumbkin?"

Where is bear? Where is bear?

Here I am. Here I am.

How are you this winter?

Very tired, thank you.

Go to sleep. Go to sleep.

Say "Wake up bear!" and repeat

(source: Preschool Education)

5. Story with sensory experiences: Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner

Projecting this story on the big screen, which is available in eBook format on OverDrive, helps our large groups to see the story better. We can also be hands-free to read and describe the illustrations while bringing all of our sensory experiences around to each student, with the help of teachers and aides in the room:

Page spread with owl and shrew

Rattling leftover leaves (rustling leaves in bags for each student to hear)

Sound of great horned owl (make owl sounds with students)

Tiny shrew following tunnel along the moss... (lift-the-flap touch/feel box covered in white flannel with moss and shrew/mole puppet inside for each student to see, touch, feel)

Page with deer mice under the snow

Mice cuddling up against the cold in a nest of feathers and fur (small baskets lined with "furry fabric" and feathers, with small mouse finger puppet to touch/feel)

Page with snowshoe hare under tree

Snowshoe hare smoothing her fur (pieces of white artificial "fur" to touch/feel)

Page with two beavers under the snow

Beavers gnawing on aspen bark (pieces of tree bark to touch/feel and smell)

Page spread with fox leaping over the snow

He heard a scritch-scritch-scratching along underneath (rustling cups of pea gravel around the students so they can hear the little mouse under the snow)

Page spread with full moon

A full moon lights my path to supper... (dimming the lights and shining bright daylight lamp to shine the "moonlight" for everyone to experience)

Page spread with bear under the snow and cross country skiing parent and child coming upon a bonfire over the snow with hot cocoa

(cups of hot cocoa brought near each student to smell the delicious aroma)

Page spread with feathery-soft snow flakes falling

(bowls of artificial snow brought to each student to touch/feel)

6. Song: "Sprinkle, Sprinkle, Little Snow" with ASL sign for snow

tune: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Sprinkle, sprinkle, little snow

falling down on us below.

Small and white and powdery,

such a joy for all to see.

Sprinkle, sprinkle, little snow

falling down on us below.

(source: Preschool Education)

7. Sensory activity: "Animals in winter" sensory bags 

We had some of our volunteers pre-draw the outline of a tree and the ground level on gallon-size ziplock bags and use our di-cut machine to cut out owl, squirrel, and mouse shapes from foam. We gave each student one of these bags along with 3 scoops of our artificial snow, and then we added the animal shapes. Teachers and aides helped us to close up the bags so students could "smoooosh" the snow inside and move the animals around over and under the snow. We talked about which animals from the story (mice, squirrel) go over and under the snow and which animals stay above the snow (owl).

Outreach: "Springtime Science"

My Adult Services colleague, Ed, and I brought a little multi-sensory spring science lesson to students at the Wing Lake Developmental Center just before Summer Reading started. As I have mentioned before, Wing Lake is a year-round school that serves students, ages 3 - 26 years, in Oakland County with severe cognitive impairments (SCI) and severe multiple impairments (SXI). Often times cognitive disabilities are associated with a younger developmental age. Please read this fantastic post about mental age theory by S. Bryce Kozla i-have-mind-of-infant-mental-age-theory.html. Even though a person with cognitive disabilities may have difficulties with the complexities of language, comprehension, and other developmental skills, it is important to recognize and respect their physical age. Because there is a wide age span of the students here, we do our best to select activities, songs (which are always a hit here!!), and books that are age-respectful. These age-respectful picture books have simple, clear language and illustrations that will appeal to all ages. Books with photograph illustrations are especially great. April Pulley Sayre is one of my favorites!

Here is what we did:

 



1. Hello! (Talk about Picture Schedule)

2. Talk about our theme: Spring Science

"Today we are having fun with things that we experience in the spring. What are some things you notice outside in the spring? (flowers, birds, leaves growing on trees...)

3. Yoga pose: "Sunrise"

4. Song: "Spring Song" 

Tune: "London Bridge"

Leaves are growing on the trees,

on the trees,

on the trees.

Leaves are growing on the trees.

It is springtime.

Additional verses:

All the grass is turning green...

See the birds build their nest...

Smell the flowers as they grow...

(source: preschooleducation.com)

5. Story: Bird Builds a Nest by Martin Jenkins (I love this new "A First Science Storybook" series!)

We incorporated some fun multi-sensory experiences to help students understand some basic science concepts introduced in the book. As we read the book, scanned and projected onto wall screen, Ed and I (along with the teachers and teaching aids) used stretch bands with each student, introducing the concept of "pushing and pulling," as the bird does when attempting to pull a worm out of the ground. We brought around different size twigs to demonstrate "heavy and light" like bird does when finding branches for her nest, and also dropping them (as the mother bird sometimes does) to demonstrate "gravity and force." We also brought feathers, grass, and a bird's "nest" for students to touch and feel.

6. Puppet rhyme: "Owl in the Tree" (using various bird puppets)

Tune: "Skip to My Lou"

Owl in the tree goes, "Hoo, hoo, hoo."

Owl in the tree goes, "Hoo, hoo, hoo."

Owl in the tree goes, "Hoo, hoo, hoo."

Early in the evening.

Other verses:

Babies in the nest go "tweet, tweet, tweet..." "...all day long"

Duck in the pond goes "quack, quack, quack..."  "...all day long"

Rooster in the yard goes "cock-a-doodle-do..."  "...early in the morning"

(source: unknown)

7. Story: Thank You, Earth by April Pulley Sayre

Again, we took around some sensory engaging experiences to each student while reading this book: vines, sunflowers, and carrots to touch and smell. And don't forget to describe the beautiful illustrations for students who are blind or have low vision!

8. Song: "This Land" (with hand motions)

Tune: "This Land is Your Land"

This land is your land.

This land is my land.

Let's work together,

to make it better.

From tall green forests,

to clear blue waters,

this land depends on you and me!

(source: preschooleducation.com)

9. Craft activity: "Coffee filter planet earth"

We used coffee filters, earthy-tone dot markers, water spray bottles, and plates to create our very own planet earth!

Outreach: STEM Sensory Story Time at the Science Center

I was invited to be an advisor on the Super Spark accessibility committee at the Michigan Science Center last year. I volunteered as a guide during one of the Super Spark Special Needs Awareness Weekends and later met with museum staff and local disability advocacy group leaders to consult on ways to make the museum more accessible and welcoming to families of all ages with disabilities. Check out their accessibility page:http://www.mi-sci.org/accessibility/. They also offer visitors with sensory sensitivities a color-coded sensory map, indicating areas with especially loud sounds and bright, flashing lights. The museum offers accessible days geared to families with special needs one Sunday a month and accessible field trip days for special education groups the second Tuesday of the month. A couple months ago, Ed and I were invited to present a STEM-themed multi-sensory story time to a group of students with various learning disabilities in grades 4 - 6 on one of the field trip days. We went with an Engineering & Inventions theme to go along with what they were learning that day.

Here's the plan:

1. Hello -- "Today we are talking about engineering and inventions. Have you ever built something? What is your favorite invention?"

2. Mindfulness exercise: "Balloon breaths"  -- holding our imaginary balloon, take deep breaths and blow up your balloon until it's "so full," then release it (repeat).

3. Activity rhyme: "Building a Skyscraper"

Brick by brick

by brick by brick.

My building's so high

it's scraping the sky.

(place fists one on top of the other, going higher each time)

Brick by brick

by brick by brick.

My building will sway

when the wind blows this way.

(sway left, then right)

Brick by brick 

by brick by brick.

Now I'm ready to stop 

and a flag goes on top.

(open one fist and wave left and right)

(Source: Reedy, Polly 1001 Rhymes & Fingerplays)

4. Story: Dreaming Up: a Celebration of Building by Christy Hale

We scanned and projected this story on their big screen for this large group and added sensory experiences from the story -- touching water and clay (like the village in Egypt made from the four basic elements of earth, water, sun, and air), inviting a few students up to make a fort with blankets and chairs (similar to the design of the Yoyogi National Stadium in Japan), building with Legos (to look like the housing complex in Montreal, Canada), and passing around paper tubes (imagining a whole school made from larger, heavier versions like the temporary paper tube school in China).

5. Interactive flannel activity: Building with flannel shapes

We kept the building theme going, inspired by the book Moving Blocks by Yusuke Yonezu and a Flannel Friday post from Storytime Katie and Mel's Desk. 

We invited volunteers up to design a car and a rocket ship with our flannel shapes. Here's the rocket ship.

6. Story: Imaginative Inventions by Charise Mericle Harper

We chose a few of the invention spreads in the book that we thought the students might really enjoy and added some fun sensory experiences: 

1. potato chips (We offered everyone a chip to taste of course!)

2. frisbee (The very large theater was a great space to throw and catch the frisbee with a few volunteers.) 

3. doughnut (We didn't taste, but smelled the wonderful cinnamon aroma!)

4. flat-bottomed paper bag (Kids passed around a paper grocery bag from today's grocery store.)

5. chewing gum (Yes -- everyone got a piece of gum to chew. This was a favorite!)

7. Goodbye song: "The Inventor Song"

Oh it took Bell to make the telephone ring,

And it took Edison to light up our way.

It took Robert Fulton in a steamboat,

to go chug-chug-chugging down the bay.

Otis made the elevator go up,

McCormick's reaper reaped the rye.

So when you're spelling the word inventor

don't forget to dot the I!

Richard Hoe improved the printing press,

so we could get the news.

Charles Goodyear made the rubber

for the heels upon our shoes.

So if you talk about a new invention.

Incidentally don't forget to mention...

That it took Morse to make the telegraph hum

and it took Henry Ford to make an auto 

so that folks could go and take a drive.

Howe knew how to make a sewing machine.

The Wrights learned the right way to fly.

So when you're spelling the word inventor

don't forget to dot the I!

(adapted from classic school song)

We received so much positive feedback from the teachers the next day. I'm not sure who had more fun though - the students or us?!

Outreach: "Mid-Fall Favorites" Sensory Story Time

Ed and I were back at Wing Lake Developmental Center today and we brought some "mid-fall favorites" with us. We visited two groups of students, ages 3 - 26 years, with multiple disabilities. To ensure visibility for everyone, many in wheel chairs or specially adaptive seating, we scan the books and project them from a laptop.

Here's the plan:

Welcome: "Let's talk about things that happen in the fall. What do you like about the fall? (cider mills? cider mill donuts?!) Look out the window. What is happening to the leaves on the trees outside? Do you like the cooler air? What holiday is coming up next week? (Thanksgiving! What's your favorite food at Thanksgiving dinner?)"


Song: "The Leaves on the Trees"
(tune: "Wheels on the Bus")
The leaves on the trees turn orange and brown,
orange and brown, orange and brown.
The leaves on the trees turn orange and brown all over town.

The leaves on the trees come tumbling down,
tumbling down, tumbling down.
The leaves on the trees come tumbling down all over town.

The leaves on the ground go swish, swish, swish
swish, swish, swish
swish, swish, swish.
The leaves on the ground go swish, swish, swish
all over town.
(source: sunflowerstorytime.com)

Story: In the Middle of Fall by Kevin Henkes
One of my new favorite fall stories! Beautiful "age respectful" illustrations and a simple story, with many points to add sensory experiences, made this a great choice for these students. We brought in a plush squirrel (to feel the frisky squirrel's tail), pumpkins (from the pumpkin patch), apples (the ones hanging in the tree "like ornaments"), dry leaves (from the leaf pile that the girl and her dog were playing in), and bags of artificial snow (that the squirrel sees falling outside his tree at the end). We take these items around to each student to touch/feel/smell. Some students have low or no vision, so these tactile and scented experiences (we loved smelling the apples!) make the story more engaging and help to reinforce comprehension. As we are reading, we also describe the illustrations in the story so everyone can "see."

Flannel rhyme: "Five Little Leaves"
Five little leaves so bright and gay
were dancing about on a tree one day.
The wind came blowing through town
and one little leaf came tumbling down.
(keep counting down until all leaves have fallen)
(source: unknown)


Non-fiction picture book: Thanksgiving by Rebecca Pettiford
This simple picture book has great photograph illustrations of all the things we might see/hear/taste at Thanksgiving!


Song: "If You're Thankful and You Know It"
If you're thankful and you know it, clap your hands.
If you're thankful and you know it, clap your hands.
If you're thankful and you know it,
then your face will surely show it.
If you're thankful and you know it, clap your hands.
(can repeat with other actions, depending on audience abilities)

Sensory craft: "Squished paint autumn trees"
We drew tree outlines on gallon-size sealable bags, squeezed drops of fall-colored, washable tempera paints inside and sealed the bags. Students loved "smoooshing" and smoothing the squishy colors inside to turn their tree into a beautiful autumn tree. This is a great craft for all abilities.
(source: Crafts on Sea)

Outreach: Gardening Sensory Story Time

Ed and I visited two groups of students at Wing Lake last month for a little summer-themed story time. The Wing Lake Developmental Center is a year-round school that serves students, ages 3 - 26 years, in Oakland County with severe cognitive impairments (SCI) and severe multiple impairments (SXI). We try to incorporate many multi-sensory experiences in our outreach here, so that each student is able to participate and enjoy the program. With our Read to Seed Garden at the library planted and growing nicely, we decided to bring a bit of the garden with us. Here's what we did:

Welcome: "Today we are learning about seeds, flowers, vegetables and other things that we see in the garden. What do you like about gardens? Do you like to smell the different flowers? Is there a vegetable that you like the most?"
Corn, broccoli, and potatoes seemed to be the favorites of the day.

Song: "This is the Way We Plant the Seeds" (Tune: "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush")
This is the way we plant the seeds
plant the seeds, plant the seeds.
This is the way we plant the seeds so early in the morning.
(continue with "water the seeds," "pull up the weeds")

Story: Plant the Tiny Seed by Christie Matheson
This is a nice, interactive story with many multi-sensory opportunities. (We wiggled our fingers to "add some water" - we brought around eyedroppers full of water to let everyone experience the drop of water from the "watering can" in the story. We worked on making our bzzzzing sound when we brought around a bee puppet to everyone, and gave everyone the chance to touch the blossoms from the story when we brought around a couple of flowering plants for the students to touch and feel.)

Flannel Rhyme: "Five Pretty Flowers"

Out in the garden,
growing in the sun,
were five pretty flowers,
and I picked ONE!
(count down until none are left)


Story: Rah, Rah, Radishes!: a Vegetable Chant by April Pulley Sayre
We brought along some veggies for everyone to touch, feel, and smell when we read this story! The garlic was a big hit!

Song: "Up Pop the Flowers!" (Tune: "Pop! Goes the Weasel")
We plant some seeds in the dirt. (Pretend to plant seeds - covering hand with the other hand.)
The rain falls in a shower. (Raise arms and wiggle fingers downward.)
The Sun comes out, and what do you know? (Hold arms in a circle.)
UP pop the flowers! (Lift arms up.)

Craft/Activity: We decorated small cardboard pots, added some dirt, and planted sunflower seeds. Gardening, whether done in the ground outside or in containers/raised beds, is a great activity for everyone of all ages that builds motor skills, understanding of the cause/effect concept, and gives you the satisfaction of pride and accomplishment no matter what your abilities are.