At the Hoose, we have been working hard on our independent living skills. Over the last few weeks, we have focused on budgeting, washing windows and cleaning the house.
One of the things we have been focusing on this term has been making sure we are all feeling happy with all our classmates and teachers. So far we have done Yoga, gone for lovely walks, done some dance sessions, played outside and enjoyed chilling out at choice time. A special highlight of our day is our relaxation sessions just before we prepare to go home.
We have had a productive couple of weeks in Room 12.
One young man absolutely loved his new trike. It’s been quite a while since he’s been on one and he took to it like a duck to water. Chris Hoy needs to look out for competition!
We did some sensory art work. We did some spice painting. You can do this at home with whatever you have in your kitchen cupboards. Add spices/flavourings to different colours of paint. You can smell the paint, make pictures and in some cases see different textures of paint depending on what you use. We used vanilla flavouring, cinnamon, turmeric, chilli powder and ginger.
We also made some wool wrap leaves. We cut out some leaf shapes in cardboard (Amazon packaging comes in handy here!), making sure your leaves have jaggy or rounded edges. We used pastels to rub/colour in the leaves, then used wool to wrap around them. Some of us went extra fancy and did more than one colour of wool on our leaf.
Room 2 pupils all enjoy learning through play. On a Friday they have the freedom to choose what they want to play with. We observe our pupils confidently making their choices, playing alongside each other, observing the variety of play opportunities and selecting another activity to do, initiating communication and, most importantly, having fun.
Outdoor Learning: We took a walk around the school grounds and collected items as the children saw them. We came back to class to make ‘Natural Things’ panels, which you can see us making in the photographs. We will use these panels to decorate our outdoor area.
Making instruments in Science and Music: We are making our own xylophones, one of which can go outside as it has been made from drainpipes. We have rolled and used Sellotape, we have tapped to hear the different sounds we could make with our rolls. We have used string to make knots. We are going to use some of our own instruments in class music and see what difference size and volume can make to notes and pitch.#
In our life skills lessons we have been working on Personal Care Routines: personal grooming, looking smart, appointments at local services and finally a project. We chose to tie dye T-Shirts. We practiced with scrap material and blackberries first. Then we tie dyed T-shirts. It was so much fun we decided to dye bags too with the leftover inks. We then had to wash them all and hang them up to dry. We were so proud of our efforts we had an impromptu fashion show and paraded around the school showing off our creations. It was messy, but a lot of fun.
Room 16 have been using technology this term. We have had good fun!
One of us enjoyed the robot, another enjoyed using the laptop, while someone enjoyed laughing at all the activities.
We enjoyed Busy Things, loved using Bee Bots and played touch screen music programmes.
The pupils and staff in Room 9 have been very busy exploring and getting familiar with our local area. This has been great fun and we have found a wonderful new play area!
Our morning and afternoon nursery children at Howes Road have been very busy since starting Nursery this term. Many have been showing an interest in vehicles and we have been listening to stories and songs about cars, buses and other things that help us to move around. A favourite song is ‘The Wheels on the Bus’ and great fun has been had playing the desk bells which sound like the bell on the bus. Some children have been using vehicles in the paint and looking at their tyre tracks. Others have been exploring the paint with their fingers. The garage and toy cars have proven very popular as the cars go up and down ramps whilst some children have been exploring cause and effect steering wheel toys or completing puzzles.
We also made lots of playdough as part of a group and have been using transport cutters to make shapes of planes, cars, trains and motorbikes. Some have been rolling the playdough in their hands and squeezing it as it is lovely and soft.
We have had fun in the nursery garden, watering the flowers when it has been sunny and jumping in the puddles when it has been raining.
Just a reminder that the school is closed tomorrow, Friday 25th September and on Monday 28th September for the local holiday.
We look forward to seeing everyone back in school on Tuesday 29th September.
