God made me!

Well actually we are looking at "God made me special" Original inspiration came from Toddleriffic, and their session title is "God made me precious" and whilst this is true, it is rather a difficult word for little people and a little pretentious. We will be thinking about how God made each one of us in the context of the creation story. But I'm supplementing it with this book I simply love the above book and am using this as a basis for the session.

We will be saying and actioning this lovely rhyme from Toddlerific

I plan to set out a "station" for each sense/ body part, or a discreet activity to consider God creating us.

• God made me
• God made my eyes
• God made my ears
• God made my nose
• God made my mouth
• God made my hands
• God made my feet
• God made everybody

For each of the stations/ activity I will have these cards and will then use them to introduce the story of our creation.

Hooray for Fish

Matching words to pictures.

I simply love Hooray for Fish so simple, but wonderful illustrations and text!! I made these cards some time ago and they haven't been used for months then all of a sudden today- look! Don't you just love how you think something has past its use then all of a sudden it's used again.

Words and pictures all matched!

I love using props and pictures to accompany stories (particularly favourites) and find they are so useful for extending and engaging involvement in the story. You can download my story cards from TES Connect.

There is a video available on youtube of this wonderful story too!

Pizza Parlor

This is a really successful activity making pizza from wicker coasters (really cheap kind) and funky foam toppings. Menus drawn to create easy order ingredients list, enhancing early reading. Great to support children who find more complex imaginative play difficult for example those with autism or to develop spontaneous play. Included in this example a few additional resources to enhance the play, but of course plenty more are available in the play kitchen.

Sometimes (as in this example) it can be beneficial to set up such an opportunity away from usual environment to encourage children to try new things or extend their play. Then at a later date place it into the regular environment.

Download printable menus from alljoinin.net

"Culture arises and unfolds in and as play." John Huizinga

Apple Counting

"Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in the seed." Robert H Schuller

This quote was used for a previous post about the apple and worm position matching, when reading it back it inspired an idea for a counting activity. Matching apples with numerals on to an apple with the correct amount of pips.

Download Activity from TES

"I have to get inspired by something that touches my soul, or rocks my soul."Steven Tyler

Five Little Men

Number rhymes can be great to encourage children to engage in using number words in correct order and developing an understanding of "take one" "one less" (most are minus). Using props alongside rhymes will encourage children to fully understand the mathematical concepts and aid transference to spontaneous use and experimentation play, especially if props are freely available during play.

Props can be made from everyday items, with or for children, or simply gathered from environment. Props are particularly suitable for children who need support in maintaining attention and or need support with receptive (understanding) language, such as those with Autism, Speech and language disorders, hearing impairments, visual impairments or English as and additional language.

These Props were simply made by covering a cylindrical tub in foil, sticking to a CD. Alliens made by cutting out shapes from funky foam and sticking to CD's to attach to flying saucer.

Printable props and words can be downloaded here.

"The only thing better than singing is more singing." Ella Fitzgerald

Sensory Play

I love sensory play!! (Except Mashed Potato, and possibly tinned peas mashed, if you introduced me to this you know who you are!!!) Anyway, it has so many benefits, to name a few:

• Encourages creativity, there is no particular purpose so motivation, engagement and play is entirely intrinsically motivated and is process driven rather than product.
• Children often feel confident to experiment when there is no obvious adult directed purpose.
• It can be therapeutically engaging, relaxing or releasing aggression (e.g. large amounts of playdough)
• It can help alleviate anxiety around getting messy (including difficulties around eating/ mealtimes) if handled sensitively.
• Encourages imaginative play, so often shaving foam becomes food, spaghetti becomes...
• Teaches children about properties of materials and if children are included in the setting up of several types of sensory play materials e.g. cornflour (cornstarch to American friends) and water, children will learn about changes.
• Supports early communication skills e.g. Ready, steady...splash, requesting more or rejecting as case may be.
• Supports descriptive language development particularly creative, rhyming, onomatopoeic and alliterative vocabulary e.g. squelchy, melchy; squiggly, squirmy, spaghetti.
• But most of all it is inclusive, it engages all at equal levels.

One thing to note though is that some children are defensive to sensory materials this is particularly common in children with Autistic spectrum disorders, visual impairments and specific diagnosis of sensory processing disorders. When children have difficulties in this area it is important to present sensory opportunities sensitively e.g. incorporating interests: Thomas is the snow (shaving foam), presenting in small quantities, providing tools to reduce need to touch in initial stages, supporting child with hand under hand approach (rather than over), presenting messy materials in ziplock bags etc.

Regarding children with severe visual impairment it is important to remember that touch can be their "vision", therefore reticence to engage in messy play can be due to this interfering with their ability get precise touch feedback from thier environment (like fogging up ones glasses when opening the oven). Also their fingers are likely to be extra sensitive, when this is the case start with dry sensory materials and again present in small quantities.

I have created a Sensory Play booklet of ideas, to download Sensory Fun click here.

Preschool Education also have a nice range of ideas (be aware of risk assessing some of the ideas, using common sense).

"Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play" Heraclitus (Greek Philosopher)

Duplo cards

Older kids often love those lego sets where you follow instructions. Why shouldn't little ones too. Great for following visual instructions (early reading) and identifying position and colours and following pattern (numeracy and reasoning). Also great as play cue cards to assist children with Autism who find open ended activities and free play difficult. Also good for use in structured workstation situation (TEACCH).

Also great to support children to communicate with each other by giving each child a card and a shared box of bricks, on their turn they ask other child to give them a specific brick. Encourages colour and size language, which also lend it to a good PECS activity when teaching attributes.

Make your own cards by photoing creations or printing cards, from alljoinin printables.

Black and white cards for you to colour or for children to create own.

Colour cards.

"We must have reasons for speech but we need none for silence." Proverb

Thomas the Tank

Thomas the Tank is popular with so many young children. Add Autism to the picture and often it's even more popular! I have actually had friends say to me "Well he doesn't like Thomas so he can't be autistic?", Obviously not true but it is certainly very common. Which makes activities and resources with a Thomas theme particularly useful when extending and promoting children's learning, which will include all children who like Thomas.

So here's a few ideas to get you started:

1. Create a box/ bag full of Thomas resources, as above (the paper, scissors, crayons and hole punch are for making tickets)
2. Paint a cardboard box blue and add features of Thomas for encouraging imaginative play, make another box to be one of his friends so you can engage in paralel/ joint imaginative play.
3. Collect Thomas wrapping paper and use to encourage children to use scissors.
4. Collect or save Thomas birthday cards, cut up into simple jigsaws that perfectly meet the child's ability (laminate before cutting for durability)
5. Use train track for stage one PECs with the child requesting pieces of track, later on a child can request individual engines using attributes e.g. "I want red train"
6. Use Thomas to model positional language e.g. "in tunnel" "on track" "up bridge"
7. Introduce little people to encourage extension of imaginative play.
8. Create engine sheds out of boxes painted the same colour as the engines and match engine's to thier correct shed. For further extension draw dots on sheds for children to match the numbered engine to the correct shed.
9. Play Thomas lotto, made bought or download card from TES.
10. Match pictures/ toys of engines to correct numbers, download cards from TES.
11. Create Thomas using this cut and stick activity, download from TES.
12. Recreate Thomas in this cut and stick puzzle activity, download from TES.
13. Stick laminated pictures of engines (or carriages for Thomas) onto pegs, attach to think piece of elastic/ card to make a number line (incorporating fine motor skills)
14. Find some pull back or wind up Thomas' so you can use for anticipation and early communication saying "Ready...steady...." pausing for child to indicate go.
15. Match engines/ pictures to correct colour cards/ words, simple download available at TES

"The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest." Albert Einstein

Position matching

I found this wonderful activity at www.ittybittylove.blogspot.com which inspired me to create pritables for you to re create this activity without any drawing skills. I must admit though I do prefer the cutouts in felt. Consider also using the cards for lotto.

Download cards and cutouts

"Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in the seed." Robert H Schuller