Lotus

Good morning, everyone!

 

Clover Class have recommended a fantastic shortbread recipe that they followed last week. There are only 3 ingredients and you can make these by hand if you don't have a food mixer, and make small balls and squash them flat by hand if you don't have a rolling pin or cutters.

 

The children loved adding their favourite smell to the recipe out of a choice of 3 and rolling the dough with help and choosing the cutters. Ideas for different flavours are in the recipe.

 

Wishing you a merry Christmas!

 

Lotus Class Team

Hello pupils, (parents and carers),

We hope that you are all well at this time.  We are going to be accessing school activities in different ways over this term. We will provide links to websites that we feel may be useful, and add activities you can do at home on class closure days.  Our topic this term is Rumble in the Jungle. so you may want to listen to jungle animal songs on Youtube, role play being the different animals, and play with any toy animals you may have.

Please contact us through our class email:  lotusclass@ladyziawernher.primaryluton.co.uk

You can send us pictures of your home learning activities, ask questions and add comments. 

I will be checking this email each week and will try to respond to your messages as soon as possible. 

Stay safe.

Nicki and Lotus Class team

Each day we start with some routine activities which offer opportunities for communication, interaction and engagement.   We sing our “good morning” song to each pupil and they would  normally respond by pressing the pre-recorded switch to say “good morning”, making a sound or smiling at the lead adult.  You may want to offer your hand for them to shake, repeat a noise that they make or acknowledge a smile and then thank them for their interaction.

Both of these songs can be shared on a daily basis with your child. 

In Lotus class, we have been working on independence skills so please do continue to encourage your child to do as much as possible with minimal support.  Model activities, show them how to use or play with a toy, start something as a joint venture and then reduce your input to allow them to flourish.  Repeat activities and encourage more independence or focus each time. 

Give your child choices from two or more when offering toys, snacks, drinks, colours if doing a painting activity.  If your child has a communication book, they may have snacks and colours included.  Encourage them to use their preferred communication method. 

Sensory Circuits

 

Many children with autism have difficulty processing sensory stimuli and respond with unusual or atypical behaviours.

 

Sensory circuits provide an opportunity to experience a variety of physical activities to support children to achieve an appropriate state of alertness in a controlled setting.

 

The circuit  is a sequence of activities that provide the child with the right type of sensory input in order to calm, organise, or alert  them . This supports the child for the day ahead. The circuit consists of three sections  ‘Alerting’ ‘Organising’ and ‘Calming’ .

The circuit should take between 10 – 15 minuets. Some children may need more time on different activities.

 

 Please see the sensory circuits video below.

 

Section one - Alerting Stage

The alerting section of sensory circuits is to provide vestibular and proprioceptive stimulation within a controlled setting. This prepares and awakens the brain for learning.

 

Vestibular stimulation - The vestibular processing system plays an essential role in the relationship between our body, gravity and the physical world. It provides us with information about where our body is in space. It is responsible for informing us whether our body is stationary or moving, how fast it is moving, and in what direction.

Proprioceptive stimulation – Proprioception  is the sense of self-movement and body position. Where our body is in space, for example if you are stepping onto soft sand or hard concreate.

 

The alerting stage includes activities to make the head change direction rapidly i.e. bouncing, jumping spinning.

Activities at home

Jumping on a trampoline

Skipping

Bouncing or rolling on physio ball, space hopper, peanut ball.

Spinning (dizzy dinosaurs).

Log rolls

Hopping

 

Section Two - Organising Section

The organising section supports focus and concentration. This section provides motor sensory processing, balance and timing  that challenges the child. This enables the child to plan their approach and to do more than one thing at a time in a sequence or order .

 

Activities in school

Walk across the bench

Balance board

Stepping stones

Wiggle beam

 

Activities at home

Use coloured tape to create lines and zigzags on the floor  for your child to follow.

Use paper/card to cut circles to use as stepping stones.

Play tunnel – use  a children's play tunnel for your child to crawl through.

 

Section Three - Calming Section

The calming section  includes proprioceptive and deep pressure activities. The calming activities provide input to ensure the child leaves the circuit calm, centred and ready for the day ahead.

 

Activities you can do at home.

 

Encourage the child to lay on the floor/mat and roll a peanut ball/physio ball over them. This give the child a deep pressure massage.

 

Lying under a weighted blanket

 

Offering the child a deep pressure massage.

 

Benefits

Quiet , unresponsive children are more ready to engage.

Improves focus and attention

Improves communication skills

Development of physical skills, fine and gross motor skills

Children appear more calmer and attentive

Reduces anxiety

Improving coordination

Problem solving

 

If you require any more information or ideas to support your child in partaking in a form of sensory circuits at home please email ;

lavenderclass@ladyziawernher.primaryluton.co.uk

Fine motor skills activities

Fine motor activities can help children perform crucial tasks like reaching, grasping, and moving objects.  These activities can lead to your child having the ability to control and manipulate objects in their environment. Fine motor activities can progress your child to complete tasks like buttoning or zipping their coats, fastening their shoes, turning pages in a book, or mark making/handwriting. Below you will find some activities to try at home. These activities are using resources you can find in your home.

 

Use a colander and pipe cleaners.

Can you thread the pipe cleaners through the holes?

Can you pull the pipe cleaners out of the holes?

 

Use small building bricks to make a construction.

Can you push the bricks together and pull them apart?

How many bricks can you use to build a tower?

Can you selcted requested colours?

 

Use an old container and milk bottle lids for a posting activity.

 

Can you post the lids into the container?

How many can you post?

 

Use an old container and lolly pop sticks for a posting activity.

 

Can you pull the lolly pop sticks out of the container?

How many can you pull out?

Can you post the lolly pop stick in the holes?

How many can you post?

 

Play dough Bugs

 

What you will need:

Play dough (there is a guide in the resource pack of how to make your own play dough)

Googly eyes

Feathers

Lolly sticks

Pipe cleaners

 

Encourage your child to make a shape of a bug body, rolling the dough on a flat surface or in between their hands. Place the feathers, lolly sticks, pipe cleaners and googly eyes in front of your child and encourage them to make a choice. Support your child to push/place their choice of resources onto the play dough bug body.  You will find a video below of how to make a play dough bug

​​​​​​​Counting Songs 

• 5 Speckled frogs

 Corresponding video available on the lavender class page.

Play the video too your child, take off each frog in turn.

Play the video again, encourage your child to take off a frog in descending order alongside the video. You can offer your child hand over hand support initially and then gradually reduce the support as the song progresses.

Place the frogs into the blue shredded paper. Encourage your child to locate the hidden frogs. When your child locates a frog verbalise ‘frog’.

 

Five little Ducks

Five little ducks went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack"
But only four little ducks came back

One, two, three, four

Four little ducks went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack"
But only three little ducks came back

One, two, three

Three little ducks went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack"
But only two little ducks came back

One, two

Two little ducks went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack"
But only one little duck came back

One

One little duck went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack"
But none of the five little ducks came back

Sad mother duck went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack"
And all of five little ducks came back

Five little ducks went out to play
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack"
And all of the five little ducks came back!

 

 

The corresponding video is available at the bottom of lavender class page.

Play the video to your child, take off each duck in turn.

Play the video again, encourage your child to take off a duck in descending order. You can offer your child hand over hand support initially and then gradually reduce the support as the song progresses.

Place the ducks into the blue shredded paper. Encourage your child to locate the hidden ducks. When your child locates a duck verbalise ‘duck’.

Can you find the ducks?

How many ducks can you find?

Big and Small

 

Encourage your child to engage and encounter ‘big’ and ‘small’. You can support them to send and receive big and small cars and balls, you could encourage your child to stack bigger and smaller pieces of Lego together.

 

In the resource pack provided you will find big and small laminated bug/insects and fruit. Place the laminated resources into the shredded paper and encourage your child to explore the tray. When your child locates a big bug/insect/fruit verbalise ‘Big’ and when they locate a small bug/insect/fruit verbalise ‘small’. Some children may extend their exploration to place the corresponding resources to the big and small chart below