Spaghetti Textured Painting

One of the classes I work with was learning about Italy.  I combined spaghetti and the Italian flag.  Here is what we did.

Directions:

Cook the spaghetti the night before.  Add a little oil to keep it from sticking.  Refrigerate overnight.  I read The Longest Noodle before doing the activity.  Have the kids put a handful of spaghetti into two baggies (2 handfuls total).  Add one color of paint per bag.  Shake the bag to mix the paint and pasta.  Add more paint if necessary.  Put an 11 by 17 piece of heavy paper into the bottom of paper box top. Shake the box top or use utensils to move the spaghetti around.  Dump the excess spaghetti into the trash.  Some may stay attached but that is okay.  It adds texture to the finished product.  You could also add glitter to the paint.  Glow in the dark paint might be fun too.

Wax Paper Stained Glass for the Light Box

I have a few students who benefit from light box activities.  This activity can be created on the light box.  After it dries, it can be used with the light box.

Directions:

Draw a simple shape onto a piece of wax paper with a black permanent marker.  If the student can rip tissue paper, have him rip the paper into small pieces.  You can do this in advance and cut the paper into small squares. Spread enough glue to cover the shape.  Place the tissue paper pieces onto the shape.  It doesn't matter if you go over the edges because the shape will be cut out with scissors.  When the shape is completely covered with a single layer, cover the paper with glue.  I used thin lines because when you press the project together, the glue will spread.  Place another piece of wax paper on top of the glue.  Smooth the paper.  Allow the project to dry over night.  Cut out the project.

Here is a picture of the butterfly that I did with one group.  I also made an earth.  The outlines can be changed to match the curriculum.  (pyramid-Egypt, shapes-math, etc.)

Background Binder

Many students benefit from different backgrounds when presenting choices.  I created this binder for a specials teacher that works with many students.  She uses the shiny backgrounds when working with students who only visually attend to shiny things.  I included a black background and a few others.  I added the Velcro dots to the outside of the binder so that the backgrounds can easily slide into the binder.

Butterflies

My students created a book called "Where's My Mom?"  Each book had a textured caterpillar on the cover page.  The next two pages said, "That's not my mom."  The last page said, "That is my mom.  The goal is to match the "mom" butterfly to the caterpillar.  I used an Ellison Press to cut the butterflies and caterpillars from textured paper available from APH.  It was a good lesson for teaching the concepts - same and different.  If you present the caterpillar, matching butterfly, and a non-matching butterfly, the student can find the texture that is different.  I continued this way until the butterfly that was left was the "mom" butterfly.

We also made a butterfly from a coffee filter.  Some of my students painted their butterfly on the Mini-Lite Box from APH.  I used shiny pipe cleaners to make the antennae, and bright colored clothes pins for the body.  We used watercolor paints and brushes.  Try not to let the filter get too wet, or wait until it dries to add the antennae.  Wrap the pipe cleaner around the body, then twist.  I used plastic clothes pins, but you could use the wooden pins and paint them.

If you have a student with low vision or CVI (Cortical Visual Impairment), shiny pipe cleaners can be a quick way to highlight pictures or objects.  

Tactile Discrimination

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 I saw an activity like this on Pinterest, but I couldn’t find it again. I have learned to pin or like anything I want to see again. Pinterest is a great place to find ideas and save them with a picture to remember what you have saved. It is a visual list of your "favorites." Each picture is a link to the web page where you found the activity, idea, or picture.

One of the pre-braille skills students need to learn is to discriminate items or textures by touch.  

We have an abundance of long file folders in our office, so my goal was to make use of them.  I used the embosser to create dot hands and placed them on the folder.  I used also used 6 different textured papers/sheets. I placed one of each texture under the hand, then used a Velcro dot in the middle of the hand.  The Velcro on the back of the textured squares is larger to make it easier to stick it to the piece on the hand.  The object of the activity is to explore the texture under each hand and place its match in the hand. 

Weather

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I used the Rolling Right Along Construction Kit to create a book for a preschool student. The weather pictures are created using textured papers. Each type of weather has a different texture and shape. The student rolls the ball along the velcro path. The words of the class weather songs are included so the student can read or sing the words as he moves the ball across the pages.

Textured Snowmen

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I love snow and especially snow days, so this month some of my activities have centered around snowmen. I created this activity for my students who are blind or have low vision.

I created a snowman using QuickTac by Duxbury. This program allowed me to turn a picture into raised dots. If you do not have access to the program or an embosser (braille printer), then you could use white Wikki Stix or hot glue to make an outline. I pre-cut the hat, nose, and scarf from textured peel and stick papers.

We read a "touchy feely" Usborne book called That's Not My Snowman. The students explored the different textures in the book before making their own snowman.
The students made their color selections, and stuck the items to the paper. The students had to pinch and pull the cotton balls and glue onto the snowman. The students used markers to draw a mouth and color the bumpy eyes. The activity was great for exploring some of the attributes that are tested on the Virginia Alternative Assessment (VAAP).

Work Tasks

My caseload includes students with many disabilities. I made some work tasks for students with Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) and autistic characteristics. I focused on bright colors. Duct tape is available in many colors now. I found it at Target and Home Depot. I covered cardboard boxes with the bright tape, then added accents to the other components.

I included a switch that says, "I'm finished." The task on the right has an auditory component. The eggs are filled with fish tank gravel. Different "fillers" could be used to create different sounds. I found that with the water task, lighter "coins" floated to the bottom of the tube more slowly. I found some St. Patrick's Day Coins that floated nicely. The picture above shows poker chips which sink more quickly.

Halloween Activities

Here are some of the activities that I used with my students this month. After reading the book, we played a game. I didn't have a spinner so I used a picture cube. Students took turns rolling the cube. If they rolled something they didn't need, they lost their turn. The first one to complete their pumpkin face was the winner. The pumpkins are sparkly foam. I used Boardmaker pictures for the cube. I used foam circles for the eyes, seasonal pom poms for the nose and a foam mouth. The yellow tray made a great background for my students with visual impairments. Each student started by making a choice of pumpkin color.

The other activity pictured here is a sorting activity. Students had to decide if the gourd was bumpy or smooth. It is difficult to see here, but the augmentative communication devices has a bumpy texture on the button for bumpy.

Bright colors and textures not only help my students with visual impairments, but also add interest for all students.