Happy Holidays!

We had lots of fun today doing holiday crafts, exchanging gifts, and singing Christmas carols in the gym with the rest of the school!

 I hope you all have a relaxing holiday with your families! See you on Jan 6, 2020.

Occupational Therapy Holiday Ideas

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share some OT holiday ideas that was shared with me. Enjoy!

Making Christmas Merry and Bright for Individuals with ASD

Check out this blog post from the Autism Awareness Centre on how to manage the holidays with a child who has autism:

https://autismawarenesscentre.com/making-christmas-merry-and-bright-for-individuals-with-asd/?utm_source=Autism+Awareness+Centre+Email+List&utm_campaign=25bd0aad51-Monthly_Book_Blast_June6_17_2013_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3ea35006c7-25bd0aad51-90245713&mc_cid=25bd0aad51&mc_eid=bbc0a9ec10

Learning update: Dec 15

One more week of school left until the holidays! Last week the students enjoyed playing outside in the beautiful snow. This week we have lots of exciting things happening everyday:

Monday- crazy or ugly sweater day
Tuesday- favourite holiday colour day
Wednesday- holiday hat or clothing day, fun lunch, carols in gym @ 8 am
Thursday- pajama day, carols in gym @ 8 am

A reminder that there is no school on Friday, and classes resume on Monday, January 6. I hope you all have a restful and relaxing holiday!

Learning update: Dec 11

For our school's Winter Celebration Evening, the students created a piece of art on Monday that will be displayed in the gym tonight. The students worked together to create a Christmas tree by placing painted handprints on paper in the shape of a tree. Then they decorated the tree with lights by dipping their fingers in paint and putting dots all over the tree. I hope to see some of you at our event this evening!

Today we made sugar cookies with the students and decorated them. Check your child's backpack for a cookie they brought home to share with their family members!

Learning update: Dec 6

It's hard to believe it's already December! This past week in our literacy block we read a Christmas themed book with the students called "Emmett the Elf Wraps Presents". This is an adapted book, which means it has been modified to make it more accessible for students who may have difficulty engaging with typical/traditional books. In this particular book, students can take pictures from the book off a choice board and place them on the pages. The students were able to find the right present from the choice board to place it in the box on the appropriate page. This activity also allowed for turn-taking and participation in the reading process for all students. Then we used our predictable chart writing process to write sentences about what we want for Christmas. Check out the list below if you still need ideas for your child!

We also had lots of fun this week practicing decorating Christmas trees. We did some crafts and decorated a large felt tree as well as our own classroom tree.

Next week we will be creating an art display for the upcoming Family Winter Celebration (Dec 11). Hope to see you all there!

Autism Awareness Centre Inc.

If you don't already, you should subscribe to the email list for the Autism Awareness Centre Inc. website. They can send you information about local conferences and training, books, products, recent articles, and more. They're based out of Calgary and run by a mother to two children (now adults) with autism. Check out the following article recently posted about literacy and reading that is very relevant for our students:

https://autismawarenesscentre.com/setting-foundation-literacy-skill-development/

Eni & Danny watching the iPad together today