DIY: Fall/Halloween Fun Literacy Project

I had this idea today while I was at the pumpkin patch with my two preschoolers. Some concepts are hard to learn about in a book. There are several of them and one of them are pumpkins. I live in New England and every time this year, dozens of families flock to pumpkin patches and buy a variety of pumpkins to decorate their front yards & front doors. It is not uncommon to recognize the true presence of fall by noting all the pumpkins and bales of hay or cornstalks everywhere.



How do we bring the seasons and the items of the seasons to our students? Well, you can start by reading a fall or Halloween book. Then pile the family in the car and head out to a pumpkin patch and spend the day or at least the afternoon exploring the patch! I know that this is possible for everyone as I lived in Las Vegas and did this very project with my students who were deafblind.

APH has a fun pumpkin book that was a favorite in my classroom. The book is "The Littlest Pumpkin". In the book, they talk about the leaves on the vine for the pumpkins and lost of fun things. While at the patch, feel each of these and bring some home. You can make an experience book of the whole event!!

Do it at home: Take a moment and make a plan to learn about fall season activities. Pre-teach about heading out for your adventure by reading your fall book ("The Littlest Pumpkin")--you make have to read it a few nights to help set a foundation. Head out to the patch and collect items that are found in the book. Here are some ideas: hay, cornstalk, pumpkin vine leaves, corn kernals, pumpkin seeds, etc. If you get a pumpkin, make sure you get a small one, too so you don't have to lug a big, heavy pumpkin onto your child's lap to discuss. Make an experience book about the specific things you did at the patch or farm. Let your child place the pumpkin in its spot so they know where it goes in your home. You can also carve it and scoop the gutts out, bake the seeds and clean it up---a complete project!! Happy fall to all :)

My fave resource for teaching students who are deafblind

I can't believe I did not think of doing this sooner! I am sharing the link for Dr. Jan van Dijk for this post. When it comes to deafblindness, no one understand the beautiful, unique needs of deafblindness like van Dijk!

I had the honor of attending a conference on assessment with Dr. van Dijk at Perkins School for the Blind this past Monday. We had a special treat: we got to observe van Dijk work with a student for over an hour. It was awesome to watch how he assessed him, worked with him and then taught him.

Dr. van Dijk's approach is the method that I follow (and for that matter, what I think everyone should follow) when teaching deafblind children. I am not gonna even attempt in this post to summarize his strategies so I am posting several good links to learn more about Dr. van Dijk. Get a pen and paper and take some notes on this one!!


The official site of Dr. Jan van Dijk, http://www.drjanvandijk.org/
The van Dijk Approach to Child-Guided Assessment, www.tsbvi.edu/seehear/winter02/vnadijk.htm
Let Me Check My Calendar, www.tsbvi.edu/.../Let%20Me%20Check%20My%20Calendar.htm
Conversations without Language, www.tsbvi.edu/seehear/archive/conversation.html
Four Essential Strategies, www.tsbvi.edu/therapy/four.htm

DIY: Grocery store at home

Here's the pics of the grocery store that I created at my agency for one of my summer programs this past school year.

You can do this at home, too! Although I will say I collected 'garbage' in my cubicle for a few months to get it to fill an entire large cafeteria. You can do the same thing just on a smaller scale--maybe in your living room or basement!

Here's how to do it yourself:

1. Make a shopping list based on the item you have collected. I made them in Braille, large print and a picture list (below) for my non-reader students. You can also make a picture list for early childhood age students who are just learning how to recognize items. Make sure your pictures are clear, keep a cautious eye for background visual clutter.

2. Set up your grocery store. I set things up according to categories. I had a freezer section, dairy and aisles with similar items. I made sure that all the boxes & packages were in good condition. I taped down the flaps when needed. And I made rows & stacks just like in a regular grocery store.

3. I went to a local grocery store and asked for their signage so I could make sale labels throughout the store. I made sure they were in large print to make it easier for accessibility.

4. I also asked the local grocery store for old shopping baskets. As with everything in the grocery store, these are all real objects to teach about items.

Some items that are not pictured that I also had were:

-a checkout lane (I used a long table with plastic, paper & reusable bags). I was lucky enough to get a talking register to create a checkout lane.

-endcaps with endcap-type merchandise

-aisle signs. I made them on poster board with big black letters that said what was in each aisle and section

-cutsomer service desk. It was right at the entrance to the grocery store

-most important: grocery store workers!! A few of my teachers volunteered to help out with this module so they all wore aprons (which signified that they were workers) and were placed throughout the market. The students were able to access them if they needed help locating items. They also interacted with the workers at the customer service desk and checkout lanes.

Have fun creating your own grocery store or market. Before the students went to the market, we had an O&M mini-lesson about the grocery store. I will be posting O&M links with tips about mobility in another post.

Do it at home: Create your own grocery store or mini market! Collect all kinds of items that your child likes to eat (milk containers, egg cartons, cereal boxes, juice containers, etc.). Let your child explore them. If they have vision, let them tactually and visually check them out. After you have explored your home grocery store store, get out and explore a real store!

Quick Tips for Shopping Trips

Hi blogland,
Here is another of my favorite handouts that I created. Here are my favorite tips that I use when I go shopping to a department store-type with my students.

Quick Tips for Shopping

by Robbin Keating, VRT

Tips for asking for a personal shopping assistant:
 Introduce yourself and briefly explain your vision impairment. Don’t assume the person understands how to work with a person with a vision impairment.
 Plan what you need before you go to the store. Prepare a list if needed.
 Briefly explain what kind of help you will need and if you will require using a cart or basket.
 Know the brand names and specifics of what you want
 Know how to explain how to be guided (i.e. following closely or sighted guide assistance)
 Explain that the assistant will have to tell you the price, if there is a sale, or if there are similar products, etc.
 Know what your budget is and let the assistant know what you would like to spend. Keep a subtotal in your head (bring a calculator if needed).

Shopping for clothes:
 Explain that the assistant will have to tell you the price, if there is a sale, or if there are similar products, etc.
 Know your size of shirt, pants & shoes.
 Know the fabric and special features of clothes you would like. For example, cargo pants have large pockets.
 Be familiar with colors & patterns.
 Know what your budget is and let the assistant know what you would like to spend. Keep a subtotal in your head (bring a calculator if needed).

Receiving money back from purchases-
• Ask for money back one denomination at a time, for example: $5 first, singles second
• Know how the cashier is handing cash over, for example $15 dollars change means three 5 dollar bills or a $10 and a $5?
• Tell cashier politely that you need a moment to fold money
• If in a rush, make sure you sort out high denominations first (singles usually do not need to be folded therefore students can just place the in their wallets quickly)
• Use belly as a ‘folding table’ if needed

Do it at home: Role play with your child what they would say to a store worker. I tell my students that they need to always rememeber that they are dealing with sighted people and they don't get their needs.

Have your child tell the store worker three important things:
1) how they would like to travel (sighted guide or following closely)
2) Be clear and confidant about briefly explaining their vision impairrment (I am blind, I use a cane, etc)
3) Be clear on exactly what you need help on (I need you to read the labels...)

Lastly, stand back from your child when they are at the store. If you are close by, the worker will probably talk directly to you instead of your child. I let my students know that I am reading a magazine far away from them but close enough that I can help them if needed. Happy shopping!

Supermarket Sweep Lesson

I have played Supermarket Sweep when I do team up lessons with my mobility team. Each teacher takes a small group of students and starts in a different section of the store. Here's the basics of the game. Feel free to customize it and make it fit the needs of your students.

How to play Supermarket Sweep:
1. Divide into two groups (more if you need).
2. Make a list (in Braille or large print)*.

On the list, write down sections of the grocery store and one item from each section.

The goal of the game is for the students to go to each section and get the item.
3. Make sure that the lists are not identical (for example, one group gets French bread from the bakery while the other group has to get something different).

First group to get all the items and make it to check out wins!

*You can make a list using pictures for non-readers of any ability.

I take digital pictures of items and put it on a Word document.

I have an example of a picture list in the DIY: Grocery Store at Home post.

I truly do have a good time playing Supermarket Sweep with my students. I also feel that my students really pick up a lot of info and we all learn. This is a great game for classes and families.

Do it at home: Have a family CBI and head out to the grocery store!

Remember: start pre-teaching (or discussing) about the grocery store before you go, get prepared. Make sure your students read or look at their lists (picture of Braille/LP) before you play.

How To: Teach Concrete Concepts within the Grocery Store

Any vision professional will tell you that the vital part of teaching concepts for children with vision impairments is to use the real deal when explaining or teaching about it. That’s it—you have to use the real mccoy if you are gonna give your student an actual frame of reference about things. (There are two other critical concepts but I am gonna save that for another post—stay tuned!)

The grocery store is a treasure for all kinds of ECC skills. Here’s a sampling of skills our students can learn about at the grocery store:
1. Self advocacy
2. Mobility
3. Braille skills
4. Social
5. Daily living skills
6. Community skills

The grocery store is also a teaching place for all students and abilities. Here are my favorite concepts to work on within the grocery store. (My list can be a jumping off point to topics or starting points for teaching. You can, of course, customize it for your student).

1. Discuss what the grocery store is.
a. How does it differ from other stores like Target?
b. Is it a big place or a small place?
c. Sections of the store/layout
2. What does the grocery store sell?
a. Discuss items & specialties (bakery, deli, customer service, checkout)
3. Follow a grocery list
a. This is where you can make this a sequential teaching plan. For example, you want to make pasta so brainstorm where you would find each item.
4. Practice money exchanges & checkout skills
5. Take time to take items off the shelf or remove things from the freezer. Explore the aisles, endcaps, freezer cases, seafood section, etc.
6. Play “Supermarket Sweep” as a family or class*

These are concepts that will work for children who are deafblind, early childhood or school age. If you are going to use these concepts with typically developing older school age students, bump up the dificulty level. Give the students a longer shopping list, have them pay as independently as they can, etc.

Make sure that you do your best to teach this lesson as complete as possible. The lesson should begin before you go to the actual store. You should discuss how you are going to get into the store, pre-teach about what the grocery store is, use object symbols, have shopping lists and money in wallets to pay for transactions.

*I will give the directions for Supermarket Sweep in another post.

Do it at home: Start preparing for you community outing to the grocery store! Ask yourself: what does my child really know about grocery shopping? Remember that if you are going to have your child hold onto the cart, that you give them plenty of opportunities to interact. Nothing is learned while just walking behind a cart! Good luck!!