Happy Lips

Yes, it really did snow a lot in central Virginia last week. We were out of school for 3 1/2 days--YEAH!!! Thought you'd enjoy seeing the snow and my personal "snowman" who kept us warm by faithfully stoking the woodstove several times a day.

Here are some photos of a fun activity we did recently with a group of 3-5 year olds in a class for preschool kids with varying abilities. The adults pre-cut happy lips and provided 2" x 8" strips of sturdy white paper with each student's name written in all caps, each letter separated by vertical lines. The students snipped apart the letters of their names, along with some extra snips for teeth. We provided extra strips of paper for making lottsa teeth.

Once the snipping was done the students glued the paper teeth to the back of the happy lips, turned over the lips and glued them to a black background paper. After this they arranged the letters to spell their names and glued the letters to the same background paper.

This activity was part of community helpers week and the session included reading a book about sleeping fireman, policeman, postman... and then having the students take turns sitting in a "dentist's" chair for an exam. Some of them were a little freaked out at the idea of laying back in the chair and having their friendly OT lady turn into a scary, white-coated medical professional. However, they all ended up asking for a turn when they saw that their braver classmates made it through the ordeal without suffering.

It's Still Christmas at My House

I've been feeling guilty about posting so little lately, but I should be back and writing in March. Have had my mom visiting since before Christmas and my life is all about work and coming home to appreciate her cooking, cleaning and yardwork at our house. She's 93 years old and going strong; can you repeat with me, "Well elderly"? Maybe you might like reading a little excerpt from her life which took place around Thanksgiving this year; to help explain one of the references--Ukrops is a family-owned grocery chain in our area and they are known for their excellent customer service.

'Til March I'll leave you with this:

Just before last Thanksgiving my Mom made one of her weekly trips to the nearby discount grocery store. We always tease that, even though we’re tough northerners, we need to strap on our ankle guards and elbow pads before we grab a cart because we’ve encountered several aggressive shoppers as we bump our way down the crowded aisles.

As she waited in her own long line to check out she struck up a conversation with a lady in the next line of checker-outers. Mom noticed the huge turkey in her new acquaintance’s cart, so the talk turned to Thanksgiving and meal planning and who knows what else. A keen observer of life, Mom noticed that the woman moved a little slowly as she advanced her cart in line, but she was shocked later to see how much difficulty she had placing her groceries on the conveyor belt.

Now, we don’t have Ukrops in Chicago and Mom wondered how in heck the lady was going to push her cart across the patchy sidewalk outside the store and then across the pot-holed parking lot to her car. So, Mom asked if she needed help and the lady smiled and said that someone from the store was going to help her. Knowing how unlikely that could be, Mom offered her services.

Envision this—my Mom pushing her own wobble-wheeled cart with her right hand, twisting slightly to pull the lady’s cart with her left hand—propelling her new friend forward as well--and heading out the door and down the sidewalk and slight ramp to the busy parking lot. After waiting a few minutes for the rude drivers to collect their senses enough to stop, Mom got fed up and let go of her cart in order to raise her hand in the air at an oncoming driver, then stepped into the street with a “Don’t you dare cross me” look on her face. Once satisfied that the drivers had really stopped, the little caravan of ladies and shopping carts proceeded across the road.

Once they reached the lady’s car Mom asked, “Where do you want the groceries,” then put them in place. I can only imagine what the lady was thinking as she drove home.
Mom says she doesn’t think about whether or not to help someone who looks like they need it; she just steps in and does it. I think I already know what to give her for her 94th birthday next August; something she really needs—the neon yellow uniform of a school crossing guard.

Edibles

Oh my goodness--where did those two weeks go????? Don't know about you, but I spent most of my Christmas break avoiding my mom's cooking!!! Here is a sample of her pecan tarts--I call them "Happy Tarts" because they're glowing (with golden butter!!!)

Back to reality. Note the fidget/chewey belt that has been working for a young student with tuberous sclerosis who likes to swing and fling his typical chewies. Now he can spin his soppy chewies closer to his center of gravity and spray everyone at a lower level. When he drops them, they just hang around his waist on the belt until he feels them bumping against his leg. It's a win-win. Well, he can wiggle the belt up to his shoulders or push it down to his knees, but the adults can often distract him with other fun activities before the belt completely leaves his body. Try it and let me know what chewies work for your students.

Turkey Surprise

Although these sculptures are created from clay, we can use flour/salt/water dough to produce our sculptures. Remember to poke a few holes where the tailfeathers will be inserted once the dough has hardened.

The surprise for parents is the "I'm thankful for..." note tucked inside, where the gizzards should be.

These friendly fowl were the idea of a middle school art teacher who truly enjoys working with students with "differing" learning abilities.

We all learned the correct name for the wobbly skin that drapes under the turkey's neck--do you know what it's called???

No Money for Classroom Equipment? Be Creative

When the money you raise with the classroom bake sale doesn't quite meet your needs, it's time to get creative.

Enjoy these photos, and one short movie clip, that feature an activity board designed and fabricated by a teacher for elementary students with severe disabilities. All of the toys came from the local 99 cent store.

There are many adults in this classroom and the students who use the activity board are closely supervised.

In addition to the expensive, custom equipment we use with students in classrooms, remember that we can often use everyday, reasonably-priced positioning devices as well.

This preschooler has difficulty sitting independently and tends to lean into any person or other support he can trust to keep him secure. When I noticed how attentive and cautious the classroom instructional assistants were in this particular setting I thought we might be able to wean him a little from his dependence on others for sitting balance.

If you look closely you'll see that he is sitting on a wide-based, plastic footstool. It's the perfect height for him to be 90-90-90 at his hips, knees and ankles. His aide does not leave him when he's on the footstool. After modeling how to physically cue him to sit uprightly for several story times in the classroom, I worked with the aide on doing the same for him. The next week she proudly told me how much his balance had improved. Did I already tell you that she never leaves him alone? That's the key--you have to get a good sense of what the adults will do when you're not around.

One nice feature of using this small footstool is that it allows him to get close to activities, as shown by him putting those famous pumpkins on the fence, right next to a standing classmate.

Set Your Sinuses Free Soup

It's the end of the first grading period--have you had your first cold yet? Getting colds or the flu is a traditional perk of being a school-based therapist. Forget the OTC drugs to clear up your head--this is a great short-term fix. The more curry you add, the more you forget about your problems.

Clear Your Sinuses/Curry Lovers Soup

Assorted colorful vegetables totaling approx 4 cups, chopped
2 cups cooked brown rice
*Chopped, cooked chicken or other meat, approximately 1-2 cups.
32 oz. reduced-sodium chicken broth
Kosher salt, coarse-ground pepper, muchi curry powder** or other variety

1 Tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar (optional)
2-3 Tbsp. olive oil

Heat oil in soup pan, add salt, optional lemon juice or vinegar and curry powder—stir frequently to avoid burning curry.
Add chopped vegetables, rice and pepper and stir frequently at medium temperature.
After vegetables are slightly tender and coated with spices, remove ½ vegetable/rice mixture and set aside to cool.
Add chicken broth (less ½ cup to aid in next step) to soup pan and simmer mixture.
Puree or partially-puree cooled vegetables (adding a little broth in the food processor or blender), then return them to soup pan. This thickens the soup a little.
Simmer until tough vegetables are tender and serve with crisp, dunking bread, if desired. Vegetables will still be slightly crisp the first time you serve it.


*Tastes great without the meat.
**Use 1 tsp. of curry powder the first time you try recipe and adjust to taste the next time. The curry taste is deeper if the vegetables and meat are coated and cooked with it, not if you just add it to the soup.