Marstons Mills East Elementary
Special Education Team Members:

School Psychologist: Kim Stoloski
Intermediate Special Education Teacher: Maureen Curley-Giordano
Speech and Language Pathologist: Susan Miles

 

Some Practical Activities to Promote Skills and Fun!

from the Special Education Department

Recipes for Success, a branch of Resource for Educators, Aspen Publications, Inc., recommend the following practical activities to increase success in children.

Math Skills
Try the math “pocket change toss.” You will need the following:
Four coins – Penny, nickel, dime, quarter
Small plastic container – Bowl, saucer, deep dish
Paper and pencil

The object of the game is to get your child or children to practice addition and subtraction with real money. Each player starts with a score of 25 points. The players take turns tossing each coin into the container. The coins that land in the container are added to the players’ scores. Coins outside the container are subtracted from the players’ scores. For example, if a player misses the container with a dime and a penny, they subtract 10 (simple arithmetic) points from their score. To make the game easier for younger children, don’t subtract coins that miss the container. The child with the highest score after three rounds wins.

Learning Patterns
To practice learning patterns, line up a paper clip, a pencil, a paper clip and a pencil. Let the child determine the 10th item, then line them all up to check their answer.

Social Studies
In order to foster an interest in social studies, help your child look up interesting facts about your home state. Examples are the state flower or state capitol. Use an encyclopedia to find out the facts. Make an art project or poster of cut-out pictures of things from the state capitol or pictures of flowers and facts from the state. Have your child draw and cut out the flowers from different states and make a bouquet of state flowers for their teacher.

History
Create a history of your child’s life. Include snapshots from different ages and toys, clothes or blankets from earlier days. Have your child make a “time capsule” of things that were his/hers when young. Hide this somewhere in your house to be found and explored much later. Make a collage of facts and events from the year your child was born. What was the number one song on the radio? What was the “big” news story of the year? Who did your child have at their first birthday party or their first play date? What favorite foods did your child enjoy? Compare your child’s early history to your own. What things do we take for granted now that didn’t exist when you were young?