How Does Your Engine Run and "Let it Go"

Updated on the previous blog post for this week.

Our occupational therapist came in today to run a "How Does Your Engine Run" large group with the students. She will be doing the same group with our Thursday class as well. For a quick summary of what this program is, see the handout on Ms. Melissa's blog (click here). For the large group, Shannon had the students move "slow", "medium" and "fast". She had a chart that the student's could then stick a character on depending what they were most like. Tigger went on the 'fast' section, Eyore on the 'slow' section and Pooh on the 'medium' section. She also had character's like 'Mater' from Cars and Lightning McQueen. They students were asked to think about what area they fall in during the day (whether in a routine, sleepy at night, medium at small group, fast on the playground). We can use this concept to help them regulate themselves during the day as needed. Oh you are fast like lightning McQween, let's slow down and be like Sally Carrera.

Fast

Slow

Medium

We've switched around our Large Group for Wednesday. Our student's LOVE the "Let it Go" song from Disney's Frozen. Per request of a student today, we showed the music video and the entire class was surrounding us and most of them singing to it, even some of the students who normally choose not to sing. We will watch a short clip of this video:

Then we will pass out instruments and let the student's play along to it with us. We'll move our instruments high, low, in the middle, fast, slow and 'just right'. Afterwards we will get out the scarfs and let them dance and sing to the video (the one we watched today):

If there's still extra time, we will probably dance to a few more songs, encouraging singing and making a variety of dance patterns.