Our third week of the Immersive AAC Class focused on things that SPIN! We had so many fun options that we didn’t actually get through all of our lesson plans!

• The favorite activity by far was using the Astronaut Board we borrowed from the OT department. Students used the word “go” or phrase “turn me” to request to be spun on the board. This was also a great opportunity to say “get on,” “get off” and to “go fast/slow” and “stop.” We paired a simple melody with the words “Round and round, round and round [name] is spinning round and round aaaaand stop!” to add some predictability to the duration of the spin and were always sure to spin them an equal number of times in each directions. A highlight of this activity was after her turn, one girl looked up and said “wow!” each time. It wasn’t until day 2 that we realized she wasn’t saying “wow,” but approximating “round” from the song to request another turn!

• A surprise hit of the week was a Doodling Robot. This fun little machine balances and spins on three markers to make some pretty cool art. As soon as I turned it on, one student said “Stop. My turn.” We practiced saying “turn it on,” “turn it off,” “make it go” or just “on,” “off,” “turn,” and “go” depending on language level.

• I used the PASS Software to modify a Twister game spinner with different action verbs (e.g., jump, cry, clap). Each student took turns flicking the spinner then directed their peers to perform the action they landed on. The icon sequences on the board were honestly more helpful as a visual for the adults to prompt rather than for the students to follow. 

• Another favorite activity was a great sensory toy called a Galactic Globe (full disclosure – I LOVE this toy and might carry one in my purse all the time). This thing looks like a crazy slinky ball but can spin up and down your arm and is kind of tickle-y. We turned it into a fun social activity by having the kids hold hands and pass it to each other.

• For our food exposure this week we chose apples. It might be a stretch but we spun the apples around the table before cutting them and trying them. All the kids did a great job touching, smelling and kissing the sliced apple and a few even gave it a lick! There was no pressure to eat the apple slices but the sensory exposure to the food was excellent!

• Our OT team brought some great spinning fun to class with movement-based spinner game and a spinning drum craft!

• PT group was an absolute blast spinning on scooter boards!

We also had a lot of fun spinning cabasas with music therapy, playing with a washing machine toy, spinning Coke bottle glitter tornadoes and spinning in circles in our dance party music break (to the tunes of Total Eclipse of the Heart and You Spin Me Right Round). A highlight of this week was a significant increase in verbal approximations from one of our 3rd graders! Check out a word cloud sample from a class participant:

Stay tuned! Next week’s theme is WATER!