After teachers started back to school this year, we have already experienced the eath quake and a hurricane storm through town, with not 1 but 2 school days closed and many more throughout the state. So today was not your typical first day of school, its was a first day delay. It was a Monday on a Tuesday, with brand new bunch of kids. Emergency mode, we hope, is all finished. Business as usual was back to normal and we were back to starting our day with S-S-S-Sensory time!
The first thing we do when we gather around the table is we wonder what's in a box? The box is see through so you can see what's inside to help promote creative answers to the song...what's in the box? However there is only one answer and by mid week they will all know about how sensory time is INside the box and by then you have the kids full attention grabbed on this magical BOX! What is in it?
During sensory time we'll pat our mouths and pat our cheeks, for oral motor to warm up with song. Then we go through our senses so we are aware of how to learn through what we see,hear, smell, taste, touch in our learning environment. Right now we are smelling sun and sand in the plugins by the table as we warm into the school year. We also awaken the sense of smell with baby powder & lotions. We see our selves in sunglasses as we look in the mirror with a microphone, singing "I'm a Rockstar" to the tune of 90210 for some reason but its what we do. We listen to the sound of a bell to promote full sentence structure with a sentence model I hear the bell ringing in my ear. We will also promote expanding listening throughout the year with songs and stories, however the attention span for everyone included might agree the first day of school is about the length a bell ringing. Ding, onto the next task of school. Ding, time for ABC's. Good morning, this school year has just begun and there's so much to get done. Ding! Then its time to dismiss!
The school year is kind of like the box, as we all begin to wonder what lies within its perimeter until next June. Thus far, this school year has an earthquake and hurricane inside of it. Our box is full to the brim and we have just begun. We are feeling the effects, so YOGA is reccomended for all to practice as a general rule for good health but studies also show that it helps improve brain capacities if joined together with speech lessons, so our yoga time will be right before speech. Last year the placement of yoga before speech seemed to help our kids to sit still longer during very involved speech lessons.
These are just a few of my favorite things to do to help warm up the day, get the kids attention for learning, while also creating a trust with the children in the classroom through eye contact, and joint exchanges. There is a repetitive nature to Oral Motor, so I believe its benefitial twice a day, therefore before circle in the morning we end our Oral Motor time with breakfast snack but in the afternoon we start our afternoon science lessons and end sensory/oral motor time with a lollipop. The first day routine was set and althoug it will have slight changes of what is inside of it due to seasons and themes, this Oral Motor time will remain in our schedule not because it takes up time because many teachers will argue that there just isnt enough time in the day, but I am blessed to work with a team whose core philosohpy is that this time of day in essence is the most important part of the day like yeast to a loaf of bread, without the ingredient the bread is not able to do what it was meant to do. My team has come to an agreement that sensory oral motor time is our yeast in the classroom and watching the bread bake in the oven is the best part of my day!
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