The Oakwood Academy Newsletter NOV/DEC 2022 Issue

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Floortime® while doing Laundry!

As parents, we can often feel like we need to choose between doing our daily household chores and engaging in Floortime®. Over the next few articles, we are going to explore ways that we can incorporate DIR/Floortime® into your everyday activities. Today we focus on Floortime® while doing laundry. Disclaimer: this will not make doing laundry faster!

Sorting – Your child can help you sort the clothes. They can sort them into dark and light, each colour, pants and shirts, etc.

How to support:

• Wonderment – “I wonder if this goes in dark or light?” or “I wonder which colour I might put this with?”

• Visuals – You might tape the colours to the wall and use gestures paired with words to help them sort. For example, “Hmm, should this blue shirt go in the dark or light pile?”

• Join them – You can model where each item should go by joining them. Grab an article of clothing and say, “Hmm, where should I put this? Is it dark blue? So, I think I will put it in the dark pile.”

Filling the washer – Have your child load the clothes in the washer. How to support:

• To encourage problem solving, you can use wonderment to encourage them to figure out what to do – “I wonder where I need to put these clothes now?” or “Hmm, I need to get them into the washing machine now”

• Join them – You can model how you put the clothes in and then encourage your child to join you (e.g., “I need some help!”)

• Incorporate math – I f you use liquid detergent, have them measure the correct amount or if you use pods, tell them how many pods you need and have them get the correct amount.

Loading the dryer - Depending on what kind of washing machine you have and the height of your child, you may need to pass the clothes to them to put it in the dryer.

How to support:

• Model – Show them how you put the clothes in the dryer and then encourage them to join you.

• Wonderment – With wonderment, support them to think about what they might need to add (e.g., “I wonder what we need to add next? It is in a box, it is white and keeps static off our clothes)

• Putting the heavy, wet clothes in the dryer is also a nice way to incorporate heavy work, which regulates the body.

Matching socks

– Matching socks is such a fun way to get your child involved in the laundry process. You can start by putting the sock in a pile on the floor and explaining what you will be doing (e.g. “Time to match the socks!”)

How to support:

• Picking up one sock and showing them. You might say, “I am looking for the same sock” or “Can we find the match?”

• Offering choices – If your child needs more support to find the match, you can offer them a choice (eg., holding up two socks and saying, “Is it this one or that one?”

• Positive encouragement (e.g., “You are great at matching socks! I am having so much fun doing this with you!”)

Tips for older children who can do laundry independently

Use of visuals – You might use a calendar and sit together and pick the days that they will be doing the laundry. Having them choose their own days gives them autonomy and holds them accountable. Having a checklist can also be helpful in setting up the routine for them to follow (e.g., Step 1: Bring laundry to the laundry area; Step 2: Separate the clothes; Step 3: Add laundry soap to the machine; 4: Load clothes into the washing machine; Step 5: Once washer is complete, load the clothes into the dryer, etc.)

• Ask them how you can help them. Typically, older children want to have autonomy and make decisions. Asking them how you can help them is a respectful way to support them in staying accountable. You can always offer choices as well if they are having a hard time coming up with how you might be able to help them.

• Positive encouragement – Continuing to provide them with praise when they do complete the laundry. Making it meaningful and intentional, for example, “I hope you feel very proud of yourself for doing the laundry all by yourself! You worked really hard to do that!”

Winter Concert!

Oakwood celebrated the Holiday Spirit this year by embracing diverse cultures around the world in our annual Winter Concert! The theme was chosen to highlight the beauty of the various cultures represented in Oakwood, and celebrating them through dances and skits.

Students worked hard to create their performances by researching and watching informative videos of various cultures to best represent each celebration, collaborating with one another to choreograph dances, write scripts, make props and take creative direction in executing their performances. Oakwood is extremely proud of each performance. Students were able to bring their individual creativity to share the beauty of each culture through lights, colours, togetherness and love.

Hosting an event that celebrated cultures around the world allowed us to celebrate our differences and common interests, which unite us to respect and appreciate the diversity of Oakwood Academy.

Community Club

The Community Club went to Meadowvale Public Library in November! Each student had an opportunity to take public transit to and from the library. While on the bus, the students were encouraged to remember the stop we needed to get off at, listen and/or look for it and pull the cord when it was time to get off. While walking to the library, the students were supported to follow all road safety procedures (e.g., waiting for the walk sign, crossing at the intersection), as well as to scan the environment for clues of which way to go. For example, a teacher might say, “We are looking for a big building that is on Glen Erin”. Once we arrived at the library, the librarian read two stories, making them interactive so the students were a part of them. After the stories, the students had an opportunity to explore the library, look at different books and even sign some out! Overall, it was a great trip and we always look forward to our Community Club outing!

Community Club

We took a trip to the local grocery store for December’s Community Club. While at the grocery store, the students were responsible for buying items for our Fun with Flavours Club, a classroom cafe or items for their home. The students put their visual tracking skills and referencing skills to work, finding the items, referring to their checklist and checking off the items as they found them. In addition, the students continued to work on learning how to navigate the bus and use road safety. Prior to getting on the bus, the students were told what stop to listen out for. Once on the bus, the staff provided gestural, verbal and environmental support to encourage them to listen for the stop name and pull the string to let the bus driver know. The students did amazing work on the bus and at the grocery store!

Social Crew Club

During our Social Crew Club in November, the students of the Transition and Classroom Program came together to promote “falling together” – our fall activity. This activity gave them the opportunity to build on new or existing friendships within Oakwood.

The students were supported to work together on creating a beautiful fall leaf mosaic, using colourful leaf cut outs to appreciate the changes in the season. The students were given the options to use printed photos of their favourite fall interests or to practice their hand-writing skills by writing about what they appreciated on each leaf. The students were then encouraged to gather and share their leaves within their groups! This gave the students an opportunity to share a few of their favourite things with their peers. Students were encouraged to share out-loud, and/or find peers that had the very same favourites as them.

During this activity, the staff supported the students by encouraging communication, peer referencing and finding similarities between their peers. Staff also supported the students’ fine motor and motor planning skills while picking and gluing their choices, or writing them down on each leaf.

Social Crew Club

In December, the Social Crew Club brought together our festive friends from different classes to make their very own ornaments. The students had a variety of materials to use, such as glitter, paint, pompoms, beads and ribbon to make their perfect ornament to take home.

The staff stimulated peer engagement and communication by encouraging the students to reference each other, as well as strategically setting up the materials to facilitate conversation and communication between the students. In addition, the staff supported the students by using, “I wonder” statements, and modelling language to increase shared attention, engagement and communication.

The students enjoyed seeing each other's individuality shine through as they each took a turn to show their beautiful creations they made. Each group of festive friends sat in a circle and took turns to not only show their ornaments, but express to their friends what they liked about each one.

We hope all of the families got to enjoy seeing the finished result when they took them home at the end of the day!

Fun with Flavours

We added a spin to Fun with Flavours in November by changing up the groups to promote socializing with new peers! Students did a great job dividing responsibilities and working together to complete a variety of tasks. In order to support them in doing so, we provided each group with systematic visuals for the set-up, the cooking and the clean-up process. The visuals enabled students to work better together, stay on track, communicate, problem -solve and work as a team. The students really enjoyed making the Yogurt Bark and were very excited to try their creation when it was done!

Fun with Flavours

Our Fun with Flavours group made festive 'Chocolate Pretzel Wreaths' in December. I t was a quick and easy snack to enjoy! The students had to set up, prepare the necessary ingredients and then make their own individual wreaths within their groups. This was another great opportunity for students to work together with familiar and unfamiliar faces within Oakwood.

Chocolate Pretzel Wreaths can be a great alternative to cookies to leave out for Santa if your children want to teach you how to make them this holiday season!

Therapy Dog

We had our bi-weekly visits with the therapy dog this month! In small groups, the students had the opportunity to spend time with Finn, a Labrador Retriever. During their time with Finn, they were able to pet the him, encourage Finn to do some tricks, as well as ask his owner any questions about him. The students really enjoyed their time with Finn. Each student had the opportunity to interact with Finn in a way that felt comfortable for them. Some students enjoyed petting Finn, while other students continue to observe him from a distance until they feel more comfortable to touch or interact with him. We look forward to seeing Finn each month!

A great way to support Oakwood and get some holiday gifts!

Scholastic Book Orders

Scholastic Book flyers were distributed to students! To place an order online, go to: https://classroomessentials.scholastic.ca/ . Go to May Account, then you can create a new account or update your current account. Browse for books and be sure to enter Oakwood's Class Code: RC279261. Scholastic orders using this code gives Oakwood 20% back to use towards classroom resources. This is a great way to support Oakwood and check some holiday gifts off your list!

winter weather reminders

Outdoor Activity and Recess:

Outdoor activities and recess are an important part of the daily routine for each student. They offer an opportunity for social interaction, physical development, nature exploration, a chance to re-energize and get some fresh air. Unless it is raining significantly or an extreme cold alert, students will be outside for at least 30 minutes per day. Please ensure that your child has appropriate clothing for the weather (e.g., thick coat, hat, mittens, boots, snow pants). Please label each item of clothing as well. Each student should have indoor shoes.

Inclement Weather Reminder:

During the winter months, there may be times when busses and facilities are closed due to severe weather. Severe weather closures will be announced to families via email by 7am if unsafe conditions are confirmed by the Region of Peel. During these conditions, your child's teacher or therapist will send you a snow day activity package with individualized goals and activities to complete. Staff will also be available to connect with you via email until 3:30 pm to answer any questions you may have regarding your child’s activity package.

Parent Coffee

When: January 27, 2022 Time: 8:30 am – 9:15 am Topic: During our Parent Coffee, we will discuss how to support your child during a peer play experience. We will look into strategies to support, how to be a ‘player’ and facilitate interactions between your child and their peers.