Monday, June 6, 2016

Name Two Things You Think About When the Weather Gets Hot--Summer Vacation and Smoothies!

Yes, yes, we made the obligatory smoothies for our final group project this morning.  They turned out to be the prettiest pink smoothies I've ever seen!

My SLP buddy loves the activity for the language elicited and interaction among the students.  I love it for all the opening & closing of packages, scooping various amounts/quantities of food with a spoon, managing the noise and vibration of the electric blenders and the students' reaction to the finished product.

Here are some photos from today:
 My SLP buddy prepared the Boardmaker Online selections ahead of time.
One student brings her timer, so she can look at it during the activity and know how much time is left before she's allowed to escape back to her safe haven--her classroom.
 We "warmed up" the ice in a little water bath, so it would be easier to blend with the fruit and yogurt.
We had two blenders--one a "bullet" type that the students had to press down on from the top.  Second was a push-button type where the students just pressed the button to start it and keep it going.  Great vibration activity for the hands.
 Not every student chose to add vanilla to their smoothies, but one student asked for it.  Future chef!
 Some strawberries were pretty large, so we used a dull knife to cut them in half or in quarters.
Closing a resealable bag on a food item is a little different task than closing one on a familiar ziplock storage bag, at least visually.
Top-down view of the ingredients:  strawberry pieces, banana chunks, a tablespoonful of plain yogurt, "defrosted" ice cubes and a little bit of cool water.

Over time we have learned to cook up small batches of our treats, since many students are willing to participate in the making of food but not always so interested in tasting it.  Many students choose to share their finished products with peers.  You can usually find someone nearby who is hungry, no matter what time of day it is!

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