age appropriate pesach project for low functioning special

amother

Wed, Mar 06 2013, 6:47 pm

I teach a very low functioning special ed class (they need help with doing basic craft things like coloring and cutting and gluing, etc). we would like to send home something for pesach, but we have a few criteria:

-cant be something that their kindergarten brothers are going to come home with (these kids are 10-14 years old, theres boys and girls in the class)

-has to be something that the students did (at least a little) by themselves; we don't want to send home something that its obvious that the students didn't touch, and also why not have the students make something that they can do

-someone I work with suggested a pillowcase with an iron-on picture of them, but I think its so overused, I know my students have done it before, and also then its a gift from us teachers to parents, not from the students

so anyone have any bright ideas with all my criteria, or have ever done something for this kind of population?
thanks a lot Smile

SingALong

Wed, Mar 06 2013, 6:59 pm

How low functioning cognitively? Based in what you described, it may help them participate if the have something to help them follow along.
A 1 page sign in a decorated frame or A booklet with each part if the Seder with a sentence what to do.
Kaddesh- make kiddush.
Urchatz-wash hands, etc.

It can be decorated based on their skill level and interests. The 1 page in a frame can be placed in the table during the seder as a gift.

sped

Wed, Mar 06 2013, 8:54 pm

I hae done pillow cases / matzah covers: give them pesach shapes cut out o f largestickers to paste on the white cloth. I did 4 bechers and 3 matzahs. have them paint over it with acrylic paints. remove the stickers and you have white pesach shapes stenciled on. then we/they/together added details - used a fabric pen to make lines or dots in the matzah. |I don't remember what/if we did anything for the wine.
(sorry for typos = I am doing this while nursing an active baby!)
hatzlacha

amother

Wed, Mar 06 2013, 10:41 pm

ROFL wrote:

I don't have a suggestion for your project but can you not call your students low functioning special ed class?
It really is in very poor taste
Thank you

op here.
you should just know, I love my students to pieces, I try so hard to refer to them in the best way possible. a previous teacher that they had always calls them "so low", and it drives me crazy, it sounds so derogatory. I was typing in a rush, while on the phone with a teacher of a similar type of class, deciding what to do, and on the spur of the moment couldn't think of how else to refer to them so people can understand what type of students im referring to, and what their abilities are. therefore I wrote it how I did, and even as I pressed submit I cringed, you should just know.
im sorry if it gave bad feelings to anyone, and you should just know I don't usually refer to them as that.
I should've said a class of 10-14 year olds who have fine motor impairments, as well as it is really hard to know how much of pesach they understand.

thank you for pointing it out, and im really sorry again

bbmom

Thu, Mar 07 2013, 8:57 am

I didn't read all the replies but you can do a beautiful Seder plate using a clear glass plate. You paint a layer of mod podge glue on the back of the plate, place a cutout of the Seder items face down on top of the glue and then fill the rest of the space on the back of the plate with brightly colored tissue paper. Then paint one or two layers of glue on top of it all, let it dry for 48 hrs and the flip over the plate. You will have a beautiful age-appropriate ke'arah for them to use at the Seder.

I'm sure I could think of more ideas let me know if you're still looking.

Barbara

Thu, Mar 07 2013, 9:10 am

bbmom wrote:

Or if you have a little bit of a budget, start with a plastic seder plate

http://www.bargainjudaica.com/......aspx

and let them decorate with paints

Mama Bear

Thu, Mar 07 2013, 2:36 pm

Low functioning special ed - is offensive? it's the truth! My son is a low functioning autistic child and the most gorgeious, cutest, lovable child ever. that doesnt change the fact that he's low functioning. THe OP wanted to describe what level of function her students have, so that we could help her accurately.

Cookies n Cream

Thu, Mar 07 2013, 2:55 pm

Mama Bear wrote:

This.
Those with disabilities are either classified as low functioning or high functioning.
It is not an offensive term.

manhattanmom

Thu, Mar 07 2013, 3:21 pm

I also teach a severe/multiply handicapped population (but preschool age and not an exclusive frum population) and am always look for art projects.

We do a lot of marble painting--can you do something like that--perhaps make an afikomen bag? Or some kind of chart/the simanim of the seder with a marble painting backdrop.

emama

Thu, Mar 07 2013, 3:22 pm

I taught children with special needs on various levels and was always concerned that their younger siblings projects would look much better than theirs (and some of the children were aware of it). I too wanted the children to do the work, and I wanted them to be proud of what they made, and also wanted their families to enjoy what their child made.
I would make stencils for everything. Negative stencils, meaning if you want a picture of an egg, the interior is cut out of oaktag. Tape the stencil down on your paper, or fabric, and have the student paint, or color inside it. The quality of the painting doesn't really matter just be sure to color once around the interior edge of the stencil. When you lift off the stencil you will have a recognizable shape which the child painted. I did pillow cases with stencils and the words kolanu m'subim and some symbols on it, and matza covers, afikoman bags, and kittels, made of their fathers' white shirts. (on different years!) I used this method throughout the year.
The kids who were aware, were always very proud of their creations.

Also, I used light colored highlighters and not crayons or regular markers when having the children with difficulty coloring color in any printed pictures. The finished product looks better, and is easier to see through to the picture.

Good luck!