Home Teaching Activities
Home Teaching Activities0 Comment

April Activities

Below you will find some of the books, activities, and resources we would be using in the classroom. I typically only read 1-2 books to my students each month. We will read one book for two weeks and that book will be our current theme. For my kiddos with Autism, this is terrific. They need the repetition, it helps them build vocabulary and understanding. Some students may not stay interested in the same book for an extended period. If your child is bored, feel free to look for books that may share our current theme. For instance if we are doing Brown Bear, Brown Bear you can find other books about bears to read. Also, remember to always practice language and requesting for every activity.

Week 2 – April 6th-April 10th

If you need more detailed instructions about any of the activities please read the week of March 30th-April 3rd for ideas about prompts you might provide or some ideas about what you can say/do during activities. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Circle Time

Welcome Song

  • Hello, Hello – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN1Cyr0ZK9M
    • Practice saying Hello with your child. If they are willing, have them make eye contact while they are saying Hello. Also, if your child is saying Hello independently try having him add your name (i.e. Hello mom).

Calendar and Attendance

  • Calendar – This varies from group to group, student to student. If your student is not interested/engaged it’s OK to skip this activity for now. It can be too much for younger kiddos sometimes. When I am working on calendar in preschool I am not focusing on the days of the week/months, etc. I am just using it as a way to practice number recognition and counting.
  • Who’s here today?
    • Have your child find their name. You can cut a paper into thirds and on each piece write a different name. Place the names on the table or floor and see if your child can find theirs.
    • Practice identifying the letters in their name. Have them trace their name with their finger.

Music

  • That was a lot of work and a lot of sitting. My little ones need a movement break right about now. Next I will sing 2-3 songs with the kids before moving on to our story. Also, I don’t let the students watch youtube when I play the songs, I put on the song and place my phone or Ipad face down or out of sight so the student can watch me during the song instead of Youtube. However, there are a few songs where I do use the videos if the visuals are beneficial. During music time we are practicing imitation, gross motor movements, following directions and having fun. Some songs also include academics. I will usually start with a movement song and then do one sitting to help get the students re-engaged before our story. Remember every student does not like every song so feel free to switch songs or skip them. I am including a few songs because this is for the whole week. I would do one movement song and 1-2 other songs for circle each day.

Movement Songs

Other Songs

Story Time

This week we are reading Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons

If you don’t have the book you can find it out on Youtube. If you have the book you can also follow along with your book while listening to story on YouTube. I try to read the book myself sometimes and listen to it other times. I also try to use visuals sometimes. Here is a link to a site with some free visual aids. I don’t put mine on felt. For home use, just printing them in black and white and coloring/cutting them out would work. Just be careful your little one doesn’t rip the pages.

The first time I read the book without stopping. The second day, When I am reading or listening to the song I stop frequently to ask questions and to see if one of the kids can finish the sentence.

  • How many buttons are left? Wait to turn the page, try counting the buttons together and see if your child can tell you how many buttons are left before turning the page. If they have trouble, that’s okay, turn the page, show them the number and continue. You can also practice colors.

Play

Play is one of the best ways for your kiddo to learn. Remember this is not just free time. As much as time allows, try to play with your child, engage with them, talk to them. Have fun!

Center/Work Activities

Some of my center/work activities are play based. We can practice shapes using a shape sorter, colors using a puzzle or body parts with Mr. Potato Head. Toys are fun but they are also learning materials for young children. When we are in the class, we typically have 3-4 centers. At home you can choose a few things to do each day. Try to give your child 3-5 minutes between each center with a toy or preferred activity. Try to find something they like but not their favorite toy. We want them to be able to transition smoothly when it is time to get back to work and for some students transitioning from their favorite toy can lead to problems or meltdowns.

Fine Motor Activities

  • Lacing – Lacing cards are great fine motor practice. you can make your own too with a hole punch and yarn. Here is a guide to making your own lacing cards
  • https://www.livinglifeandlearning.com/make-printable-lacing-cards-kids.html
  • Stringing Beads – Start with large beads, then when your child masters that you can move on to smaller beads. If your child has trouble with the string, you can also have your child put beads on a pipe cleaner instead.
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  • Cutting Straws or paper – Scissors are very hard for many kiddos, so they may need help. Start with snipping. give your child’s straws to cut they love watching the pieces fly in the air but it can get messy. You can also cut construction paper into one inch strips and let them practice cutting those instead. If your child has mastered snipping have them cut a piece of paper in half or have them practice cutting a square.
  • Clothespins – Practicing opening and closing clothespins are great fine motor practice and they help students get used to using the same motion they use with scissors. They can place the clothespins on a bowl or cup. You can also have them practice sorting if you get colored clothespins or counting.
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  • Peg Boards – Peg boards can be good fine motor practice too. You can also use them to sort or practice patterns.
  • Tongs- Another great tool to practice fine motor is tongs. Have your child practice picking up small objects. you can also work on colors or vocabulary by asking your child to pick up the green toy or the yellow ball, etc.
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  • Tracing/Writing – 3Dinosaurs.com has some great free worksheets, including some pages for pre-writing practice. http://www.3dinosaurs.com/printables/packs/petethecat.php Here is an example below. When you go to the page you do need to scroll down in order to download it. Look for these links. Trace the first one together and see if your child can do the rest alone. For more advanced kiddos, practice tracing their names (use capital letters to start) or drawing happy faces together.
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Academics

  • More Sorting – Download this free activity to practice matching or sorting buttons.
  • Shapes – If you download the free sub plan from here and scroll towards the bottom there is a great matching activity with shapes. Students can practice matching the shapes on Pete’s shoes. If your child is having trouble try coloring the shapes so they are easier to see. You can also practice shapes using a shape sorter or puzzle. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqTXRWSFhPZHprRGc/view
  • Letters – Practice letters and sounds using puzzles or books.

Play

  • Pretend Play – Pretend play is important and something that can be hard for some kiddos with Autism. Practice feeding the baby a bottle, making food and eating it (pretend), making a cow moo, etc. Model for your child and see if they will imitate(copy) you.
  • Reciprocal Play – Roll a ball back and forth, play peek-a-boo together, take turns stacking blocks together and then knock them down, chase your kiddo, etc.
  • Playing a Game – There are a lot of simple games that can help teach your child how to take turns. Lucky Ducks, Candyland Castle, 5 Little Monkeys on the Bed, etc. Don’t worry about following the directions on all of the games, just practice taking turns and having fun.
    • For Lucky Ducks, I pick a duck, look at the shape on the bottom and match it by color or shape to the right card. Then, it’s the students turn. Then it’s my turn again. When my turn is over I ask the student “whose turn is it?” and wait for them to say my turn before passing the ducks to them. then when their turn is over I will say “”My turn” and wait for them to pass it to me, prompting as needed. It’s a great way to practice turn taking, shapes and colors.
    • Five Little Monkeys Game. I take turns spinning the wheel but instead of using the board, that is how many monkeys we put on the bed. Then, the student gets a turn. When the bed is full we watch it pop and do it again.
  • Functional Play – Practice playing with toys together appropriately.
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Sensory

Sensory Play is really important for your child. Here are some different sensory activities the kids enjoy in the classroom.

  • Shaving Cream
  • Pinto Beans
  • Rice
  • Playdough
  • Kinetic Sand
  • Sand
  • Sensory Putty – You can hide buttons in the putty or even in playdough.
  • Water
  • Fingerpaint
  • Pete the Cat sensory fun – Place some buttons in a pan with cornmeal or sand. Practice finding buttons by color or number. You can practice writing letters, shapes and numbers in the cornmeal too.

Art

Art is a great opportunity to practice sharing materials, following directions, fine motor skills and more. Some of these activities may need to be adjusted to meet your child’s needs. If the activity requires cutting but your child isn’t using scissors on their own yet, consider cutting out most of the pieces for them. Leave only the pieces with long straight lines like squares or rectangles for them to cut (with help). If it’s still too hard, cut out all the pieces, or having them tear the paper instead (depending on the activity). Finally, in most cases your child’s art work will not look like yours or the sample and that’s okay. When you are preparing the art activities I recommend making enough materials for you and your child one to make one together and one extra already made so your child can see what you will be making. You can also show them a picture if you need to instead. You will be modeling what to do for your child. Help your child write their name on the back of each activity too. If they can, have them trace or write at least their first letter. Letters that are straight like A, L, I, etc are easiest. They may need more help with letters that have curves like B and D. If they can’t trace yet, write it together or tell them the letters as you write their name. Finally, I did my best to write out step by step directions. you do not have to follow them exactly they are just guidelines for anyone who may need them.

  1. Cut out the buttons before the activity. Make at least 10 buttons but not more than 20 per person.
  2. Give your child the Pete the Cat page. Tell them Pete needs buttons on his shirt. Let them glue on however many buttons they would like.
  3. You can also let them color Pete and his buttons.
  4. Now, have your child count Pete’s buttons. Help as needed.
  5. Together, write how many buttons their Pete the Cat picture has.
  • Tuesday – Pete the Cat coloring page
    1. Have your child color Pete the Cat and his buttons. Practice counting Pete’s buttons and help your child write 1, 2, 3, 4 on the buttons too.
    2. Practice receptive language by giving your child three crayons and having them “get the blue crayon”.
    3. Practice expressive communication by having your child ask you for a color before you give them a crayon.
    4. Practice taking turns – Ask your child to use their crayon, I need blue, can I have the blue crayon? Wait for a minute or two and then they can ask for it back (or they can ask for a new crayon)
  • Wednesday – Pete the Cat Popsicle Stick
    • You can use the head template from the previous activity if needed. You will need blue, red, yellow, and green construction paper, glue and a Popsicle stick. If you don’t have different color paper, you can color white paper different colors. If you don’t have a Popsicle stick, you can cut out a rectangular piece of paper to use instead. Cut out buttons that are different colors.
  1. Give your child the Popsicle stick or rectangular piece of paper. Give them Pete’s head. Have them glue on Pete’s head and draw on Pete’s eyes. Remember to prompt/help as needed.
  2. Place the buttons in front of your child. Get the _________ button. (Get the blue button, etc).
  3. Practice colors and receptive language by having them pick up the correct button. Have them glue the buttons on Pete. Count Pete’s buttons.
  • Thursday – Painting Shirts
    • You will need white construction paper, washable paing or water colors and buttons (optional).
    • Cut out a shirt on construction paper (or whatever paper you have access to) Here is a template if you need one:
    • http://www.supercoloring.com/coloring-pages/t-shirt
  • Give your child their shirt and let them paint it. They will be practicing fine motor skills, cause and effect and colors. If you have buttons you can glue them on after the shirt dries. If you don’t have buttons, you can draw buttons or use stickers instead.
  • Friday – Pete the Cat –
  1. Trace an extra yellow shirt onto a paper. Let your child practice trying to cut it out. If they have trouble, cut it out most of the way and leave one straight line for them to try to cut on their own.
  2. Don’t forget to model the activity if you can.
  3. Give them the yellow shirt. Next, place the tail and head in front of them. Show them the model. Look Pete needs a head, can you get Pete’s head.
  4. Glue on Pete’s head.
  5. Give your child Pete’s feet and his tail. Next say, “Look, Pete needs a tail. Can you get Pete’s tail?” Wait for your child to pick up the tail, prompting as needed. Glue on Pete’s tail.
  6. “Now Pete needs his feet, glue on feet”. Help your child glue on the feet as needed.
  7. With your marker or crayon, draw on Pete’s nose and buttons.

Week 1 – March 30th-April 3rd

Circle Time

Welcome Song

  • Hello, Hello – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN1Cyr0ZK9M
    • I start my circle with the Hello Song. Students should practice imitate the movements and the sounds/words. During the song, I stop and make eye contact with the individual students and say Hello to them by name (Hello, Dave). If they don’t respond, you can prompt(help them) to say hello back. “Say hi”. If they aren’t verbal you can have them use visual icons, signs or wave hello. If needed, you can physically prompt them to help them wave or hand you a hello icon.

Calendar and Attendance

  • Calendar – This varies from group to group, student to student. If your student is not interested/engaged it’s OK to skip this activity for now. It can be too much for younger kiddos sometimes. When I am working on calendar in preschool I am not focusing on the days of the week/months, etc. I am just using it as a way to practice number recognition and counting.
    • If you don’t have a wall calendar, you can print one or use one online. You can mark the current day with a post it. I pick one student to hold the pointer and help me count. At home, you can use a marker, unsharpened pencil, or anything you’d like as a pointer so your child can help you count.
    • Usually I will start by telling the students: “What day is today?” Usually they don’t answer but sometimes they can surprise you. “Let’s count and see, ready, 1, 2, 3, etc. The student should be helping you count and following along with their pointer. If they are doing it incorrectly you can try pointing to the right number with your finger and if they are still struggling you can gently place your hand over their hand and guide them to the correct number. I will usually help them with a few numbers and remove my hand again to see how they do by themselves. When they get to today, remember to help them stop counting. “Great counting, look it’s the number 2, today is (point to the day of the week) Thursday, April(point to month) 2nd (point to day).
  • Who’s here today?
    • The next activity I do is letting the students practice finding their name. Each student has their own star with their first name. For some student’s I will also add their picture. Then I play the song twinkle twinkle little star ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCjJyiqpAuU ) and call the students up one at a time to find their name and put it on our sky. At home you can make a name tag by writing their name on a piece of construction paper or even lined paper will work. Make a name tag for yourself and someone else in the house too. Then you show them all three names and ask them “Where’s your name?” If they don’t respond, “Where’s David?”. If they still don’t respond you can point to their star and then tell them “Get David”. If they pick the wrong star you can tell them “Good try, that says __________, let’s try again.” If they are still having trouble after you point to the right star take one name tag away so they are picking from two or leave only their name tag. Finally, physically prompt if needed.
    • When a student has their name tag, you can show them the first letter in their name. Once they have mastered that I will see if they can identify the rest of the letters in their name as well.

Music

  • That was a lot of work and a lot of sitting. My little ones need a movement break right about now. Next I will sing 2-3 songs with the kids before moving on to our story. Also, I don’t let the students watch youtube when I play the songs, I put on the song and place my phone or Ipad face down or out of sight so the student can watch me during the song instead of Youtube. However, there are a few songs where I do use the videos if the visuals are beneficial. During music time we are practicing imitation, gross motor movements, following directions and having fun. Some songs also include academics. I will usually start with a movement song and then do one sitting to help get the students re-engaged before our story. Remember every student does not like every song so feel free to switch songs or skip them. I am including a few songs because this is for the whole week. I would do one movement song and 1-2 other songs for circle each day.

Movement Songs

Other Songs

Story Time

This week we are reading Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes.

If you don’t have the book you can find it out on Youtube. If you have the book you can also follow along with your book while listening to story on YouTube. I try to read the book myself sometimes and listen to it other times. I also try to use visuals sometimes. Here is a link to a site with some free visual aids. I don’t put mine on felt. For home use, just printing them in black and white and coloring/cutting them out would work. Just be careful your little one doesn’t rip the pages.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6Lp9SHN4-M&list=PLCuLa7CUOssGIvdI0INIUJN3oQ4TR2X47&index=3&t=0s .

The first time I read the book without stopping. The second day, When I am reading or listening to the song I stop frequently to ask questions and to see if one of the kids can finish the sentence.

  • Oh no Pete stepped in a large pile of (stop and point to the picture and see if the student can tell you what it is) If they can’t answer, you can tell them. Pete stepped in strawberries, let’s say strawberries. Or touch the strawberries for our kiddos who may have limited language or who our non-verbal.
  • What color did it turn his shoes? Stop and see if your child can tell you what color. If someone in the group is wearing red shoes I might ask, who has red shoes and point at everyone’s shoes. If no one answers, I might say look, George has red shoes.
  • If you have visuals, those are another way to keep your child engaged. Stop and tell your child “Put on the strawberries, or get the red shoes). This will help check for understanding to see if your child is learning the words from the story and can identify strawberries, blueberries etc.

Closing Question/Activity

Circle is finished, usually when the story is done I will ask a question about the story or have a brief activity to do with the kids. So, I might show the student a few pages from the story as a reminder and ask them what did Pete step in or what color are pete’s shoes. For more advanced kiddos, I might ask who stepped in the water or is Pete inside or outside?

For an activity I might trace some shoes on to construction paper and have students sort shoes by color or size. Or since we are also singing Scat the Cat I might have them sort cats by color and/or size too. We might count how many shoes we have or practice matching fruits with the right color shoes.

Now that circle time is over, I like to dismiss the students and give them 20-30 minutes of play time before moving on to the next teacher directed activity.

Play

Play is one of the best ways for your kiddo to learn. Remember this is not just free time. As much as time allows, try to play with your child, engage with them, talk to them. Have fun!

Center/Work Activities

Some of my center/work activities are play based. We can practice shapes using a shape sorter, colors using a puzzle or body parts with Mr. Potato Head. Toys are fun but they are also learning materials for young children. When we are in the class, we typically have 3-4 centers. At home you can choose a few things to do each day. Try to give your child 3-5 minutes between each center with a toy or preferred activity. Try to find something they like but not their favorite toy. We want them to be able to transition smoothly when it is time to get back to work and for some students transitioning from their favorite toy can lead to problems or meltdowns.

Fine Motor Activities

  • Lacing – Lacing cards are great fine motor practice. you can make your own too with a hole punch and yarn. Here is a guide to making your own lacing cards
  • https://www.livinglifeandlearning.com/make-printable-lacing-cards-kids.html
  • Stringing Beads – Start with large beads, then when your child masters that you can move on to smaller beads. If your child has trouble with the string, you can also have your child put beads on a pipe cleaner instead.
  • Cutting Straws or paper – Scissors are very hard for many kiddos, so they may need help. Start with snipping. give your child’s straws to cut they love watching the pieces fly in the air but it can get messy. You can also cut construction paper into one inch strips and let them practice cutting those instead. If your child has mastered snipping have them cut a piece of paper in half or have them practice cutting a square.
  • Clothespins – Practicing opening and closing clothespins are great fine motor practice and they help students get used to using the same motion they use with scissors. They can place the clothespins on a bowl or cup. You can also have them practice sorting if you get colored clothespins or counting.
  • Peg Boards – Peg boards can be good fine motor practice too. You can also use them to sort or practice patterns.
  • Tongs- Another great tool to practice fine motor is tongs. Have your child practice picking up small objects. you can also work on colors or vocabulary by asking your child to pick up the green toy or the yellow ball, etc.
  • Tracing/Writing – 3Dinosaurs.com has some great free worksheets, including some pages for pre-writing practice. http://www.3dinosaurs.com/printables/packs/petethecat.php Here is an example below. When you go to the page you do need to scroll down in order to download it. Look for these links. Trace the first one together and see if your child can do the rest alone. For more advanced kiddos, practice tracing their names (use capital letters to start) or drawing happy faces together.
  • Coloring – Use crayons that are broken in half to encourage your child to hold the crayon the correct way.
  • Plastic Eggs – Plastic eggs can be great fine motor practice. Put small toys or goldfish in the eggs and have your child practice opening and closing them.

Academics

  • Have your child practice following directions with Pete the Cat. If you don’t have a Pete, you can use another toy or stuffed animal instead http://kathygriffinteach.blogspot.com/2014/08/following-directions-with-pete-cat.html
  • Counting – There are some Pete the Cat puzzles and counting worksheets that you can download from here. You can also practice counting shoes, strawberries, blueberries or anything else you can find. Start by counting to 10. Make sure your child is using one to one correspondence (counting one object at a time) Encourage them to take their time. When they are done counting ask them “How many?” If they need help answering , count together again and ask them how many shoes? If they still cant answer, you can tell them how many there are and then continue practicing. http://www.3dinosaurs.com/printables/packs/petethecat.php
  • Sorting – You can sort real shoes or print some in a variety of colors and gave your child practice sorting them. If your child is having trouble having them sort 3 colors at a time. You can also practice sorting items by size. http://www.makinglearningfun.com/themepages/PetetheCatMatching.htm
  • Matching – You can print and use these file folders to practice matching or you can use print out different fruits, or shoes that are different colors and tell your child “Match” Prompt as needed. Again if your child is having trouble try giving them 2-3 objects to choose from when matching. http://www.makinglearningfun.com/themepages/PetetheCat-FileFolderColorMatch.htm
  • Shapes – If you download the free sub plan from here and scroll towards the bottom there is a great matching activity with shapes. Students can practice matching the shapes on Pete’s shoes. If your child is having trouble try coloring the shapes so they are easier to see. You can also practice shapes using a shape sorter or puzzle. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqTXRWSFhPZHprRGc/view
  • Letters – Practice letters and sounds using puzzles or books.

Play

  • Pretend Play – Pretend play is important and something that can be hard for some kiddos with Autism. Practice feeding the baby a bottle, making food and eating it (pretend), making a cow moo, etc. Model for your child and see if they will imitate(copy) you.
  • Reciprocal Play – Roll a ball back and forth, play peek-a-boo together, take turns stacking blocks together and then knock them down, chase your kiddo, etc.
  • Playing a Game – There are a lot of simple games that can help teach your child how to take turns. Lucky Ducks, Candyland Castle, 5 Little Monkeys on the Bed, etc. Don’t worry about following the directions on all of the games, just practice taking turns and having fun.
    • For Lucky Ducks, I pick a duck, look at the shape on the bottom and match it by color or shape to the right card. Then, it’s the students turn. Then it’s my turn again. When my turn is over I ask the student “whose turn is it?” and wait for them to say my turn before passing the ducks to them. then when their turn is over I will say “”My turn” and wait for them to pass it to me, prompting as needed. It’s a great way to practice turn taking, shapes and colors.
    • Five Little Monkeys Game. I take turns spinning the wheel but instead of using the board, that is how many monkeys we put on the bed. Then, the student gets a turn. When the bed is full we watch it pop and do it again.
  • Functional Play – Practice playing with toys together appropriately.

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Sensory

Sensory Play is really important for your child. Here are some different sensory activities the kids enjoy in the classroom.

  • Shaving Cream
  • Pinto Beans
  • Rice
  • Playdough
  • Kinetic Sand
  • Sand
  • Sensory Putty
  • Water
  • Fingerpaint

Art

Art is a great opportunity to practice sharing materials, following directions, fine motor skills and more. Some of these activities may need to be adjusted to meet your child’s needs. If the activity requires cutting but your child isn’t using scissors on their own yet, consider cutting out most of the pieces for them. Leave only the pieces with long straight lines like squares or rectangles for them to cut (with help). If it’s still too hard, cut out all the pieces, or having them tear the paper instead (depending on the activity). Finally, in most cases your child’s art work will not look like yours or the sample and that’s okay. When you are preparing the art activities I recommend making enough materials for you and your child one to make one together and one extra already made so your child can see what you will be making. You can also show them a picture if you need to instead. You will be modeling what to do for your child. Help your child write their name on the back of each activity too. If they can, have them trace or write at least their first letter. Letters that are straight like A, L, I, etc are easiest. They may need more help with letters that have curves like B and D. If they can’t trace yet, write it together or tell them the letters as you write their name. Finally, I did my best to write out step by step directions. you do not have to follow them exactly they are just guidelines for anyone who may need them.

  1. On blue construction paper cut out the head, body, tail and legs. Cut out the shoes provided. You can cut out the eyes on yellow paper or draw them on later. I also recommend a piece of construction paper (any color) that your child can glue everything onto. Remember to make one for you and one for your child.
  2. Tell your child, “Look we are going to make our very own Pete the Cat.” Keep all of the pieces, you can give them to your child 1-2 at a time. Place the blank piece of construction paper in front of them, don’t forget one for you. ” First we’re going to put on the body. Give the oval to your child and get one for yourself.
  3. Say, “I need glue” and get the glue stick. Put the glue on your oval.
  4. Your turn, hand your child the glue. If they need help putting on the glue, you can prompt(help) them verbally, by pointing, or place your hand gently over their hand and put the glue on together.
  5. “Good job now put it on your paper”. Place your oval on the paper. Wait and see if they do the same. Prompt (help) as needed.
  6. “Now we need a tail” Place the head and tail in front of your child. “Get the tail”. Wait and see if they can find it. If they don’t pick it up show them your tail and repeat the direction. If they still have trouble point at the tail or use hand over hand if needed.
  7. “Put on the glue”. Model and prompt as needed.
  8. “Put the tail on Pete”. Model by putting on your tail first. Wait for your child to do the same. Prompt(help) as needed.
  9. “Pete needs his head, get the head”. Glue and place the head on your paper, wait for your child to do the same, prompting as needed.
  10. “Pete needs four legs, let’s count” Using the model count Pete’s legs with your child, pointing at each leg slowly and say 1, 2. Then pause and keep pointing. See if your child will say 3. Do the same for 4.
  11. “Great, let’s put on four legs”. Slowly give your child their legs, counting out loud as you put them on the table. Again, try pausing to see if your child will help you count.
  12. Put glue on your legs and show your child how to put them on. Then wait for your child to put on their legs (prompting as needed).
  13. “Now what does Pete need” show your child the shoes. Wait for them to say shoes. If they don’t prompt them by saying shoes and wait for them to repeat.
  14. Put your shoes on and help your child put their shoes on too.
  15. If your child wants they can color Pete’s shoes and draw on his face. If they are losing interest or getting antsy you can leave them white and draw the face for them.
  • Tuesday – Pete the Cat mini coloring book.
    1. You will need the printed book and crayons (breaking your crayons in half can help your child work on holding the crayon correctly while they are coloring. Pete the Cat Book is also helpful.
    2. You can download it for free here. Print coloring book. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pete-the-cat-mini-book-4955325 . Cut the book ahead of time and have it ready to go. The last page of the book is optional, it is to expand the activity so you and your child can think of something else Pete might step in like bananas that might turn his shoes yellow.
    3. Sit at the table with your materials.
    4. Tell your child ” We are going to make our very own Pete the Cat Book”. Give your child the page that says Pete the Cat I love my new shoes.
    5. “What color do you want?” Show your child the crayons but do not give them any until they request verbally with icons or by signing. If they don’t answer, show them two crayons and ask again. If they still do not answer you can mode. I want blue and color a little with the blue crayon and ask again. If they still don’t respond you might try verbally prompting by saying ” I want….” and waiting for them to finish the sentence. If there is still no response give them only option and try again.
    6. Now that they picked a color, have them color Pete the Cat. Try to have them stay in the lines if they are able. you can redirect them by pointing inside Pete the Cat so they know where they need to color.
    7. Move on to the next page (not blueberries, skip to strawberries for now). Look at the Pete the Cat book together. “Look, Pete stepped in the strawberries, what color did it turn his shoes.” See if your child answers, if not you can tell them “red” ” Let’s find the red crayon.
    8. Look at the coloring page again. Place 2-3 crayons in front of them. Tell them get red. Point if needed or gently place your hand over their hand and help them get the red crayon. Let’s color the strawberry (point) and Pete’s shoes(point) red.
    9. A lot of kids will color the whole page red, that is okay just redirect the best you can.
    10. “Now we need to color Pete. Can you get the blue crayon” Offer choice and prompt as before. “Great job!”
    11. Repeat this process for the pages with blueberries(should be next), mud and water.
    12. Praise your child and let them go play. You can staple the book your child made and read it together
  • Wednesday – Pete the Cat Headband –
    • You will need blue construction paper, a marker, yellow construction paper and glue (preferably glue sticks)
    1. On blue construction paper cut out a rectangle, this will be the headband. Next cut out two blue triangles for ears, two yellow eyes and a nose. Use your marker to add the pupil to the eyes or let your child do it for you. If your not the best at drawing you can download a template for the eyes and nose here. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pete-the-Cat-Headband-3759248
    2. Gather the materials you created, and your glue sticks and sit at the table with your child. First, place the rectangle strip in front of you and your kiddo. Make sure the table is as clear as possible so your child wont be distracted.
    3. Tell them “We are going to make a Pete the Cat headband. Show them the finished Pete the Cat headband.
    4. First we need two triangle ears” Pick up your Pete the Cat ears and show them to your child. “Get the ears”. Wait and see if they find the ears on their own. If not, you can prompt them verbally, i.e. “get the triangle”. If that doesn’t work you can point at the triangles. If the still need help you can hand them the ears.
    5. Next say “Let’s put on Pete’s ears, they go on top.” Point to the ears on the finished product. Do not use the glue yet. “Can you put them on top?” See where they place them. If they put them in the right place, fantastic. If not, model what they should do. Tell them “Look, they go on top” and put your ears on the top of your headband.
    6. “We need glue, let’s put glue on our ears”. Use the glue stick and put glue on your ears. Your turn, hand them the glue stick. If they need help putting on the glue, you can prompt(help) them verbally, by pointing, or place your hand gently over their hand and put the glue on together. If you use hand over hand, after the first ear see if they can do the second ear on their own. If not, that’s okay, try prompting them again.
    7. Now we’re ready to glue on our ears. Put your ears on the top of the headband. Your turn, put on ears. Let them put on their ears. At this point, it is okay if they don’t end up at the top of the headband. Let them put them on where they think they should go.
    8. “Good job we put on Pete’s ears. I have ears too, here are my ears” Point to your ears. “Where are your ears?” Prompt as needed, help your child find their ears.
    9. “Now Pete needs a nose. Where’s your nose? ” Prompt as needed and help your child find their nose. “Good job that’s your nose. Let’s find Pete’s nose.” Pick up your nose and show it to your child. “Get your nose.” Prompt as needed, just like we did for the ears.
    10. “I need glue, can I have the glue?” We are practicing sharing. If your child does not respond, try prompting again “my turn glue, or give me glue please” If they need help you can point to the glue and repeat the direction or gently place your hand over their hand and help them give you the glue. Put glue on your nose.
    11. “Ok it’s your turn to put on glue. Do you need the glue stick?” Show them the glue and wait for them to say “I want glue” or “My turn” or they can use icons or signs too. If they don’t ask, don’t just give them the glue, try to prompt them to request it.
    12. After they ask for the glue, wait for them to put glue on their nose and help as needed.
    13. “Ok, let’s put on our nose. Point to the nose on the model. Put on your nose and wait for your child to do the same. Again, it is ok if it is not in the “right” place.
    14. Repeat the process for the eyes.
    15. “We have to draw our whiskers”. Point to the whiskers on your model. “Watch.” show your child how to draw the whiskers.
    16. Let them try to draw their whiskers. Prompt as needed.
    17. “Yay, we finished our headband. Great working, you can go play.”
    18. Note- Usually kiddos with Autism do not want to wear the headband themselves but it is still fun to make and you can always put it on a toy or wear it yourself. Also, if your child is non-compliant(refusing to participate). You should still have them do the activity but you may only have them put on the eyes or draw the whiskers.
  • Thursday – Watercolor Pete the Cat
    1. You will need watercolors and a small cup (only fill it 1/4 of the way) and you will also need to print a few coloring pages on white paper. If you don’t have watercolors you can use washable paint or just use crayons or markers. Print at least two different colors but feel free to print as many as you’d like. The coloring pages can be found for free here http://www.makinglearningfun.com/themepages/PetetheCat-ColoringPages.htm
    2. First, model how to use the water color for your child.
    3. Say “First, water, then paint, then paper” modeling each step slowly.
    4. Then give them the brush and let them try. Do your best to make sure they are holding the paint brush correctly.
    5. “Look Pete loves his red shoes. Paint his shoes red” Wait and see if they do. If not point to the color red or help them as needed. Help them paint Pete’s shoes red.
    6. They are practicing cause and effect and working on their colors during this activity.
  • Friday – Pete the Cat in Shoe
    1. You will need blue construction paper, white paper and glue. I would also use a blank piece of paper to glue everything onto.
    2. First, using the template cut out Pete’s head, and body on blue paper and eyes, shoe, and whiskers. http://craftypammy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/cat_in_shoes.pdf
    3. Start with just the blank piece of paper in front of you and your child. Tell your child “Look we’re going to make Pete the Cat in his shoe” Show them the model.
    4. First we need a shoe. Place the shoe on the paper in front of your child and one in front of yourself too.
    5. “I need glue.” Put glue on your shoe and place it on the paper.
    6. “Your turn, what do you need?” Show the child the glue stick but do not give it to them yet. Wait for them to say “I want glue or my turn” Prompt if needed.
    7. Wait for them to glue on their shoe, prompt as needed.
    8. “Now we need Pete’s body”, glue on your body. Help your child do the same, prompting as needed.
    9. “Pete need his head, let’s glue it on” Glue on your head and wait for your child to do the same, helping as needed.
    10. “Pete needs eyes. How many eyes does Pete have. 1, 2″ Pointing at each. ”
    11. Put on Pete’s nose and whiskers, helping your child do the same as needed.
    12. Optionally – let your child color Pete’s shoe.