Home Teaching Activities
Home Teaching Activities0 Comment

Classroom Activities

Here is a brief description of the structured activities I would normally do with my students in a school day. Remember, having a structured, consistent routine is important for kids with Autism. Don’t forget to include unstructured time/free play too. Free play does not mean your child is just playing. This is still a great time for you to teach them without them realizing it. drive trucks with your child and practice stop and go or fast and slow. Use blocks to practice size and color. “I am going to put on the big block, give me the blue block, etc. Get creative, everything is a learning opportunity. If there is something you don’t understand, or if you have questions or concerns please feel free to contact me and I will do by my best to help you. I will also be including future posts to discuss behaviors, social skills and communication.

Sample Schedule

  • 8:00-8:30 Free Play/School Day starting
  • 8:30-8:40 Toileting/Hand washing
  • 8:40-9:10 Breakfast/Snack
  • 9:10-9:30 Circle Time
  • 9:30-10:00 Outdoor Recess
  • 10:00-10:10 Toileting
  • 10:10-11:00 Centers (At home this may look different, and you may want to use first/then or a token board to provide breaks between each station. Have your student work for 5-10 mins and then play for 5 mins, etc. I will discuss token boards and first/then more in another post)
  • 11:00-11:30 Free Play
  • 11:30-11:40 Toileting
  • 11:40-12:10 Lunch
  • 12:10-12:40 Outdoor Recess
  • 12:40-12:50 Toileting
  • 12:50-1:15 Art/Sensory Time
  • 1:15-1:45 – Free Play
  • 1:45-2:00 Closing Circle

Circle Time

Circle time typically provides a good time for students to practice participating in teacher directed activity. some kids love it, some kids would prefer to be playing. At home circle may look different, you might sit next to your child on the floor, couch, bed or table. If you want to sit across from your child you can try sitting on a couch or chair while your child sits on the floor. some kiddos may be wiggle worms or runners. You can have someone else with next to your child or behind them to help provide prompts, supports or reinforcers that will help them remain sitting or you can try moving closer to them to help as well (I will include more about prompts, supports and reinforceres in another post) .

I usually vary my circle depending on my students and their interest or engagement level but usually I will have a 10-20 minute circle. If you do a longer circle you make sure you provide opportunities for a child to move. I usually do a good morning song with some movement, calendar and checking in (who is at school today), then a movement song. After the movement song, I will normally do second song that will help me regain the child’s attention and to give them a chance to regain control of their little bodies. After the songs, I will read a story. Then, we have a short play time before moving on to another teacher directed task.

Table Tasks

Another important work time in my classroom is center time. During center time we do a variety of different activities at each table or center. We work on social skills such as reciprocal play using games like Lucky Ducks or by rolling a ball back and forth. Some kiddos need to work on play skills. They may have trouble playing with toys in a functional manner and instead them may line them up, twirl them around, toss them across the room, etc. So, we work on teaching them to play in a structured setting during a teaching directed activity. We work on fine motor skills like lacing, cutting, stringing beads, peg boards, etc. Last but not least, we work on academics. I use many, many different things to work on academics but some things I might use are file folders(I will talk about these in another post), puzzles, matching games, objects for sorting, handouts(rarely), and toys. toys can be used to teach counting, body parts, colors, numbers, size, letters, and more. Of course, during all of these tasks we are also working on communication.

Meals/Snack

Meal time is another great time for learning. Do your best to make sure your child is seated at the table or in a high chair. It may not always be easy but teaching them to sit during meals makes it easier to encourage communication, social interactions, and healthy eating habits. Normally with my students, we use meal times to encourage communication. We have a basket with all of the child’s food inside. They get a communication book with visual icons(if they need it) or use their words to request items. Some students are working on one word requests (i.e. milk), while others are working on longer sentences( I want 4 chips please). Do not give your child an item because they are screaming or crying. Have the communicate using an icon, sound, word, or sign language. Provide prompts and supports as needed. If it is a non-preferred food item, your child is not going to request it because they don’t want it. If it is non-preferred you may leave it out on a plate in front of your child. If they won’t eat it they can practice just leaving it on their plate for few days(which can be hard).Then, they can practice touching it to their lips. You can also try first/then with a preferred item(first, bite apple, then cookie). It can take time, don’t give up.

Toileting

Toileting is good time to practice self-help skills. This will vary by each student’s individual needs but I have all of my students (even those still in diapers) practice the toileting routine. This will get them used to it, so when they are ready they know what to do. This can also help students from being afraid of the toilet which happens often. I have all of my students practice pulling their pants down, sitting on the toilet (starting for a few seconds and working up a few minutes), pulling their pants back up and flushing(some students may need headphones and some may need so skip flushing if the noise is too much. Then we go and wash hands. The students should get water, soap, rub their hands together and dry off with a towel or paper towel. For toileting and hand-washing, use prompts as needed. You may need to place your child’s hands on his pants and help him push them down at first. You may to hand-over-hand and place your hands over his while you show him how to wash them. Try to use the least amount of support that is needed, though. Independence is encouraged. If your child is already toilet trained, make sure they are using the bathroom independently, and/or asking to use the bathroom with a sign, icon, or verbally.

Art

Art/Sensory activities is another thing we do every day in the classroom. I vary what I do each day so the kids can practice different skills. It’s a great way to practice fine motor skills, communication, social skills like turn taking and following directions. You have to be most flexible with art activities. Sometimes things may be too hard or your child may not be interested and you may have to throw out your art project. That is okay. Model or show them what you want them to do. Use gestural prompts, like pointing to where the eyes should go. Use visuals to help them understand. Sometimes you may need to use physical prompting to get them started. Also, your child’s art work should not look like yours. You don’t want to do it for them, even if it doesn’t look exactly the same. The process is more important than the product and I love seeing all of the different ways kids do each of the projects.