Spatial Concept and Body Awareness

Imagine you are in front of the mirror with a scarf.  The mirrors are magic; you can be tall, round, thin.  Can you change positions?  Can you change your body shape?  Relax on the floor and think about your scarf – you are going to wear it and find a partner – think

• who you are,
• where you are,
• how do you feel today?

Tell your partner and change over.  Pretend you are the scarf, tell your partner what your  colour is, and how you feel.

For Special Needs, Rhythm and Sound Using Senses Help Develop Communication

Your scarf can hear a sound.  (Introduce music or percussion.)  It is a celebration, people are waving flags, hankerchiefs.  A parade is coming, can you hear the sounds?  Join your scarf with the sound, (move to the sound).  Form a group and follow the parade.

Find a streamer or another scarf, attach it to your arms and join with another partner.  What sound could your orange scarf make?  The parade is moving away, the wind is going to blow your scarf back into the bag.

Lie back down onto the warm sand.  Close you eyes, and breathing in, sink down into the sand.  The parade has passed, you are ready to rest.

It is important that the teacher assists throughout the role play activities, which the student forms in either groups or individual areas.

Unit 1 assists the student with poor spatial concepts and motor co-ordination.  It is important to define the movements.

Fine Motor Skills

• Relax on the floor placing hands on the rib cage.
• Close your eyes and breathe in and out slowly, feeling your chest rise and fall.  Open your eyes.  Listen to the music and imagine that you are lying on the warm sand, place your arms to the side and allow the sand to run through your fingers.  You may like to raise one arm and then the other, allowing the sand to drift through the air.
• Sit up slowly, cross your legs, and using your hands dig into the sand and find a box.  Open the box slowly.  Inside there are a lot of coins, let them run through your fingers.
• Close the box and bury it again.  Stand and walk across the sand to the scarf bag.  Choose a scarf.  You may need it in the hot sun.

Gross Motor Skills and Balance

• Are your scarves light or heavy?  Create a pattern in the air, perhaps the letter of your name.
• Extend your body to make the scarf move up and down, twisting, swaying, sweeping, swooping.  Go on your knees and wave your scarf.  Try waving on one knee, now change.  Sit with your scarf.  How could you wear it?

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