Senior Communicate Class

Yes I Can! Senior Communicate is an intermediate level class, focusing on social communication between children, expressive and receptive language and building imaginative play skills.

Ratio: One teacher for every 4 students.

Approach: The philosophy of the class stems from Dr. Stanley Greenspan’s basic principles of “floor time”. This approach is proven to help children expressively and receptively communicate with there peers/caregivers. The Floortime Approach is used in many of the aspects of the program, but especially predominant at ‘free play’.

Goal: To expose children to small peer group where they can practice imaginative play skills, increase vocabulary and develop social communication with peers. The use of visuals and schedule boards aid in this process. The pictures are used to reinforce the verbal word, giving them more opportunity to be successful. This program provides the opportunity to increase expressive, receptive and social communication skills.

Areas of program:

  1. “Today I” Letter: This is an informative “quick” letter home. It is written both with picture symbols and notes from the teachers. The purpose of our “Today I” sheets is to encourage daily communication between you and your child. Your child can show you in picture form what he/she did that morning; while notes from the teacher help you to form questions that will bring out language from your child.
  2. Floor Time: This is the best time of the morning to see many spontaneous interactions between classmates. Our Floor Time follows Dr. Stanley Greenspan’s approach to “mushing” the children together, a method of play that entices the children to work together and build social communication goals. Groups of friends can be seen at all the activities busy building towers, playing with cars or making silly Mr. Potato Head faces together. This is also a great opportunity for the teacher to read through the child’s “Remnant Book”. These are photo albums filled with souvenirs or pictures of an activity that you and your child recently took part in and promote interesting conversations between the children.
  3. “Do It Together Time”: This is a wonderful opportunity for the children to sit together as a group as they participate in a co-operative game or activity which encourages team work, language, attentiveness. It also bridges the gap between floor time and circle providing a fun and interactive way to transition.slide_07
  4. Cooking: On Tuesday mornings the communicate class creates some delicious co-operatively made treats whose recipes are created to compliment our units. We encourage each child to participate by bringing an ingredient from home. Some of the dishes we will enjoy preparing are French toast, Grilled cheese, Vegetable soup and Trail mix. The children are divided into smaller groups and follow picture symbol recipes. They take turns mixing, pouring and measuring. We accommodate all food sensitivities and allergies. The teachers will let you know what ingredients your child might need to bring on the “Today I” sheet the previous week. If your child does have any dietary restrictions please make sure the information we have is updated.
  5. Drama: This has proven to be a favourite activity in the past years. Our dramatic pieces are chosen to provide the children with opportunities to rehearse everyday situations. For example: while playing Doctor’s office, children practice playing quietly in a waiting room, listening for their names and having their eyes checked. Another popular dramatic unit is going to McDonalds where the children learn to stand in line and wait to be served. They also practice choosing from a menu and sitting down with friends to eat the meal they have chosen. We change our dramatic situations monthly and are open to any ideas!
  6. Show and Share: This begins in October and our Communicate Calendar will list each child’s special day. Show and Share is typically done on Thursdays, during cognitive circle. Each child gets to bring in something to the class, while the other excited children wait patiently to see what will be shown. We suggest practicing a mini script with your child the night before so that they know what they want to say to their friends on their special Show and Share day.
  7. Snack: Snack is a sit down, quiet time for the teachers to facilitate simple conversations amongst the children. This is a time to share ideas and comments while practicing appropriate social etiquette. Snack is provided, however as some parents provide alternate snacks due to allergies and special diets, we ask that you ensure it is Peanut and Nut Free.