Welcome to Maracas Class!
Maracas Class learn through a sensory/ play approach to meet the needs of the pupils who are developing their readiness to learn.
We start the day with time to run around outside and explore the playground equipment followed by individual sensory processing programmes, which help us to be ready and focussed for learning.
Throughout the morning, the children take part in My communication and My thinking lessons:
- Learning early ready and writing skills through topic themed sensory stories and sensory writing.
- Developing fundamental communication skills through a topic themed TAC PAC in the sensory room.
- Following instructions to make simple snacks in the cooking room.
- Learning early number skills through topic themed number songs and number games.
- Practicing counting through fun activities in the hydro pool and sand pit.
The classroom has literacy, numeracy and topic themed areas for the children to explore throughout the day.
Every Tuesday morning, we go ‘out and about’ in the community with lower school, and over the year they will have developed their individual skills in a shop, library, allotment, café, park and woodlands.
In the afternoons, we learn about our fun topics through art and practical/ sensory activities. Once a week we have speech and language and cooking, making a different topic related dish each half term. On Wednesdays, we have a focus on our physical development. We finish off the week with music lessons, taking part in Hampshire music every other half term.
We focus on communication skills in everything we do. We are learning to communicate using PECs and ALDs to ask for our favourite toys and food.