Welcome to Buds Class

Buds Class

Buds class has a semi – formal curriculum which is predominantly delivered through themed play-based learning. Children in Buds class are ‘learning to learn’ and all activities are highly engaging and provide opportunities for social communication and participation.

The primary focus’ for development in Buds class are – Social Communication, Emotional Regulation, Play and leisure as well as the core academics where appropriate, including- Phonics/Word reading (letters and sounds), Comprehension (guided reading), Number (white rose), and Writing.

Key strategies and approaches in Buds class include- Pairing, Active engagement, Attention Autism, play based learning and TEACHH.

Our Timetable

Sensory Time We start every day with sensory time in Buds class. We are lucky to have our own sensory equipment in class like swings, a hammock and climbing opportunities. We like to bounce, jump, swing, slide, rock, run, dance, balance and much more. We need lots of physical sensory input throughout the day which helps us with our attention and focus.

Here are some links to the songs that we use during our sensory sessions https://youtu.be/dUXk8Nc5qQ8?t=2 https://youtu.be/NwT5oX_mqS0?t=15 https://youtu.be/14WNrvVjiTw?t=2 https://youtu.be/6Q7-tzCChw?t=1 https://youtu.be/388Q44ReOWE?t=16 https://youtu.be/XqZsoesa55w?t=6

Play Skills In Buds class we focus heavily on play skills.

We use lots of play sets such as the farm and car track to encourage functional play as well as lots of messy play for exploratory play. During play we encourage the children to play and explore a variety of objects and materials in different ways whilst always providing opportunities for communication through requesting.

A useful website for messy play and tuff tray ideas is -

http://www.pintrest.co.uk/

Speaking and Listening These sessions offer an opportunity for children to directly practise their communication targets. Initially, the children watch an example of the activity led by the adult. After the adult led activity, the children are then offered the same materials through their method of communication, this includes; gestures, single symbols and Subject Object sentence boards. The more desirable objects are placed out of reach for the children to encourage and practise their communication skills.

Attention Groups

This is our Attention Autism session, it is conducted in 4 stages.

Stage 1 – Gaining children’s attention with ‘The Bucket’ This contains 3 highly engaging items that will initially attract the children’s attention.

Stage 2 – To maintain and increase attention levels. This is usually a giant picture/ display sometimes linked to our weekly theme.

Stage 3 – Turn taking and re-engaging attention. The adult demonstrates the activity and then children are chosen to come and have a go and then return to their seat.

Stage 4 – Shifting and re-engaging attention. This is an individual table top activity which usually imitates an adult directed task.

Magic Box “What’s in the box? Will it be big or will it be small? There might be nothing there at all.”

The Magic box is a favourite in Buds class.

We present the box, sing the song and have a look at what’s inside, one object at a time. It can be anything that gets the children’s attention and promotes communication by using key words

P.E. and Dressing Skills Every Wednesday morning, we have P.E. The skills we work on during these sessions are; exploration, imitation, rule following and play.

In addition to this we use the time before and after our P.E. sessions to work on our dressing skills.

Snack Time Snack is a key time for practising our communication. Children use different methods to request snack items from the grownups, including – objects of reference, single symbols and Subject Object sentence boards. The children are encouraged to use their preferred method of communication to get their preferred items.

Relaxation Time At the end of every day we have relaxation time. We turn off the big lights, put on a soft coloured light, watch bubbles and listen to calm music. This helps us to relax at the end of a busy day.

Some of the links of the relaxation music we use in class. https://youtu.be/oN5az3OvmS4 https://youtu.be/rXZqspBbehE?t=4 https://youtu.be/PunVHiOxUEkE?t=4 https://youtu.be/lgQ10jfgJUEE?t=2 https://youtu.be/lpeZbs3T4vc?t=1 https://youtu.be/E8O8kak1Xgo?t=2