It’s another wild and unpredictable week at Hilltop, so going with the flow most groups this week were able to move on to our social communication unit. This week we focused on non-verbal communication---eye contact, facial expressions, body language, “looks” we get from other people. For some students these are really difficult to "get" because it requires paying close attention to other people and being able to accurately guess what other people are thinking or feeling.
Several groups got to do a “No Talking Day” which consisted of using simple sign language to “check in” for the day and share how they were feeling, participating in a team-building tower-building activity, and finally choosing a prize to take home using more sign language (colors, please, thank you). Not only were students forced to use a different way of communicating instead of speaking, they had to be especially attentive to the group and one another so they didn’t miss what was going on in group, which is also a very difficult task for some students.
Based on group needs there were a couple groups that played the “Understanding Faces” game (imagine Apples to Apples, but with faces instead of words), and yet a couple others finished up some activities that they had started the week before, waiting to start a more formal communication lesson until next week.
Looking forward, the school year is coming to an end in a month and so I’ve been preparing students for our last few meetings. Next week we’ll do another lesson on social communication (literal and figurative language). The week after I’ll be at Wolf Ridge with Shirley Hills so there will be no groups. The last week of May we’ll do a lesson on transitions and the final full week of school we’ll have our end-of-the-year celebrations (yes, this probably means the tent will be back for an in-office camp out!). Time will fly, that’s for sure. As always, let me know if you have any questions and I’m more than happy to help!
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