Hello! I am a first year teacher and was just hired as a K-3 Multicategorical special education teacher. One of the boys I have in my room, has down syndrome and will be going into kindergarten. My supervisor told me to start him off with pre-school leveled work. So my question is, what are some things that preschoolers work on every day? What kind of centers do you use? I'm not trained for preschool so I'm not sure what kind of things to use for him. Any tips and ideas would be great! Thanks.
Stuff he needs to know when he gets to your district's curriculum... probably working on letters (names, sounds, matching upper/lower, sequencing etc) numbers (counting, 1-1 corespondence, knowing names of numbers, "give me 3") shapes colors concepts such as over, under, next to, etc. That may get you off to a start...
Thanks so much! I know this seems like a dumb question... I just didn't know if there was a huge difference between a preschool and kindergarten curriculum. Thanks for your help! Those ideas gave me a good idea of some things to do with him.
It is hard to predict where this child will be, developmentally. You will have do do some assessment with him to see where he is. Here are some starters: Fine Motor: Can he do a 4 piece puzzle with pegs? 6 pieces? A 12 piece puzzle without pegs? Can he stick stickers to a piece of paper? Can he scribble? Can he duplicate a line and circle when you show him how? Can he put large pegs in a pegboard? Can he stack three blocks in a tower? 5 blocks? Can he snip with scissors? Cut along a straight line? A circle? Language: Can he tell you his first name? Full name? Parents' names? Can he name animals in a book and make their sounds? Can he name vehicles and tell where they go? (Airplane/sky, etc.?) Can he retell a very short story using picture cues? Can he make up a story to go with a picture? Reasoning: Can he line up 3 similar objects (such as Teddy Bears) by size, and point to small, meduium, and large when asked? Can he sort by color? Point to items of a color you name? Can he correctly sequence pictures of a familiar event using picture cards? Can he follow a simple, two-step instruction, such as "Take the horse out of the barn and put it next to the pig"? Can he copy a simple pattern (red/green/red/green, for example) using cube blocks or pegboard pegs? Gross Motor: Can he put shoes on his feet? Can he roll a ball to you? Toss? Kick? Can he hop on two feet? One? Can he scoop and pour sensory materials, such as dry beans? Can he walk up and down steps? Once you have a "baseline" you'll be able to brainstrom ways to work with him on his level. Let him know that your are thrilled with what he CAN do, instead of focusing right away on what he struggles with. Let me know if you would like suggestions for activities. Down's Syndrome kids are so rewarding to work with! It might be helpful to check in with his parents to see if he needs help bathrooming, what his favorite toys are, etc. What sort of therapy services will he be receiving?
Thank you for all the great ideas! You have helped me a lot! The only thereapy service he receives that I know of so far is speech.
