February Fun

Putting Therapy Into Practice

With all this dreary weather, start talking about your family’s spring break plans. Talk about where you will go, who you will see, what you will do, when you will go. If you are planning a “Staycation,”  brainstorm ideas of where to go and whom to go with during the week.

Activity of the Month

Making Rice Krispie Treats

You will need:

•  3 Tbsp of butter
• 1 (10- ½ oz) package of marshmallows
• 6 cups of Rice Krispie cereal
• 9 x 13 pan
• Cooking Spray (optional)

Directions:

1.  Melt butter in a medium pan
2.  Add marshmallows and stir until the marshmallows are completely melted
3.  Add food coloring (optional)
4.  Add 6 cups of Rice Krispie Cereal to the marshmallow mixture
5.  Mix cereal into marshmallow mixture until cereal is completely covered
6.  Dump the mixture into a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan. You can use wax paper to press the
   mixture into the pan. Add some fun toppings!
7.  Let the treats cool and then cut into shapes. Try using cookie cutters!

You can incorporate the following concepts into the activity:

• Planning: What do we need? What color do you want to use? Where is the ____ (e.g.
  butter, cereal, etc).
•  Sequencing: First, put the butter in the pan. Next, add the marshmallows. Finally, put into the pan.  After they cool, you can cut into shapes.
•  Basic concepts: colors (choose food dye), shapes (heart, star, square, etc), actions (stir,
  pour, dump, melt, press), texture (soft, sticky, crunchy)
•  Expanding utterances: We need ______, I have ______, Open _____, Pour ____.
•  Motor Speech: Speak with your PROMPT© trained therapist to determine which words
  to use in the activity. Some lexicon ideas include: cut it, you do it, put it in, let me do it, it is hot, not hot.

Upcoming Events

• Saturday, February 17th: Art Investigators Modern Art 10:30 and 12:30 at the National Gallery of Art
• Saturday, February 17th and Sunday, February 18th: George Washington’s Birthday Celebration at Mt. Vernon (free admission!)
• Friday, February 23th at 7:00 PM: Captain Underpants at Sherwood Community Center
• Saturday, February 24th: Northern Virginia Camp and Summer Fun Expo 10:00-4:00 at the Dulles Town Center
• Saturday, February 24th: Saturday Morning at the National Theater 9:30 and 11:00 (pre-register one week prior to the event)