As always, we’re grateful to Victoria for her monthly blog post. Please consider visiting her Mash store here. Make sure to check out her latest product: ‘January 2024 Teachers Almanac – A Comprehensive Guide to January Through the Senses’
Teaching ideas and inspiration to celebrate the month of January including Jackson Pollock Sensory Art, World Braille Day, Big Schools Birdwatch, Martin Luther King Day, National Handwriting Day, and more!
Dates At a Glance
- 4th Jan World Braille Day
- 6th Jan – Epiphany
- 6th Jan – 20th Feb Big Schools Birdwatch
- 16th Martin Luther King Day
- 23rd Jan – National Handwriting Day
- 25th Jan – Burns Night
4th Jan World Braille Day
- Can students write their name using the letters from the braille alphabet?
- Roll playdoh or plasticine into little balls to place on a template of the braille alphabet.
- Play a game of dominoes matching the dots.
- Match physical items to the words
6th Jan Epiphany
Epiphany Day or ‘Three Kings Day’, is a Christian holiday celebrating the day the Three Wise Men travelled to visit Jesus.
Smell: Frankincense and Myrrh (these can be purchased as essential oils, incense, and hand cream)
Touch & Look at: gold items: dress jewellery, gold foil, gold paper, gold material and fabric, mark make using gold paint.
Listen to: the sound coins make as they hit the bottom of the money box/tin when posted. Taste: Foods traditionally eaten at Epiphany include: clementines, dates and dried fruit. Taste gold chocolate coins.
Other Activities
- Make and decorate crowns.
- Make star shaped cookies.
- Explore an Epiphany sensory bin or box.
- Listen to, sing, sign, and/or play instruments to the song ‘We Three Kings’
- Dress up as Kings.
Promote Literacy Skills
Traditionally, people bless their home by writing the letters C, M, and B, + the year, above the door to the house. The letters represent Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. The + signifies the cross. The letters also represent the Latin words ‘Christus mansionem benedicat,’ which translates to ‘May Christ bless the house’
Practice mark-making, writing and recognising the numbers, letters and symbols 20 + C + M + B + 24 in chalk.
16th Jan – Martin Luther King Day
- Make a dreamcatcher.
- Make a friendship potion using edible flowers and herbs.
You will need:
A Container: Bowl, bucket or beaker (or for a less mess alternative, place your potion ingredients directly into a large clean, empty water bottle, fasten the lid, secure with tape to make a potion sensory bottle.)
Liquid: Water (still or carbonated), Glycerine, Food Colouring, Hair Conditioner, Vegetable Oil.
Infuse tea in water: Chamomile, Echinacea, Ginger, Green, Lemon Balm, Rose, Turmeric, Peppermint.
(Mix tea leaves to create a new blend)
Items to Stimulate Vision and Touch: Calcite, Feathers, Foam Shapes, Gems, Glass Pebbles, Glitter, Googly Eyes, Pom Poms, Polished Pebbles, Rhinestones, Seeds, Sequins, Shells, Tassels, Water Beads.
Items to Stimulate the Sense of Smell: Fresh or Dried Herbs: (Basil, Cinnamon Sticks, Cloves, Lavender, Lime Leaves, Lemon Grass, Mint, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Star Anise, Thyme, Turmeric), Edible Flowers, Orange/Lemon/Lime Peel, Rose Petals.
Essential Oils: Bergamot, Cedarwood, Eucalyptus, Frankincense, Grapefruit, Lavender, Lemon, Lemongrass, Lime, Orange, Patchouli, Peppermint, Rose, Rosemary, Tea Tree, Ylang-Ylang.
Items to Stimulate Hearing: Beads, Buttons, Coins, Pasta, Pulses, Rice.
Items to Promote Fine Motor Skills and Encourage Scientific Investigation & Exploration: Chopsticks, Food Tongs, Funnels, Plastic Safety Scissors,
Measuring Beakers/Cylinder/Jug, Plastic Safety/Easy Grip/Jumbo Tweezers, Magnifying Glass/Handheld Magnifier, Pestle & Mortar, Pipettes, Plastic Test Tubes, PVC Tubing, Spatula, Spoons, Water Droppers.
23rd Jan – National Handwriting Day
- Explore sensory mark making in different mediums flour, foam, oats, pulses, rice, sand, soil
- Use different tools to mark-make: brushes (bottle brush, hairbrush, nail brush, pot brush, scrubbing brush, toothbrush), chalk, charcoal, feathers, kitchen utensils, paint rollers, sponges, toy cars, sticks and twigs
- Explore printing using leaves, fruits, vegetables, and bubble wrap.
- Make bark rubbings.
- Spray paint from a water spray bottle.
- Carve into plasticine, clay or wax.
- Draw around shadows.
January Birthdays
4th Jan – Sir Isaac Newton
- Eat an apple and explore apple printing. Can the students make a repeating pattern using different colours?
- Explore gravity by trampolining/rebound therapy.
- Explore the law of acceleration by riding a bike, go cart or scooter or sending a toy car or ball down a ramp.
8th Jan – Elvis Presley
- Listen to a song by ‘The King of Rock and Roll’
- Can the students join in playing musical instruments?
17th Jan – Benjamin Franklin
- Explore torches, LED Battery lights, and bells.
- Fly a kite
- Explore printing activities
18th Jan – AA Milne
- Listen to a Winnie the Pooh story
- Taste honey
27th Jan – Lewis Carroll
- Hold a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party
28th Jan – Jackson Pollock
Create Jackson Pollock Artwork.
- Lay a large sheet of paper on the floor, dip balls of assorted sizes and textures into paint then roll!
- Fill pipettes/turkey basters with different coloured paints then squeeze onto paper.
- Place a sheet of paper in a tray. Squeeze poster paints onto the paper then roll a marble or a small ball around the tray.
- Add different coloured watered-down paints or food colouring to water spray bottles explore the different nozzle settings, spray, spritz and squirt.
- Squeeze a little poster/acrylic paint onto paper. Provide a selection of toy cars and vehicles (with different sized wheels) for students to ‘drive’ over the paper.
- Line a large box with paper, add a little paint, secure the lid…then shake!
- Tie rubber bands around a rolling pin, dip into paint then roll.
- Soak sponges with paint, drop them over paper and watch the paint splatter. Experiment using different shaped sponges thrown from different heights.
- Add paint to the paper then blow through a straw to create random patterns.
- Place a sheet of paper in the basket of a salad spinner, add watered down paint…then spin!
- Gently pour paint into a funnel. Place your thumb over the small opening at the bottom then release over the paper to create a picture.
- Take the learning outside, place a large sheet of paper on the floor, fill water balloons with paint, take aim…then throw!
- Continuing with the outdoor theme, make tyre tracks by riding a bike scooter over paint on a large sheet of paper.
- Stimulate the senses. Add a few drops of food flavouring (peppermint, strawberry, vanilla essence) to the paint.
- Explore using different liquids for ‘paint’ food colouring, coffee, fruit juice, teabags, washing up liquid.
- Paint using herbs and spices mixed in water: allspice, cumin, (mild) curry powder, paprika or ground up seed and herbs mixed with water.
‘Jackson Pollock Sensory Art’ by the Students of Harbour House
I was delighted to receive these fabulous pictures from the talented students of Harbour House – a specialist SLD provision which is part of Gloucestershire College.
Look at the scale of this artwork!
Some students made smaller pieces of artwork using paint and a salad spinner which they glued onto their masterpiece, and they also made their own environmentally friendly scented paint!
January Arts, Crafts and Promoting Literacy Skills
STOP! Don’t throw away your Christmas Cards!!!
Receiving Christmas cards is one of the joys of the season. Before you pop them in the recycling bin, take a look at these low-budget educational, yet fun activities!
Next Year’s Gift Tags!
This activity promotes creative art & design, decision making and fine motor skills as students handle materials.
You will need:
- Christmas cards
- Scissors
- Ribbon or string
- Hole punch
Activity
- Select a Christmas card.
- Cut down the edge and use the front of the card.
- Encourage the student to look for different pictures to use for gift tags within the card.
- Using the scissors, carefully cut around your chosen picture.
- Punch a hole in the top corner.
- Thread string or ribbon through the hole.
Jigsaws
This activity will develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, shape recognition, promote problem solving, patience and a feeling of achievement once the puzzle is completed.
You will need:
- Used Christmas Cards
- Scissors
- Ruler
Activity
1. Select a Christmas Card. Cut down the edge and use the front of the card.
2. Cut the card into shapes
3. Experiment with different shapes, rectangles, squares, triangles etc.
Speech Bubbles
This activity engages the imagination, develops communication and language skills, encourages social interaction by means of a two-way conversation and helps students to build on storytelling skills.
You will need:
- The front of a Christmas Card
- A pen/felt tip
Activity
- Select a card.
- Draw a speech bubble on the card next to a character (Option to print out templates to stick on)
- Write the speech inside the speech bubble – it could be a question, command, comment, or a joke.
- Extend the learning by using a ‘thought bubble’ and discuss the difference between and ‘though bubble’ and a ‘speech bubble’
Story Cards
This activity is a fun way to engage imaginative thinking, promote communication & language skills and explore storytelling.
Take a look at this Christmas card.
- Point to characters in the card and ask open-ended questions e.g. ‘What gifts do you think the girl is carrying?’
- ‘Why do you think the man is pulling the presents on a sleigh’?
- What season/month is it?
- ‘Why are the people wearing hats/carrying presents?
- ‘Why do the chimneys have smoke coming out of them?’
- ‘How many dogs can you see?’
Build a story around the card.
‘The people who live in this village are preparing for a Christmas party.’
‘The boy at the bottom of the card is singing Christmas Carols.’
‘The lady at the top of the picture has baked mince pies for the villagers.’
‘The people have decorated the tree ready for the big light switch-on later this evening.’
- Spark conversation by asking ‘Who?’, What?’, ‘When?’ ‘Where?’ and ‘Why?’
- Can the student develop the plot? What happens next?
- Can the student relate events in the picture to events or experiences in their own lives?
Word Play
This activity builds word recognition and comprehension skills.
Cut out the verse from a Christmas card.
Ask the student to read the verse out loud.
- Photocopy or write the verse onto the top of a piece of paper.
- Cut out the individual words then scramble them for the student to place into the correct order.
- Can the student use the words to compose their own sentences or phrases? e.g., ‘New Year Wishes’, ‘Best Christmas Greetings.’
Poetry Page
The rhythm and rhyme of Poetry helps individuals to learn new vocabulary and encourages speech and language
You will need:
- A Christmas card verse page
- PVA glue/glue stick or sticky tape
- Piece of card or paper
Activity
- Carefully cut out the verses from the Christmas Cards.
- Glue the verses onto the card or paper.
- Read the poem aloud to the student.
- Identify and define any unfamiliar words.
- Can the student read the poem or any sentences aloud?
- Summarise and discuss the poem’s meaning.
- Can the student create their own verse?
The Sensory Card
I love the cause and effect of this flip-up sequined card!
The senses are stimulated as the shiny silver reversible sequins change into a colourful star as the fingers are brushed over the surface. It is also very tactile.
This beautiful card will be promptly popped into my sensory box!
For more January ideas…
Just Released!
‘January 2024 Teachers Almanac – A Comprehensive Guide to January Through the Senses’
This comprehensive teaching pack is aimed at providing opportunities for learners to explore the month of January 2024 through the senses.
It includes a fully resourced, step-by-step multisensory story, mini sensory stories, and sensory activity ideas to celebrate the month’s festivals and celebrations, awareness days, this day in history, January Facts, and more!
The perfect resource for SEN & Mainstream Teachers, Early Years Practitioners, HLTA’s, TA’s, SLA’s, Speech Therapists, Play Therapists, Support Workers, Activity Coordinators, Parents, Guardians, Childminders, Carers, Librarians and anyone with an interest in exploring storytelling through the senses.
Table of Contents
How to tell a Multisensory Story
Using Sound Effects in a Multisensory Story
‘January’ – A Fully Resourced, Step-by-Step, Multisensory Story
January Facts – Janus Art Activity
Quote of the Month
January Birthstone
January Nature
January on the Farm
The Sensory Garden
January Star Signs
‘Capricorn the Goat’ Multisensory Story
Aquarius The Water Bearer Activity
Scents of the Month
Tastes of the Month
Veganuary
New Year Lucky Foods
National Whipped Cream Month
National Bean Month
National Milk Day
Brew Monday
National Popcorn Day
National Cheese Lovers Day
National Chocolate Cake Day
National Croissant Day
National Hot Chocolate Day
The New Moon
Festivals and Celebrations
Epiphany
Orthodox Christmas Day
Distaff Day
The Straw Bear Festival
Lohri
Wassailing Day Multisensory Story
Laba
St Agnes Eve Multisensory Story
Burns Night
Tu BiShvat
St Dwynwen’s Day
Awareness Days
Veganuary
World Self-care Day
World Introvert Day
World Braille Day
Big Schools Birdwatch
Thesaurus Day
World Snow Day
National Handwriting Day
Australia Day
International Holocaust Memorial Day
National Lego Day
Jan National Puzzle Day
This Day in History
The launch of rocket Luna
Birthdate of Sir Isaac Newton.
Birthdate of Welsh painter Augustus John.
German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen demonstrated his invention the x-ray.
The opening of a transatlantic telephone line between London and New York.
Galileo Galilei announces his discovery of four moons circling Jupiter.
The Introduction of the Penny Post.
Opening of the London Underground.
Birthdate of Charles Perrault author of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’
The London Co-operative society opens Britain’s first self-service supermarket in London.
Birthdate of Michael Bond creator of Paddington Bear.
Disney’s first full-length colour cartoon ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ is released.
The Crowning of Queen Elizabeth I.
The Introduction of Decimal Currency in the UK.
Martin Luther King Day.
Birthdate of Benjamin Franklin.
Birthdate of AA Milne.
Birthdate of American astronaut and second man on the moon Edwin Buzz Aldrin.
Scientists discover the fossil of the oldest known land creature.
Birthdate of Lewis Carroll.
Dr Livingstone is found in Africa by Sir Henry Morton Stanley.
Birthdate of Jackson Pollock.
January Arts and Crafts
Recycling Christmas Cards & Promoting Literacy Skills