The Clubhouse is the Behavioral Intervention Association's (http://www.bia4autism.org) after-school program. Once a week, children between the ages of 5 and 12, who have communication and social challenges, meet and engage in fun activities to practice different social skills. Thanks to the generosity of our friends at the Jewish Community High School of The Bay who have given us access to their beautiful campus and their committed student volunteers, we were able to bring our East Bay Clubhouse program to San Francisco.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

SNOW (From Cloudy to Sunny Skies)

Today, we it was all about SNOW!
Snowman Bowling: We started off with a bowling game to warm up. Our bowling pins were self-made and filled with diluted white paint so they looked like snowmen. We never get tired of bowling.

Science/Art Project “Snow”: 
This activity was messy but super fun. We put on our "protective gear" and worked in small groups:


  • One group made fake snow using diapers and water: Cut off the edges of the diaper with scissors, remove fluffy white stuff and put in bin, slowly add water and stir.
  • The other group used cornstarch (2 parts) and shaving cream (1 part): Put cornstarch in large bin, add shaving cream and stir and mix with hands.
 
We then played with the snow and added some tools such as spoons and containers and cars. Some of us tried to form snowballs. It was interesting to compare the two different types of fake snow. Who would have thought that you can turn a diaper into snow?

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

From Cloudy to Sunny Skies: Raindrop Race




Music Time “I’m Singing in the Rain”: Umbrellas (pre-cut out of fabric) were arranged in a circle in the room. We danced to the classic song "I'm Singing in the Rain." When the music stopped, we found an umbrella to stand on. We then came up with different ways of greeting our friends (e.g., waving, high 5s).





Art Project “Raindrop Race”: We engaged in this activity once before a long time ago when the Clubhouse theme was science. We used eye droppers and diluted paint in different colors and placed drops of diluted paint on a piece of paper that was attached to a cookie sheet. The twist was that the cookie sheet was elevated. We worked in small groups. It was interesting to observe the movement of the drops. 


Monday, January 14, 2013

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Rainsticks (Moving and Grooving)

Warm-up Game “Musical Instruments”: We danced around to music. When the music stopped, we found a circle to stand on and then one of us drew a picture out of a bag that showed a musical instrument (e.g., drum, piano, violin, saxophone). We then pretended to play the instrument.

Art Project “Homemade Rainsticks”:  
We created rainsticks out of poster mailing tubes. The twist was that we worked with a partner on 1 tube, which meant we had to share and to compromise. 

Here are the detailed instructions:
  • Measure aluminum foil piece that is slightly larger than the tube.
  • Work with your partner, each of you holding the foil on one end and carefully twisting it. Place foil in tube.
  • Fill the tube with beans (approximately 3-4 spoons).
  • Seal tube with lids.
  • Decorate the outside of the tubes with paint, feathers and paper scraps.
  • Reinforce the lids with duct tape.
  • Experiment with the rain stick by moving it in different ways. Discuss if the sound resembles the rain.  

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Welcome Back!!! Moving and Grooving!

WELCOME BACK!!!
We were so happy to see our Clubhouse friends. Since the new theme is music and movement, we warmed up by engaging in one of our favorite movement games: The Freeze Dance.


Then, we made new placemats for this Clubhouse session by using the familiar art technique "Drip and Fold." We worked with a partner and created a collage by putting blobs of paint with Q-tips on a piece of paper (i.e., pre-cut and taped together musical instruments), folding it in half, rolling a rolling pin over it and open it up again. Fun!

Monday, October 15, 2012

Monday, July 9, 2012