Another happy report during the COVID era, this one from a former Russian State on the Baltic Coast.
Star of Hope was active in the Baltic states already in 1990, the trust of the work there is with children who need just a bit of extra help. For children with special needs, certain pre-school activities work particularly well to keep them engaged, focused, and actively learning.
Zālīte special boarding school is delighted with the sensor developing wall and light table that was ordered before Christmas and on January 15th was delivered to the school.
We thank Star of Hope and Velki Association for such useful gifts for the children!
Pedagogues at Zalite special boarding School say – both things are useful for children's sensory development - visually glamorous, thoughtful for developing various sensory organs - hearing, seeing, touching, imagining.
Elementary school and preschool children are happy to work on the sensory wall through which sensory skills are developed. Children learn to communicate, develop positive emotions, and promote social skills. In turn, at the sand table children relax, reducing their fatigue. Light and color change enrich imagination and creativity, hold attention, touch helps to develop fine motor skills.
Work at the light table can be done while sitting, changing the tilt position, therefore children with reduced mobility can work at this table as well.
This method works well for children who have lower developmental abilities than their peers: they not only improve fine motor performance but also improve eye-hand coordination and the ability to function independently.
The light effect allows the eyes to follow the action of the hand, developing eye-hand coordination that is especially needed for children with developmental and behavioral disorders.
Since children can work with sand, natural materials, grits and pasta, paint, copy images on paper, etc., they learn to draw characters, shapes, and narrate by observing the shadows of objects. It develops the child's imagination. At Zālite special boarding school children can learn about nature, math, and language development, writing, and reading skills.
It is so good to see that project schools in Latvia supported by the Star of Hope are using progressive methods to promote the development of children with developmental disabilities within their abilities.
Velki Association is very pleased that rural schools are also looking for and purchasing things that will be very useful for the children’s development.
Text and Photos Velki Association Tamara Shabazova
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