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Eddie
01-20-2006, 02:39 PM
I used a long piece of yarn to help my students with special needs learn how to form and stay in line. What do you think?
One of my Instructional Assistants wigged out and said it was inhumane to make the kids line up with a "rope" like animals.
Am I cracking up?
SLP
03-03-2007, 07:06 AM
My (preschool spec. ed) class has trouble staying in line to wash hands before snack. I tape masking tape to the floor & have them stay on the tape as the line moves.
javamomma
03-03-2007, 09:53 AM
???? No, I think she needs to look in school supply catalogs that actually sell a rope to walk with!
Krafty
03-03-2007, 07:53 PM
No, you're fine; your assistant is off base. If you were tying it around the kids necks then, yes, it would be inhumane, but holding on to it, no. It is a teaching technique that is quite old and as Sharon said, they even make such ropes and market them to teachers

Walking Rope (http://www.cptoys.com/school/default.htm)

I've seen it used in big cities for class outings when they walked to the destination and I believe it is a pretty common tool in schools for the blind.
SLP
03-08-2007, 10:47 AM
Seems to me that I've seen ropes attached to poles at my bank & at amusement parks to "herd" people the right way & keep them in a line. This is not much different.
landreth2007
03-12-2007, 04:22 PM
We use one at our church preschool to keep the kids together. There is nothing wrong with it. Don't worry.
SLP
03-14-2007, 01:25 PM
SAFETY first! Using the rope is also a safety measure. We walk in lines so that we don't bump into others in the hall, so that we can follow the leader to a location, and to allow other to pass by going the opposite direction. A line & the rope also fosters independence, instead of holding someone's hand and being led.
MrsR
08-09-2007, 02:30 PM
You're not inhumane!! I used to use something similar when I taught Pre-K. It is a great reminder to help the kids remember how to walk correctly in a line.
christiw
08-10-2007, 10:32 AM
We used a bright colored rope that the children had to hang on to when we went for walks. It wasn't so much about teaching the straight line but keeping the PreK safe. So, I think it is a guide for special needs students - they see it, feel it ...I've found SH kids some times have a tough time with spatial relationships...the yarn helps (visual and tactile).