HOUSEKEEPING INSTRUCTION

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
​Updated June 9, 2019

Learning skills in the area of housekeeping will help the students to become the most contributing members of their homes. It is also a great way to learn responsibility! Sorting, matching, reading labels, measuring, and many other skills can be naturally embedded in these experiences.

Many housekeeping skills can be taught in school and reinforced at home while others are best taught at home as not all schools are equipped with the resources to perform all housekeeping tasks.

The following skills can be practiced at school:

• empty wastebasket into larger trash container;
• clean the floor independently;
• replace used items to proper places at school when prompted;
• wipe up spills independently;
• recognize household cleaning supplies and personal items by labels/markings;
• label, organize and maintain an organization for utensils, tools, and supplies;
• drop trash in a wastebasket; scrape plates and put trash in trash cans;
• wipe a tabletop, counter, or another small area;
• create a chart to track particular days of the week in which certain chores need to be completed;
• clean a large table and floor area using a "grid" pattern or a double-cross method;
• clean a large table and floor area using a bar pattern, i.e. sweep one path, deposit dirt at the end of the path, then return to the starting point, take a large step backward, and move toward the same wall  again, repeating the process;
• generate the chores that need to be done at home and school; and encourage the student to demonstrate safe use of household tools and supplies (e.g. shovel, rake, hammer, screwdriver).

The following will be difficult to practice at school without a laundry area, or access to a sink or vacuum and may be better practiced at home. Also, there may be more restrictions on cleaners permitted at school. As part of each chore, help the student learn to identify and use the appropriate cleansers for each chore. Basic household chores that are typically performed on a daily or weekly basis include:

• vacuuming
• dusting
• mopping
• washing laundry
• stacking dishes
• washing, rinsing and draining dishes, flatware, pans, and utensils by hand
• making the bed

Cleaning Floor Tips

• Clean floors in a systematic pattern, using walls, windows, and the edge of flooring as reference points. 
• Tactile markers can be used to mark the different settings on a vacuum cleaner. 

Dusting Tips

• Wearing an old sock on your hand is the easiest way to dust. Be sure to select one that is smooth or you may scratch the surface. If using cleaning spray or polish, hold it in one hand while you dust with the other.
• To locate items, keep hands low and fingers curved so you don't accidentally knock things over. 
• Use a systematic pattern side to side and from top to bottom. 
• Remember to dust all surfaces including vertical such as table and chair legs and rungs.

Laundry Tips

• If using a laundromat, create a template specific to the washing machine and dryer models with tactile markings that can fit over the dials and be carried back and forth to the laundromat. 
• If using a home washer and dryer, place raised markers to mark common settings. 
• Mark laundry detergent and any other supplies for easy identification. 
• Pin matching socks together or use sock locks before putting them in the laundry basket. 
• Keep a separate basket for dark colors and whites/lights and label each accordingly. 
• When emptying the washer or dryer, sweep hand around the inside of the machine to catch any stray clothes. 

Cleaning Table & Counter Tips

• Clean systematically side to side and from top to bottom or back to front.
• Systematically move items to the side on the counter to clean under them. 
• Consider using natural cleaners such as vinegar and baking soda or other cleaners that are safe if accidentally ingested in the event residue remains on counters. 

Washing Dishes Tips

Hand-washing Dishes

• Keep sharp knives separate when washing dishes and separate from the rest of silverware.
• Wash breakable items like glasses before dishes. 
• Touch items carefully with clean hands to determine if there are any sticky or greasy areas remaining. Also, feel to ensure no soapy areas remain. 

Dishwasher Tips

• Consistently place plates, glasses, and silverware in the dishwasher.
• Load from back to front so it is easier to determine when the dishwasher is full.
• Always load knives and forks with point side DOWN in the basket to prevent cuts or pokes.
• Unload the dishwasher from front to back.
• Always close the dishwasher fully to prevent trips or bruised shins!

Making Bed Tips

Making the Bed

• Pull up sheets and blankets on one side and smooth out and then repeat on the other side. 
• Fluff and smooth pillows and prop them on the top of the bed. 

After Washing Sheets

• To orient clean fitted sheets, place the corner with the tag on the bottom left corner of the mattress, tag-side down. 
• To orient the top sheet, find the wide finished edge that marks the top. Feel length on either side to make sure it is even on both sides. Tuck in sheet at the foot of the bed. Repeat with blankets.

Insert Pillow into Case

• ​Hold the short end of the pillow under the chin and pull the pillowcase over the bottom of the pillow. 
• Stuff the bottom of the pillow into the pillowcase.
• Hold the edges of the top of the pillowcase and shake the pillow until it is fully inside the pillowcase

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TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC: An Activities Based Curriculum for Teaching Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired
The TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC is a digital pdf available for download. It is designed specifically for fellow itinerant Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI’s), and consists of over 400 activities and topic areas of discussion for instructing students in the Expanded Core Curriculum. The activities are age-neutral and multi-sensory and therefore can meet the needs of the broad range of students served on an itinerant caseload serving. The activities can be individualized to the students various learning modalities and scaffold in order to challenge students but ensure success. Select those activities that align with the student’s learning objects based on the student’s unique visual needs and academic and developmental level. In addition to the core activity areas, each of the 32 Thematic Units incorporates additional unique ECC concepts and skills providing you with a years’ worth of activities. These units are cyclical and can be used repeatedly to help students build on prior knowledge and develop a deeper understanding of concepts. Each unit includes suggestions for activity adaptation associated with the unit. These include lists of objects, possible community-based experiences, environmental print, poems, children & young reader books, children's songs, pop culture songs, movies, and websites.


In addition to the book, the following two supplements are included:
·      TVI’s Guide to the ECC Concept Checklist
·      TVI’s Guide to the ECC Activities Checklist


For complete product details and additional images, visit the TVI's Guide product page.


TVI's Guide to the ECC Product details
·      Digital pdf download: 346 pages (11 pt font)
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English


Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheets: TVI's Guide to the ECC Grab and Go Supplements
The Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheets is a Grab and Go supplement to the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC. This workbook is a pdf download that can be printed on demand for use with students. It contains five different types of worksheets for developing visual motor skills and near magnifier fluency skills particularly with the use of a video magnifier. As a companion to the TVI’s Guide to the ECC, the worksheets correspond to each of the 32 ECC Thematic units. The worksheets, along with a list of environmental print for each thematic unit, are designed to help students refine their visual motor skills while reinforcing ECC concepts presented in the thematic units.  


For complete product details and additional images, visit the Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Product Page.


Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheet Details:
·      Digital pdf download: 210 pages
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English


Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency and Maintenance Worksheets: A TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC Grab & go Supplement
The Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency and Maintenance Grab and Go ECC worksheet packet is a print on demand workbook that contains worksheets in print and simulated braille to use for data collection. Present the student with a hard braille copy and use the worksheets to document accuracy and fluency in reading braille. As a companion to the TVI’s Guide to the ECC, the worksheets correspond to the ECC Thematic activities presented in the curriculum guide. These word lists and sentences will help the student refine their keyboarding or braille reading skills while bridging ECC concepts presented in the thematic units. Although the lists and passages can be produced using a manual braillewriter, you may also copy and paste the passages into any braille translation software for quick production on an embosser. They may also be entered into a typing program such as APH’s Talking Typer to build keyboarding fluency.


For complete product details and additional images, visit the Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency & Maintenance Product Page


Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency Worksheet Details:
·      Digital pdf download: 338-page print and simulated braille worksheets
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English


Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists: Grab & Go ECC Supplement
The Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists Grab and Go ECC supplement is a 446 page pdf downloadable print on demand workbook that includes 2940 vocabulary card on 3 1/2" x 2" templates divided by each of the 32 Thematic Units along with a checklist of each unit words in print and simulated braille. As a companion to the TVI's Guide to the ECC, the vocabulary cards correspond to the ECC Thematic activities presented in the curriculum guide. 


Additional Use:
Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments can have a extremely varied caseloads. It is possible to go several years without having a student on your caseload who requires braille instruction. Like other skills, if you do not practice your braille regularly, it is easy to lose those skills. Use these checklists and cards to maintain your braille skills. Fold the checklist along the line dividing the print from the braille. Choose to either read the print and produce the word in braille using a braillewriter or read the simulated braille and decode it. Finally, these vocabulary cards and checklists may be used with family members or peers who are interested in learning and practicing the braille code.


For complete product details and additional images, visit the Thematic Vocabulary Cards & Checklists Product Page


Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists Details:
·      Digital pdf download: 446-page print on demand resource
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English


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Lotto Cards
The LOTTO Cards Grab and Go Supplement includes 37 theme related unit cards along with activity suggestions that support activities within the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC.


On My Way File Folder Cards
Print and use these cards to represent locations the student may visit that are related to the current thematic unit. Use these with the On My Way File Folder Game outlined in the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC p. 27.

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