Experience books can be thought of as another way to expand on an activity or event. Usually we think of them being used to talk about past events, but it’s a great idea to use them to preview activities as well. To use the Experience book as a preview tool, add it to the daily calendar box.

Using an Experience Book:

• • A small picture album works well.
  • Use a picture or the appropriate tactile symbol on the cover to represent the activity.
  • Try to gather some pictures of the place where you will be going to put inside the book.
  • Small items that will fit inside the book can be used as well.

Example: Take a picture of the Dairy Queen for the “going to Dairy Queen outing”. Use this as the main theme/picture on the book’s cover. Get a french- fry container for the inside, too. When you get to Dairy Queen make reference to the items in the book. Take pictures, draw, or bring some small objects that you encounter together during the outing back to school and add to the book.

• • Have another conversation about the experience the next day. Look at the pictures, objects, etc. This is a great way to start to expand the concepts of time.
  • You can generalize time concepts like past, yesterday, and eventually the days of the week.
  • Use the Experience Book to “preview” the activity and have a conversation the next time you visit Dairy Queen.

Another Experience Book Example:  Tania’s Building Plan