Sense-sational Fair welcomes students of all abilities

Sense-sational Fair guests visited the Sky and Weather room where they made clouds out of shaving cream and food dye.

Books came to life during the Sense-sational Fair at the Great Neck Recreation Center on Dec. 5.

The Sense-sational Fair was organized by the Cox High VTfT students. The event featured an array of sensory activities, including cloud-making. From left, Ava Dove, Cain Beshears, Lincoln Nicosia, Cameron Seyfert, Sophia Jeffries, Kennady Rodriguez, Vaiden O’Hara, and Charles Norena.

Wearing a hat topped with white polyester fiber fill, Cain Beshears greeted a group of students in the Sky and Weather room featuring the book “Cloudette.”

“Hi guys!” the Cox High junior said. “Today we’re going to be making clouds.”

The special guests made clouds out of shaving cream and blue food dye.

The multi-sensory activity was part of a first-time event for special needs students of all abilities, organized by Cox High School’s Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow(VTfT) students in partnership with Youth Volunteer Corps of Hampton Roads.

Program director Kiley Jensen said the fun, creative fair provided students with the experience of giving back to the community.

“Our goal is to work with youth and inspire a lifelong ethic of service,” she said.

Sophia Jeffries came up with the idea for the sensory exploration service project featuring the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.

“Special education is my heart,” she said. The Cox High senior plans to become an educator in the field.

Approximately 170 students from VBCPS high schools, Great Neck Middle, Linkhorn Park and John B. Dey elementary schools arrived via school buses and were divided into groups.

The book “Ice Cream Soup” tied in with the Sense-sational Fair’s Ice Cream Shop. From left, Youth Volunteer Corps program director Kiley Jensen, her daughter Olivia Jensen and Haylen Jock, both Cox High juniors, served ice cream to guests.

They spent the morning rotating between eight different sensory spaces, each paired with a book, including “Ice Cream Soup” in the Ice Cream Shop room.

Students tasted ice cream and sniffed jars of slime, including grape, strawberry and lemonade flavors.

Cox High senior Dee Dee Fulton ate some chocolate ice cream and colored a piece of paper with a strawberry-scented marker. Her favorite part of the day? “Dancing!” she said.

The book “Rainbow Fish” was highlighted in the “Under-the-Sea” visual room. The lights were dimmed so visitors could project fish silhouettes onto a screen.

Reagan Hardesty and Isabella Terry monitored the Dinosaur Dig tactile room, themed with the book “I am NOT a Dinosaur.” Guests dug for tiny plastic dinosaurs in a kinetic sand box.

The Cox High juniors said they enjoyed the project and learned a lot about working with students of varied abilities.

“We just need more patience and to work at a little slower pace,” Isabella said.

Bayside High School special education assistant Melissa McGee attended with about 28 students, including eight from the school’s VTfT program.

The lights in the Outer Space room were dimmed as students used fine motor skills to build with Legos and make slime.

They practiced fine motor skills in the Outer Space area featuring the book “Pete the Cat: Out of This World.”

The dimly lit room featured Legos, slime and lava lamps.

“This is wonderful,” McGee said.

“Students can engage with tangible material, interact with new friends and experience independence.”

The fair also included a pizza lunch, thanks to the Noblemen of Virginia Beach, a photo booth, an inflatable 40-foot obstacle course and a DJ playing tunes.

VTfT teacher Jennifer Nardelli said the innovative service project helped her students build empathy for others. Developing an inclusive mindset now is important to teaching or any career, she said.

“This project reduces stigma and promotes inclusion and builds relationships that matter.”