Frank Elementary ACCESS Students Team Up to Create Friendship Snack

This school year, ACCESS students at Frank Elementary are participating in four Community-based Involvement (CBI) trips to help them expand their knowledge. 

On their second CBI trip this school year, Ms. Kathryn Allen & Ms. Jill Johnson's classes visited their local H-E-B for some grocery shopping.

“These unique opportunities to participate in CBI trips allow our students to practice their life skills beyond the classroom,” Ms. Allen said. “It also allows the community to witness their skill sets in action.” 

Before their trip to H-E-B, the class worked together to devise a recipe they could make. They used a visual recipe to help guide them through the grocery store and put together their “Friendship mix,” a personal spin on trail mix. Each student chose their favorite snack to add.

“Students with special needs require certain accommodations, such as visuals or icons, to help them navigate the world and complete everyday tasks. We use visual supports throughout our classroom and curriculum for our students to be successful,” Ms. Allen said. “A visual recipe allows students to be independent in making a product.”

Their first order of business at H-E-B was to get a feel for the store and familiarize themselves with its contents. Students ran into Buddy, H-E-B’s joyful mascot, and took some pictures along the way. They explored the aisles and discussed the multiple sections of the store. Then, it was time to use their shopping list to hunt for their Friendship Mix ingredients. 

Once students returned to their school, they used all of the ingredients they found in H-E-B to make their mix. They used their visual recipe to determine which steps to take next as a student read off the directions. Each student took turns putting in their own special ingredient to bring the Friendship Mix to life. 

“One of our students, who loves to read, made sure to read aloud the steps so the rest of the class knew which snack was next,” Ms. Allen said. “It truly is a team effort! Our goal as ACCESS teachers is to prepare our students not only for secondary education but for life itself.”

The opportunity to collaborate with each other and learn together was a wonderful experience for students. Students were all smiles as they ate their Friendship Mix and reflected on its creation and their time at the grocery store.

Great job to you, outstanding Frank Flyers, your friendship mix has our tummies growling!