Linking with ELA .Everyday......Spring Break is already OVER??!!!!!

I cannot believe that Spring Break is coming to an end......I need another week.....it's snowing today for crying out loud! DO OVER....DO OVER!

One of our fellow bloggers has a great idea...let's have a linky party and review our Spring Breaks....I didn't do anything too exciting but I don't mind sharing my boring and relaxing week.

Join us and link with Sandy at   ELA Everyday here.

 

 

 

We moved into our house in September and never put up any curtains, we are off the beaten path so there's no one to LOOK in the windows so who cares....however curtains add something so I hung up some up! I just have a picture of the bathroom window......

( it had a towel tacked over it before)

 

 

 

 

 

I spent more time with my daughters and grand kids! We had a sleep over! Our 4 year old grandchildren are truly modern day kids.....they read, play games and watch youtube on their tablets before going to sleep.

 

 

I wanted to establish some routines...so I took a walk and practiced my guitar each day. I still don't have a good plan for when I go back to school!

 

I got a Fitbit this week and  set it up to motivate me to eat right and be more active.

 

 

 

 

 

Next week is going to be crazy busy, I'll probably work late every day. I decided to have our family St. Pat Dinner early, not everyone could come but it was fun and delicious.

 

 

Made an Irish recipe from Food.com

 

 

and served up some of our family favorites and called them Irish!

 

 

 

My husband and I spent the first few days binge watching The Walking Dead! Of course we haven't watched the current season...so we decided to wait until it is finished and then Netflix it!

 

 

 

and here we are ....the Sunday before the RETURN to school....sigh...someone else had a picture of her "to do" list, mine is not near as neat so I'll spare you a picture of it! The last thing on it.....

LESSON PLANS!

Not done yet.....I'm doing this instead!

But...I must get to it

or

I will be

Freaking out tonight when I'm trying to go to sleep....

 

 

 

My geranium plant has a bloom!

I actually thought it was dead, then little green leaves started popping out,

YEA!

 It is snowing right now.....but I'm sure that it will stop soon, melt and freeze, melt and freeze....until May!

 

 

Please join us at ELA Everyday for this Linking Party!

 

 

Paula

 

Having Fun with Math- Spicing it up for Reluctant Learners!

Note: This is from another session attended at the Alaska Special Ed. Conference 2015 

John Eller shared  his enthusiasm for teaching math with the room at high speed! We had a blast, it was probably the fastest moving session I attended.

He jumped started the session with a ukulele solo of "We're gonna do some math!

( I now want to learn how to play one!)

He moved right into the Magic Circle:

 He asked someone to pick a number 1-31.

He would flip the circles and asked if the number was there and guess their number after

a few questions.

I have to be honest here....I don't know exactly how to do this, but I'm planning on making my own circles and figuring it out!

The slide above has the list of numbers that each circle contains. I'll bet there are some number gurus here that understand how to do it and why it works!

Here's a riddle......

Using dice.......

John recommended teaching students how to use a calculator. When they get to middle and high school, they need to know how to work one.

How do you collect data using games?

Student math journals.

Teacher checklist of skills

He also showed us some books written by Greg Tang.

This session has already changed the way I teach math, I love the math program we are using, but I am adding some spice to it! The kid response is........

It was a great session!

Try some of these ideas and let me know how they go!


Paula

Five for Friday!! Spring Here we come!

Doodle Bugs Teaching!

Wahooooo! A whole week off from that place of learning and structure! Now should I plan my week off or just let it flow? If I don't plan things, nothing will get it done! If I do, it will be a lot like work!

There were many special events this week! Our schedule was off, grades are due, special ed. progress reports due..... and the students were vibrating...you could feel the hummmmmmm when you entered the building!

So the regular stuff wasn't working, who wants to sit through Reading Mastery lessons when  it's almost Spring Break?

We read The First Dog by Jan Brett....

They loved the book, I asked them what happened first, and then next and so on and typed it on the Promethean board as they reported each part.

The next day I  printed out their sentences, folded up some paper, stapled it...and set them loose on it! They did awesome of course!

The NEXT day, we read another book about dogs and a cat....

Danger the Dog Yard Cat

by Libby Riddles

(dog sled musher/ Iditarod Champion extraordinaire and first woman to win the 1049 mile race)

and made these simple and fun puppets.....

(they LOVE puppets)

and of course....Dr. Seuss.....here's our hallway bulletin board.....

It's a collage of Dr. Seuss characters from years past, and a  "Read across America" vintage poster with Garth Brooks! I've had THAT awhile.(he is still awesome!)

Our WINNING DOOR!

Great Day for UP by Dr. Seuss

The idea is to have the students do as much as possible....They cut the grass tufts, they decorated their own balloons and baskets, cut out the clouds, cut out the mini UP signs and of course posed for the pictures!

....with the upcoming break we thought the faces of the adults who work out of our classroom 

belonged on the bed next to the ending quote from the book.

There are so many creative people in our building! Here are some more doors and hallway art. I didn't get upstairs to take pictures so there are some missing.

and now I'm watching the Iditarod ceremonial start on TV! 

It's a good start to Spring Break and it's been snowing for a couple of days! Feels normal.

Later,

Paula



March Currently with Farley

 

I am linking with Farley at  OH BOY 4th GRADE! I haven't joined her currently for awhile and forgot how fun it is!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Listening

 

There isn't much to watch tonight....so we are rerunning it! it's entertaining at the very least.

 

Loving

 

We bought a house this summer/fall, our first after years of renting. I walked into it today, the sun was streaming in through the windows, there was a faint smell of wood smoke and I thought...

 

I love my house!

 







Thinking

 

We are having a Dr. Seuss Door Contest this week and I haven't given it much thought, but I want to participate. It needs to be something that is created by the kids as much as possible.

hmmmmm........

 

Wanting

 

to get everything finished and not worry about it during Spring Break! I have ESY paperwork, Annual IEPs to prepare for, assess and input Progress Reports, and..

oh yeah, teach kids by next Friday. We do have a WORK DAY on Friday, but most

of this stuff needs to be done before Friday.

 

Needing

to stay positive and healthy...so I need a super duper

energy pill!

 

Spring Break Plans

I have a list of fun and just stuff I want to accomplish! But here is the question...if I plan each day, won't it be too much like work?

 

and that's my next couple of weeks!

 

What's yours?

 

Paula





2015 Special Ed. Conference: Linda Hodgdon, Visual Strategies, Part 2

Time, Travel and Transition...Overcoming Daily Challenges with Visual Strategies.
Presented by Linda Hodgdon, M.Ed, CCC-SLP.

A primary part of ASD includes challenges in communication skills:
expression and understanding

Visual Strategies can accomplish many purposes:
get attention
clarify
aid memory
making choices
aid decisions
organize thinking

There are a wide range of visual supports...Low tech (paper) to High tech (electronic devices).

Goals

1. Avoid unexpected surprises: provide information, don't assume they understand, they have difficulty generalizing information.

2. Give lots of information: Social stories give information of what is going to happen and what you will be doing.

Time is invisible! Manage it visually with timers, visual count down, take turn visuals, and visuals to show when they can do it again.

Organization tip: Have a binder for each student with their social stories. They can reread them anytime.

Travel
Travel is unpredictable with lots of changes! Moving from one side of a room to another, room to room, a strange house, going shopping, riding in an unfamiliar car, airports (!)
Who will we see? Visiting family members you don't see often? Take lots of pictures of the people and places.

Break up the stories, for example when flying....going through security...is a story by itself.

Sequence the transition and help him or her understand the WHY.

Once again....Videos are HUGE. Make video your friend and editing the videos is crucial.
They can be used for social stories.....
create them for a purpose....how to greet people...open gifts....how to play....transition from elementary school to middle school (walk through the new school talking about it).

 
These are my notes from Ms. Hodgdon's presentation. There is much much more information!

I hope this has given you some ideas!


Later,


Paula

2015 Special Education Conference: Linda Hodgdon, Visual Strategies Part 1

Our keynote speaker on the first day of the conference was Linda Hodgdon.
Her presentation..........

 Linda Hodgdon, M.Ed, CCC-SLP is known as a pioneer in developing the use of visual strategies to support communication for students with Autism. She is an author, a speaker and a consultant.

 





The first point that Ms. Hodgdon made was that our way of using visuals has made some big changes. We have come from using pictures on paper and cardboard to using Facebook, Twitter, and ipads.

 

The key word is "spectrum", visual strategies are different for each individual, there is a wide range of intellectual and skill levels within the spectrum. We need to consider the learning styles, social needs, visual tools available and what kind of social participation is wanted.

 

Communication is not just about speech...it directs where we are going, what to do when we get there and much more. Visuals are not a better or worse way to communicate, but simply a DIFFERENT way to communicate.

 

 

 

The majority of Autistic people are visual learners. As a matter of fact, MOST of us are visual learners.

She recommended a book by John Medina titled Brain Rules. It's not about Autism, it's about all of us.

 

We learn and remember best through pictures, when information is presented orally, 10% is remembered. When it is presented visually, we remember 65%. We pay lots of attention to colors, shapes and movement. (think about the educational apps)

 

Beware of the assumption

 "He understands everything I say".

 

Think about the ways we communicate while verbally directing:

• routine language
• gestures
• communication supports
• learned routines
• environmental cues

Ask yourself:

What kind of communication partner are you?

 

speech, sign, pointing, gestures, body language, pictures, written language...

The typically developing child processes 20 words per minute, by the time they are in high school they might be able to process 145 words per minute. Many teachers and parents deliver information at 150-160 words per minute!

Think about Mr. Rogers and how he talked to his audience!

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes we don't communicate as well as we think we do!

SLOW DOWN

 annnnd........

Video is huge.

 

Video is visual, predictable, and the same things happen! We have them readily available in our phones and they are easily edited. Video modeling can help with.....

• social communication and interaction
• functional skills
• behavior
• academics
• play skills

But there are pit falls....what are they learning from TV shows, video games?    Violence.

 

Technology is NOT magic. Don't forget to identify the purpose!



You can sign up for her free newsletter at this website.

 

I attended another session with Ms. Hodgdon titled "Time, Travel and Transition:  Overcoming Daily Challenges with Visual Strategies" and will share that information later this week.

 

 

Later,

 

 

Paula