Five for Friday!

This week we put our classrooms to bed. I had it pretty easy because

I DIDN'T HAVE TO MOVE!

Which is so awesome.

I spent some extra time cleaning and reorganizing my "task" library. It needed it, everything was out of order, many pieces were missing and there were some folder tasks that I didn't know why we had, so they were tossed. It felt GOOD.

I would like to set up a way to label each item. This way a teacher assistant could help put them away and it would be clear where they should go. I have them filed into skills with all the math folders together, the reading together, the activities stored in big envelopes or bags are stored in separate boxes. I'm going to think about that.....

I also brought ALL my classroom library books home to be organized, purged and labeled. I have too many books, so purging is definitely on the agenda.

I noticed that our Fred Meyers Store in Wasilla has started this Free for kids healthy snacks stand!

Way to go Fred's!

Alaskan summer has begun!

The flowers are beginning to peek out.

 I have a list of things I want to do!

There are lots of fun things on it as well as school things.

The summer already feels too short!

Link up with Doodle Bugs!!

I'm done for now....I think.....

Later,

Paula

Linking with Doodle Bugs! Five for Friday and...Last day of School!!!!!

It is time to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching!!!

First, most importantly this is our last day of school!

Wahooooooooo!

We did the field day yesterday and it was a lovely sunny day and today was a cool rainy one, so YEA! For once the timing was perfect.

The 5th graders were promoted and I am a little sad because I knew most of them in kindergarten. Now they are moving up to that less forgiving environment called

MIDDLE SCHOOL.

(said with a deep ominous voice)

This picture says it all....

I love the Weight Watchers philosophy...you gotta have chocolate sometimes!

I also decided that WW is too pricey for this teacher on a summer budget so I am going it alone!

Not completely alone, I have my handy dandy Fitbit App.

The BP Teacher of Excellence presentation was

EXCELLENT!

There are five of us who were chosen from our school district.

We were all honored and presented a beautiful plaque and a gift card.

Each of our schools also received 500 dollars!

There was great food, music and an open bar in a beautiful setting.

They took a million pictures (which felt a little awkward).

They choose the BP teacher of the year and he is awesome!

He also is much more comfortable standing in front of people and talking.

I am so happy for him, his family and his school.

(my daughter went to his school so that was even better!)

BP did this clever lesson about drilling I wanted to share.

Teachers will like this I think.

They shared the costs and procedures of getting to the drilling part of the process by using cupcakes.

My grandchildren loved it!

and struck oil.

After my presentation was over, I thoroughly enjoyed the remaining presentations!

and partook of the generous open bar.

Thank you BP!

The last couple of weeks I have been doing more assessing, inputting grades and progress reports for IEPs then anything else! So although we have been teaching.....I don't have any pictures.

so I'll just share some from our walks on the weekends!

annnnnd......my hubby got the boat running!!

we have a working boat.....ahhhhhhh!

It's going to be amazing having a boat!

I will complete the "5" by sharing more sidewalk art from the talented artists at our school.

We have one more WORK DAY to get our classrooms tucked away and complete our checklists.

If you are a special ed. teacher you get two checklists (cuz we are special).

If you don't finish it all in one day...oh well....finish on your own time!

or maybe don't be so picky and throw everything in desk drawers or boxes and face it in August,

but I don't like to do that!

Join the party at Doodle Bugs by linking here.

Have a wonderful week!

Paula

Workbasket Wednesday with Autism Classroom Resources

http://www.autismclassroomresources.com/workbasket/

I love this blog, she is always addressing an issue that is EXACTLY what I need help with!

I haven't needed to use workboxes near as much in the last couple of years, but keep all the ones we've made for ....just in case.

Just in Case walked through my door! I needed to get back in the mode so I visited Chris's blog again and now I am fired up!
I am sharing a couple of easy to make activities. It's all about the way you structure the activity.

Here are some dot to dot pages that I tweaked to include the sequence of letters/numerals the student needs to follow to complete the picture. They are laminated which makes it easy to erase and be ready to go again.

Once they understand and practice these pages, the student graduates to the "non-tweaked" versions.
These are from various workbooks and coloring books.

 This was a sticker book, we laminated, placed Velcro for the numerals and found some number cards that are pretty thick and solid, The tray with the numerals  help to organize the student.
I modified this for a student by writing in the numbers with an erasable marker. For a student who is not solid on one to one correspondence counting 10 puppies can be overwhelming.  Eventually students realize it is in sequence!

I plan on making some new activities to meet my student's curriculum soon, and will share in May.

Check out Autism Classroom Resources!

Thank you for coming by,


Paula

Five for Friday!

 

Five for Friday is a wonderful opportunity to connect with other educational blogs!
so join the party and connect with Doodle Bugs Teaching!

 

ONE

We worked on writing a better sentence this week.

This first photo is a page from Step up to Writing.

 

Have I ever mentioned that I love the promethean board??

 

 

They loved this book, we read it at least three times on request!

I asked the students what they thought of the pig in the story and they said "silly" and "lucky".

That about sums it up!

 

 

Next, we used a picture from the book to get ideas on writing a better sentence.

They did a great job adding more descriptive words:

 

"The pirate wolf perched on the small, dirty and smelly trash can."

 

TWO

 

 

Now that the snow and ice is melted off the outdoor basketball court, the chalk art is beginning! I really enjoy seeing what they draw.

 

 

THREE

 

 We read this Froggy book and did some fun sequencing activities.

 

FOUR

 

 

 Spring!
Leaves, dirt, sun!
So ready for summer!

FIVE

I discovered a yummy snack/lunch!
34 degree multi-grain crackers
Laughing Cow creamy light Swiss cheese
Turkey pepperoni
9 crackers, spread the cheese on, top with turkey pepperoni.
Tasty!
and only 4 Weight Watcher Points.
oh yeah!

Things are speeding up now...field trips, MAP testing, meetings....
but it's all good...
I am taking the summer off this year!

I really don't remember the last summer I didn't work..
I am really looking forward to it!
Wooooooo!

Hang in there,


Paula

Linking with Doodle Bugs!

 Join me for Doodle Bugs Teaching Linking Party!

It's a blast!

 

I missed last week so I will be sharing the last 2 weeks!

 

First of all....

 

 

AND also the Alternative Assessment.

 

Due to technical difficulties.

 

 

It was to be our last year to do this anyway...but it's weird how it all came about. I'm sure if you are a teacher who works for a district using the KITE website for testing, you know all about it.

 

There was a tremendous amount of work went into preparing for this, the scheduling alone was a nightmare. I am sad for those who worked so many additional hours.

 

Second....

 

 

I was visited by our amazing superintendent of schools and my principal

saying that I am one of five teachers in our district chosen as a

BP Teacher of Excellence!

I am blown away!

 

It still seems surreal.

 

Third...

 

 

I went with friends to see "On Golden Pond" at the Valley of Performing Arts in Wasilla.

So wonderful, the actors did a great job.

I feel so fortunate to see these plays and get to spend an evening with good friends.

The people who built the set didn't disappoint!

 

Fourth.....

 

 

I mentioned this book last post. I am using the  "Step up to Writing" program and in this lesson we used the cards accompanying the book to make sentences. Next, they figured out which words or phrases told an action, a what, when, who, or where.

I am liking this program!

 

Fifth....

I was in Palmer this week and just liked this view.

 

Don't forget to link up with Doodle Bugs if you haven't already!

 

Later,

 

Paula

Five for Friday...um...Saturday!

 

Doodle Bugs is a wonderful blog that shares many great ideas for teachers, each week we are given the opportunity to link up with her and share our week. It doesn't have to be just about teaching, it can be anything that is going on that you would like to share. I enjoy visiting other bloggers and seeing what they share about their lives in and out of the classroom.

Please join us if you haven't tried this, we all need to connect.

 

Go to Doodle Bugs Teaching and join us!

 

 

ONE

 

This week we were on a deadline for turning in grades, IEP progress reports and preparing for testing next week.

 

We still had time for some fun with our spelling words.

 





We numbered the eggs and told students the word to spell after they picked their egg. They thought it was great fun and requested repeating it.

 

 

TWO

 

 





 

We are focusing on improving listening comprehension.

It is a real challenge for my students with language delays. Just understanding the question can be so hard. I am incorporating our writing assignments into it.

I chose books they like and get excited about.

It is going pretty well! 

 

 

THREE

 What a difference a week makes!

Last week we were knee deep in snow and this week it's raining, and we are cleaning off the deck.

The cold is not gone yet...but it's on the way out...

eventually.

 

FOUR

 

 

I love these things!

They don't really go well with the Weight Watchers program, however, 12 of them counts as 3 points and it's

DO ABLE!

 

FIVE

 

I am looking forward to seeing my grand kids tomorrow, they are coming to our house to hunt eggs and eat hamburgers! I was motivated to do some house cleaning and managed to hit the 10,000 step mark on my FitBit!

WOOOO!

I haven't done that since I had my little "intracranial bleed".

and my house is pretty clean...feels good!

 

 

Have a good week.

 

Later,

 

Paula