Works For Me Wednesday- Special Needs Resources

Many of you know I teach special education, which covers a very broad umbrella of kiddos. There are a TON of great resources out there, but since many students have multiple needs I often found myself searching and switching screens. Not a good use of time…. enter SEN teacher! This site has it all and in one place! print-ables, free software downloads, customized search engines. It has really saved me a ton of time and headache.

 And it is FREE!!

This is what Works for Me? What works for you? Check out Shannon’s Blog for many many many more great tips!

Works for Me Wednesday- Visual Schedule

 Being a teacher, I am all about routine. Of course, my 2 ½ year old usually has other ideas. Bedtime seems to be especially hard for us. Since we work all day we tend to be more relaxed in the evenings and can lose our consistency. To help us stay on track I made this visual work board for Mark.

First I printed off icons for the activities that make up our routine. (You can use any clip art or photos, I used the simple ones from a program I have on my computer)

 

Next, I had Mark color them. I then glued them to a long piece of construction paper, laminated it and then hung it on the wall. Mark takes great pride in telling me what we need to do next. This has helped us stay organized and maintain the consistency a 2 ½ year old thrives on.  Visual bedtime schedules work for me! For more great works for me Wednesday times, visit Shannon’s Blog at Rocks in My Dryer

Fostering a Love of Reading: Part 4– But…..

My child is a good reader, but hates reading! What do I do?

photo by: Mitzabot

In my years as a classroom teacher, I heard this question many many times. Today I defer to experts over at Reading is Fundamental. This article offers reasons why your child may dislike reading, as well as 20 tips to encourage your child.

http://www.rif.org/parents/articles/ChidrenWhoDontRead.mspx

Fostering a Love of Reading- Part 3- Go Techno

photo by: whiteafrican

We live in a very digital society. We communicate, shop, and even learn via the virtual world. While virtual games and practice could never replace the teaching of parents and teachers, they are a great way for kids to practice their developing skills in an engaging and non- threatening environment. Here are some of my favorite online reading sites:

• www.starfall.com: A site designed by a gentleman who has a reading disability. Great interactive activities.
• www.funbrain.com: A ton of great kid’s activities in all subject areas!
• www.bookadventure.com: extensive book lists, with suggested reading levels and comprehension quizzes
• www.scholastic.com: interactive games featuring some of our favorite characters such as Clifford and those cool kids from the Magic School Bus
• www.gigglepoetry.com: super funny poems written by kids for kids.
• www.computerlabkids.com: Click on “what can you do in the lab” for tons of games and online activities. This site is AMAZING!

As with all internet sites, be sure to visit them first to make sure the content is appropriate for your child’s level and your family’s guidelines.

Have a great reading website to share? Let us know in the comment section.

Now I get it!

I am teaching a unit on Microsoft Word this quarter. My first graders are learning how to change the size and color of text. Today, I was demonstrating how to make your text really big and really small, when of of the kiddos (who is normally picking at the carpet fuzz) Yells out, ” I get it! This is why they call is Microscopic Word! It makes sense now!”

photo from the1pony

I just about fell out of my chair.