I found a new-to-me website for practicing math facts. It's a basic "drill and kill" type of game, but it is simple and clearly presented. It also gives the user options of using different operations and different sum/difference totals. Check it out:
Harcourt Basic Facts
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Big Changes.......
It has been a busy, busy summer.
In addition to all of the typical summer school and summer vacation activities, I decided to transfer schools and grade levels. I will actually be teaching at the neighborhood school that I attended myself as a kindergarten student!
In the fall I will start teaching a class for third grade students with varying exceptionalities. And, although, I will miss my pre-k students and assistant terribly, I'm looking forward to the change.
photo courtesy of Chris Campbell on Flicker CC, "Top Of Antique Bell" http://www.flickr.com/photos/cgc/
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Including Samuel
This blog post recently came across one of my list serves. I found it worth sharing again.
Take a look:
Including Samuel
Take a look:
Including Samuel
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Memorable Moment #10: "Embarrassing"
SCENE: There's an assembly in the cafeteria during my class's breakfast time and my assistant's hip has really been bothering her, so we ate breakfast in the classroom. (This involves getting breakfast and taking the meal roster back which is a lot if walking, so I told her I would do that.)
BUILD UP: We're potty training a little girl in my class, so before I took the meal roster back, I told her to go potty. She went in and I'm in the classroom. I hear her shout "Mrs. Y., I pee!" I hear several thumps of the roll of toilet paper and know that she is taking too much. I went in and see her with a mound of toilet paper by her on the floor. As we clean up, a piece gets stuck to her shoe. She tries to shake it off, but it doesn't come off. So we're giggling and she's trying to get the toilet paper off her shoe and I tell her "Oh Gosh, you don't want to have toilet paper on your shoe, that's so embarrassing." She giggles and tries again but it doesn't come off. So we talk again about getting the toilet paper off her shoe because we don't want bathroom germs in the classroom. She giggles and says "Embarrassing" and finally gets the toilet paper off her shoe. We wash up, she goes to the playground and I go to return the meal roster.
PUNCH LINE: I get to the cafeteria (which is about as far across campus from my classroom as you can get) and the cafeteria manager says, "Michelle, what do you have stuck to your shoe?"
Yep, that's right, I had toilet paper stuck to my shoe....
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Manuel de Los Santos video
My husband found this link in his wanderings online.
He thought it would be of interest to me....he was right!
I think this is an amazing story.
He thought it would be of interest to me....he was right!
I think this is an amazing story.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
National Geographic Website
My school is inundated with caterpillars right now. With so many natural, incidental learning experiences available, this is a perfect time to implement our life cycles unit.
National Geographic Kids has many great resources to also support this theme. Of course, in addition to bugs and butterflies National Geographic also has many other topics addressed too. Check them out!
Creature Feature: Monarch Butterflies
What in the World: Bugging Out!
National Geographic Kids has many great resources to also support this theme. Of course, in addition to bugs and butterflies National Geographic also has many other topics addressed too. Check them out!
Creature Feature: Monarch Butterflies
What in the World: Bugging Out!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
More Sea Life Resources
Since I live in South West Florida, a unit on sea life is particularly meaningful to my students and there are many opportunities to extend with real life experiences.
We have a field trip to Mote Marine Aquarium planned in March. I took my class on this particular field trip about 4 or 5 years ago. This year we are going to participate in the lesson about sea turtles and will actually get to make squid "popsicles" and then feed the turtles in the aquarium.
Of course, we also support this unit with many classroom experiences. I have found a few new resources to share:
Fern Goes for a Dive (free, animated read aloud story)
Fern Goes to Hawaii (free, animated read aloud story)
Mermaid Lullaby
Seashore Tap and Type
You can find other Sea life resources that I have gathered at this post, this post, this post and this post.
We have a field trip to Mote Marine Aquarium planned in March. I took my class on this particular field trip about 4 or 5 years ago. This year we are going to participate in the lesson about sea turtles and will actually get to make squid "popsicles" and then feed the turtles in the aquarium.
Of course, we also support this unit with many classroom experiences. I have found a few new resources to share:
Fern Goes for a Dive (free, animated read aloud story)
Fern Goes to Hawaii (free, animated read aloud story)
Mermaid Lullaby
Seashore Tap and Type
You can find other Sea life resources that I have gathered at this post, this post, this post and this post.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Literacy and Art and a Gentle Reminder
Have you ever had one of those days when the stars and planets are aligning to make sure you "get the message?"
I had one today.
My class is in the middle of a camping theme. They have been having a grand time playing in tents, singing around our "campfire," pretending to roast marshmallows, pretending to grill hamburgers, reading by lantern light, etc.....all of the play based experiences you would expect to find in a preschool classroom.
The shared reading book we have been reading this week is called "The Camping Scare" by Terri Dougherty. It's a simple book with great picture-to-text relationships and good illustrations that show many of our targeted vocabulary words.
In our art center today, we had out large sheets of black construction paper, the scrap bin, scissors, markers and glue. The children were encouraged to make a camping picture as an extension of our other play experiences and the literature we have been reading.
One child took his turn at the art center and began snipping very small pieces of the scraps. I looked at what he was doing and asked him what he was planning on making. He tells me he's making a tent. (This is clearly NOT a tent...in my mind...it is tiny pieces of paper. In my head, we were going to have a great creative experience where the children could cut out shapes of their choice to create figures of tents, etc and then use the markers for the finer details.) Well, I let him continue with his art project and he continued snipping the tiny pieces of paper. Good thing!
It turns out, he used those tiny pieces of blue paper to glue an outline of a tent, then collaged the brown ones to make logs for a fire, the orange ones for the flames and cut a large purple rectangle and used the markers to draw a "friend sleeping in a sleeping bag." It was fantastic!
Clearly, we (as teachers and parents) need to remember that children (even young children) are individuals with their own creativity, thoughts and ideas. I'm so glad that this particular child gave me an experience that serves as a gentle reminder that there are times that children need to have the space and freedom to communicate their thoughts and ideas in the way that they determine rather than with what we impose.
I had one today.
My class is in the middle of a camping theme. They have been having a grand time playing in tents, singing around our "campfire," pretending to roast marshmallows, pretending to grill hamburgers, reading by lantern light, etc.....all of the play based experiences you would expect to find in a preschool classroom.
The shared reading book we have been reading this week is called "The Camping Scare" by Terri Dougherty. It's a simple book with great picture-to-text relationships and good illustrations that show many of our targeted vocabulary words.
In our art center today, we had out large sheets of black construction paper, the scrap bin, scissors, markers and glue. The children were encouraged to make a camping picture as an extension of our other play experiences and the literature we have been reading.
One child took his turn at the art center and began snipping very small pieces of the scraps. I looked at what he was doing and asked him what he was planning on making. He tells me he's making a tent. (This is clearly NOT a tent...in my mind...it is tiny pieces of paper. In my head, we were going to have a great creative experience where the children could cut out shapes of their choice to create figures of tents, etc and then use the markers for the finer details.) Well, I let him continue with his art project and he continued snipping the tiny pieces of paper. Good thing!
It turns out, he used those tiny pieces of blue paper to glue an outline of a tent, then collaged the brown ones to make logs for a fire, the orange ones for the flames and cut a large purple rectangle and used the markers to draw a "friend sleeping in a sleeping bag." It was fantastic!
Clearly, we (as teachers and parents) need to remember that children (even young children) are individuals with their own creativity, thoughts and ideas. I'm so glad that this particular child gave me an experience that serves as a gentle reminder that there are times that children need to have the space and freedom to communicate their thoughts and ideas in the way that they determine rather than with what we impose.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Play based writing
I have found a lovely, photo based blog entry on supporting writing skills through a play based curriculum.
Check it out. Jenny's preschool classroom writing experiences (indoors and outdoors) are fantastic!
Let the Children Play
Check it out. Jenny's preschool classroom writing experiences (indoors and outdoors) are fantastic!
Let the Children Play
Visiting Kindergarten: Social Story
It's the time of year when, in pre-k special needs classes, we begin to think about the process of transitioning children to kindergarten.
This year, there is a little girl in my class with an interesting combination of strengths and challenges.
She has a good cognitive skills and a good ability to learn vocabulary and concepts through incidental learning. She has a solid base of kindergarten pre-academic skills (she knows all of the letters of the alphabet upper and lowercase, she can count to 15, she can identify 11 colors and 6 common shapes. She knows many beginning consonant sounds, has an awareness of rhyming words, can read all of the names of the students in class and reads approximately 10 sight words.)
She gets overwhelmed with new experiences and has difficulty transitioning to new activities (especially if it is in a different location on campus). She still needs staff support for potty training. Her fine motor skills are significantly delayed and she still needs staff support for many tasks that include visual motor planning.
We have decided to try to specifically address an area of strength with an area that is a significant challenge for her while she is still in pre-k. She is going to start going to a shared reading and phonics lesson with a kindergarten class for approximately 20 minutes a day. Since she has good cognitive skills and she does not need any staff support in our pre-k large group circle time, we are going to try to balance this with the challenge of accepting a new experience. We are hoping that she will become familiar with the kindergarten building, the kindergarten classroom and the larger group of kindergarten students. We are also hoping that our pre-k staff can go with her for a short period of time and then fade away so that we increase her independence and comfort in the kindergarten classroom.
To help her prepare for this, we have drafted a simple social story (you can download a generic copy here.) about going to the kindergarten classroom. She has a copy at home that her family has read with her for the past week and there is a copy at school that classroom staff have been reading with her too. We have also started walking past the kindergarten room and having conversations about visiting kindergarten on Monday.
We're hoping by layering in the staff support and also building on her strengths, she will begin to feel comfortable and be able to learn new skills in the kindergarten class.
This year, there is a little girl in my class with an interesting combination of strengths and challenges.
She has a good cognitive skills and a good ability to learn vocabulary and concepts through incidental learning. She has a solid base of kindergarten pre-academic skills (she knows all of the letters of the alphabet upper and lowercase, she can count to 15, she can identify 11 colors and 6 common shapes. She knows many beginning consonant sounds, has an awareness of rhyming words, can read all of the names of the students in class and reads approximately 10 sight words.)
She gets overwhelmed with new experiences and has difficulty transitioning to new activities (especially if it is in a different location on campus). She still needs staff support for potty training. Her fine motor skills are significantly delayed and she still needs staff support for many tasks that include visual motor planning.
We have decided to try to specifically address an area of strength with an area that is a significant challenge for her while she is still in pre-k. She is going to start going to a shared reading and phonics lesson with a kindergarten class for approximately 20 minutes a day. Since she has good cognitive skills and she does not need any staff support in our pre-k large group circle time, we are going to try to balance this with the challenge of accepting a new experience. We are hoping that she will become familiar with the kindergarten building, the kindergarten classroom and the larger group of kindergarten students. We are also hoping that our pre-k staff can go with her for a short period of time and then fade away so that we increase her independence and comfort in the kindergarten classroom.
To help her prepare for this, we have drafted a simple social story (you can download a generic copy here.) about going to the kindergarten classroom. She has a copy at home that her family has read with her for the past week and there is a copy at school that classroom staff have been reading with her too. We have also started walking past the kindergarten room and having conversations about visiting kindergarten on Monday.
We're hoping by layering in the staff support and also building on her strengths, she will begin to feel comfortable and be able to learn new skills in the kindergarten class.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Homecoming Queen: Teenager with Down Syndrome
This story recently came to me from two sources: A CEC SmartBrief and the parent of a child I tutor.
I think it's worth sharing again!
Homecoming Queen: Teenager with Down Syndrome
I think it's worth sharing again!
Homecoming Queen: Teenager with Down Syndrome
Free Interactive Holiday Sites
I found this site a few years ago. It was challenging to navigate and then go back and find the activities you wanted repeatedly. They have re-organized and uploaded many free interactive boards and activities. They have many that are appropriate for December holidays. They've done a great job! It's so much easier to navigate and find activities appropriate to skill or grade level.
TES iboard player
Here's a link to a post from a few years ago too. My students still enjoy these links!
Interactive Holiday Sites
TES iboard player
Here's a link to a post from a few years ago too. My students still enjoy these links!
Interactive Holiday Sites
Friday, November 5, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Embedding Literacy
I'm wrapping up facilitating a very fast paced and intense course on language and literacy. Because of this, I have been engaged in a lot of thinking and reflecting about embedding language and literacy into daily lesson plans and routines.
I'd like to take a moment to share an idea that illustrates how a parent has embedded language and literacy into her child's day.
I drive through 3 school zones and countless bus stops on my way to work each morning. I often see parents waiting with their children at the bus stops.
One mom and her son (who appears to be 5 or 6 years old) used to wait for the bus each day in the manner that you would typically see....the boy had his backpack on, mom was next to him and they stood on the corner waiting for the bus.
For the past few weeks, as I have driven by, I have noticed that she now brings a camp chair (one of those canvas chairs that folds up and has a sleeve that it fits in...you can buy them at Wal Mart for about $10) and a book to the bus stop.
Now, each morning her son sits on her lap as she is reading a story to him.
Wow! So maybe they wait 5-10 minutes for the bus each day. That means her son is getting and extra 25-50 minutes of literacy and language experiences a week. If you multiply that times 36 weeks in a school year that is between 900-1800 minutes a year (or an extra 15-30 hours).
I think this is just so cool! She has figured out how to take a "waiting" period and has turned it into a language and literacy experience.
Sometimes we go nuts trying to figure out when to fit everything "in." This mom has found a way to give her child more literacy and language experiences within a routine that already exists.
How many other ways could we, as teachers or parents also do this? I bet the ways are quite creative and the number is countless!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Free Early Literacy Activities
This site has recently been shared with me from our pre-k supervisor.
It has many, free printable activities that support literacy of infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers. They have a link for ideas for parents and another link for teachers. Check it out.
Center for Early Literacy Learning
It has many, free printable activities that support literacy of infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers. They have a link for ideas for parents and another link for teachers. Check it out.
Center for Early Literacy Learning
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