Full Moon and Fun

This week was a tough one since my students had a wackadoodle  kind of schedule  because of the testing that was going on in the upper grades.  It made for a long afternoon.

Also the full moon might have had a hand in the naughty behaviors that arose this week.  Luckily my students shined before the moon rose.  I had my wonderful observation by the captain of our ship.  She was cutting it close since the evaluation cut off is the last day of April.

My students continued work on their animal writing and their clay models.  The weather has been so wonderful so picnic lunch maybe in our near future.  Do you do something similar with your class?

My son was able to help some wonderful people complete a certification class on working with swimming students that are diagnosed with ASD.  He had a blast.

As a family we decided to go out and visit the Discovery Museum.  It was perfect for him to interact with all the exhibits.  He didn't want to leave and we only had a small meltdown.  I would love to take my students to that museum. We will most likely have our one field trip a week before school ends. 

Last week my husband and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary.  It has been a wonderful adventure. As you can see we had an intimate family wedding.  Our bagpipe player was wonderful.   

My two gentleman relaxing after a long day.  

 I've decided to join in a challenge to get healthy.  If you are interested just click on the image below to get the details.

I have alphabet activities that I need to post this week.  I have been making more items for my son to work on as the summer nears.  That is all for now.  

Science, Writing and Art, Oh My! and a Giveaway

My students have come back refreshed  for the last quarter.  We are working hard before they leave for the summer. Sorry for the quality of the photographs, they were taken on my phone.  

We have been working on habitats.  I got a donorchoose grant for art supplies and have been able to mix science, writing and art.  The kids have been so excited to express their knowledge through art. It is so wonderful.  

Our first project was a flip book to jot down all our notes about the habitats.  From there we moved on to water colors and wrote poems about the habitat. The ocean one turned out to be an Acrostic poem.  Here are some samples.

My hope is to make a class book for each habitat.  

We still need to do forest.

Now on to our research project.  They are writing about an animal. They worked on each step.  Research, flow map, and now we are on our rough draft.  They are also trying to create their animal in clay.

My students are so creative.  Their creations will be painted when fully dried.

Before I leave the classroom I get to turn off the lights and see their bright butterflies.  What types of art do you do in your class during spring?

On Earth Day we discussed Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.  This lovely creativity was on on TpT.  The kids loved it.

Speaking of Earth Day, Educents has teamed up with Conscious Box to bring you a free Conscious Box delivered right to your door!

Consious Box delivers eco- friendly products to your doorstep every month. So this would be a sneak peek at the products you could receive. The giveaway starts at midnight and ends on Sat. April 27th. Your prize will be mailed to you on May 10th.

Also, be aware that you will be added to their mailing list for future giveaways.   

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday Made It

Super excited about finishing these two projects since I started them in the summer.  Spring Break was good to me.  I got to spend time with my guys and complete these. I also won a couple pin to win games on Facebook.  I can't wait to use the units/activities with my students.  

Project #1

I was inspired by all the cute owl clip art I saw.  This little gem is easy to make.  I just used: embroidery needle 

                thread

                embroidery hoop

                felt squares

                fabric 

                buttons

                fabric glue

I'm just not sure what to do with it since it doesn't match any of my decor.  Possibly a giveaway item.  (shrug)

Owl Art

Project #2

I finally got around to finishing up a unit for the Mathematical Practices.  You can find it in my store.  Here is a list of what is in it.

Each practice has an activity to do to clarify the mathematical practice to the students. 

The activities are not just math related but go across the curriculum.

There are:

*writing activities to respond to literature

*a graphing activity

*a fraction book

*a fraction page

*race to a dollar game boards

*a scavenger hunt for math tools

*word problems page

*parts of a flower activity

*domino addition page

*mathematical practices rubric

*anecdotal record sheet

If you teach or have a preschooler/kindergartner  I posted a few freebies in my store as well. Can't wait to see what everyone made.

Autism Part 2 - Freebie

I got this wonderful graphic from Kinder Alphabet.

Other items that have helped in our journey have been:

A Picture Exchange Communication System-  We use pictures for his routine and he knows what comes next or requests things that way sometimes. We took pictures of him doing various activities or things he likes and laminated them. We put up some Velcro and attached Velcro to the pictures right outside his room. I keep saying we but really my husband made these.

Sensory Diet:  My little guy loves to spin.  So we have tried to use other methods to have him get the same comfort he gets from that movement.  He has a mini trampoline and a huge bean bag to jump and lay on.  He loves to have many blankets on him.  Even if he has a weighted blanket.  He goes to gym once a week to move, dance and play.

Sounds and food textures are the toughest right now.  Things are too loud a lot of the time.  He doesn't like to experiment with food to much. (If you have any suggestions I am all ears.)

Water Play: He loves to play in water!  We are trying to get him to learn how to swim this year since water is a huge love for him. Bath time is play time and now with the weather getting warmer he wants to water his flowers as a ploy to get him to run free with the hose.

Waiting List: Not so fun is being on a waiting list.  To get more services we are on a waiting list.  Our insurance isn't the greatest so we are hoping when we get off this list we can get more services.  Until then we do the best we can.

I'm blessed!

This is my little guy going blue this month.  

Every small success is truly a big thing in our life.

Freebie
This is an activity I have done with my son to practice the color words and vocabulary words.  I would print it and laminate.  You can always tape the pictures to the crayons or write and erase on them. I hope you can use it.

Let's Get Acquainted Linky Party

To take part in the Let's Get Acquainted Linky Party just click on the image above. Join the fun!
Favorite Place to Shop

I love to shop there in the dollar section and at the clearance end caps.  

Favorite  Show

I found this show late but have had a lot of fun catching up on the past episodes. It cracks me up.

Favorite Sweet Treat

I have loved these for so long.  It is a great treat to have with milk.

Favorite Food

This is a wonderful Banh Mi Sandwich. AKA Vietnamese Sandwich.  I miss getting these on  a regular basis since they don't make them anywhere close to where I live.  

Favorite Restaurant 

If you ever come to visit Nevada's state capital  try stop by Red's for some pulled pork.  

If you have a big appetite and you love family style you can get one of these.  I haven't tried these but I've seen others attack it.

Thanks for visiting!

Don't forget to visit the 2 people that linked up before you and leave them a comment/follow/or just read their post.  

Autism Part 1- Plus a Freebie

With the high numbers of kids being diagnosed with Autism as a teacher I think we need to get more training and education on the subject. More than likely a student on the Autism spectrum will be in your class.

My Own Personal Journey

My child is a brilliant kid. He is three years old and kicking butt in preschool. Academics are wonderful but socially, sensory and speech related he is making steady progress.

Here are a few things that have helped along our adventure. 

Early Intervention:  Our pediatrician pointed us in the right direction when we had concerns.  Early intervention was able to look at the needs we had and help.  We had a wonderful developmental specialist that came to our home and work with my son.  She found Occupational Therapist and Speech Therapist to work with him. A local play group was a big help. Sadly at three he no longer could be provided services.  It was valuable intervention for him.

Group:  There is a support group that meets once a month.  It is a wonderful outlet just to get resources and support.  My husband attends these more than I since he is the primary care giver. This week I hope to attend but we will have to bring our son and we will see how focused he can be on games while the adults talk and drink coffee. 

Family acceptance and support:  We live far away from family so we don't have daily support but even the fact that our families accept and provide us support through phone calls and social media is wonderful.  Since they are aware when we visit they are understanding and ask questions.  We have friends that still aren't so accepting.  By that I mean they don't truly believe the diagnosis.  I find it easier to understand that they are't in a place to accept it and go on.

Respite:  We have been fortunate to find respite opportunities for my husband.  As the primary caregiver he needs time to just be.  

Items that have helped along the way.

This helped with a few signs to understand what my little guy wanted.

He loves the iPad so this has helped for when there is  an occasional accident. Wonderful apps have helped him pick up letters, numbers and words.

This has helped my little man when he is anxious. Instead of biting his shirt collar or his hand he uses this chewy tube. We haven't had to use it too much anymore.

My little man isn't so little anymore so we moved on to this high chair and it is highly recommended since it provides a solid place for his feet to rest on. He won't be out growing this anytime soon. FYI- we got a "vintage" one on Etsy.

This book has helped with our interactions with our smarty pants. We have increased his speech. It is a wonderful program if you can be trained by a Speech Pathologist to implement the program the way it was meant to be.

This car seat is for special needs kids.  It has helped because  other chairs  for older/bigger kids don't have a four- point harness. It isn't cheap but you can see if you have a local organization that can "loan" you one.    

This post has grown rather long so I have decided to add a few more things an another post.  

Here is a freebie on something I've done with my little boy.  We try and notice things around us in new situations and during our walks.  I hope you could use it. Just click on the image.  There are three scavenger hunts to try out. Also, check out the linky party by clicking on the picture above.