Arthur's Lessons in communication

Arthur (from PBS) talks to kids about how children who are visually and hearing impaired communicate. This one is great for the classroom! The lesson plan is already done for you!

http://www.pbs.org/parents/arthur/lesson/communication/index.html

Thursday

The school day went better. I stayed behind a bit later Wednesday to get our little half classroom organized with our charts, posters, seating, etc. for the children.

I reread the one child's student information as I recalled one of them was on medicine for behavior purposes and he was the one. His personality was so very different the day before. I'm thinking his folks were in a hurry to get him to school that morning they forgot to give him the medicine. Sure enough, he was far better, even with the change in rooms. He tried so hard.

I changed the "Chips Club" to a positive reinforcement. To be caught being good earns a check by one's name and earning four checks earns a small bag of chips. Actually he is the highest functioning child and understands this the best.

I've been up on paperwork which I usually stay ahead with for the summer program. But in the move on Wednesday, my lesson plans disappeared so will be spending part of this weekend doing them all over again. I will copy the form so i can fill it out in word and save a copy on my computer or on flash drive next time. I showed it to the lead teacher so she knows I had it done. Before we were told to move she'd suggested I give it to her at the end of the day so they would be available to me for the day. Little did we know that we'd all have to move two hours later. I've not seen the papers since. I'm thinking the teacher who moved into the room accidentally threw them away.

After the children boarded the bus Thursday, we had more paper work to fill out for payroll. I stayed a little after school to get the room ready for Monday.

Meanwhile, one of the teacher's unions sent an email announcing that they will take ideas and publish them for a special newsletter. I think I will do that.

Cheap Finds to Use with Children with V.I.

LASER TOP: This toy was at Walgreen's drug store in the sale bin It requires batteries. I thought of it as visual stimulation for low vision multi-disabled kids as it can be spun for them on their wheel chair trays. It lights up, spins and makes a sound. It has a hazardous choke warning so for children who can grab and handle it themselves I'd be certain they have an MA of 5 years and over, as it says on the package, so they will not be tempted to put any parts of it in their little mouths.



VIBRATING BALL: I've had this one for a few years, also with multi disabled children in mind. I had a child with cortical visual impairment and deafness. Pull the string and this one vibrates. Use much supervision as the string may detach. For the kids I used it with, I would pull the string for them. Some were able to let me know they wanted the action repeated by either grabbing my hand or in the case of a nonverbal child with modified signs, she would sign "again." It doesn't make a sound, though. This one is hand sized. There is a larger version of this one that runs by batteries and makes a sound as it vibrates.



TEACHING COINS: I saw these in another teacher's class and thought, Wow! I have needed something like that for my low vision kids when I was teaching money!

She was going to let me borrow hers to make copies. But in my travels I saw these at Dollar Tree in the school supplies section. I have found coin worksheets on line AND placed real coins under the CCTV for students with low vision. When you don't have access to a CCTV or can't carry several in your back pocket, these are a cool alternative. They are printed on front and back. The adult size scissors didn't show up too clearly, but I placed them in the picture to give a size reference.

I've had these laminated and I will have them brailled for low vision students who read braille

More Educational Finds

I found these little workbooks in a Walgreen's drugstore. I have since seen them in other places. I know they've been around for a while because I used to stop and pick up a few and enlarge the pages for whatever a student of mine was working on in their classrooms or to help a teacher get a concept across to a child. Mind you, I only like worksheets for practice or enhancement. I truly despise the use of them for busy work.

These, however, are different because for about $6 a CD-ROM is included. I have opened these and found them to be cool for elementary kids with low vision. Some of the characters in the books are seen again in the computer program. The use of a computer is often motivation for our kids.

There is one activity in which children are asked to find hidden object which may be confusing for a child with low vision. With some of the menu items a child with low vision may need assistance. The Dot-to-Dot one has little movies in the menu. They're really cute. My daughter says she remembers seeing some of them on old (1980's) children's TV shows. Some of the little movies had no dialogue for the totally blind child to follow.

I did not try them with any speech/screen reader programs as I was most certain most of the stuff was not accessible for the totally blind child.

Don't expect a lot of fancy bells and whistles. For only $6 it's not a bad deal.

Jazz Funeral for the Arts

[Of course our state testing begins in our schools tomorrow. However, I will be there in spirit as I pass on the information. My first job was as an art teacher for high school students. Later as I worked as an arts and cultural enrichments speciaolist I was RIF-ed to "save money" for another program.]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts:
Holley Vaughn- (469) 644-4625
Chris Krejci- (225) 454-0866 or christopherkrejci@gmail.com
Todd Henry- (818) 640-6710 or THactorboy@hotmail.comor join us on facebook http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=90259875389&ref=nf

PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY!

Calling all artists, musicians, performers, and patrons of the arts!

Join like-minded citizens on Wednesday, April 1 at 11:30 AM in Lafayette Park (across from the Shaw Center) for a Jazz Funeral for Louisiana Arts and Culture in protest of Governor Bobby Jindal’s proposed budget cut that will devastate Louisiana's economy by SLASHING the state budget for THE ARTS and ARTS EDUCATION by 83%.

See email below and attached flyer for more information!

Louisiana’s cultural economy, which is the states second largest industry, is in SERIOUS TROUBLE. On Thursday, April 2nd Bobby Jindal will enact a shameful budget cut that will devastate Louisiana's economy by SLASHING the state budget for The Arts and ARTS EDUCATION by 83%.Yes, you read that correctly... 83%! This budget cut will devastate a 10 billion dollar industry that sustains 144,000 jobs. Investing in the arts is economically productive. Every $1 invested in Louisiana’s non-profit Arts and Culture industry generates $6 in revenue for the state. The Arts and Culture industry is paramount in revitalizing struggling urban centers and dilapidating historic districts. In terms of civic engagement, these programs foster public discourse and debate and critically activate public memory. Moreover, these programs attract tourism, which is a VITAL part of Louisiana's struggling economy.
WE MUST ACT QUICKLY. The Louisiana House Appropriations Committee will be meeting on Thursday April 2nd. They are our last hope to stop Jindal from pursuing this INSANE course of action!
How to help:

1) Write your Legislator- it literally takes 5 seconds. go to: http://www.lparts.org/index.cfm enter your zip and click Write Your Legislator then click Take Action

2) BLITZ THE MEDIA- We are desperately trying to get national media coverage. Write the national networks (CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, Comedy Central etc), blitz the blogs, call local and national radio and tell them to PLEASE COVER THIS STORY. Feel free to post and repost this email everywhere. If you want to post another cool link, Howie Klein has written an awesome article at the Huffington Post- check it out at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howie-klein/bobby-jindal-dont-like-no_b_180462.html.

3) TAKE IT TO THE STREETS!
Plan of Action: We will meet at Lafayette Park across from the Shaw Center at 11:30 AM and begin marching at 12:00 PM up 3rd St. and then down Spanish Town Rd. toward Capitol Grocery.

What to Bring: Please wear attire appropriate for a Jazz Funeral. Feel free to bring hankies, umbrellas, and musical instruments. If you choose to carry signs, we suggest the following writing: “R.I.P LA Arts & Culture” or “Funding Arts and Culture in LA is FISCALLY responsible!”

Keep the Protest/ Performance Peaceful: According to Kim Brooks, Legal Advisor for the Chief of Police, we MUST keep moving, stay on the sidewalks, and avoid blocking street and pedestrian traffic. PLEASE ABIDE BY THESE GUIDELINES!

PLEASE do whatever you can to stop this budget cut. This is serious. We need all hands on deck.

Big Money!

I found these giant plastic coins at a dollar store--Dollar Tree, to be exact. As soon as I saw them I scooped them up because I thought of them as a good tool for kids with low vision and regular cognitive abilities for learning coins. I have put coins under the CCTV before, but suppose you're traveling from school to school and you don't have one in your back pocket? besides that these are accessible by touch and just plain fun. I may take close up photos of these--front and back-- to use in an Intellitools activity. The program comes with some photos of coins but they can be enlarged only so much without losing clarity.

Words of the Day Part 9

Affable: (Adjective) Friendly; easy to talk to. Christy's sentence: "I think Barack Obama is the most affable because I've been hearing him on the news a lot."

Ephemeral: (Adjective) :Lasting a short while. Christy's sentence: "I had a fish that had an ephemeral life."

Adjective: (noun) A describing word. "Adjectives can tell us color, size, shape and how many."

What Teacher's Make

This video has been going around. It's posted on TeacherTube.


Also, this email:

Good Morning! I just thought I'd share this with you all! Have a wonderful day!!!!!***

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?" To stress his point he said to another guest; "You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?"

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then began...) "Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor winner.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental. You want to know what I make?"

(She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.)

I make kids wonder.
I make them question.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding isn't everything.

I make them read, read, read.
I make them show all their work in math. They use their God given brain, not the man-made calculator.
I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know about English while preserving their unique cultural identity.
I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe. I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, One Nation Under God, because we live in the United States of America.
Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life. (Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.) "Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn't everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant.... You want to know what I make?

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make Mr. CEO?"

His jaw dropped, he went silent.

THIS IS WORTH SENDING TO EVERY TEACHER, EVERY CEO, EVERY PERSON YOU KNOW. Even all your personal teachers like mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and your spiritual leaders/teachers - Pastor's/Priests/Clergy.

Intellitools Activities

I like Intellitools Classroom Suites. I have some braille lessons there like this one which uses apples for the braille dots.

If you go to the Intellitools web site and sign in to the activities exchange (http://aex.intellitools.com/), look for my screen name "MsKathy0724." Then you can look at all of the activities I created.

Getting Used to it Again

I used to be far more itinerant than I have been in the last couple of years. Now I have about six schools to visit and 20 children and their teachers to see. I like the change of scenery but it takes some getting used to again.

Last year I was headquartered at a high school and I was on consult at another for about three students with multiple disabilities in self-contained classrooms. Three of my girls at the HQ were diploma bound while one was not and the two boys were on a special tract. The high school girls were far more independent--although I was concerned with the one with Stargardt's because he would not admit to how much she could not see.

Last semester I took another teacher's class on the elementary Braille class while she was out having treatments for lung cancer. While I was doing that, I was taking chemo treatments for a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. I enjoyed the kids and we had great fun exploring how much they could learn and do, however, having to leave them for a whole day and two half days each month was not easy.

Anyway, I am getting used to travelling again. I am too ADD to stick to a strict routine.

I'm also to look for and teach the other visual impairments teacher/specialists about technology particular to the visually impaired student. I've already had a disagreement with one teacher who does not think it is necessary to teach the computer keyboard to braille readers. I think she doesn't really want to be bothered because she feels she will have to learn something new. Meanwhile I have a folder of emails from former students who still contact me using the JAWS screen reader on what, boys and girls? The computer keyboard!
I started teaching the children last semester using Talking Typer and they enjoyed it. They need to get used to hearing that computer voice, for sure.

BUT, I am truly feeling blessed because, even though I'm getting used to this new schedule, I need no more chemo and my PET scan was absolutely clear. My energy is returning and my husband's nerves are better because he doesn't worry as much when I leave for work. He went to every treatment and every doctor's visit with me! I feel blessed because I was able to continue working, although it was tough some days, it was not impossible and the experience with the kids was priceless. I feel blessed to have 15 new faces to see and 5 former students that I get to see again! God is truly good!