Counting Bells and Learning to Write

Here's my little toy tester doing audible math with some jingle bells in a basket. The big bucket is underneath to keep the bells from rolling all over the floor. He has cerebral palsy and will drop them. Doesn't stop him from trying to hold all of them even when I tell him I can't even do that.

I will give him an addition problem like "What's four and three more or four plus three?" He picks up four, then three more and drops them back in the basket to check himself by listening to the bells clink as they hit the basket. He's pretty good actually!

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In this photo, I have drawn lines on half a fluorescent colored poster board. Then I laminated it. My beginning large print readers can practice forming letters on it with dry erase markers. When I go to a couple of classes I use them to write what the teacher has on the class board for kids who can't see far enough to see the board. The students will copy from this board at their desks rather than from the board on the class wall.

 

One of my teachers uses actually uses permanent ink markers on hers. She found that the kids would rub the dry erase marker off the board with their noses from trying to read it or "accidentally on purpose" with their sleeves or fingers. To clean the boards she uses a spray can of "Goo-Gone" and a paper towel. In this photo I have a ruler on the line to show how far apart the lines are. I used Sharpee (C) fine point colored permanent markers for the lines. I made clouds at the tops of each line for little clouds that I outlined with blue marker. The white of the clouds is correction fluid. (I used this kind because it doesn't flake up and the little brush inside is flexible enough to actually paint it on).

Flower tops were drawn to the center dotted lin. The roots on the flowers show the line where certain letters like the lowercase "j" and "y" have tails that dip down into the ground area. 

  

I have made these in different colors but the kids tell me they like yellow best of all. White gives off too much glare for kids with glare problems like with albinism.