Make it Easy... to pick up and hold

We play group games daily in my class.  Common games you may find us playing are Bingo and Memory.  These games are easy to create for any theme/topic you are teaching.  During a Bingo game, calling cards are placed face down on the table and the game caller gets to pick any card to call out to the players. To play Memory, all cards are placed face down on the table and students take turns flipping 2 cards at a time to find a match.

THE PROBLEM: The problem my students have with playing these games are being able to pick up the cards from the table. They just do not have the fine motor/finger control to be able to pick up thin objects from a flat surface.

THE SOLUTION: My simple solution... clothespins! I found these large clothespins pictured below at Ikea but I'm sure they can be found elsewhere too! I simply attach a clothespin to each card, place them face down on the table and now my students are easily able to lift the cards from the table during game play.

Large clothespins attached to a bingo game from the Unique Learning System curriculum.

During a bingo game, this student easily picks up a calling card from her tray.

Another student picks up a calling card during bingo and flips it over for everyone to see.

This simple adaptation has made many of my games accessible to my students with fine motor difficulties.

The Nest... a theme to tweet about!

First off, I must apologize for being MIA for so long on my blog. I love reading other teacher blogs and catching up with all of you, but when it comes time to post on my own blog, I just don't make the time. Well, I'm back... for today, at least!

I am half way through my summer and have to admit I'm a little bummed.  I had so many plans for classroom projects I wanted to complete over the summer and have not accomplished any of them... yet!  But I still have a few weeks to get busy.  So, to start things off, I'd like to share one project I have in mind... design a new theme for my classroom!  I have never actually used a specific theme for my classroom decor but a teacher friend has inspired me to create one.  Her classroom is all decked out in pirate stuff and it is so cute!  There is so much you can do with a theme!  I think my students would enjoy it and it will give a fresh look to my classroom which I have been in for 7 years now!  It's time for a change.  After searching endlessly on the internet for theme ideas I have finally decided to do a bird theme.  I know, random, right?!  Let's just call it "Mrs. H's Nest."  I have not actually created anything for this theme yet, but have found lots of inspiration pictures.  Here are just a few:

I'd love to create some type of bird mobile to hang from the ceiling.



from The Bump

I absolutely love the mobile below. You can download the free bird sewing pattern from her website.  Hmmm... maybe I could finally learn to sew for this project! :)

Check it out on Spool Sewing.

Here are a few wall or bulletin board displays that I love:

I have the perfect space on my wall to display this bird mural.  It seems pretty straightfoward and easy enough to create.

Found on Pieces of Me.

Mrs. H's class is something to tweet about!

Super cute display from Leslie Ann at Life in First Grade!

And finally, I would absolutely LOVE to have this tree in my classroom.  I can picture white lights hanging from the branches and down the trunk.  The lights could be hooked up to a single pressure switch that my students could turn on and off. 

This was created by Laurie Kessler over at It's Going To Be All Write.

There are so many more pictures I could share, but I think you get the picture.  Hopefully I can incorporate at least a few of these ideas into my classroom decor this year.  Do you use a classroom theme to decorate?  If so, what is your theme and how do you incorporate it into your classroom?  I would love to hear your ideas.

Best start yet...

Well, while many of my blogger friends are just starting out the school year, I have already made it through the first six weeks of school and now have a week off for Fall Break!  I absolutely love our school calendar!  I have to say that after 7 years of teaching, this has been the best start to a school year so far.  I have 5 students, but only one is new.   We all fell back into our normal routine, with only a few minor changes to our schedule. 

I plan on spending some of my fall break working on GAA (Georgia Alternate Assessment) activities.  Do I have any Georgia followers out there that have to administer the GAA this year?  It is a time consuming task, but I hope to complete the entire assessment by Christmas!  I have 4 portfolios to do this year... two 3rd grade and two 4th grade.  Maybe I'll get a chance to share some of our GAA activities on the blog this year. 

Hold on to your...

I have several students in my class that do not keep items in their lap or on the table in front of them.  Two students in particular that I have in mind are capable of grasping and holding on to materials but instead they are constantly dropping things on the floor or pushing items off of the table. I am always looking for new ways to keep the materials accessbile to the student, where they cannot drop them or push them out of their reach.

For paper materials I can tape them to the table in front of the student or clip them to a large slant board that is non-slip.  For toys I have tried using dycem pads to keep them from sliding but students are able to pull the dycem up from the table or move the toy off of the dycem. 

While scanning the aisles at Target the other day, I discovered these in the office supply section: 

Retractable badge reels!!!

Of course, we have all seen these before, but that day it dawned on me... I can use these with my students to attach small toys and other items to their wheelchair or belt loop!!  They are retractable, so the student can easily move the objects, but if they push them off their lap, they won't fall to the floor!  I decided to buy them and give them a try.  I think I got a pack of 6 for around $3.99. 

Here is my first attempt at using them with my students.  During our music/sensory time each student got to choose an instrument to play.  This student picked bells.  I was able to attach the instrument to the badge holder using a rubberband.  I then attached the holder to the chest harness on her wheelchair.  It worked perfectly!  When she let go of the instrument it stayed in her lap instead of falling to the floor every time! 

Use a rubber band to attach the item to the badge reel



Clip the badge reel to an article of clothing or wheelchair strap



I'm excited to use these with other materials in the classroom.  I figure I can attach lots of different items to these badge holders using different sized rubberbands or ribbon.  I'm going to play around with it and see what I can come up with.

If you have any other great ideas for keeping items within students reach and preventing them from throwing/dropping the items to the floor, please share!

~Elizabeth

Pinterest Addiction!



Yes I am!  I'm sure most of you have heard about the bookmarking site called Pinterest.  You can create virtual bulletin boards on any topic you dream up and start pinning pictures from all over the web.  I'm addicted!  I love finding ideas and inspiration from others online and Pinterest is a GREAT tool to keep it all organized.  Come check out my Pinterest boards.  I have several boards related to classroom ideas, including Special Education Classroom ideas, Arts and Crafts, and Classroom Organization.  Just click my "follow me" button on the right hand side of your screen.

If you have a Pinterest account, be sure to link up to the Pinterest Party at Michelle's Math in the Middle blogsite.

Happy Pinning!

~Elizabeth

Cheap and Easy Card Holder

I'm excited I finally got around to making card holders for my classroom.  I found this idea several weeks ago on a blog titled, Adapting Creatively!  Rose-Marie has really GREAT ideas for adapting materials for use with our special needs kids.  Check out her site when you can.

Here is the card holder I made following her instructions:

You will need:
A pool noodle and a knife... that's it!!

Everyone knows what a pool noodle is, right!?  You can find them all over the place right now.  I found mine at the Dollar Tree for $1.








Using your sereated knife, cut the pool noodle into 16" sections.  Next, you will slice the pool noodle in half, through the center of the piece.  You should now have 6 pieces of pool noodle.  Set each piece, flat side down, on the table.  In the center of the arch, use your knife, to cut a slit down the length of your noodle.  Cut as straight as possible and be sure not to go too deep!  You're DONE!  Simply slide the cards into the slits to hold them up.  You can make 6 card holders for $1!

Here is my finished product!  For more detailed, photo, instructions, be sure to check out the original idea on Adapting Creatively!

Twins! Baby Shower

Sorry I've been MIA.  This week was my first week at school with the students!  It has been crazy busy, but overall a great week.  I have 5 students this year, 4 of which I had last year, so we quickly got into a routine.  I'll post more about my schedule and some changes I'm making this year in another entry but FIRST, I just had to share about my best friends recent baby shower!! 

My best friend, Jess, is having twins!  I was honored to host a baby shower for her last weekend.  I hosted with 2 other ladies and it was so much fun planning and creating things for her shower. My favorite part was creating the decor.  I created tutu outfits to hang from the mantel and her last initial "P" to hang in the center.  I also hand-painted the "Two of a Kind" frame to put on the mantel, along with the twin poem in the white frame, backed with scrapbook paper.  We used scrapbook paper on the food tables to tie our color scheme together. Take a look:

 The tutu outfits were so much fun to create!  First I found two "My 1st Tutu's" at TJ Maxx and was super stoked!  They were perfect!  Next, I purchased two white onesies from Hobby Lobby.  The pink flowers are actually hair clips I found at Hobby Lobby!  I tacked a a simple thread loop onto the onesie and clipped the flower to it.  It's SO simple!  And the best part is the flowers are removable so when she needs to wash the onesies she can remove the flowers.  Also, when they outgrow the outfits, she can keep the hair clips.  I can't wait to see the twins in these outfits!! :)

The pink frame is hand painted and includes her first sonogram picture of the twins.  The white frame, has scrapbook paper for the backing, which I found at Hobby Lobby, and I printed the poem using Word.

Yum!  Pink Lemonade cupcakes made by one of the other ladies helping to host.  We placed scrapbook paper under the cupcakes to tie in our color scheme... pink and green.



 Pink lemonade with green limes floating on top.  Also used scrapbook paper underneath... the same scrapbook paper used in the white frame on the mantel.

The diaper cake turned out SO cute... made by another friend helping to host the shower.  The food table turned out so nice. :)

Everything turned out so beautifully and the guest of honor was so happy!  We had a great turn out and she got lots of great gifts!!  Thanks for taking a look into our party.  I'll be back soon with more back-to-school posts!