Handwriting to Make You Cry

For a good reason! This is gorgeous handwriting, done by a 2nd grader whose mom is a teacher for students with learning disabilities and who LOVES the Handwriting Without Tears program. Be ready to be amazed.

Use Music to Increase Alertness

Last Friday I spent a time working with a student in a classroom that is new to me this year. While we worked together I got to hear the kindergarten teacher and several students sing the alphabet song to a modern tune, "Who Let the Dogs Out?" As the teacher pointed to individual letters on a large alphabet poster, she and the students sang about the object in each alphabet square: "Apple makes the A sound, a, a, a, a...Ball makes the B sound, bah, bah, bah, bah..." All weekend I've been playing back that song in my head and loving it.

Did you know that Raffi has a youTube video about brushing your teeth? He's performing live and surprises the children by putting on a pair of dark shades and attempting to perform his classic "Brush Your Teeth" song like a rapper. The high schoolers I work with in a class for students with severe disabilities loved the song and we used it to increase their engagement in a integrated therapy activity on dental hygiene last month.


Try looking up modern music for the activities you're working on with students this month--it sure makes the seasonal activities more fun and can increase alertness by the students to the task at hand.

Rubber Ducky

Nestled up in a corner of the building where I work, I share a windowless office with a wild PT and an inventive teacher for kids in early childhood special education. The ECSE teacher works with students in their homes and in settings described as "natural environments." In her case, the NE settings are a kiddie gym and a daycare center connected to a hospital.

A week ago Friday she was trying hard not to giggle as she worked at her desk, but she finally let it all out and told me her secret. She had stopped by one of the local 99 cent stores and bought their whole stock of duck bills, or duck noses, which made loud duck calls when blown into. With glee she told me how her parents were going to hate her next week when she passed out the duck bills and showed the kids in the NE playgroup how to use them. Every time we ran into one another this week we exchanged a "Friday's coming" look and I teased her about how her time on earth was running out.

Well, today was the appointed day and I asked her late in the afternoon how it went. She described how she showed the students how to blow into the duck bills and how some had been successful after a few tries, and how some had a little practicing to do, when they got home!

Then she shared a remark from one of her parents and almost got tears in her eyes when she relayed a comment that made her week, maybe even her semester. One mom had collected up her child and gathered up all her bags to pack in the car and go home, but then paused and said, "I think we'll go by the lake and feed the ducks."

My teacher friend said, "This mom really got it."

We're all hoping that our work is occasionally appreciated by others and that we have made a positive impact on a child's life. Sometimes we're surprised by the joy of having someone else recognize our efforts. I'm glad my teacher friend felt that today.

I'll leave you with a blast from my college days, when my best friend, Cathy, and I used to sing this happy song on the way to/from our summer job. You can sing along, too, and here's a hint for the musically inclined--a plastic straw in a fast food soft drink cup works just great:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8IfCSnYPYo

Everything is Gorgeous in Richmond

Hope everyone enjoyed their Easter vacation, or plan to enjoy the next week off from school. This is the first time I remember having a week free before Easter and it was very weird--don't I get next week off, too???

To burn off some calories after our big meal today our family enjoyed a walk through a beautiful Richmond neighborhood--Westover Hills. Hope these photos reveal even a little bit of how gorgeous the azaleas and dogwood trees are in the spring. I included a photo of a new bridge tunnel we discovered--even though I've been living here over 30 years! Who knows what new things all of us will discover as this school year draws to a close?

And the grapes? Well, if your students need practice drawing small circles or other shapes, grab a box of scented crayons and have them draw the fruit their noses detect. They can "cheat" and read the name of the fruit scent on the wrapper of the crayon. If your students aren't comfortable writing the letters on their own, they can dictate the letters to you and make sure you form the correctly. Have you tried writing with your non-dominant hand as you work with students? This evens the playing field and makes your letters look less "perfect," which is less intimidating to young writers.

For this photo, I drew the curvy line for the stem of the grapes and we took turns drawing the circles. Since both of us are right-handed we made sure to draw the circles counter-clockwise. Lefties get to draw them clockwise.

Happy Lips

Yes, it really did snow a lot in central Virginia last week. We were out of school for 3 1/2 days--YEAH!!! Thought you'd enjoy seeing the snow and my personal "snowman" who kept us warm by faithfully stoking the woodstove several times a day.

Here are some photos of a fun activity we did recently with a group of 3-5 year olds in a class for preschool kids with varying abilities. The adults pre-cut happy lips and provided 2" x 8" strips of sturdy white paper with each student's name written in all caps, each letter separated by vertical lines. The students snipped apart the letters of their names, along with some extra snips for teeth. We provided extra strips of paper for making lottsa teeth.

Once the snipping was done the students glued the paper teeth to the back of the happy lips, turned over the lips and glued them to a black background paper. After this they arranged the letters to spell their names and glued the letters to the same background paper.

This activity was part of community helpers week and the session included reading a book about sleeping fireman, policeman, postman... and then having the students take turns sitting in a "dentist's" chair for an exam. Some of them were a little freaked out at the idea of laying back in the chair and having their friendly OT lady turn into a scary, white-coated medical professional. However, they all ended up asking for a turn when they saw that their braver classmates made it through the ordeal without suffering.

It's Still Christmas at My House

I've been feeling guilty about posting so little lately, but I should be back and writing in March. Have had my mom visiting since before Christmas and my life is all about work and coming home to appreciate her cooking, cleaning and yardwork at our house. She's 93 years old and going strong; can you repeat with me, "Well elderly"? Maybe you might like reading a little excerpt from her life which took place around Thanksgiving this year; to help explain one of the references--Ukrops is a family-owned grocery chain in our area and they are known for their excellent customer service.

'Til March I'll leave you with this:

Just before last Thanksgiving my Mom made one of her weekly trips to the nearby discount grocery store. We always tease that, even though we’re tough northerners, we need to strap on our ankle guards and elbow pads before we grab a cart because we’ve encountered several aggressive shoppers as we bump our way down the crowded aisles.

As she waited in her own long line to check out she struck up a conversation with a lady in the next line of checker-outers. Mom noticed the huge turkey in her new acquaintance’s cart, so the talk turned to Thanksgiving and meal planning and who knows what else. A keen observer of life, Mom noticed that the woman moved a little slowly as she advanced her cart in line, but she was shocked later to see how much difficulty she had placing her groceries on the conveyor belt.

Now, we don’t have Ukrops in Chicago and Mom wondered how in heck the lady was going to push her cart across the patchy sidewalk outside the store and then across the pot-holed parking lot to her car. So, Mom asked if she needed help and the lady smiled and said that someone from the store was going to help her. Knowing how unlikely that could be, Mom offered her services.

Envision this—my Mom pushing her own wobble-wheeled cart with her right hand, twisting slightly to pull the lady’s cart with her left hand—propelling her new friend forward as well--and heading out the door and down the sidewalk and slight ramp to the busy parking lot. After waiting a few minutes for the rude drivers to collect their senses enough to stop, Mom got fed up and let go of her cart in order to raise her hand in the air at an oncoming driver, then stepped into the street with a “Don’t you dare cross me” look on her face. Once satisfied that the drivers had really stopped, the little caravan of ladies and shopping carts proceeded across the road.

Once they reached the lady’s car Mom asked, “Where do you want the groceries,” then put them in place. I can only imagine what the lady was thinking as she drove home.
Mom says she doesn’t think about whether or not to help someone who looks like they need it; she just steps in and does it. I think I already know what to give her for her 94th birthday next August; something she really needs—the neon yellow uniform of a school crossing guard.

Edibles

Oh my goodness--where did those two weeks go????? Don't know about you, but I spent most of my Christmas break avoiding my mom's cooking!!! Here is a sample of her pecan tarts--I call them "Happy Tarts" because they're glowing (with golden butter!!!)

Back to reality. Note the fidget/chewey belt that has been working for a young student with tuberous sclerosis who likes to swing and fling his typical chewies. Now he can spin his soppy chewies closer to his center of gravity and spray everyone at a lower level. When he drops them, they just hang around his waist on the belt until he feels them bumping against his leg. It's a win-win. Well, he can wiggle the belt up to his shoulders or push it down to his knees, but the adults can often distract him with other fun activities before the belt completely leaves his body. Try it and let me know what chewies work for your students.