Special Education Bloggers Blog Hop!

Christine Reeves organized this wonderful blog hop to offer tips and tricks for teachers and special education students.  My tip deals with helping students regulate the needs of their bodies {especially useful for sweet ones who have some sensory processing difficulties}.  I don't use this with all my students, just a select few who could benefit from a sensory diet.
The way I use this in my class is on the outside of a file folder I cut and glue the icon 'I need a break'.  on the inside, on one half, I cut and glue the icon 'I need' with up to three empty squares {or just glue the page provided in the freebie}.  I then laminate the file folder as well as the pictures of the activities to choose from.  Cut apart the pictures of the activities and velcro on the other half of the file folder.  Your little sweeties can choose up to three activities needed to help regulate their bodies.

 

Click HERE for your freebie.

Thanks for checking in. For more freebies and tips, continue the trip through the blog hop by checking out Fun in ECSE...just click the button below.

Also, enjoy 20% off all items in my TpT store!

Thanks for reading!  Have a great day.  :)

Thanksgiving, Turkeys, & a Tardy 5!

I am a bit tardy with this Five for Friday linky offered by Doodle Bugs Teaching, but I have good reason!

This is my birthday weekend and I'm spending it in Memphis, Tennessee.  It's been the BEST trip ever.  :)  We went to Graceland, Sun Studios, and the Buford Pusser museum.  All three are a must!

BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!

Leslie:  I figured you would like this post since I am not with Paul anymore.

At school this week, we did lots of activities to strengthen our muscles in our little hands.

A favorite always is this turkey 'basting' activity.

It's easy peasy to do.  I cut turkeys out of foam from the Ellison machine.  Little ones used pipettes to transfer water from a small container onto the turkey.

Another great fine motor activity is this Indian corn craft.

First the little sweeties in the morning tore and glued green construction paper for the husk.  Tearing is a very difficult task for preschoolers.

They then scrunched up different color tissue paper and glued it on the corn pattern.

The sweetie pies were so proud of their art!

In the afternoon, they cut out a corn pattern and then added the tissue paper.

I love how they both turned out.

We made these turkeys from a pattern offered by Doodle Bugs Teaching.

 

They crack me up.  I love how each one turns out a little different.  It takes good listening skills to be able to follow teacher given directions.  They did a great job.  I'm so proud of them.

We also did some math at circle time using a turkey theme.

Little learners rolled a die, counted the dots, and added that many feathers to the turkeys.

 It was a great way to talk about greater than/lesser than.  The babes were having fun…..little did they know they were learning a whole bunch!

Hopefully you had a fabulous week, too.  Head over to Doodle Bugs Teaching to tell everyone.

Thanks for reading!  Have a great day.  :)

Ladybugs, Owls, and Birds!

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday.

This week went by SUPER fast!  Here are a few of the highlights.

We continued our study of trees, this week focusing on 'Who Lives in Trees?'  To go along with our learning we made this ladybug craft.  

First, we cut strips of green paper for grass, we tore brown construction paper for dirt {much harder than it sounds} and then we drew a head, legs, a line down the middle, and spots.

It turned out to be a great multi direction activity with lots of fine motor practice.

These baby birds in their nests turned out adorable as our second learning project.  

This consisted of painting half a paper plate brown, cutting baby birds from construction paper, gluing, adding eyes,beaks, and more cut up strips of construction paper.  

We were cutting machines this week. This littlest sweetie couldn't even hold a pair of scissors in August.

I love seeing all the accomplishments of my learners throughout the year.  It's this kind of gratification that makes my job so very special.

Of course, we have to talk about owls as we discuss animals who live in trees.  We made this little fun owl craft to add to our display.

Another satisfying aspect of my job is seeing all the cooperative play that begins to take place throughout the year.  I just had to snap a shot of my afternoon boys playing firefighters.  They remember the visit from the firefighters a few weeks back.  

Our journal writing and drawing is also blossoming.  This little learner was so proud of his drawing.  Love it!

We are learning about the concept of greater than and less than.  I have some craft sticks that we use to make alligator mouths to demonstrate the greater than sign, so I was thrilled when I ran across this baby at the Lakeshore store.  My sweeties love this game and I love that they are learning so much.  

Head over to Doodle Bugs Teaching to link up your week or just discover some really great blogs.

Thanks for reading!  Have a great day.  :)

Swap, Drop, And Roll Product Swap!

 

I am linking up with Melissa from Jungle Learners for a product swap!

My partner is Christin from Shifting Teacher K-2

I chose her Math Work Stations-Beginning of the Year Roll and Color Pack.

My little learners work on shapes, numbers, and colors/color words all year long so this was PERFECT!  It reinforces shapes, color words, and numbers 1-6.

We did these activities during our circle time when we normally review those concepts.  Instead of making the die {included in the pack} I cut apart the pictures and inserted them in a differentiated cube, which worked out very nicely.

Each little one had their own clipboard with the appropriate recording sheet and a crayon.

We took turns rolling the die, finding it on our paper, and coloring or circling the correct answer.  They did an amazing job! It kept their attention and they loved the activity.  This activity was easy to differentiate to make it easier or harder, which was nice because I have all levels in my class

Christin is reviewing my Smore Early Learning Literacy and Math pack combined activities.  Check out her blog to see it in action.

 This pack on sale through November 11th at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win Shifting Teacher K-2 Math Work Stations Roll and Color Shapes, Numbers 1-6, and Color Words.  You will love it!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sensory Sensations!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday.

This week was filled with a lot of sensory experiences.

Shaving cream play is always fun.  Some little ones LOVE the experience….

others aren't so sure……{at first}

 But, either way, a good time was had by all.

Play-doh was also part of our sensory sensations.

We have been exploring trees, so we brought in some twigs from outside to make our own forests.

After reading 'Little Red Hen', we painted paper plates red…

 some little ones jumped right in….

others needed a little hand over hand action to get started.  :)

 

The next day, we glued all the pieces on the plates to construct our own little red hens.

I think they turned out pretty adorable….

I always love it when we read a story and during free play my sweeties choose to re-read the story themselves.  :)

To end the week, we celebrated what foods grow on trees by making a fruit pizza with another class.  

 Everyone got a turn to cut up fruit,

peel apples,

 and taste the deliciousness.

It was a great way to end our week!

How was your week?  Link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share.

Thanks for reading!  Have a great day.  :)

Currently November

I'm linking up with Farley from Oh' Boy 4th Grade for her monthly 'Currently' linky party.

LISTENING:  I'm listening to my collection of music, but once football comes on TV I'll have it on in the background while I putz around the house to get everything ready for the upcoming week.

LOVING:  We had parent/teacher conferences in the evenings last week so Friday was a day off for me.  I loved having a three day weekend.  It's nice to have an extra day to get things done.

THINKING:  On Sunday's I always run through the upcoming week in my mind to make sure I have everything I need.  Seems like I rarely get to the point where I can just relax.  There's always more to do…..

WANTING:  I miss my daughter.  It's been July since I've seen her last.  Seeing her again will be so sweet. I'm needing my fix.

NEEDING:  More hours in the day to get everything accomplished {see my 'thinking' section :) }

READING:  I'm re-reading Sensory Integration: A Guide for Preschool Teachers.  It's such a good resource.  This year I have a lot of little ones with some extra sensory needs.  I want to give them what they need to be successful at school.  If I ever have the time to read for enjoyment my sister recommended The Goldfinch.  It's on my list.  :)

Thanks for reading!  Have a great day.  :)