Alana School Photo 2009-10 School Year

SECOND GRADE


So I got Alanas pictures back the same day as Kaila's but... I got them back looking like this...

She didn't go to school with a wet shirt...so I called the photography folks to see if they could photoshop the shirt because she was actually smiling and looking at the camera.. You don't understand how difficult that is to do lol.. so I was otherwise happy with the photo. They said they could but they would have to remove the logo area... fine with me if it means we can avoid retakes! Since they were already in there fixing the shirt I asked them to also zoom in just a tiny bit since she was quite farther away then Kaila was in hers (same school, same pic day etc.). Yesterday I got the new photos in the mail..

AHHH MUCH BETTER!!
(although the sent me 1 8x10, not 3 like the package I ordered so I am calling them back again but otherwise I'm happy with the new pics!)

Kaila School Photo 2009-10 Year

It turned out decent I think, alot better then last year's lol. I don't think it should show the object she is resting her arms on though??

Videos of Alana working on Work Boxes at her TEACCH Model Work Station at Home

Alana's Work Box Tasks for TEACCH Work Station at Home; Videos of them being done to come next!

Here are some pictures of the work tasks Alana was doing yesterday at her Autism TEACCH model workstation here at home. I videotaped her doing each one and that post is next!! So stay tuned!

The picture above is the file holder that has worksheets, file folder games etc. in it to use for her tasks.

This I just wanted to point out that I am the biggest procrastinator and from the green over to the "shire" is file folder games that I have yet to actually put together into a folder. I copied them all from a book I borrowed from her teacher last year.


This pizza puzzle file folder game I got from abcteach.com among many other things I got from there. It is difficult because you do not match the shapes but the pepperonis and they all look very similar! You can make this harded by not having the picture to match the piece too.. just them putting it together like a regular puzzle. I printed it on cardstock, but only laminated the pieces (not the paper glued to the folder) and use velcro.

This is tracing sheets, Letter and her Name.. I place these in the same bin together. I have masters that I just copy as needed.

This is of course a puzzle. It's one of the more difficult ones because a) it is an actual picture while most 25 piece puzzles are cartoony and have more solid lines, b) its a free standing puzzle (not a board that it is placed on that shows its border etc.). If I am giving her a puzzle that does have a board with it she gets 3 of those in one bin because they are easier. But for this one, one is good. Puzzles can be used by most ability levels, by outlining the puzzle pieces on their matching board, numbering them with matching numbers on the board, making a board that goes with a free standing puzzle, using peg puzzles, starting at simple 3 piece peg shape puzzles.

This is a gripping activity that also teacher patterns, very good for fine motor. Before I bought this I used cheap clothespins from the store and carboard colored the same colors with marker, so that is always an option!! I bought this from Abilitations.. and have lost a yellow and blue pin.. ughh I hate little pieces!

This is what we used before I bought the one above.. I think these were like 2$ at the store.

This is nuts and bolts activity, I give them to her put together and then she takes them apart and puts them back together. Good for fine motor also matching. I got thses from abilitations (comes in a huge pack of 24 I think).. but you can always use some from the hardware store but we have little piece issue here and these were cuter lol.

This is a Sticker Dot Letter activity. I have every letter for younger kids you can start with just one letter but I do the full page of 2 letters. I got these from her teacher and keep a master of each letter (a to z) and copy as needed but you can probably be easily made yourself by hand or in a paint computer program. it helps with fine motor (the stickers) as well as letter recognition.

This is a cutting activity, I got some of these cutting sheets from her teacher and again keep what she gives me as masters and copy them as needed. The thicker outline makes it easier to cut, and could easily be done with any coloring book page and just outlined with a thick black marker and copied as needed. The scissors you see here are from abilitations catalog, they have many different types.

This is her last box which is normally the reward box, this is dot art page she used an art dobber to "color". Other ideas for a reward box are playdough, candy, any toy your child likes. A folder with pecs type pictures so they can choose the reward, (audio book, outside, ticker, squeeze, books, computer time, candy etc.)

Just a few pictures of the station (bins start on the left and when completed move to the right)

If your child isn't distracted by it supplies can be kept on the top of the REINFORCED shelving units and on the bottom shelf. I have the file holder up there (2 actually) and a bin of flashcard that I use to do some activities and folders (see a previous post on using them for folder games) and a bin full of puzzles etc. and of course her work light since she is often working in the evening after school.

School Fundraiser ; Can you help? They really want the dog!!

Kaila and Alana are doing a fundraiser for school, it has tons of candy and chocolates and tons of cheap 13$ magazine subscriptions! Would you be so kind to help them out?? (it is under Kaila's name because we do it under one to get the bigger prize and she REALLY REALLY wants that rolling dog!) Student ID is 224W4QQ!

http://www.gaschoolstore.com/Store.aspx?ur=9

First day of school + some ; Kindergarten, 2nd Grade

Kaila has been in some type of school since 18months old so Kindergarten wasn't much of a big change like it is for most! She started September 2nd at the same school with Alana (we had to transfer because that elementary school is not the closest to us but I wanted them together) and has been doing well since. Her class is a mix of kids from all over the district that also transferred from their close home schools to this school through the no child left behind act.

2 weeks in and we got a notice that the teacher was only a sub to start the class off and a new teacher was being brought in.. This shocked all the parents because not one of us was told she was a "sub" for the first few weeks. I like the new teacher but they should have told us that the other teacher wasn't there for the long haul because Kaila was bawling the last day the teacher was there because they had all formed an attachment to her. She is of course over it now, love the memory of a 5 year old. That day though I let her write a note to the teacher (in email) and make a picture on paint to send to her too and that helped stop the crying. So they basically started over again 2 weeks in, each teacher does things their own way and the kids had to learn about her and her about them but so far so good..

Alana was also switched about a week in to another class with most the kids she was with last year and the same classroom but another teacher. I was on totally board with her class change though, the school initiated it and I agreed. The original class she was placed in was 1st and 2nd grade Teacch program (which was a Kindergarten class last year).. last year she was in 1-3rd grade Teacch class and she was the youngest in that class so she has been used to being with the older kids (and she's been in class off and on with these kids since preschool) then they put her in a class where she was one of the oldest.. a new classroom, new teacher, all new students to her, they were only doing the work station once a day when last year she was doing it at least twice and sometimes 3 times a day... it just seemed like a huge step backwards.

I would think that they automatically would have kept her in with the same kids and that class changed from 1-3 to 2-3 and shes in second grade so the move didn't make sense. Not even mentioning that they told me nothing about her class placement this year besides she would be in the Teacch program as usual...since I wasn't told anything different, I had assumed she would've been with the same kids.. at least those 3rd grade and under and I also assumed she was staying with that same teacher since she had grades 1-3 and Alana was going into second grade but they moved the teacher without informing me and changed classes around.

I love how schools totally keep you out of the loop like you don't give a shit what class they put your child in. ((hugs)) to all those with kids on IEP's, heck anyone with kids in school period.

I am not even going to start about Kaila's bussing situation because that would make this post REALLY REALLY long.

Below is Kaila on her first day of Kindergarten.. it was an orientation day where the parents stayed. I had Donni and Donni is well in a screaming phase.. I don't think the teachers will be asking me to volunteer in class anytime soon...

Oh and we already have our first fundraisers too.

And they had their pics taken last week as well, I'll share them when they arrive.. My plan was to let them take the photos by thierselves and if they come back good then great if not then I will take them to school and supervise the retakes :-D. Crossing my fingers for decent photos!

And one of Donni too just for the fun of it.. He exists really he does.

Welcome Back To School! ~ Priceless School Supply Rant

Written BY Ginny

Dear Mrs. X:

In just over a week, you will be my son’s Grade 1 teacher. He is ever so excited to be under your tutelage. Why, since the last day of kindergarten, entering your class was all he could talk about. He gleefully thrust a piece of paper into my hand on that June afternoon, and said, “Here’s a list of the stuff I need for school next September!”

And I have to admit, I, too, was excited. I’m a school supplies geek from way back. And so, in early August, I set out to buy the items you’d listed.

It was on my fourth store that the realization began to sink in.

You’re a crafty bitch, aren’t you?

This list was a thinly disguised test. Could I find the items, exactly as you’d prescribed? Because if not, my son would be That Kid, the one with the Problem Mother, Who Can’t Follow Directions.

For example, the glue sticks you requested. In the 40 gram size. Three of the little buggers. (What kind of massive, sticky project you’ve got planned for the first day of school that would require the students to bring all this glue, I cannot imagine.) But the 40 gram size doesn’t come in a convenient 3-pack. The 30 gram size does. But clearly, those would be wildly inappropriate. So I got the individually priced 40’s, as per your instructions.

Another bit of fun was your request for 2 packs of 8 Crayola crayons (basic colors). The 24 packs, with their 24 different colors, sat there, on sale. I could have purchased three of the 24 packs for the price I had to pay for the 8 packs. (Clearly, you’ll not be teaching the youngsters any sort of economics lessons this year.) Even the cashier looked at me, as if to say, “Pardon me, ma’am, but are you slow?” as I purchased these non-bargain crayons. But that’s what the list said. And I was committed to following the list.

But the last item, well, now, you saved your malice up for that one, didn’t you? “8 mm ruled notebooks”, you asked for. Simple enough. Except the standard size is seven millimetres. One. Millimetre. Difference. Do you realize, Mrs. X., exactly how infinitesimal the difference between 7 mm ruling and 8 mm ruling is? Pretty small, I assure you. The thickness of a fingernail, approximately. But that millimetre, that small bit of nothingness, made me drive to four different stores, over the course of three sweaty August hours. And when I finally, finally found the last remaining 8 mm notebooks, I took no pleasure in my victory. I merely shifted my focus. To you, Mrs. X.

You wanna dance, lady? Let’s dance.

Because I am just batshit crazy enough to play your games. And, in turn, come up with some of my own.

On show and share day, my son will be bringing the video of his birth. It will be labelled, “Ben’s First Puppy.” Enjoy.

He will be given a list of words, and daily, he will ask you what they mean. Words such as, “pedophile”, “anti-semite”, and “skank”. Good luck with those.

At some point, you will attempt to teach him mathematics. And I’m quite sure that, like most of your ilk, you will require my son to “show his work”. And he will.

Through interpretive dance.

Because that is who you’ve chosen to tangle with, toots. A stay at home mom who is not entirely balanced, and has altogether too much time on her hands. But is, most certainly, A Mother Who Can Follow Directions.

Sincerely,

Ginny

File Folder Games, Work Station, TEACCH, Tasks, Desk, Workjobs

So yesterday I spent the better half of the day making up some file folder game work tasks for Alana for her workstation... I even have the mess I made to prove it. And as promised I said I would share. If you have no idea what I am talking about you might want to check out this post first. There is a few more I want to do this coming week, one with pictures of animals with the word. A few with alphabet flash cards.. the picture of the apple and she has to match the letter A to it etc. Oh the possibilities.

Tips:
1. Flash Cards usually are not tolerated by kids with autism as it is a dual activity. Utilizing those flash cards in a file folder form is much more efficient.
2. If you are glueing or even velcroing a back of a card to the folder and you need that other side for any reason (like copied the number answer to the how many picture on the other side) always keep a folder of a copy of the backs of the cards.. THIS way if you lose the copied number etc.. you will have a backup, because once its glued you will not be able to copy it again. Think of it like when you keep the original worksheet and only utilize copies.
3. Some people prefer not to glue at all but use all velcro, this can be beneficial because you can rearrange the picures/cards to thwart off your child purely memorizing where they go. This can also be aggravating if you have the type of child who would rather remove them all then actually do the work.
4. Laminate, laminate, and laminate. As much as possible laminate. I did not laminate the cards on these because I dont have enough laminate paper but if you do laminate the cards too! Always laminate anything that is not a cardstock, normal paper will never last unless its laminated. You don't need a fancy machine, I just buy self laminating paper in the office section of Walmart. It comes in many sizes I buy the photo size normally. The larger letter paper size is a little harder to manipulate plus I dont want to waste a large one if I have a small piece to laminate.
5. Have lots of velcro on hand.
6. You can add envelopes to the front of the folders to hold the pieces.
7. Most of my flash cards, I found near the puzzle section of the thrift store, and the dollar store as well. Very few were actually bought at Walmart, etc. but even those are cheap.
7. I am steering away from "pure" matching because that takes Alana 1 second but that would be the first step in these file folders for younger kids or kids that are new to this concept. I am matching words to pictures, versus picture to picture. Matching things by category, alike, opposite, etc. rather then just matching the same picture to the exact same picture.

This picture shows the "answers" that I photo copied off the backs of flash cards you will see below. I then cut them and placed them on the laminate paper. I have double sets of the numbers because I will be using those on the actual bins themselves so she goes in number order instead of just picking what she wants.

All cut up, laminated and ready now.

These are my extra copies that go in a folder since I will be gluing the cards on the folders I won't be able to access them again and if she loses a piece of one of the file folder games I can simply make another one from these "originals".

Laminating paper.

This folder is go togethers. How they use this is there would be one in each section and the "matches" would be in the bin or an envelope on the front and they would need to put them where they go (this goes for most file folders). Place it back in the bin and to the finished side of the desk. This one is all velcro, no glue so I can move around the pictures if I want if she starts to memorize them. These cards were made as a go together set.





This one is also go togethers in carebears, this was just a flash card set of "words" but I found a few that went together and am utilizing it that way. Also all velcro.

Inside of above folder. need to draw lines on it though.. oops.

This one is cards that are ryhming pictures, same idea as the go togethers you leave one on and the "matches" are set aside for them to place where they go. Also all velcro.

Inside of above folder.

This one is opposites in sesame street of course. This was also a "words" flash card set that happen to have alot of opposites in it so I utilized this one in that manner. Gotta draw lines.. oops. but same idea as the others just a different way of "matching". All velcro.

More opposites from sesame street.

This one I photo copied both sides of these flashcards and used the photocopies laminated to be kind of a dry erase activity. The child has to circle which number is the correct one for how many there is. You could always just laminate the actual cards and do this but I wanted the cards as backup in case something happened to these.

These I bought at the dollar store I think. They are a dry erase, one side has the words with all letters and the other side has the "red" letters missing and they have to fill it in. So it shows them what goes there just makes them write them in, which as we all know writing instills it into our memory better then just seeing the word.

These are her name worksheets, the same ones they use at school because we wanted to be consistant with the name writing. She traces these. and hates it. She is a huge perfectionist and gets mad. lol. Other worksheet ideas are dot to dots, they have some sticker dot designs and letters too that most kids like and requires no actual writing. Also tracing anything shapes, lines etc. Also cutting tasks are good get a clearly defined cutting paper like a person that the background is all black.. they cut the person out. Just place it and the scissors in a bin. I will post about worksheets, etc. more indepth another day.

Pooh go togethers this one is one card glued to the folder and the "match" velcros to the card it goes with. I took the spoon off the bowl and the flowers off the vase to show you the cards underneath :-).

This one was just a few cards I found in one of the sets that I found task worthy, I think I will make up a middle, under and over answer pieces to change it up every nowand then. The cards are glued down. We are tring to encourage readin and word recognition, that is where we are right now.

This shows the answers place on it. (answers were on the backs of the cards)

I think these time ones are over her head right now but I had the cards and its never to early to try new stuff! Its only the hour and half hour times, no 7:08 etc. The clocks are glued down and the times are velcro answers she would place where they go. (answers were on the backs of the cards)

Colors.. The first step to this well after just matching the exact pictures to the same exact picture would be to match color to color, one way to do this is make the "answer" word blue in blue font, word orange in orange font etc. So they are matching the color but also see that word associated with it. Alana is beyond that step so I am trying to branch out to the just the words. This requires some level of "reading" which really isnt reading in our normal sense but more so memorization that she knows that particular word is associated with that object/color. Cards are glued down and answers velcro to the cards. (answers were on the backs fo the cards)

Same idea with shapes/word recognition. (answers were on the backs of the cards)

This one is a combo folder I did, when first starting out you wont want to do mix tasks like this. Its directions with word recogonition, and identifying money/ word recognition again. Money and arrows are glued and the "answers" are velcroed. (answers were on the backs of the cards)

More time..

Number/counting recognition. The numbers were on the backs of these cards, I copied them and velcroed them into little answer pieces. I think I am going to make number words like four, six etc as answers to change this one up as well every now and then. Cards are glued answers are velcroed to the card.

Directions, cards are glued answers that were from the backs of the cards copied and laminated are velcroed.

More Pooh go togethers. One card is glued and the matching cards are velcroed to the glued card.