Inspirational Summer

Temple Grandin at the Students Who are Wired Differently Conference



I had the honor of hearing Temple Grandin speak at the Students who are Wired Differently Conference in Atlanta last month. She is amazing. I wanted to listen and learn from her for the entire weekend! The way she explains her thinking process and sensory needs is really helpful to parents and teachers who teach children with Autism.

 

A couple of things she said that stood out to me...

"Are you going to allow a student to fail because you didn't copy on tan paper or other simple things?" (Temple Grandin)

"Don't praise EVERYTHING! Praise the good stuff" (Temple Grandin)

 

While there I purchased a few books that have helped me get excited about teaching this year and that have refreshed my love of ABA and inclusive classrooms.

 

I have completed reading the Way I See It, by Temple Grandin and Bringing ABA to Home, School and Play by Debra Leach. I have watched the video Including Samuel also. All I can say is WOW! I am so excited to bring these ideas and philosophies to my classroom this year.

 

All teachers need to believe in ALL their students. We can't be the one who gives up on them. As a special education teacher it is also my job to encourage the regular education teachers who have students with special needs in their classroom. Too often the students are just put in the room and left with little support. If the general education teacher doesn't have the intuition to research and learn or they may not know where to start to learn, then the teacher isn't able to provide the special need student with he/she needs.

Before teaching special education I taught First Grade. I can't tell you how many times a special education teacher would hand me an IEP and say you have this child in your room, let me know how they are doing. And that would be that. I eventually became the regular ed teacher that BEGGED for the special needs students and also spent my breaks down in the SPED hall bugging teachers for resources and information about autism and other disabilities. It's not easy, but VERY rewarding!

There are days when we cry and feel so frustrated we don't know what to do to help our students. These books and watching this video is something that I will be refer to all year long.

I hope to take what I have learned over the years as a regular education and special education teacher and help other teachers successfully include children with special needs in their classroom.

 

More Task Boxes

I was able to organize a few more task boxes today....

1. Shape/Color matching..used foam puzzle pieces and Velcro.

2. Block Structure building. Used pre-printed cards and put Velcro tabs on each and 2 on the side of the lid so they are propped up. Put cubes in container..make sure you have the right colors.

 3. Sort  3 . Sort by color or objects..I start the children sorting by color.

 

4. ? Not sure where the picture is :)

 5.Sort  4...colors or objects

 6. Sort  2-This shows sorting by objects (spiders/dinosaurs)...please excuse the crayon on the box..a sweet kiddo was trying to trace the opening. :)

7. Counting/Adding Gingerbread Men-purchased activity and makes a fun thematic task box..could also apply counters to sorting, patterns or other task boxes.

Task Boxes

I LOVE task boxes! I try to make boxes that work with children's IEP and interest. I have slowly been making boxes and collecting items the past 2 years and so far I have almost 50 boxes. This post will cover 18 Task Boxes. These are mostly fine motor skills, but they may also incorporate other skills. 

I use plastic shoe boxes for their size and durability. Some I have had my hubby cut holes and I glued smaller containers inside for sorting.

Today I just organized them and hope it works. I gave each tub a number and then stacked them in my closet. I will put a list of the Task Boxes on the cabinet door. This will allow the therapist that work with the children in my room and the classroom assistant to know what is available and where to find it. 

Task boxes can be used in a variety of ways, and I've done it all! I have given children "assignments" that include 3-4 boxes and then they can chose a reward. I use them for table play times if we don't have time to go to centers or in-between activities. I OFTEN pull them when working 1/1 or in small groups to teach and give the child the extra guided practice that he/she needs. Sometimes I have a child ask for one at center time and that is so fun for me, because I know they are practicing a skill they need to practice.  

Here are 18 of my Task Boxes.....

Task Box 1: Unifix cubes. One side they are separated and the other side they are put together..they can take them apart or put them together..color really doesn't matter. Some kiddos like to keep them separated.

Task Box 2: Stacking cups. (I need to add more cups). The first cup is glued to the lid and the children are to stack more cups on top.This is a favorite of many of my students.

Task Box 3:  Lacing boards. Depending on the child's abilities they complete the number of cards you assign. They can pick which ones they complete.

Task Box 4:  Lacing disks. Start out with just a couple and as the child progresses you add more to the cup that is in the lid. You want the child to complete with little frustration.

Task Box 5: Lacing large beads. Put the number of beads you want the child to string on the lid. Child may use chenille stick (pipe cleaner) or string. Again, start with a few and add as the child's ability improves.

Task Box 6: Lacing Medium beads (Do this only when child has mastered the larger beads). Again, use chenille stick or string. Use the same process as the large beads.

Task Box 7: Using tongs to pick up bones and put in bowl. (there was another part to this, but it was lost in the move). This is from Lakeshore and they have several different themes. I like to use the larger tongs. Increase the number as they become successful until they do all the bones.

Task Box 8: (same as Box 1) Unifix cubes. One side they are separated and the other side they are put together..they can take them apart or put them together..color really doesn't matter. Some kiddos like to keep them separated. 

 Task Box 9: Velcro cubes. The children are to pick off one cube at a time and put it in the bucket. There is a small Velcro circle on each block. This makes the child have to pull. It's a great 'task completion' for those children you need to reward quickly, but they need to earn it. I have one child in my class who loves to do this. She has even learned to put the cubes back on, which is hard because there is only one piece of Velcro on each cube.

 Task Box 10: Large peg boards. I have some that are numbers and some that are not. I like the numbers because it gives a sense of completion and you can slowly increase the number required. I have the children put them in and then to clean up they have to take them out again. 

Task Box 11:  Bear links. They have to push to put together and pull apart to clean up. 

Task Box 12: DUPLO blocks. They stack them and then they have to pull them apart to clean up. Lots of fine motor and hand/eye coordination. 

Task Box 13: Using Tongs with pom poms. Move the poms from one bowl to the other. Vary the number according to the child's ability. 

Task Box 14:  Clothespin Drop. The children drop one clothespin at a time into the box. The hole is sized so the pin will only fit in one direction. Again, vary the number according to the child's ability or attention. Another favorite for my students who struggle with fine motor.

Task Box 15: Lacing boards. Depending on the child's abilities they complete the number of cards you assign. They can pick which ones they complete.

Task Box 16: Block building/imitation. This can be just stacking the blocks or block imitation where they build a copy of what you have built. There are only 1 inch blocks in this task box. 

 Task Box 17: Block imitation-basic color 1 inch cubes are used. You build it and the child copies it.

Task Box 18: Block imitation from pictures. This is the last step in block imitation. Depending on the child's level you either put the blocks needed to complete the building in a Ziploc bag, then later add a few extra to the bag the child won't use and last, they pick from the box of blocks. Be sure you have the blocks needed for the structures. It could easily frustrate a child if a piece is missing.

Great Task Box Resource:

Shoebox Tasks- http://www.shoeboxtasks.com/

If you have or know of a great Task Box site, let me know so I can add it to my page.

Thanks!

Mrs. Trish

Why Blog?

As many teachers have this summer, I've spent a lot of 'in-service' time on Pinterest, the Internet and supply stores. I have spent many hours looking and too much money (shhhh, don't tell my hubby) buying  things to better my classroom- for me and the students. Since I teach children with special needs ages 3-5, I find it difficult to find things that apply to their developmental levels.When our classrooms vary from typically developing, autism and it's many spectrums, Down Syndrome, language delays, speech delays, physical delays, Cerebral Palsy, and countless other BEAUTIFUL children, it is hard to find resources.  Don't get me wrong, I have found some great ones, but not as many as I thought would be out there. I thought this blog may be a great way for fellow Developmental Preschool/Special Education Preschool (however you are titled) to share ideas and create a community of teachers learning from each other. I will post things that I am doing in my room and  ask questions to other teachers so PLEASE contribute to this board!