Friends in Different Places book

Friends in Different Places book

Our group topic this week was the Unique theme for the month, Friends in Different Places.  We didn’t go over each of the places that Unique went over.  Instead, we used each of the 7 continents of the world.  The pictures used in the book were found on google images and were of children located in each continent, with the exception of Antarctica.  You’ll have to read the book to see who our friends are in Antarctica 🙂

While reading the book, we asked our students, “where do our friends live?” in order for them to answer with the repetitive line, “friends live in different places”.  It is so neat to see how people can look a little bit different depending on where they live.  Enjoy!

IMG_3225Here is a link to the book: Friends Live in Different Places

Friends Live in Different Places

Friends Live in Different Places

IMG_2970Our groups complimented the Unique Curriculum theme that our students are studying this month.  As usual, we address math, language and science access points but with this unit we also address social studies access points such as recognizing differences in climates or vegetation.

Cara wrote a fantastic book with such cute pictures of children around the world—-it was a real hit with our students in each of the groups.

We had so much fun exploring the different continents.  Read along to see all the fun we had!

 

Sensory Group

IMG_3121IMG_3129We started our world tour in a South American tropical rainforest! Our umbrella was decorated with plastic leaves and christmas garland, bead, and yarn vines. Foam butterflies, toy snakes and frogs were attached with more yarn. A huggable monkey and jungle sounds recorded on a voice output device completed the experience.

Our students always get excited when we have an umbrella experience and this one was no different. So much fun to see their smiling faces!

IMG_2987Lots of access points can be addressed with this box, including the science access point of distinguishing between a plant and an animal and the language access points of communicating recognition of familiar persons or objects and responding to a technology resource.

 

 

 

 

IMG_3024Next came North America where we explored the colors of the Canadian flag—red and white! Our box contained soft pom poms and hard beads to compare and contrast.

Beads are always a favorite—fun to shake AND fun to wear!

The math access points of recognizing two objects that are the same size or color and recognizing 3 dimensional objects are addressed here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_3022Other countries have flags that are red, white and blue like ours.  In Europe, two of them are France and the United Kingdom.  Our colorful rice had the letters U and F to find in addition to the French and UK flags hidden at the bottom of the box.

Rice is always a wonderful tactile experience. Our students love running their fingers through it—-and grabbing handfuls to toss in the air which we try to discourage.  Although, tracking objects in motion IS a science access point 🙂

Tactile and visual discrimination skills are promoted with this activity.

 

 

 

 

IMG_3111On to Asia where flowers are a highlight of many festivals. This box contained pink petals and 3 sunflowers for sorting, counting—–or tossing into the air to watch as they drift down 🙂

The math access points of comparing quantities to 3 using language, such as more, less, or the same and or solving simple problems joining or separating sets of objects to 3 can be addressed here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_3089How exciting would it be to visit the African savannah! We filled this box with rafia and green easter grass so it looked like the different grasses you might see while on safari.

We also included some zebra striped pom poms and a variety of toy animals. Some of the animals had a button that made noise when pressed—-perfect for working on finger isolation.

The science access point of recognizing and responding to common sounds and distinguishing between a plant and an animal are addressed here.

As the students push the animals button, they also are addressing the science access point of applying a push to move an object.

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_3105IMG_3049What continent is covered with snow? Antarctica!!! We made a batch of our fake snow and put it in the fridge. Cold AND wet, some of our students thought it was pretty neat—–others not so much 🙂

This activity addresses the science access point of recognizing objects or materials as warm or cold.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_3067We used eucalyptus scented water and lotion to remind us of the leaves that Australian koala bears like to eat! It was a pretty strong scent which all our students  seemed to like.

As the lotion is rubbed on arms, hands or back of neck (for those students who engage in hand mouthing behaviors) we talk about the different body parts—-addressing the science access point of recognizing one or more external body parts.

This activity also addresses the science access point of recognizing and responding to different types of sensory stimuli and the math access point of requesting “more” of an action or activity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fine Motor Group

IMG_0224-1On Tuesday for out art project, we cut out and colored the seven continents.  Joy drew a gross outline of each continent on a rectangular piece of construction paper (each a different color).  Each student chose their favorite…..

…..and proceeded to color it!

Discussing the shape of the paper addresses the math access point of recognizing 2 dimensional shapes.

This also addresses the science access point of identifying objects by one observable property.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_0229-1Since the outlines were too complex for our adaptive scissors or paper cutters, we used our electric scissors to cut them out——what fun! The students really had a blast and were so fascinated by the action 🙂

This was a great activity for practicing switch usage and learning to keep your hand on the switch to keep the scissors cutting.

This activity addresses the math access point of solving problems involving actions using language such as enough, too much, or more.

 

 

 

 

IMG_0247-1Then we glued the continents down on a blue background to make our world map—-addressing the social studies access point of associating a picture with a place.

TA DA!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_3177On Thursday, before we started our next art project, we told the students we were going to paint with green paint, showing them the color on a communication symbol. Then we asked them to show us “green” from a choice of two by either touching the symbol or using eye gaze to make their choice.

This addresses the language access point of responding accurately and consistently to referent objects, pictures, or symbols used in routines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_3191IMG_3199Then it was time to paint a large circle that was cut from blue poster board——we’re making a global map! These sponge brushes are perfect for the job.

Discussing the shape of the poster board addresses the math access point of recognizing 2 dimensional objects.

It also addresses the social studies access point of recognizing a picture of land or water.

Of course, its also a great activity for practicing prewriting skills!

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_3203The words “Friends Around The World” were glued onto the circle.

The language access point of responding to new vocabulary as it is taught is addressed here.

Also eye hand coordination is practiced as the students place the paper on top of the glue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_3216Joy made some paper dolls in traditional costumes from around the world, and added the student’s photos to them. They took turns gluing them to the map—-quite fascinated by their photos!

This activity addresses the social studies access point of recognizing differences in clothing from other cultures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_3226Our finished product looks so cute hanging in the hallway outside Jeannie’s classroom….

too cute!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Language Group

While reading Cara’s book, each time we read about a continent we would hand the student who “read” the repetitive line an animal native to that continent.

IMG_3139IMG_3145IMG_3223Here is a breakdown of the animals we used with each continent: Africa–lion, Europe–bird, Asia–tiger, North America–black bear, South America–lizard, Australia–platypus, and Antarctica–penguin.  We have found that our students really enjoy holding objects and using props throughout our group seems to bring more meaning to what we are talking about.

Matching common living things with their habitats is a science access point.

 

 

 

IMG_3151After reading the book, we unrolled a big map of the world.  On an All-Turn-It Spinner, we taped each of the 7 continents.  We asked the students “where” they were going to go while holding up the PIXON symbol for “where”.  The students took turns activating the All-Turn-It Spinner to see which continent they were going to visit.

Using technology resources to support learning is a language access point.

Responding to new vocabulary that is introduced and taught is also a  language access point.

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_3158We had print outs of the students’ faces and would tape their face to the continent they landed on.

When they were through, we used PIXON symbols and the students had to verbalize or point out, “I go here”.

They had so much fun with this activity and so did we!

Matching objects, pictures, gestures/signs, or symbols to tasks in routines is a language access point.

Completing a pictorial map using pictures or symbols for designated areas is a social studies access points.

 

 

 

 

IMG_3094We loved exploring our wonderful world this past week and hope we gave you some inspiration for your own explorations! Come back next week where more surprises await—-Group by Group!

Jobs At School book

Jobs At School book

We talked about Labor Day this week.  To make it more personal to our students, we went over some of the jobs that people have at our school.  To make it even MORE personal to our students, we took pictures of the people who have those jobs.  We found out last year that our students got excited when they recognized people who were in the pictures of our books, and it turns out they still get excited about it.  We talked about our art teacher, music teacher, a classroom teacher, and a bus driver, to name a few.  The repetitive line, as well as the title of the book, was “there are many different jobs at a school”.  We always have someone read the title of the book and we try to ask a question which can be answered using the repetitive line.  For this book we asked the question, “what jobs are at a school?”  We hope you enjoy the book!

IMG_2739Here is a link to the book: There Are Many Different Jobs at a School

Jobs At School

Jobs At School

We celebrated labor day this week by talking about what different jobs there are at our school. There were a lot of familiar faces in Cara’s book and the students in all our groups got so excited when they recognized someone.  One of our students was able to verbalize what the music and art teacher did right when seeing their picture!

SENSORY GROUP

IMG_2820One of the most important jobs at school is “teacher”—the person who helps us learn to read and count!  We have some pretty fabulous ones at our school 🙂 and for their box we used our blue moonsand—-one of our school colors is blue! Our students had the choice of pressing A B C or 1 2 3 cookie cutters into the sand.

Pushing the cookie cutters helps strengthen hand intrinsics as well as working on letter and number identification.

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2648Our students really love music and we had such fun with our “music teacher” box. We brought out our shakers—lentils in one bottle and acorns in another—-and recorded some lively music on the voice output device.

It was so cute to see little heads start bobbing as soon as the button was pressed—-even Ms. Joi started rocking out to the beat 🙂

This activity addresses the language access point of responding to rhythm in familiar songs.

By pressing the voice output device, students address the math access point of indicating a desire for more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2652Who doesn’t love art—-especially when it involves finger painting! Our sensory group version was shaving cream with food coloring. Messy fun, always a favorite with us. It’s a great tactile experience but also an opportunity to practice prewriting designs and letters.

This activity also addresses the science access point of recognizing and responding to one type of sensory stimuli.

As the food coloring is mixed with the shaving cream, the science access point of recognizing a change in an object is addressed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2760Water play is always fun, whether in the swimming pool during PE or our little splash pool!

As hands—both little and big—splash the water, the science access point of applying a push to move an object is addressed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2659We used SOFT cotton balls and HARD tongue depressors for our “nurse” box. Some of our students enjoyed sorting the items by texture, practicing counting or even imitating some letters!

Of course, just exploring the items was a popular activity also 🙂

The science access point of recognizing common objects as identical to each other can be addressed here.

This also addresses the math access point of recognizing two objects that are the same size or color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2822LUNCH—everyone’s favorite part of the day 🙂 Our lunchroom staff serve us lots of choices of yummy food!

We filled our box with some green paper shred “lettuce” and a variety of play food. Eating utensils, an identification card and a mini lunch tray.

Hmm………a burger or chicken, decisions decisions……

The math access point of recognizing common activities that occur every day can be addressed with this box.

In addition, the science access points of recognizing models of real objects and recognizing that people need food can be addressed here.

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2780One of the most exciting jobs at school has to be “school bus driver”. Our students love their big yellow buses and drivers! Our yellow rice was wonderfully bright and perfect for driving a little bus around in. A picture of the bus was also taped to the bottom of the box.

The science access points of applying a push or pull to move an object and recognizing models of real objects are both addressed in this box.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2850We finished with Bath and Bodyworks Country Apple scent—-apples for teacher, naturally 🙂

Our students are always given the opportunity to communicate their preferences for the week’s scent and this one was pretty much a favorite of everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fine Motor Group

IMG_2693IMG_2700On Tuesday we stamped with an assortment of fruit and vegetables—-on rectangle shaped paper.

just like those we get at lunch!

This was a great art activity, our students really had a great time and were fascinated by the impressions they made. And……nobody took samples 🙂

The math access point of recognizing 2 dimensional shapes is addressed here.

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2738                                                   TA DA—-didn’t these turn out so cute and colorful!

 

 

 

IMG_2908On Thursday we made paper plate tambourines.  We started by counting out our circle plates and then decorated them with markers.

The math access point of recognizing 2 dimensional shapes is addressed here.

You may notice our students don’t always have a perfect “tripod grasp” of their writing utensil but we feel that active involvement is more important than perfect grasps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2943IMG_2919Then we attached 3 jingle bells which were pre-threaded with small chenille stems. Our students did need help pushing and pulling the chenille stems through the holes but what a great opportunity to work on pincer grasp skills —–Joy really likes that, one of those OT things 🙂

We counted the bells as they were strung, asking our students to find the number on the communication board—–they did an awesome job, we were so proud!!!!!

 

 

 

 

IMG_2939Time to rock out, our students LOVED shaking their tambourines……

TA sha la la DA 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Language Group

IMG_2856We used the same pictures of the people used in our book and  Boardmaker symbols for pictures of what each person could be associated with at school.  We taped the people on the left side and the picture symbols on the right side of a piece of board.

Using black yarn that was connected to each of the pictures of people, the students had to figure out what picture symbol went with which person.

This activity addresses the language access point of recognizing familiar persons and objects associated with routines.

 

 

 

 

IMG_2876For our students who needed more support to understand the concept, we used auditory scanning and had them answer yes or no or eye gaze to indicate their choice, for example “Does the music teacher use a bandaid? Does she use a paintbrush? Does she use musical instruments?”).

After finding the correct picture symbol, Cara modeled the PIXON symbols “she uses this” and had the students verbalize if they were able to or point in the correct order if they were unable to vocalize.

This addresses the language access point of communicating information about familiar persons, objects, or actions, using non-verbal expressions, gestures, signs, pictures, symbols, or words.

 

 

 

 

IMG_2867IMG_2858For some of our students with visual impairments and also for the students that do not have a great understanding of pictures yet, we used real objects, including: paintbrush for the art teacher, maraca for the music teacher, ball for PE teacher, stethoscope for nurse, play food for lunch lady, and a recording of bus sounds for bus driver.

This worked out SO great and made it more meaningful for ALL the students.

 

IMG_2634It was another great week and we had so much fun, join us next time…….Group by Group 🙂

Florida Vacation Book

Florida Vacation Book

We are all back from summer vacation and ready to start the school year.  This week focuses on vacations people can take in Florida.  We used some of our OWN vacation pictures in addition to internet pictures in this book.  We decided to “take a trip” to places like Sea World, Disney World, the beach, and Cape Canaveral.  While reading the book, we asked our students, “where should we go?” before they pressed the voice output device to “read” the repetitive line.  Enjoy reading about some of the sites you could see if you went on a Florida vacation!

IMG_2430Here is a link to the book: Let’s Take a Vacation in Florida

Florida Vacation

Florida Vacation

IMG_2464We’re BACK!

While its great to be back at school, we can’t help but think about all the fun times we had this summer.  We love living in Florida and just like the rest of the world, we love Florida vacations—-the perfect theme for our first post of the year.

Cara wrote another terrific book that we read in each of our groups and our students did a great job of using the voice output device to “read” the repetitive line!

So put on your sunglasses and join us for a tour of sunny Florida 🙂

 

 

Sensory Group

IMG_2371Our beautiful sandy beaches are one of the many reasons to visit Florida. We made our sand from wheat flour and oil (we found the recipe on Pinterest). Its basically cloud dough made with wheat instead of white flour.

We liked the texture it made—a little firmer than regular sand but not as firm as moon sand.  Supremely touchable stuff! Three sea shells were hidden to find and make impressions…..

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2420….And also perfect for scooping!

This activity addresses the science access points of recognizing common objects in the natural world through observations and recognizing common objects as the same.

It also addresses the math access point of recognizing quantities 1 to 3 using sets of objects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2300Situated on the east coast of Florida, St. Augustine is the oldest city in the United States!  How cool is THAT!

We colored our rice red and yellow, the colors of the Spanish flag, in honor of the first European settlers.

We have made some pretty colorful rice combinations in the past but this has got to be one of the most vibrant—really eye catching stuff that you can’t stop reaching out to touch 🙂

F is for Florida and we hid 3 letters in  the rice!

Visual and tactile discrimination skills are addressed in this activity.

 

 

 

 

IMG_2294IMG_2288If you love learning about the space program, Cape Canaveral is the place to visit.  You can see all sorts of rocket ships and pretend to be an astronaut!

We used our black beans to represent the night sky and put in some glow in the dark stars and crescent moons in addition to a little astronaut.

Tactile and visual discrimination skills are addressed as students discover the items hidden among the beans.

This activity also addresses the science access point of associating stars with the night sky and the math access point of recognizing common objects with two-dimensional shapes.

 

 

 

 

IMG_2355Everglades National Park is located in the southern part of our state and riding on an airboat is an exciting way to explore it!

We used our vibrating massager and battery operated fan to simulate what it would feel like to ride in one.

Our students really loved the feel of the fan and the massager.

Some of our students were able to work on thumb strengthening while turning the fan on/off.

This activity addresses the science access points of recognizing and responding to one type of sensory stimuli and indicating awareness of air moving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2345We have so many fun theme parks to visit and Sea World is one of our favorites—everybody loves Shamu!

Toy sharks and whales swam in our water this week and as always, our students love to splash in the water……

IMG_2361….especially with friends 🙂

This activity addresses the science access point of distinguishing between items that are wet and items that are dry, as well as the science access point of sharing objects with a partner!

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2302And finally, one of the biggest tourist attractions—Disney World!

We put colorful, soft pompoms in the colors of Mickey Mouse—-red, yellow, white and black—great for sorting and counting.

Lots of math access points can be targeted here, including solving simple real-world problems involving joining or separating small quantities of objects and recognizing the next step in a simple pattern or sequence of activities.

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2298We also recorded the Mickey’s club house theme song on our voice output device. This was a total favorite that had some of our students getting up to dance, what FUN!

Recognizing and responding to common sounds is a science access point 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2422IMG_2429When you visit sunny Florida you have to wear sunscreen! We thought Bath and Body Aruba coconut was the perfect scent for this week…

It smelled really yummy 🙂

This is a super fun way to work on the science access point of identifying  external body parts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fine Motor Group

IMG_2330We had two really fun art projects this week! On Tuesday after reading our book, we talked about all the animals we could see while visiting Sea World, painting blue corn syrup water.

We started by showing the bottle of blue corn syrup and then asking our students to show us “blue”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2323The students then used their brushes to spread the mixture all over the paper.

This is a great way to practice using writing tools.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2319We then gave the students a choice between a precut dolphin or orca to put in their water. The corn syrup, being naturally sticky, means you don’t need to use glue!

Eye hand coordination is addressed when placing them onto the paper.

This activity also addresses the math access point of recognizing when an object is added to a situation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2328Ta Da—we just love how it dries but still looks shiny and wet!

IMG_2339………….Don’t they look terrific 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Thursday our art project was all about the mouse 🙂 We started by stapling 2 smaller black plates to a large white plate.

IMG_2496We used an oval hole punch to cut out a nose. The hole punch was a little hard to push so our students needed assistance.

Then we put the nose in the middle of the white circle.

As we put together our mouse we discussed the different facial body parts.

We also discussed the similarities and differences in sizes of the paper plates which addressed math access points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2489IMG_2526Then we used the paper cutter to cut a red square into 2 triangles to make a bow and placed it either at the top or bottom of the face……to make Mickey or Minnie!

As a final flourish we added 2 googlie eyes—-you know how much we love them!

Circular eyes, triangle bows and an oval nose—-more math access points.

 

 

 

 

IMG_2542Super cute!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Language Group

In the past, we have focused on working with the alphabet each week for the language group.  However, since things went so well at the end of the year when we changed the language group to coincide with the theme of the other two groups, we decided to keep it that way.

IMG_2443Next, we used a drawn outline of Florida (drawn by our very talented Art teacher, Judy).  We used the pictures of the different places from our book and glued them to where they would be located on the map.

Then, we went around to each student, one at a time, and had them match the given picture to where it was located on the map.  We used the PIXONs “where” to ask the question “where is it?”, “match” in order to reinforce that we were matching photographs, and “find” to have them find it on the map.  After each photo was matched correctly, we had the PIXONs “I put it here” in a row and each student had to read the sentence by pointing to each PIXON while verbalizing the word if they were able to.

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2480 Some required a little more help than others, but they all took their time to look at the pictures to see if they could match the correct ones!

When we were all done matching, we asked each of the students where they would like to take a trip.

The count at the end was 1 student for Sea World and the rest of them for the Everglades to ride on an air boat:)

Let us know if you have traveled to any of these places 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2466Well that is it for the first week! We have so many more fun groups planned for the rest of the year, so be sure to join us—-Group by Group 🙂

Our Award

Our Award

We have been nominated for the Liebster Award from a fellow blogger!  The Liebster award is for “up and coming” blogs with less than 200 followers.  We were nominated by fellow blogger http://iteachspeech.wordpress.com.  Thank you iteachspeech!  We are so excited to be nominated and recognized by the blogging community.  We have a few rules to follow and we will also be nominating some fellow bloggers we have enjoyed.

These are the Rules nominees are supposed to follow:
1. The Liebster is given to new bloggers with great potential who have less that 200 followers by other bloggers.
2. Each blogger should post eleven facts about himself or herself.
3. Each blogger should answer the  questions that are asked by the person doing the nominating.
4. Choose eleven  bloggers to nominate for the Award and link to them in the post.
5. Create  new questions for your nominees.
6. Go back to their pages and tell them they’ve been nominated.
7. No tag backs.

These are our questions to answer from http://iteachspeech.wordpress.com.  I will have to explain a few things about our blog.  First and foremost, I am not the usual blogger.   I am a member of our cooperative learning group, but mostly, I have been a silent member.  You have seen lots of pictures of several of the little people in my class!  I know, they are super cute, and even more fun!  The wonderful lady who usually writes our blog is our school’s OT, and she is amazing!  I am going to brag about her for a minute because she never would brag about herself.  “Joy” is a person who has always inspired me, she continues to go above and beyond in her job and everyday life.  I have so enjoyed getting to know her over my last 3 1/2 years while teaching here.  As a new teacher, she taught me A LOT! and I know, she isn’t even a teacher, she’s an OT, which makes her that much more impressive!  Joy spends a lot of her own time writing our blog for us.  She also puts together most of the sensory activities, while “Cara” does most of the language activities, and “Jeanie” does most of our PR in our community.  My name is Danni, and Joy asked me to write this post, and I was honored to help out and glad she trusted me with it.  This blog is rightfully, her baby!  This is an honorable post for us!  Some of the answers to http://iteachspeech.wordpress.com will have more than one answer because we have 4 people in our blog!  Here goes nothing, be prepared to delve into our world!

http://iteachspeech.wordpress.com Questions:
What do you like best about blogging?

Sharing our ideas with other people.  The children we work with consist of .1 % of the population.  We want other people to get to know part of their world they may not even know exists.  As they look at our blog, and read through all the ideas we have come up with, we want everyone to be exposed to us and the kind of students we have!

What’s your happiest memory?

I’m going to share one the happiest memory I have while I have been teaching at this school during the past 3 1/2 years (there are too many to just pick one!).  If you can believe it, it happened just last week.  I recently got a new instructional assistant in my class, she is actually Joy’s daughter (who is also amazing!) she has been with my class for about 2 months now.  She discovered she could get one of our little students to say a word.  It may seem like a small insignificant word to most, but to us, it opens a whole new world for him!  It’s the word “hi,” and he had been saying it for about 3 weeks, but exclusively to my assistant.  I was SO jealous!  I could not get him to say it to me…you can imagine my jealousy!  I worked on it with him and with Thea for a few weeks, then out of no where, he said, in a rather sing-songy voice, “hiiii!”   I smiled at him, said “hi” back then lost it.  I had to pick him up and give him a hug and try it again!  It was wonderful!
Where do you want to be in five years?

This is a hard question for me to answer, I am 25 and to me, 5 years seems impossibly far away.

What is your opinion on exercise and health foods?

Exercise and health foods are a must!  I go home from work and take my dog for a walk almost everyday.  I try and walk 3 miles a day with my dog.  Sometimes, I am tired or she is tired (she’s my only “child” for now and my family knows her as my furbaby) and we don’t go that long, or we skip the walk.  I have found in eating healthy there are a few rules I try to follow. Now, I am not a health nut, and I am human, I am not always perfect, but health is an ongoing project.  I eat breakfast everyday.  Everyday.  I eat fruit everyday, my favorite is blue berries and strawberries with vanilla greek yogurt.  My last rule (I should say, guideline) is eat your vegetables.  Just eat them, no excuses.

What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

The craziest thing I have done…would have to have been the summer I graduated from college.  I went home to Costa Rica, where my mom was born and raised.  It’s a kind of home away from home for my family.  My mom took us to this place where zip lining through the rain forest is a popular past time.  I did the superman, which is where they wrap you in a thick nylon type cloth with straps everywhere are you “fly” across a gorge.  The gorge is about 1000 ft in the air and a mile long.  I was nervous.  The wrapped me up, put a helmet on me, and pushed me over the gorge.  It was the closest to feeling like a bird I think you could get!  It was an incredible feeling.  I soared across the sky for about 2-3 minutes, then was brought into a type of landing strip where they “caught” you.  My stomach was in my throat, but I was awestruck!

CR
What is the most annoying thing you can think of?

Lips smacking.  Can’t stand it.
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What inspires you?

My students.  They have so many challenges in their lives and I still, somehow, complain about being sleepy, or how I forgot my lunch.  I get to teach some of the most inspiring and cool kids, ever.
Where is your favorite place in the whole world?

I truly enjoy the beach.  I love water!
What would you do if tomorrow were your last day on Earth?

Spend it with my family and friends.  I almost learned in January how someone’s life can be taken from them over night.  Don’t take your family or friends for granted.  Love them, talk to them, and most of all, truly enjoy them.
Name three people, living or dead, you’d like to meet.

I would like to meet Amelia Earheart.  I have always wanted to learn to fly a plane, and have always wondered what happened to her.  Plus she was a strong woman figure and I think that is important to have in a young woman’s life! I would also like the meet Gandhi, to me he represents contentment with all aspects of life. I think he would have a lot to teach anyone! I’d also like to meet my great grandparents. If I got the opportunity to meet them, I would ask them all kinds of questions about their lives, where they were at key points in history; and learn more about my family’s history.
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What is one thing you’d like to improve about yourself?

I would like to be a more tidy person.  I am sometimes a little bit of a mess.

Our Nominees:
1. http://mylittlecraftblog.wordpress.com/
2. http://justgoodenoughmum.wordpress.com/
3. http://starfishtherapies.wordpress.com/
4. http://mybookaddictionreviews.com/
5. http://secretsofthesandpit.wordpress.com/
6. http://thehungrynurse.com/
7. http://mrskellypage.wordpress.com/
8. http://wordpress.com/#!/read/blog/id/43100555/
9. http://momentswithautism.wordpress.com/
10. http://thesterlingroad.com/
11. http://tystingelinspirationalwriting.wordpress.com/

New questions for our nominees:
1. Why do you blog?
2. What is therapeutic for you and why? (I like ironing, because of instant results!)
3. What is your favorite place on Earth?
4. What did you want to be when you grew up as a child?
5. What one single occurence has impacted your life the most?
5. What drives you crazy?

A New School Year

A New School Year

Well, it’s back to school for us! Since the first week is always pretty chaotic, we have decided to get our groups up and starting next week. However, please take a look back at the previous years’ blogs if you would like some ideas on how to start your school year.

Some things we have been doing in order to get ready for the year:
-We have planned the themes for each week in order to be prepared. We had not done this the first year we started the groups and it can get very nerve racking when you’re still trying to come up with a good theme the Friday before the week you need it.
-The OT and SLP have gone to each classroom and have planned out when the groups will be so that we can plot individual students around the groups.
-Joy (OT) has started coming up with a list of things needed for the upcoming week on her useful white board while Cara (SLP) has started writing the book that will be used.
-We all have resolved that this is going to be an amazing year and we can’t wait to get started!

We hope you are looking forward to this year as well and that you are able to use our ideas to benefit the little ones in your lives. If you have used any of our ideas and would like to comment on them, PLEASE do! We love hearing from our blog followers as well as anyone else referencing groupbygroup. We are also always accepting of any ideas you may have as well.

Happy 2013-2014 school year!

P.S.

P.S.

I also want to thank our amazing Instructional Aides who helped us have a great year and I hope they know how much I appreciate all their hard work and putting up with me.

Jeannie Barrett

Summer

Summer

I hope everyone is having a great summer. My summer has been great so far. Took the grandkids to Aquatica Water Park and SeaWorld in June and had a blast.  In July we took our horses to North Georgia and actually got to ride for three days. Then the rains came. Our kids and grandkids came during the week and so did the rain. I’m talking bridges washed over, roads washed out, flash flood warnings, etc. I thought my husband was going to have a heart attack but we all survived. We did not get to do all we had planned like tubing since the river was too swollen but we did hike to one waterfall and we caught enough trout for two meals. One rainy afternoon when we were all stuck in the cabin one of the adults said “at least we are not at work”. I started thinking about that statement and how lucky I am to have a job I love (most of the time) and how lucky I am to work with wonderful, dedicated teachers and therapists. We had a great, fun year in our groups.  The students learned while we all had fun. I would like to thank everyone that helped through donations, volunteering, etc.  I would especially like to thank The Leon County Schools Foundation for their grant to help purchase supplies. Looking forward to another great year.

Jeannie Barrett, Teacher