Raising a Child with Special Needs

Tonight's post comes from the heart and is dedicated to my beautiful daughter, Tessa.  It comes from the personal side that I experience from raising a child with Down Syndrome, diabetes, Celiac Disease, and a thyroid disorder.  And for all of the teachers out there that go the extra mile, work those extra hours, ponder how to modify lessons to include our children, thank you from the bottom of my heart.  


It's that time of the year again for many parents of children with special needs.  It's either IEP time or time to think about the placement of where our children will be the next year. Change is hard for everyone.  Yet, change is especially hard for parents who have a child with special needs.  We have to trust that schools make the right choice in placing our children with the right teacher and the right amount of services.  And as Tessa nears the end of her education with one year to go in the public school system, I find myself looking back at the long road we travelled to get to this place. It hasn't always been easy.  We've had our share of "good times" and "challenging times."  But ultimately, we have travelled down a path that led my daughter to many wonderful friends, peers, and teachers. 


I wrote this very personal poem last year and had kept it tucked away in "My Documents" on my computer. I looked at it the other day and decided that maybe it was time to share with others. So here is a very personal glimpse into my life and how hard IEP meetings can be for parents. And let's never forget that behind every student, there is a family that deserves our respect and support.

My beautiful daughters Tessa and Brandi

So for all of the teachers who will be attending IEP's this spring and next fall, here is a strategy for working with families of children with special needs.  Make a mental picture of this poem and remember how hard "IEP Day" can be on parents.  Then think of 3 positive things about your students with special needs in your class and share it with their families.  Thank you for caring and giving so much every day.


Thanks for stopping by.  Tomorrow is FREE Smart Board Sunday!

Listening Strategies that Work

I was in travel mode this week with a quick trip to present at the Pennsylvania Kindergarten Conference in Harrisburg, PA, so I didn't have time to blog.  Today's post is an anchor chart that I use in my classroom (minus the clip art) to help my children learn strategies to use when they "have the wiggles."  I spoke about these strategies at my session on Recognizing Red Flags and working with students with special needs in the early childhood classroom.  This anchor chart shows the strategies my students use to help them listen during group time.  I should have a listening strategy song and book released this summer to go with the chart.  Until then, have your students learn these strategies a few at a time and use when they "have the wiggles."  They can work miracles with all of the students in your classroom from Pre-K to 2nd grade.  My suggestion:  Add clipart or student drawings beside the strategies to help nonreaders.  If you have any questions about the individual strategies, let me know. Just think of all the ways adults sit still during meetings.  We doodle on paper, cross our legs, play with our hair, wiggle our thumbs, tap our fingers, etc . . .

UPDATE:  I now have a activity and song packet on Teachers Pay Teachers for these strategies.  Click HERE to take you to the blog post about my new packet and to listen to the songs. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Teachers Pay Teachers Leap Year Sale

I am participating in the Teachers Pay Teachers Leap Year Sale on Wednesday, February 29, 2012.  All of my book sets and activity packs will be 20% off and TpT is giving another 10% off all of my products.  Stop by and select what you want tonight and Tuesday and put it on your wish list.  Then you will be ready to shop on Wednesday. 
 
Remember to enter the PROMO CODE: L2P9Y when you check out to get the TpT's discount.  Happy Leap Year!

It's FREE Smart Board Sunday Jingle Bell Word Families

It's FREE Smartboard Sunday!  Today's download is to complement my song "Jingle Bell Word Families" from the CD "Growing Dendrites with Kathy Griffin."  Here is a peek at the multimedia file on my YouTube Channel.

Click here to purchase the multimedia file for $4.00.
Click here to purchase the mp3 song for $1.25.
Click here to purchase the book set for guided reading, independent reading, the listening center, book boxes, or as a homework song folder for $4.00.


And here are sample pictures from the FREE Smart Board Sunday Smart Board games:

This is the Image Sort Game.  I created an image of the bells and grouped the word with the bell.  Use as a whole group mini-lesson or as a literacy center to sort "ang and ing" words.  If using as a literacy center, duplicate the page multiple times so your students can rotate through the center.  Or you can keep all three games together and let your students play all 3 versions.

The Vortex Word Sort - Students sort the "ang" and "ing" words by their word pattern.  If they are right, the word gets sucked into the vortex.  If they are wrong, the vortex spits it back out.  Students love to be wrong on this game:)  Use it as an opportunity as to what does NOT belong. Use as a whole group mini-lesson or as a literacy center.  If using as a literacy center, duplicate the page multiple times so your students can rotate through the center.  Or you can keep all three games together and let your students play all 3 versions.

Matching Pairs  - Students match words ending with the "ang, ing, ong, ung" word patterns. Tiles disappear when the words match.  Play continues until board is cleared. Use as a whole group mini-lesson or as a literacy center.  If using as a literacy center, duplicate the page multiple times so your students can rotate through the center.  Or you can keep all three games together and let your students play all 3 versions.

Click here to download this FREE Smart Board activity.


Don't have this technology?  Here is a FREE word sort activity to use as a literacy center. 

Students can color the bells by their word family pattern.

Students can cut the cars apart and tape on their word work books or on the sheets provided on the FREE download.

Students can tape the word sorts on the paper provided.

Dendrites, Do Not Disturb, Guided Reading Groups, OH MY!

Wow!  Have you ever had one of those weeks that just flew by so fast you wonder where the week went?  That is how my week went.  The students were out of school on Monday for Presidents' Day while the teachers had professional development.  I attended some great sessions on Inquiry in the Classroom, Math Centers, and a new program that was just installed on our computers - Graphing Club.  Plus, I got a student teacher this week from ORU who is absolutely fantastic and amazing with the children.  It's going to be a great 8 weeks.

So today's blog is going to be about DENDRITES!!!  My students love that word, and take their new learning seriously.  We've talked about growing dendrites all year, and of course, that is the name of my new CD so they see/hear it in my multimedia files, songs and books.  I decided to show them an actual picture of the brain with dendrites and neurons on an imaging scan I found on the Internet via the big screen, digital projector/Smart Board. Whoa!  You need to google that and show your students.  The children were so excited to see what it actually looked like as the dendrites branch out to all of the neurons.  We contemplated what might be on one of those dendrites branching out to the neurons.  


I love how children think . . . Combinations of 10 such as 5 + 5?  The doubles facts? The phonics patterns "ch, sh, aw, eu, the silent e?"  Our "Outlaw Words?" Reading strategies?

Do not disturb -We're growing dendrites!  This is my teacher hat to wear during guided reading groups.  Students know when I am wearing this hat, there is "serious brain work" going on:) It's been a great visual for the children.

My student teacher Ms. Johnson working with one of my students during "Read to Self."  She is rotating around the room getting to know the students and their reading patterns/strategies.  We decided she needed a "Do not disturb hat" too because they were all wanting to read to her.  

It's going to be a great 8 weeks!  Well I guess we have 7 left.

So there is my strategy for the week.  Purchase a $1.00 foam hat, staple on some pipe cleaners, and add some colored pom poms.  I love being an Early Childhood Teacher!


Visit my TpT store and check out my songs, multimedia files for the Smart Board or IWB, games, and books that teach phonemic awareness, phonics, sight words, and reading strategies.


Thanks for stopping by!  Tomorrow is FREE Smart Board Sunday!

It's FREE Smart Board Sunday Short A Vowel Game

Do your students need practice with their short "a" word families? Here is a sneak peek at the FREE Smart Board Download.  Don't have a Smart Board.  Look at the bottom for the PDF version and use them as a paper version for literacy centers, guided reading, or in your students' book boxes for extra practice.

 Click here for the FREE Smart Board Download for the Short A Vowel Rapid Naming Activity.

Click here for the FREE pdf version to use as word work in literacy centers, during guided reading, in book boxes, or as homework practice.

Word Work with Post-it-Notes

Word Work Tip of the Week:  Add post-it-notes to your word work stations.  Encourage your students to make more words.  Your students will be motivated to write and write.

Portable Magnetic Word Family Word Wall
Students can remove a word family and take it to other stations for working with words.

Small Portable Word Family Walls
I make many small portable word walls.  These small word walls encourage my students to look for words they know to help them spell words with the same word pattern or word family.

Differentiate by adding post-it-notes to the center.  Students can make new words by adding blends, digraphs, suffixes, or prefixes.  They also can use the words in a sentence. When center time is over, students place their post-it-notes in their word books.   

Student samples of their post-it-note words and sentences.

Use the students' work samples as a guide for mini-lessons.  Ex:  takeing - teach student about taking off the "e" and adding "ing."