Recall Time in the {Special Needs} High Scope Classroom

Oh my goodness, I can't believe it's been SEVEN months since I wrote a blog post...whoops! Anyway, this summer I had the opportunity to attend a 5-day workshop on High Scope in the preschool classroom. My district uses the High Scope Curriculum, so it was super helpful to learn even more about it. As some of you may know High Scope focuses on the "plan, do, review" model during what they call "work time," also know as center time in the preschool classroom. This is when the students are able to visit the various learning areas of the classroom such as the block area, the library, the writing area, etc.

I use a "planning board" with Boardmaker pictures during our planning time. Students put their picture under the area they plan to go to. Here's the planning board I used last year...

Now when it came to the review or "recall" aspect of the day (post work time) I had trouble. Many of my students were unable to verbally communicate what area they played in, who they played with, and/or what toys they used. After my High Scope training I came up with a way to help my students participate in recall, and that is through my picture-based recall book.

Let me tell you this book was NOT quick and easy to make! I had to upload each one of my pictures I use as labels in each area. I made them all into symbols on Boardmakeronline.com This way the student could choose the toy(s) he or she played with during work time from pictures of our ACTUAL classroom materials!

The book is somewhat leveled, so the first page asks "What area did you play in?" The student can then choose from pictures of the different areas (these match with the planning board pictures).

The second page asks a slightly more difficult question, "Who did you play with?" The students can then choose from pictures of their classmates.

The final page asks "What toy did you play with?" For this question I have pictures (organized by area) of all the toys in our classroom. As you can imagine this section of the book is quite large so it is separate and is held together by book rings.

 

Here are more pictures of the toy choices from each area. 

I'm sure I'll tweak this system throughout the year, but for now this is what I have come up with! If you have Boardmaker Share online then you should be able to find these items by searching "recall book" in the activities or by trying clicking here.

Embedding Life Skills in the Kitchen Center

It's been awhile, but I'm back! Hope everyone had a lovely winter break. Over break I did a lot of thinking about how to work on my skills in the classroom, and I also wanted to address them in a way that felt natural and play-based. So, with some inspiration from others these are three new tasks I came up with for my students to do while at the kitchen/home living center. 

Here's the drawer set I use to store each task. The top for utensil sorting, the middle for table setting, and the bottom for food sorting (by color). 

I picked up some simple utensil sorting trays at Walmart and created fork, spoon, and knife labels on Boardmaker. This way my students have a visual of where to sort each item.

Place mat template found here!

I had seen the idea for place settings like these on Considerate Classroom awhile ago and loved it. So, I created something similar with the help of a template I found online (link above). This task has helped my students match item to picture and begin to expressively identify different utensils/plate/cup. 

The last task is a file folder where the students have to sort pictures of food by color. I adapted this activity from this freebie. 

Overall, my students are responding really well to each task, and loved being introduced to each one. I'm sure I'll change them as they start to master them. If you're interested click here for the drawer labels I created and here for the utensil sorting labels.

Addressing Multiple Skills in Art Projects

Oh, the fall. Seems like the season of art project after art project. I am not that into super teacher-directed projects because I feel like the students lose out in building independent skills and it just makes it overall a less meaningful experience. Since we moved into our new class/modular building I knew I had to get something up on the walls outside the classroom door. I searched Pinterest forever, but couldn't quite find something I loved. So, I decided to create my own project that would address a multitude of skills while still allowing the student to make independent choices.

I cut out the brown body shape for the turkey and wrote the student's name in yellow marker across the bottom. I also drew the black lines separating the letters. For students with long names I would put two letters in each section. The student then had to trace their name and cut along the black lines. We worked together on putting the pieces back together like a puzzle and using a glue stick to stick them back on. Lastly, the student chose the feathers they wanted and I aided them in gluing them on.

Here are the finished products! I love that each turkey is unique and has the student's name right on the front. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Just a label I put on my bulletin board for others to see what skills/standards were addressed while making these turkeys.

Bread

After completing our units on apples, pumpkins, and leaves I have decided to talk about bread. I have big plans to make our own "bread in a bag" and homemade butter next week. For today we started with reading the book "Bread, Bread, Bread" By: Ann Morris. I found this book in one of those "everything-in-your-bag for $5" kind of sale- so good. It's actual photographs and simple text. It also depicts people from all over the world, what could be better? So, after reading this my students did a bread size sequencing activity. It was super simple with only one type of bread because my students are just learning about the concept of small, medium, and big. I use the word big, but I know some people might like to use large so when I created the printable I made a "large" version also. 

I made two versions of this activity. One where the students had to independently sort the bread under each given size and one where the student is matching picture-to-picture in order to sort, so it's more of a matching activity. I differentiated because some of my students are grasping the concept of small, medium, and big and others are still in the very beginning stages of comprehending it. 

If you would like a copy of the bread size sequencing activity click here to download the PDF. 

Pumpkins Everywhere

I was hoping to get this post in under the October wire, but no such luck. Anyway, I wanted to share some of my favorite pumpkin activities I did in my classroom for the past few weeks. As any preschool teacher knows pumpkins are HUGE in the early childhood classroom. What is it about those big, orange squash that students just love?! I know my students love to point out a pumpkin where ever we are, so these activities were a big hit.

1. Pumpkin Insides Book: I got this idea from my friend Carissa who did this with her students during our student teaching semester. Check out her blog here! We glued pumpkin seeds and orange yarn as pulp and the front cover reads "What's inside a pumpkin?" I also had the students trace their names on the back because I aim to constantly expose them to their names/writing. 

2.  Mini Sticker Pumpkins: This was a last minute addition to our art center last week. I had bought mini pumpkins for our dramatic play center and I didn't want them to go to waste towards the end of the week, so I allowed the students to place Target Dollar Spot foam stickers all over them. Removing the paper on the stickers was great fine motor practice.

3. Pumpkin Measuring: This lesson exposed my students to the terms small, medium, and big as well as estimation and nonstandard forms of measurement. I had pre-cut pieces of yarn and the students had to determine (with teacher prompting/help) which string would go around each pumpkin. For example, would the tiny string go around our big pumpkin?

4. Pumpkin Seed Counting: The students worked on their one-to-one correspondence skills by doing pumpkin seed counting lesson. I modeled the pumpkin counter for them (a laminated pumpkin with a number and corresponding amount of seeds drawn on it) and how to count out the seeds/pick them up with their pincers. Pumpkin counters were made more accessible to students by drawing on the corresponding number of seeds they should put on each pumpkin. (pumpkin mats found at prekinders.com)

5 & 6. Pumpkin Play Dough: Homemade, no cook pumpkin play dough made with Jell-o brand pumpkin pudding mix added to a traditional play dough recipe.  

My pumpkin play dough recipe. I use this as a visual for the students while making the play dough.

Addressing IEP Goals in the Writing Center

I teach a preschool self-contained class for three year olds, so all of my students have IEP's (Individualized Education Plans). I aim to address many of their personal goals and objectives through center time in addition to more teacher-directed activities. 

In this post I will show how I address some popular preschool IEP goals through my writing center activities...

This is a super simple task I created last year to address a student's goal of "will color in basic shapes." It also works for "will color within lines." I am not a huge coloring in fan, but it is important for them to learn the fine motor control of coloring in the lines. I created this in Microsoft Word and I have attached a link to a downloadable PDF of it here!

 

The name-matching folder is one of my favorite activities that I came up with last year. It not only works on letter identification but also addresses the goal of a student identifying themselves in a picture. In my experience students LOVE to see themselves and are more motivated to complete this activity when they see their picture.

(found at Childcareland.com)

This shape tracing activity is seasonally appropriate and addresses a popular preschool IEP goal of "will name basic shapes..." It also works on the goal of "will develop a tripod grasp" since the student is working on using a pencil/marker/crayon to trace each shape. 

(found at totschooling.net)

This is a fun, seasonal take on the classic pre-writing skill/IEP goal of "student will trace/independently write horizontal and vertical lines." I learned a trick from an OT to tape a paper to the wall and have the student write their lines that way because it forces them to use a more correct grip on their writing utensil and it works!

Science in the Preschool Classroom

STEM in the classroom is huge lately. I feel like every other day I see ideas on Pinterest on how to incorporate it into the early childhood classroom. My goal is to also make the NJ Preschool Teaching and Learning Standards accessible to my students. So, today I did a sink or float lesson with my class. This addressed standard 5.1.2 (Observe, question, predict, and investigate materials, objects, and phenomena during classroom activities indoors and outdoors and during any longer term investigations in progress. Seek answers to questions and test predictions using simple experiments or research media (e.g., cracking a nut to look inside; putting a toy car in water to determine whether it sinks))

I created a pictures using Boardmakeronline.com (free trial again, woo!). One says "sink" and the other says "float" and have the corresponding visuals. I decided to do this activity with fall items- an apple, a stick, a pine cone, a leaf, and a mini pumpkin. I also made visuals on Boardmaker for these items. This way the students got to choose which items we put in the water  first, second, etc. 

My students LOVED this activity. I mean water and preschoolers is an instant hit no matter what, but seriously they enjoyed making predictions by pointing to "sink" or float." This was also a great lesson on choice making for them. After we were done placing each item in the water and determining if they sank or floated I allowed the students to have some free play with the fall items in the water.

Choices, Choices, Choices!

Hi all! It's been quite awhile since I've last posted. Since then I've graduated with my bachelor's degree in early childhood, psychology, and special education. I have worked as a preschool inclusion teacher and now as a self-contained preschool teacher in a new district. I am loving my new position and plan to use this blog to share my ideas/lessons.

Today I wanted to post about my song choice board. Everyday between center time and lunch time we sing songs on the rug. I noticed my students engagement in this time was wavering, and I knew I had to find a way to get them more involved. All of my students have delays in speech, so often their expressive language is limited. Yet, I knew that if they were able to express their song preferences their interest in singing would undoubtedly be raised. I mean com'n who isn't more interested in doing something they like?! So, I created this song choice board with the help of BoardMakerOnline.com. Yay, for 30 day free trials! I love how Board Maker also allows you to import pictures from the internet also. As you can see from the picture I limit the song choices to six, but on the back I have about 9 other songs I can velcro on and off to keep in the rotation. The velcro on the mini clipboard allows for quick changes.

(front side presented to students)

(Backside)

So, when it's time for songs each child gets to pick one song by pointing to or taking a picture off and handing it to me. In my class of vehicle obsessed boys it's no surprise we sing "Wheels on the Bus" almost daily! This board has really increased participation during song time, and it allows students' whose expressive language skills are limited to be more involved in choice making!

Easter

I love, love, love Easter. It's almost better than Christmas to me because the weather is warm and there's not so much pressure with gift giving. Of course, I also love a great Easter outfit. J. Crew Factory was having one of their crazy 40-60% the whole store sales a couple weeks ago and I snagged this coral colored pencil skirt for $20! Anyway, I thought I'd also post a few pictures of our Easter brunch table. I always love decorating for Easter and I think this year might have been one of our best tables yet. 

                                           
                                     

I was so excited when I saw this BCBG coat was on TJMaxx's clearance for $79. Eek!

Where it's all from...

Coat: TJMaxx/BCBG, similar found here

Peplum: Forever 21

Skirt: J. Crew Factory

Shoes: Forever 21 (old), similar found here

Shoppin' on a Budget...a real budget.

Has it really been nearly a month since my last post? Yikes. This semester's work load is killing me, but I digress. Lately I 've found myself chatting with friends about where to buy professional clothes to wear in our teaching practicums. At least two of my friends have mentioned they're on the look out for dresses and skirts. Yet, sometimes it seems you can only find dresses that are cute but too short or dresses that are wayyy too matronly to want to be sporting in your 20's...or ever. And of course on top of all these dress debacles you wanna stay on budget! So, I thought I'd put together a blog post of my favorite places to snag professional, yet adorable (in my opinion!), and most importantly affordable outfits. And let me just clarify I'm talking real-life affordable, 'cause this girl does not consider a $70 cotton dress to be budget-friendly. Seriously... getting a dress at a Gap Outlet clearance sale for SEVEN dollars was one of my proudest shopping related moments...or just proudest life moments ever. Check out my go-to's for my teaching ensembles...

1. J. Crew Factory: Now you may be thinking wait a minute I thought she was going to write about budget-friendly places?! I know, I know J. Crew is not the first place I think of when I think of affordable clothing either, I mean they were selling hats for upwards of $30 this winter, not my idea of cheap! But I promise you their sales are out of this world! They often do 40-60% the whole store AND they give a 15% discount to students with I.D.'s. Not to mention they sell tons of cute skirts that are long enough to wear in a professional environment.  Just yesterday I was able to snag a dress, a statement necklace, a pencil skirt, and a pair of black jeans for $70 total! I dare you to pull off that deal at Target. 

2. Old Navy: Old Navy is my old standby because even before a sale they tend to be pretty affordable, but when they have a sale oh-my-goodness can you get some deals! They also sell dresses that have longer hemlines, so perfect for a work environment. 

3. H&M: H&M is another place that tends to be generally on the inexpensive side, not to say I haven't seen items there for upwards of $50. Yet, I always seem to get great shirts or hit lucky with sales (sometimes they do buy one get one free, what!). 

4. Asos: My newest discovery is Asos.com. They are an online company and they sell it all! Everything from cheap, cute dresses to pricier designer duds. My trick is to hit up the sales and click "sort lowest to highest price." This forces me to forgo looking at more expensive items that I can't afford. By checking out the cheapest items first I don't feel like I'm depriving myself from items that I love but can't afford because I simply stop looking at things once the items begin to go above my price range. Also, they offer free shipping- both ways! 

5. Gap: Gap is another store I don't regard as super affordable, but like J. Crew Factory they do great sales. I just go straight for the sale rack and don't even bother with full priced items. It works for me and they've got dresses that can be professional which I am all about. 

I know this was a super word-y post, but I hope someone could find it helpful. Cute professional clothes do exist and you don't have to have tons of money to afford them! Please hit up these stores and help me banish boring dress pants forever. 

Wool & Tights

If you live on the East Coast right now you know we are in the midst of a never ending winter. I had a bridal shower to go to last Saturday and it just felt odd wearing such wintery clothes. For some reason I always equate bridal showers with pastels, but maybe that's just me! Anyway, I dug out a wool skirt I had tucked away in one of my bottom dresser drawers and wound up with, what I think, was a fun and warm outfit. I actually wore this skirt to the NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) conference back in November, so I'd say this could double as a teaching outfit, except I'd probably pair it with flat boots since I'm not one for heels in the classroom. 

I created this basket for the bride-to-be. I purchased tea towels and oven mitts off her registry and then got the chalkboard jar at Michael's Craft Store (check 'em out here!) I made the monogram pennant banner myself. I just used fabric scraps with fabric glue and glitter, I'm not much of a sewer, unfortunately. 

Where it's all from...

Tights: American Apparel

Shoes: Old Navy (last season), similar found here

Skirt: Jack. I purchased this at Century 21, but you can also get it here

Denim Shirt: H&M (last season), similar found here

Necklace: J. Crew Factory (last season), similar found here

Bag: Kate Spade (old), similar found here

P.S.- I got the Kate Spade bag at Century 21, so I assure you I paid wayy less than the one I linked. I couldn't find a cheaper option online that looked similar. :(

Weekend Look

I have been majorly slacking on updating this blog lately! Keeping up with school, work, and my school's education club has gotten the best of me, but of course that's nothing a fun, weekend outfit can't fix. This weekend the boyfriend and I headed out to a little restaurant in Tarrytown, NY called Sweet Grass. They serve a lot of yummy, super healthy organic options, but also being the junk food lover that I am I had to stop off at the ice cream place across the street for a cone before we went home. As for the outfit I'm a total believer in outfits that can be casual, but not sloppy. I'm also thinking I could definitely switch out the Converse for flats and make this a teaching outfit. 

Where it's all from...

Sweater: Old Navy

Denim Shirt (underneath sweater): H&M

Necklace: Express

Black Jeans: Jessica Simpson, found at Macy's

White Converse: Zappos

Coat: H&M (old), similar(ish) found here

Bag: Aldo's (old), similar found here

Nail Polish: Essie "Butler Please," snag it here

Poppin' Color

I've got a serious thing for polka dots. I've always been one to gravitate towards "cutesy" things, so I suppose my affinity for spots is only natural. A big reason I love this dress is because of how versatile it is, it can be easily dressed up or made more casual. I pair it with a cardigan and flats for my teaching field work and I've also thrown on heels with it for an awards ceremony. And of course, here's to hoping the weather warms up sometime soon so I feel less like a human icicle when shooting these pictures!

Where's it's all from...

Dress: Forever 21(old), almost identical found here! 

Belt: Forever 21(old), similar found here

Gold Bangles: Francesca's Collections (old), similar found here

Opaque Tights: H&M

Flats: Coach

I bought these Coach flats four years ago at Century 21 Department Store and I cannot find anything similar anywhere online, unfortunately. 

Polkadotted Plaid

As I mentioned this winter has been rough, so I've trying to get creative to keep my outfits warm but still stylish. This is a simple outfit I've worn for practicum (two-day-a-week student teaching). This plaid, polka-dotted button down caught my eye this December, and I love that it can be dressed up or down. 

Where it's all from...

Top: H&M (last season), similar found here

Necklace: J.Crew Factory (last season), similar found here

Skirt: J.Crew Factory (last season), similar found here

Opaque Tights: H&M

Boots: Lucky Brand (old), similar found here

Pop of Neon

New Jersey has been a frozen tundra lately. Honestly, I do not remember the last time we had a winter this bad. I am definitely over the snowfall every other day, and I've also been getting sick of boring, dark winter colors. So, when I saw this neon dress in the store the other day I knew I had to snatch it up. I paired it with black tights and cardigan to still keep it winter appropriate, and I gotta say I'm really digging this look. Also, I cannot wait to wear this dress sans-tights come summertime! 

Where it's all from....

Dress: Old Navy

Cardigan: Old Navy (old), similar can be found here

Belt: Forever 21(old), similar can be found here

Opaque Tights: H&M

Flats: Fusion (old), similar can be found here

"C" Necklace: Nadri

P.S.- All these photos were taken by my wonderful boyfriend, Dan. I can't even manage to take a non-blurry selfie.