Christmas Concert / Movie Premiere

We premiered our movie today during the school Christmas carolling assembly.  We showed it in front of the entire school and invited all of the parents of our students.  It was very well received.  All of our students had a part in the film.  The two most verbal students narrated the film while the rest acted out the story.  The parents were very excited to see their children in this context.  We had rave reviews from the other teachers in the school and many requests for more films.  The kids worked hard on it and had a lot of fun.  It really helped build understanding and understanding with the rest of the school. 

The rest of the day was devoted to Christmas crafts and parties.  We were totally off routine, but it worked out really well.  As one of the Aides said "it was crazy but good".   We've been working on flexibility and acceptance of change.  Overall it was a great day and lots of fun. 

Sharing assembly

The grade one classes hosted a sharing assembly yesterday.  Our classes had the opportunity to present a short introductory movie about our students.  We focussed on what made our students similar to the rest of the school.  The first section was things we liked at school (computers, trips, gym, assemblies).  The second section was about how we learn (by reading, writing, watching, doing, touching; alone, with help, with friends). The last section was about sensory needs.  It was very well received.  While it was playing, all students watched intently and many glanced over at our classes.  I've sent a link to the other teachers so that they can show the movie again in their classes to generate some discussion. 

Gingerbread Man

We started filming our version of the Gingerbread Man today.   All of our students have a part - some are narrating, some are acting out the parts and one is singing the Gingerbread Man's song.  We did the Kitchen scenes today.  The boy who plays the little boy who makes the Gingerbread Man had an especially good time with his part.  He really hammed it up.  He was so excited.  Tomorrow we hope to do some of the outdoor filming as the Gingerbread Man runs away from the animals.  We've moved the setting so that the GM runs away from forest animals such as squirrels, moose and bears.  We hope to have it ready for the school Christmas concert.

First day back

Today was the first day back with students.  All went smooth.  We had a few minor emotional times with some crying, but nothing major.  Everyone listened well, sat well for deskwork and group times and lined up with minimal prompting.  As a teaching team we are working hard at bringing our classes closer together.  We have been discussing lots of cool activities and trips for the coming school year.

New school - same program

I spent the last three days getting my new classroom ready and meeting with the other teachers at my new school.  All three of us teachers in our program are new to the school.  The other two are essentially first year teachers.  Our students come on Tuesday morning to start the new school year.  It looks like it will be an exciting year of learning and teaching for staff as well as the students.  I'm really looking forward to it.

Pizza!

We had our end of the year pizza party today.  We invited parents, grandparents, siblings, etc. to join us for a pizza lunch.  We had quite a crowd in our lunch room.  It was fun to see the kids with their families.  Everyone was so well behaved and really enjoyed the pizza.

End of the Year

Alas we are just about at the end of another school year.  This will be my last at my current school.  In September, I will be at another school in the same school district.  I will also still be in the same program, but a lot closer to home (a 15 minute commute rather than 45 minutes to an hour each way).  I  have been in my current position for just over 6 years.  We have come a long way with the kids and the other staff at the school.  When I started, the other kids and some of the staff would cringe when the saw us coming - now they stand up proud and say HI.  When I started here we only attended some assemblies and only had bit parts - now we attend all of them and we also take our turn to share in the hosting.  This past year we went on two whole school field trips - to a sporting event and to a musical play.  It's been fun becoming more and more a part of the whole school community rather than just the strange kids at the end of the hall.  I look forward to working with a new group of kids and staff at my new school across town.

POOP!

It's been an interesting week for poop in our classroom.  Yesterday we cleared out the local pool.  One of my students who has only had 3 bowel movements at school in almost 5 years.  Yesterday he had one in the pool.  Fortunately for us, we were only about 10 minutes from getting out.  The pool staff, however, still had to close the pool and give it a good cleaning.  All of the students handled the rather abrupt and very much unexpected transition quite smoothly.  We had to give extra directions, but they went along with very little fuss.  Yeah!!!
This year I have only one student in pullups.  Today he had a BM in the toilet.  We give out great cheers for him and he beamed.  This is the first one he's had at school (except for one when his mother popped in).  He has also started peeing in the toilet.  At the beginning of the year, we did not think he would get even this far.
Hopefully the poop will all be in the toilet for the rest of the school year!

Following Directions mid-tantrum

One of my students became very upset today because the headphones on the computer weren't working properly (the volume had been turned down).  He only just decided yesterday that they were OK to use.  When I tried to fix them (by wearing them and then adjusting the volume) he started crying and hitting his head.  Despite all of the noise and apparent upset, he was still able to follow verbal directions.  I was able to get him to follow me to a quiet space, take a tissue, put the tissue in the garbage can and then return to the classroom (though it didn't all happen that fast).  It wasn't that long ago that this same student wouldn't even follow these simple directions when he was calm - now he can follow them when he is mad!

Field Trip to the Zoo

We went to the Zoo today.  It was great to see how well so many of them transferred hard earned life skills, play skills and listening skills into a new environment.  After lunch, they all helped to clean up and one went to look for the trash can with no prompting.  In the afternoon, they had a great time playing on the complex play structure at the Zoo.  They had to negotiate the physical intricacies of the structure as well as having to move about with lots of other kids.

Writing and the non-verbal child

One of my students has started to use writing as a primary means of communication.  He is also working on using his voice, but his use of writing is developing much faster.  We first noticed the potential of his  literacy skills a few months ago watching him use the computer.  He was copying words from favorite games from memory.  We now have small whiteboards all around our school spaces so that he can make requests.  Today he started to show his understanding in other ways by drawing pictures of animals and then labelling them.  Until today he had shown us no particular understanding or interest in animals.

Paragraphs

One student started writing paragraphs this past month.  We had been working with pencil and paper and it was so hard for him because his fine motor skills aren't so strong.  He would barely get a single sentence written and it was barely legible.  Once we started having him type them on his iPad, he started to really take off.  He still tries to drop off the structural words when he types (even though he verbalizes them), but with support he types full sentences - three at a time that connect based on picture cards.  I then type out some extra sentences for him on the same theme to help him expand his writing beyond description.  It's been fun watching this new communication skill.

Mouse Skills

One of my students taught himself how to use the computer mouse last week.  We'd been trying to help him with this but we're getting nowhere.  A couple of weeks ago, he started to watch some classmates on the computer VERY attentively looking back and forth from their hand to the computer screen until he finally got it.  This is a student that until last year showed very little social awareness and now he has learned a new skill from watching his peers and by interacting with them!  We've been using a Smart Board for several years and an iPad for the last few months so he was used to touch screens - and he really wanted to be able to use a regular computer as well.  It was incredible to watch his pride as he picked up this new skill with the help of his friends.

Washing and morning routines

One of my students had a strong aversion to water and washing.  He's also had a lot of trouble getting ready for school and has missed a lot of school days lately.  I just talked to his mother and he is brushing his teeth getting ready for school.  Hopefully we'll see him at school today!

Negotiations

One of my non-verbal students has been working towards having a conversation using gesture and sign.  Today he showed some strong emerging skills in this area by negotiating for treats.  At morning snack time, he took me towards the birthday cake a classmate brought earlier in the week.  When I didn't immediately reach for the cake, which was on top of the fridge, he took my hand and raised it to point towards the cake.  When I told him he had to wait for the cake until after lunch, he went to another staff and pointed towards the cake, signed "eat" and "please" while crying (which actually sounded more like a pretend cry).  When she also said no, he sighed, got up, and went to play as if nothing had happened.  He did get a piece of cake after lunch as promised.  Later in the same day, he was offered a small piece of chocolate from a choice of two.  He signed "two" in response to the verbal and signed offer of "one".   When that didn't work, he signed "four" and then signed "two" adding a "please" sign a "treat" sign and an "eat" sign for good measure.  In the end, he happily accepted the original "one" and enjoyed his small chocolate bar.

Sports Day

We had whole school Winter Sports Day this afternoon.  The kids all had a great time.  Waiting in line and taking turns was challenging, but they managed it without too much fuss.  This is such a great skill.  One activity was building towers out of cardboard boxes.  One student particularly loved this activity so much that he snuck off later to go back to it.  It was pretty scary that he went off on his own - but the activity he chose was very appropriate and it was good to see some independence.  The look on his face when he was caught was priceless - it was a classic "oh nuts, busted" look.  It was also great to see this kind of social awareness - it is a new skill for him.

Valentines Day

We had a Valentines Day party at the end of the day.  The students gave each other Valentines Day cards.  It was cool to watch them try to distribute the cards.  Even after months of being together, they still don't all know each other's names that well.  This was good practice in giving, taking and acknowledging each other.

Art Project with Grade 4

Last week, we completed some pictures based on the artwork of Eric Carle.  We worked with a grade 4 class in the regular program.  On the first session we filled many pieces of paper with lots of paint - in stripes, swirls, shapes, patterns, etc.   On the second session we cut the papers up to make shapes.   We glued the shapes together to make elephants, horses, suns, mice and other designs.  It was great to see the two groups working side by side and learning from each other.  One of my students loved it so much that he gets the glue stick out on his own now at work time so he can continue to practice his new skill.  Until last week, he had no interest at all in cut and paste activities.