5 Tips on How to Survive Finals Week

In honor of the tests you are already taking this week, here is a pop quiz! Don't worry, it's super easy, just pick the picture that best describes you...

Are you...

      A. The procrastinator that decided to "stay up all night to finish your last paper even though it's 15 pages long" (this is a real quote I overheard from someone in the library... the Monday of finals week!)

    B. The library resident who doesn't want to face the rest of the world because it is too distracting to be in the same room as access to Netflix...





 
     or C. The complainer. You are, by the way, everyone's favorite... don't ask me why.

Regardless of who you are, reading this post will make you this strong and inspirational baby!

Disclaimer: Reading this will not actually turn you into a baby.
It was a metaphor.
If you are in English 101, you're welcome.


So how do we go from
this...

to

this??

Follow these 5 tips!

1. Attitude is EVERYTHING! If you feel like Linus, you are Linus. Simple as that. Try making a list in your head or on a postie of everything good in your life (especially as you worked so hard this semester) every night before bed. It'll help you rest easier and sleep, as you know, is important!

2. Along the same idea... LOOK GOOD! I'm telling you, there's research behind  looking good and feeling good. Dress comfortable, but wear something that makes you feel a bit professional (like real clothes instead of your pjs). Plus, you'll feel a lot better when you get out of class and see everyone in their sweats, but you actually put your hear up (instead of leaving it as that mess plastered on the side of your face...)

3. Sometimes you have to take a break and get someone else's perspective. I always call my mom and complain, but then she reminds me that a test is just a test and a grade is just a grade. At the end of the day, you're probably just putting too much pressure on it. Do the best you can because that's all you can do!

4. Try NOT to use this stress reduction technique... However, going for a walk, taking a 10 minute Facebook break, eating away from your text books, etc. can all help you get more work done because you're being more productive with the time you are working. Added bonus, you get to keep more brain cells!

5. Believe in yourself! I mean, if Ryan Gosling does, then you must be something special right?

One last little thing to keep you going.... 

Apparently I'm having too much fun with Google Images and should actually get back to studying... but good luck and congratulations to all of you who are graduating!

CEC National Convention and Expo: Autism with Dr. Temple Grandin and Sesame Street

   

Waiting in line...the looong line to see Dr. Grandin on the first day! 

It was soooo exciting to hear that Dr. Temple Grandin, the author of three wonderful books, professor of animal science, writer of many, many influential articles regarding animal behavior, and the most famous spokesperson for Autism. She gives a wonderful perspective, for in case you haven't seen the HBO film describing her life, Dr. Grandin has Autism. But despite this diagnosis during a time of violent prejudice regarding individuals with disabilities, she was named in the 2010 New York Times Heroes section as one of the most influential people!
   

As an introduction, Dr. Grandin discussed the need for special education to be inclusive with children who are gifted and with those who have disabilities. She used the metaphor of "breaking down the silos" between the gifted and individuals with disabilities. I am paraphrasing, because Dr. Grandin was talking fairly quickly, but she said, "We have to tear down the silos. I go one place where this guy is programming computers in this dark little space. And he is probably on the spectrum, but nobody labeled him. But then, I go to an Autism meeting and the kid is the exact same, but ten years younger. He's going to end up playing video games in his mom's basement living on social security. But if someone would have taught him how to work during adolescent years and encouraged him to take computer programming classes, he could have been working and living an independent life."
   

This introduction was a great explanation of how Dr. Grandin's mind worked in pictures and with association. For her, she saw the silos, and the specific examples of the people in them. People like her, particularly individuals with Autism, often work top-down, meaning they need lots and lots of specific examples to build a concept as opposed to using the examples once there is a concept. It made me really think hard about how we teach our students with Autism... are we giving them enough examples of proper social skills, or just yelling at them for impolite behavior? Are we giving them enough chances to practice using money, or getting too impatient and doing it ourselves?

 

On that same note, I had the most wonderful opportunity to attend the general session given about Sesame Street and Autism! In case you haven't heard, Sesame Street has just recently added a new character named Julia and she has Autism. This addition has been three years in the making with plenty of research and input from family, teachers, and individuals with Autism. Even the animators were a team including a mom who's son has Autism and students with Autism at Exceptional Children.

     All of the conference attenders were given a free book that parents have been blowing up social media about! That, along with free videos on www.sesamestreet.com/autism are helping parents explain Autism to their diagnosed children and helping teachers encourage diversity and respect in the classroom. Free activities for both of these can be found also using their free app called Sesame Street and Autism. Picture schedules that are editable and perfect for young children is a popular part of this app and I can't wait to use it with children that struggle with scheduling, even those who don't have any disabilities.
    My favorite video that was shown during the session was of a father who described his family life including his three daughters (one of which has been diagnosed with Autism) and his wife. The need for support and understanding was evident in this episode, and there was not a dry eye of the thousand people in the theater watched the father's pride in his daughter being able to blow out candles on her sixth birthday cake. I would highly suggest that everyone watch it! It is wonderful to see a highly respected and widely watched show like Sesame Street to continue in their journey to educate and love people in all walks of life!  
See this amazing video here!

        If you'd like to share your story or experiences using the site or app, share it with them using #seeamazing or comment below!

I'm Engaged... Why Aren't They??

   

       I have been embarking on the journey of substitute teaching recently, and the more that I have been in the classrooms, the more that I doubt my abilities as a teacher. It looked so easy when I was a crazy teenager, watching the sub read their Cosmo while we did whatever busy work the teacher had left... Now, being in the hot seat of the one who "isn't my teacher" and "doesn't know how we do it here", the paycheck seems less than adequate.

     For my own sanity and encouragement, I spent the weekend skimming and pinning. I thought that many of you may be dealing with classroom management issues as a substitute teacher, newbie, or even as a veteran educator who has an especially rough bunch. Here are some tips dealing with classroom management and are aimed at those who are dealing with "someone else's" behavior management plan and need some tricks in their bag for getting students on task so that you can leave a happy and productive report.

  (Shown in picture: ideas from Christina's Digital Portfolio)

      First of all, be PREPARED. I know that this is the number one rule for life, and there doesn't see enough time in the day to be prepared for everything, but do it! You never know how much time the lesson plans written by the classroom teacher (or yourself) will take, and so there should be plenty of educational activities (like the book rings of words, flash cards, or animal facts shown) to take up time before/after lunch or at the end of the day. Also, try to have some relaxing activities that students enjoy (like the MadLibs or arts supplies shown) that will stimulate the brain but also calm down an energetic or anxious class. I love the idea of having all of these items in a bag to grab and go, because you know that many calls will come 45 minutes before the school bell rings...

   Relating particularly to classroom management, studentsavvyontpt.blogspot.com shared a great list of tips, including using positive reeinforcement, flipping on and off the lights, and writing/erasing instructions on the board to a rowdy class.

Another set of materials you should keep in your bag when going to the schools is a page listing your information as well as a substitute report. There are some more ideas on www.wifeteaachermommy.com under her blog entitled "Be a Prepared Substitute Teacher", but I have never seen the information sheet and thought that it was very helpful to creating my own using Microsoft Word. By simply including some background information about yourself, you can market yourself to the school and have a handy piece of paper for the teacher to keep in order to find you again.
The substitute report below is a great little freebie on TpT from Jenny K.'s store. I know that by the end of the day it can be exhausting and easy to forget writing a note for your classroom teacher, but this form will be an easy way to remember and keep from ranting about a 5 minute time period (if you're anything like me).

Here is another fun way to inspire the students to be on their best behavior and act as though their classroom teacher were there: "Mrss. Miller will be proud of me" allows students to put things they learned from the day on post-it notes or you can list positives too! What a great way to come back from being sick???

 Journey of a Substitute Teacher and The Happy Teacher both had some great games/Brain Breaks that don't involve the typical "Heads Up 7 Up" (which everyone cheats at and then you have a whole other problem) or "Duck, Duck, Goose" (running in the classroom is a bad idea...)

      Included is "High/Low" which is a fun guessing game (which actually matches math standards for younger grades). Popsicle stick ideas for physical or mentally active games include I-spy, hangman, push-ups/sit ups, jumpin jacks, bingo, stretch, around the world, 20 questions, etc. Plus, having a stick that you can pull to choose the activity takes away from voting and getting angry at one another when losing.

For some extra help in the Classroom Management area, check out the First Grade Nest.  My  favorite piece of advise on this site was to focus on the positive reinforcement and using a ratio of 4:1 with 4 positive compliments for every negative thing said. We definitely need more smiles in the classroom! 

     Finally, I have the inspiration for this post and its title... Engagement Photos!! We are saving money for wedding photos, but my mom DIYed these for us this weekend and some came out beautifully!

 Visit my personal blog at barrowsbows.blogspot.com for more DIY wedding and school ideas!

     

10 Classroom Hacks You SHOULD Be Using!

Hello everyone! Today I want to talk to you all about hacks! We all know about life hacks, like how to tell if your avocado is too ripe or just right. But what about classroom hacks? There is always a teacher in every grade who has tips and tricks that they have acquired over the many years of teaching that make their classroom more organized and user friendly. One could even compare hacking your classroom to making it more align with UDL (universal design for learning) by making the whole classroom more apt for learning.

Without further ado, here are 10 classroom hacks that you SHOULD be using in your classroom!

Hack 1:  Using paint sticks as bookshelf markers!

Hack 2: Using double sided tape or hot glue over painters tape to keep things from ruining the walls and to STAY on the walls!

Hack 3: Use yard sale color dots to help making student group seating more manageable!

Hack 4: Glue pom-poms to the end of students dry erase markers for instant attached erasers!

Hack 5: Create a self-service station where students can retrieve their missed work easily!

Hack 6: Use snack sized plastic containers to hold dice! No more losing dice with this hack!

Hack 7: Hot glue tacks to wooden clothes pins to make attacking student work to bulletin boards a breeze!

Hack 8: Use plastic travel soap holders to store playing cards!

Hack 9: Use colored post-its as a system to track students. This hack works great if your classroom is set up in centers or students are at different levels doing individual work!

Hack 10: What is better than free?! With this hack you use USPS Flat Rate Boxes to help organize your student papers or your own!

I hope that you all enjoyed these classroom hacks! You can find these and more at BuzzFeed Life and Playdough to Plato!
Let us know in the comments what classroom hacks you use in your classroom!
Have a beautiful day!

Open letter... to my 2nd grade teacher.

Dear Mrs. Winder,
       You probably don't remember me, but I was in your second grade class. We had a transparent tadpole that you could see its insides. It was totally wicked! I wanted to take that frog home sooo badly, but you drew Chelsea's name. I was moving that summer to Kentucky anyway, so if tadpoles are anything like fish or hermit crabs, it would have gotten car sick anyway.
     You were my favorite teacher ever. Seriously. I remember a lot of activities we did that year. It makes no sense to remember all of it... but I do. You had us write stories where every sentence started with "fortunately" or "unfortunately". I have never forgotten those two words. Plus, when we were mixed up between where and were, you said "Where were the girls going?" I used that 14 years later to teach a student to keep them straight.
     You made learning engaging and fun for me; I always enjoyed school, but I truly became an independent learner after 2nd grade. From then on, I chose my own books, even when it was against my teachers will for me to independently read a 5th grade book in 3rd grade. Even in college, I push myself beyond what anyone expects because that's what YOU taught me to do. You never made me do anything at a 2nd grade level. You made me do it at my level!
     I hope one day I can be just like you.
     Thank you for touching my life.

Making Our Mark

Last night the Morehead State SCEC had our March members' meeting to prepare for Autism Awareness month next month. We had lots of fun creating t-shirts to wear at our awareness booth that will be set up in a few weeks as we work to raise money for Project Life Saver- a charity close to the city of Morehead's heart. Project Life Saver provides GPS bracelets/anklets to individuals who tend to run away from home or get lost easily (particularly people with Autism or Dementia). This tracker technology can help save lives and is a peace of mind for family members needing devices for their loved ones. You can visit  www.projectlifesaver.org for more information.

       Recently, we also received our officer pullovers! They are so cute and many thanks to our Treasurer, Katie, for getting a great deal on the personalization!

   The last thing we did was discuss some plans to get this blog comtinuing with the large amount of support that we have relieved these past few months. We'd like to begin a series called "Open Lettr" based on the recent popularity of letter like this that are being posted all over the Internet. We are asking for letter that can be shared on the blog that relate to education in any way- whether you have a favorite teacher who changed your life, a peer who pushed you academically, a student who questioned your ability, etc. please send your letter to kyscec@gmail.com.

Student and Teacher Discounts

Thanks to Best Colleges Online, I have recently learned about all sorts of discounts offered to teachers that only require your teacher badge! Although I'm not a teacher yet, my mom is, and I think it's about time for some mother-daughter bonding.... But if your like me and don't have your degree yet, scroll on down to the student discounts that are also available! Then, come back to the top section after you get your job.

Teacher Discounts:

• Jo-Ann Fabric & Crafts: receive 20% back on your purchases when you sign up for teacher rewards.
• Office Depot:10% back on ink, toner, paper, and most classroom supplies when you join the Star Teacher program. Office Depot also offers deals on printing and copying services.
• Book Warehouse: 15% off with a teacher ID (plus even more savings when you put in larger .
• Half-Priced Books: get 10% year round with the Teacher & Librarian Discount Card. Ask about free books, too.
• Banana Republic: 15% off any full-priced items.
• The Limited: 15% off in store.
• And much more... 

Student Discounts:

• Amazon: Free 2 day shipping for your first 6 months and discounts on Prime membership.
• Jo-Ann Fabric & Crafts: 10% off on all purchases.
• Wall Street Journal: 75% off regular rates for print, online, and mobile delivery.
• SAM's Club: discounted collegiate membership.
• J. Crew: 15% off full-priced items in store.
• Apple Store: $200 off a new Mac
• Waffle House: 10% discount
• And much more...