Just Different

Early numeracy skills are the foundation for math success in school and beyond. These skills include counting, number recognition, comparing and manipulating quantities, and understanding patterns. But did you know that counting and number recognition are not the first math skills that students need to learn? Matching and imitating are important prerequisites to counting and number recognition. They are essential early numeracy skills. Matching Matching is a prerequisite for counting. When children are able to match two sets of objects, they are learning that each set has a corresponding number. This is an important step in understanding the concept of counting and latter skills like addition. Imitation Being able to copy models with blocks helps build a foundation for math skills. When children are able to copy a model, they are learning about spatial relationships and how to manipulate objects in space. This is an important skill for understanding concepts such as geometry and m

As a Christian small business owner or entrepreneur, it is important to reflect monthly on your goals and progress. This will help you to stay on track and make sure that you are making progress towards your goals. It will also help you to identify any areas where you need to improve. How do you do that as a Christian ? Set aside time Set aside some time each month to reflect. This could be an hour at the end of the month or a longer period of time on the weekend. Have a conversation with God about your past month! Reflect on what happened  First, you should take some time to review your mission. Do you have a business mission verse? Think about your month in light of that.  Pray and ask God to remind you how you spent your time. Ask him to bring to mind the biggest lessons he taught you.  Get personal: Ask God to show you how he is changing you! God cares more about us than about what we accomplish! Ask God what you should focus on next Keep track of monthly, quarterly and yearly

So... I was out several days a bit ago. But, as a special ed teacher, I sometimes have a hard time writing sub plans. I wonder if I'm just being dramatic about something that all teachers have to do, but then I stopped to think about it. Here's an example of why it's hard.  Say for one portion of the day, a gen ed teacher decides to write in their sub plans to have their kindergarteners color for 30 minutes. The teacher might have to add in the plans that "So-and-so is the paper passer and so-and-so is the crayon box helper." Other than that, the plan is solid for that 30 minute time block.  Now for me--same activity--this I what I have to explain in the sub notes:  Students may choose between using crayons , dot markers , or regular markers , but A and B students need to use dot markers. So-and-so uses a slant board to put the paper at a better angle. X, Y, and Z kids need to use the lightboard to select a color and to color on top of because they have vision im

Fireworks for New Year’s Eve are a worldwide tradition. I, for one, love New Year’s Eve because it is a holiday celebrated by the entire world, as far as I know. But imagine if you have a sensory sensitivity or get overwhelmed by excess stimulation. Fireworks shows could be completely terrifying. If I put myself in the shoes of someone with autism, I imagine that by could be scared out of my mind, completely confused, and baffled by the reactions of other people.  I wrote a social story to help with this sort of situation. My goal with this book was to help kids understand why fireworks are being used—people think they are exciting and use them to celebrate various events—and how they can cope around fireworks.  One page of the book In book the book, I explain what may seem obvious to us, but not to a child: that fireworks will not come near you or hurt you. Some strategies mentioned that a child can use to cope with fireworks are: * keeping a comfort item with them * wearing noise c

Conversion rate Have you ever wondered what the conversion rate is on your TPT product statistics page? Or have you wondered what to do with that little number? For me, yes and yes.  Well, I don’t know yet what to do with it but I’m going on a journey to find out.  The conversion rate is the number of people who buy your product divided by the number of people who view your product. In other words, after people take a look at it, how many actually buy it?  Why is this useful? Imagine if you went to buy a new phone and the newest released version with all the bells and whistles was $200. After you investigate to make sure this is the real deal, you are convinced this is a genuine great deal. My guess is you would buy it then and there and so would 100% of everyone who sees that deal will also buy it. That product conversion rate is 100% and clearly the price is way too low. If the phone manufacturer increases the price to $800 they will still get lots of people to buy it because that’s

Autism awareness month For our students with autism, there are a few areas of need that can be unique (compared with other students in the classroom). I like to focus on safety, communication and social skills, just to name a few. Here are some resources for those needs.  And it's a SALE!! APRIL 5 - 8!! Safety The National Autism Association reports this startling statistic:  “In 2009, 2010, and 2011, accidental drowning accounted for 91% total U.S. deaths reported in children with an ASD ages 14 and younger subsequent to wandering/elopement.” [Autism & Safety Facts. National Autism Association. Web. 9 May 2016.] Print and laminate this book to pre-teach children what to do around water. Clear and simple illustrations help students focus on the main point. Repetitive text helps students remember what to do. At the end are five comprehension questions to check the students’ understanding. The story and questions are also available on Boom Learning:  Communication If you have a s