My first Currently Linky!

Although one of my favorite linky parties to read about is the Currently Linky hosted by Farley over at Oh' Boy Fourth Grade, I have never participated.  I am so happy to be joining the crew.  All of you veteran Currently bloggers, let me know what you think!  I'm excited to join you.

So I'm listening to Pandora in my new car whenever I can!  I got a CR-V this week and it syncs up with the Pandora on my phone and that is just the coolest feature I think a car could ever come up with. I am loving many other aspects of my new car, but Pandora gets an extra smile from me!

I'm absolutely, without a doubt, 100%, completely loving this summer vacation.  This year was much harder than other years have been and I grew a lot as a professional this year, but it also makes me really appreciate some time for myself.  I have spent time with family, caught up with friends, planned lots of fun activities, cleaned through my condo to make some donations, cooked interesting food, snuggled with my pup, and rested!  I am trying to stay balanced and get a little work done, but I am so much enjoying this time for me.  There is a lot to love right now.

I am thinking about all of the wonderful, relaxing things yet to come this summer (a trip to the Bahamas!!) and also keeping one foot firmly planted in my summer school students and their needs and my eyes looking toward next year and how I can prepare.  I'm trying not to overdo anything this summer so I've been keeping lists (me...lists...no way!) to make sure that when summer ends, I am happy and well rested and well prepared for next year.

Because I have a tendency to focus on doing the necessary things now and relaxing later, I am wanting to make sure I make time for those wonderful activities that make me balanced and happy.  Spending time with friends, eating good food, doing new activities, resting, quilting, baking, all of those things that bring me to my zen place need to find their place in my to-do list for next year!

Are you seeing a theme here?  I need to make sure I stick to my promises to myself about relaxing!!

So my tips for getting that done?  A little bit of work and a little bit of fun every day!  It may be a little less adventurous when I plan out my fun time into a to-do list, but it makes sure that I am giving myself what I need and giving my future students what they need.  3 weeks in and I think it's been working really well so far.

What are you currently up to my fellow bloggers?

Adie

An honor!

In this world of teaching where so much of what you do goes unseen by the world around you any appreciation and complements mean the world.  It's why I love reading the cards my students and their parents write at the end of the year - I get a glimpse into how they really feel about me even if it was primarily unspoken.  So imagine my surprise to be asked to be a "focus teacher" for Impatient Optimists - Bill and Melinda Gates' blog!

I was recommended by someone still unknown by me for my work in the classroom with my diverse students.  I don't have much more to say but that I am humbled beyond words and hopeful that reading this article makes others feel more comfortable approaching the CCSS with their diverse kiddos.  Happy Reading!

Adie

Next Year Linky

What?  Next year?  Already?  Yup!!!  I'm linking up with Kim at Finding JOY in 6th Grade to set some goals for next year (that I hope you'll all hold me to)!  We are done with school on Friday so it seems more than appropriate timing for me.  When are you done?

The wonderful paraprofessionals that I work with take lots of data and collect work samples to supplement the time that I spend with students.  This is invaluable because I have four rooms and I bounce between them and inevitably, something exciting happens when I'm not there.  The data helps drive instruction and track progress toward IEP goals, but when I get in the room the first thing I want to do is spend time with the kids.  I need to get better at checking the data binder first!  I just get so excited about seeing where my little ones are and marveling at the progress they are making!!

At my K-8 school, we have some wonderful opportunities for big kids and little kids to connect and build relationships.  We have had a couple of kindergarten students who need help on the play yard - finding things to keep them busy, figuring out how to interact with their peers, solving little scuffles, etc.  We recruited some "big buddies" to hang out with groups of kindergarten students and help with those challenges, but having a more formal program next year would be fabulous!  The upper grade students (6-8th) have the same lunch time as the little ones (K-1st) so it works out well.  It makes lunch time so wonderful for kids who would struggle otherwise, so I want to make sure we have a great program next year!

Great things happen every day and I want to share them with you but I keep coming to the problem that there are no pictures to show you.  My cell phone is permanently attached to me so I just need to get better at taking those pictures to show you!

And then I'll be able to blog more examples of how I teach students with a variety of disabilities with my many diverse students who don't have disabilities.  I appreciate the supportive comments you've all given me, and it just makes me want to show you more!

What are you going to do next year??

Adie

Adios National Boards

Alright, alright, I know I've included my National Boards in more than one past post, but this is hopefully one of the last posts on the topic! I took my comprehensive exam yesterday (the do-you-know-everything-about-special-ed test)!!! It was 3 hours, 6 essays on different topics and it was exhausting!!! I hope I was able to show everything I know on those essays!!

So that's it...for now! Sometime around Thanksgiving I'll find out how I did. You don't have to hear about it at all between now and then, I promise!

Is anyone out there starting in on the process now? If you WANT tips for getting through the process, I'm happy to share my wisdom! 

Feeling much lighter today!

Adie 

Linking up to Share my Summer Bucket List

What?  Summer already?  We have 11 days of school left and most of the "big stuff" is all done.  I still owe you pictures from our fabulous Annual Project day, but for now, just trust me that it was amazing. This week we have "Buddy Days" where the future kindergarten students come visit for the afternoon and they get a campus tour from a current kindergarten student!  Just signs that the year is ending! So.......I'm joining the Summer Bucket List Linky Party over at Miss Kindergarten!

1. Yoga!  I know I shared how much yoga has been helping my recent back injury and I'm so excited to keep going and become stronger and healthier!

2. Read for fun!  I want to catch up on all those books sitting on my Kindle app just because it is fun for me.  Any recommendations for fun books to read?

3. Check off some Pinterest cooking/baking/DIY projects!  I got a lot of organizing done over Winter Break but I have pinned many things since then.  Top projects to complete: Finish my quilt and start a new one!  Which one do you like best?

4. Travel!  I'm going to see my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Israel in June and a new cousin will be born while I'm there :).  I'm also going on a one week trip with my other grandmother to London just for fun.  My best friend and I always plan a trip - we're considering Florida and Oregon, what do you think?  AND I want to make it out to Texas to meet a dear friend's new addition!  That's a lot of time at the airport, eek!

5. Hit some milestones - 100 TpT products available.  100 blog followers. Any others I should aim for?

6. Do lots of fun things that aren't on my bucket list!  I just want to enjoy LA in the summertime and see friends and eat good food and relax by the water and hike.  Unexpected adventures are the goal!

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's plans for summer!

Budding Blog Linky Party

A Linky Party for Budding Bloggers? That sounds perfect for me! I can't believe I've been blogging nearly 2 months now. I have enjoyed it so much, I can't wait to connect with more amazing bloggers and make myself a better teacher!  So I'm linking up with Jess over at I {heart} Recess for her Budding Blog Linky Party!

1. Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging because my friend and colleague, Vanessa from Kindergarten Schmindergarten, kept raving about it and about the amazing people she was connecting with through their blogs.  I started two months ago when I had some time (thank you, spring break!) and I haven't looked back since.  I love it!

2. What is your favorite subject to teach and why?

I have a general education and a special education credential, but I LOVE being a special education teacher.  I have the opportunity to collaborate with some amazing general education teachers to figure out how to help all of our students access the curriculum.  For some students, this means providing them with some accommodations, but for other students this can be a complex puzzle with no easy answer, but after trying different options and learning about my individual students, it feels so wonderful to find the way that best meets their needs.

3. Describe your teaching style.

I believe every student can learn in a room with their peers.  The world we live in is a diverse place and learning to work together and value each other's strengths builds a community full of compassionate, resourceful people.  My little people know that everyone learns in their own way and at their own pace, but that everyone deserves respect for their hard work and everyone should be proud of their own achievements.

4. Give three interesting facts about you.

-I love traveling around the US (especially road tripping!), my best friend and I plan at least one trip every summer going to a new destination.  We haven't figured out our summer trip for this year yet...any ideas?

-I grew up in New England (4 years in Boston, 5 years in Connecticut, 9 years in Rhode Island) and no matter how many years I spend in LA, I will always be a New England girl at heart!

-I didn't learn how to whistle until I was in college.  That is not for a lack of trying, but it took me that long to figure it out!

5. Do you have a TpT store?
YES!  I have a TpT and a TN store.  Check them both out!

Looking forward to meeting other Budding Bloggers!

Adie

Word problems in action!

Sorry I've been MIA for a little while!  I hurt my back very badly a few months ago and I just started taking yoga classes to help me heal.  They are so amazing for my back that I go every chance I get so I've been neglecting my blog a bit - sorry!  I'm back now!

Do you remember my differentiated word problem curriculum (available at my TpT and TN stores)? I blogged about it here.  Well I finally have pictures for you of my kids working hard to solve word problems at their level.

This picture shows the book that most of my kindergarten students were using. It had a word problem with the key information underlined to help cue them in to it.

This picture shows a table of busy bees each with their own pile of word problems and their own solving book.  Each student could pick the problem they wanted to do next, glue it in their book, and solve away!


This student was so proud to show me that she found a problem with cookies in it!  That made her really excited to solve the problem!  Mmmmmm!


This student was able to read the text of the problem independently and was so proud to sound out the words to figure out how to solve.


These two friends were working side-by-side solving word problems at their own level.  You can see one student has a simplified problem, but they are good friends and wanted to solve problems sitting together and now they can despite their different academic levels.


I've had happy solvers for several weeks as we've been working on these books.  We are just about to do our post-assessment to determine how our students' scores went up over the course of this IWT cycle.  I think the results will be really exciting.

Off to yoga class again!

Adie