Birthday celebration! August 15, 2008
Posted by anne marie in General.add a comment
Well today was my Timmy’s birthday- he turned 46. For those of you who don’t know me Timmy and I have known each other for over 28 years. We met when I was hired as a teacher by a local educational collaborative to provide educational services to young adults who lived at one of the State Institutions- Monson Developmental Center. Timmy was living at MDC and had lived there since he was an infant. Our friendship was instant and led to me applying, and being granted, legal guardianship of Timmy. We have been through a lot together and I can’t imagine my life without him in it. Many people don’t understand our bond and it’s not something easily put in words… it’s something felt strongly in my heart. Anyway, tonight when he came home (he now lives in a state group home) we gave him his musical birthday card (he loves them!!). As you can see Darren (who lives with us) was eager to help Timmy open and close the card to activate the music. They had a grand time dancing and ”singing” on our porch. I just loved the pictures I took– I think they demonstrate the definition of happiness, so thought I should share! I hope everyone had as much happiness fill your night as we did.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Timmy — LOVE YOU!
Olympic Sites August 14, 2008
Posted by anne marie in ELA, SMART Board, Websites, history/social studies, sports.Tags: Olympic resources
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My husband and I have been faithfully watching the Olympics every night– very exciting, very inspiring, very fun!! I especially enjoy watching the gymnastic and swimming events(go Michael Phelps-what a wonderful role model he is!!). So since my nights are filled with Olympic history I thought I’sd share some information that might help others who are planning some Olympic lessons. The Oz Project: Beijing 2008 is a site that offers links to activities based on the Olympics. I really like this site because it shares links that work well with the SMARTBoard, designated by the symbol iwb.
The BBC Learning English Kidshas a few fun Olympic themed activities that present well on the SMARTBoard, but are not very interactive. Word Hurdles is very cute- a picture of an Olympic sport appears on the hurdle, the player has to identify the sport from a choice of 3 (must touch the keypad) and if correct, the runner leaps over the hurdle, if not the runner takes a stumble!! I Can Run is an animated song– quite cute and The First Marathonis an animated short story about the history of the marathon. So if you are looking for some fun Olympic activities for young students check these out!
Olympic Games Beijing 2008 is a wonderful site filled created by Jackie Miers with links to every resource you can imagine about the Olympics. She even has a link that she compiled of resources and information regarding China. Both site are very comprehensive and so if you are searching for specific Olympic information this might be just what you’re looking for– thanks Jackie!
eMints National Center also has a great resource page filled with links that supply facts, statistics, activities, printouts, pictures, and more regarding the Olympics.
I hope these resources are helpful– ENJOY!
Educational Resource August 13, 2008
Posted by anne marie in SMART Board, Websites.Tags: Eduation resources
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Bob’s Place of Educational Links for Students, Teachers and Parents is a jewel!! This website offers several resources and links for a variety of educational areas including SMARTBoard Resources (although some links are dead). While you’re there take a minute to check out some of the other resources (listed to the left). I especially found the Children’s Sites, Inclusive Education and Just For Fun sections to be very useful. Thanks Bob!!
Wheelchair Canopy August 11, 2008
Posted by anne marie in Special Education.Tags: Wheelchair canopy
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Today I headed to Boston for a day of fun with my two sisters– it was GREAT! While we were sauntering around Fanueil Hall ater having a delightful lunch ar Cheers, I noticed a young girl in a wheelchair and attached to the wheelchair was an apparatus over her head, giving her protection from the sun. My curiosity was peaked and I immediately thought “what a great idea” so I approached her and her parents to inquire about it. Her mom informed me that it was called a “wheelchair canopy” that was made by the wheelchair vendor who designed her chair– how cool!! I can’t believe I have never seen one of these before! It appeared to be a piece of leather over a metal frame that is attached to the back of the chair using mounting poles (easily removed). The strange thing is that Friday I attended a wheelchair fitting for my Timmy, so needless to say I will be getting in touch with his PT to have this added to our list of needs for his new chair. This will bbe perfect for Timmy since he refuses to wear a hat or hood to protect him from the sun, rain, snow, etc. If anyone has any experience using a canopy or suggestions of what works and doesn’t, I’d love to hear from you. Here are a few links I found of commercially made wheelchair canopies– Weather Breaker Canopy, Flipshield, Rollershades (this looks like what I saw today).
Notebook 10 Training August 8, 2008
Posted by anne marie in Notebook 10, SMART Board, Websites.Tags: Notebook 10, SMARTBoard
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As I mentioned in a previous post, last week I went to the Notebook 10 Training in NYC and it was great! All of these ideas on how I can incorporate some of the new features into my Notebook lessons for the start of school are running through my head. The Magic Pen is fantastic, the new properties options are awesome (especially the animation option), the Table Tool is super, the Shape Pen really cool, you can now easily incorporate Theme pages and not to mention all of the fabulous new interactive activities/games available in the Lesson Activity Toolkit- did I say YIPPPPPEEEEEEE!!!!! So as promised here are some links that I hope will help you to understand and incorporate these tools into your lessons.
All of these links are from SMART Technologies. This first link, View All Features, will supply you a brief written overview of each of the features in Notebook 10 and the following five links will bring you to Quick Flash videos on how to incorporate these individual features in your lessons. Table Tool: Create a table from the Notebook software toolbar, then insert or drag text, images and objects into any cell with ease. Magic Pen: Use this three-in-one tool to spotlight, magnify or zoom in on an image, or write notes that will disappear in 10 seconds. Draw a square to magnify an object or draw a circle to add a spotlight. Object Animation: Animate any Notebook software object with effects such as fading in, flying in or spinning. Shape Pen: Draw a freehand shape, and Notebook software recognizes it and perfects it. Create themed pages using elements such as fonts, background colors and images, and apply them to Notebook pages. Themes: Create themed pages using elements such as fonts, background colors and images, and apply them to Notebook pages.
The other place that I like to visit for wonderful tips on maximizing your SMARTBoard is the :60 Sec Tech. His videos are not only informative, but fun and enjoyable to watch. He has created some Notebook 10 videos that I highly recommend watching. These links were found on Teacher Tube: The Shape Tool Pen, The Magice Pen, and if you’re lucky enough to have a new SMART Document Camera he has created 2 videos addressing how to use this within Notebook 10 and to show science experiments in the classroom.
My hope is that this information makes it a little easier to locate some quick references and ideas regarding Notebook 10. As they say–the possibilities are endless!!!
SMARTBoard Resource August 6, 2008
Posted by anne marie in SMART Board.Tags: SMARTBoard Resource, Wikki
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Happy August Everyone!! Can’t believe in less than 3 weeks I’ll be back to school-each summer seems to go by quicker than the last. HMMMMMMMM- wonder if that has anything to do with my age?????Anyway, I came across another SMARTBoard Resource that I wanted to share. It’s actually a Wikki that I have added to my favorites and if you’re a “regular” SMARTBoard user, guaranteed you will too! Let me just say, The Magic Tunnel Template is AWESOME– make sure you check that out as this is a fabulous engaging learning tool. As I played around with this I kept finding myself saying “WOW, how cooool”!!! This WIkki even gives you tips on cleaning your SMARTBoard- YEAH! So head on over and check it out– it’s sure to put a smile on your face!
Fireflies light up some fun! August 3, 2008
Posted by anne marie in Fun, Games, SMART Board, Science, Websites.Tags: Fireflies game, Interactive, SMARTBoard
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Last night when I went to bed (looking out our brand new beautiful windows-YEAH!) I couldn’t help but notice the fireflies lighting up our back yard, like a night game at Fenway Park. Well it started me thinking about a free interactive game that I have used with the SMARTBoard, called Fireflies. You are introduced to three characters, Razlo, Raj and Clam. You have to get acquainted with their jumping abilities in order to catch the fireflies and put them in the jar! The instructions are very well explained at the start of the game, complete with demonstrations. Each character is moved using the mouse so it’s perfect for the SMARTBoard as a fun way to practice eye/hand coordination, cause/effect, counting skills, etc.
If you’re wondering what makes a firefly glow you might want to click on this link to Learn.Gentics to check out the interactive explanation (there is a full screen option). And don’t forget the wonderful, heart warming children’s book by Eric Carle, “The Very Lonely Firefly”,
about a lonely firefly who sets out one night to find some friends.
Here’s hoping your yard is filled with the glow of fireflies and fun!
