As I write this post we just finished up with Letter V and are on the home stretch to finish up our first year with The Peaceful Preschool curriculum . I knew when we started this curriculum that I would be repeating it again, and my kids and I are already getting excited to start again with Letter
Access 3,000 blogs that accept guest blogging that will help you get exposure. Plus my first guest posting experience that went wrong...
Assessing student learning is often boring, but this post describes creative and fun ways to assess student learning - especially for formative assessment!
Advanced Placement Literature and Composition can be a challenge for new teachers. Here are 9 tips to get you started teaching AP Literature. These tips will help you get organized and help you focus on the core of what's the most important for teaching Advanced Placement Literature.
Guest blogger Jennifer Gonzalez proposes the In-Class Flip, a modified version of the flipped-learning model that incorporates the video lecture element as one of several stations that students visit during their class period.
Trying to elicit velar sounds in speech therapy? Read this guest post for tips and tricks on teaching /k/ and /g/!
Writers Write is a resource for writers. In this post, we give you advice on how to write dialogue in five easy steps.
Learn how to create mini anchor charts for your classroom using IKEA frames. These serve as a great visual for your students to refer to daily.
This is a guest post written by Barbara Dewey of Waldorf Without Walls in which she describes learning to read the Waldorf way.
Happy Tuesday, #TeamInclusion! I have a guest post today that co-teachers and UDL advocates will want to read and share. It’s by Dr. Deborah Taub, a UDL/inclusive ed expert and the Director of Research and Programs at Keystone Assessment. Through some short but powerful vignettes, she shows us what’s possible when co-teachers embrace UDL principles […]
Learn how to create mini anchor charts for your classroom using IKEA frames. These serve as a great visual for your students to refer to daily.
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The following is a guest post from Dr. Jacie Maslyk . A classroom of second graders listen attentively as their teacher asks for their help. “I had a rough morning and I’m hoping you can help me. My alarm clock didn’t go off this morning, so I was running late. Then, I realized that I forgot to
Effective ELL teaching strategies with our top 10 tips to support Level 1 students. Includes a free resource to help newcomers...
August 14, 2018 By Jade Collins For this guest post, we are pleased to have...
Perfect Crochet Sweater Sizing is something we all want - and Lindsey Stephens is the expert to help you look good! Guest post on Moogly!
We love 3D paper art at our house and this 3D paper lizard is a fun and artsy craft for kids. The easy lizard template is included and with some brightly colored card stock paper, you’ll have an adorable paper reptile that can be used as a fun gift tag. If you like working with…
Our final guest post of the week was written by Katie Pedersen. Katie is a full-time mommy, part-time school speech-language pathologist. She has spent most of her time at the secondary school level, and currently works as her district’s assistive technology specialist. She loves living in a beautiful little valley amid the mountains of Utah with her husband and three children, and going on outings with her family. Her newest adventure is sharing her passion for speech-language development with parents and other SLPs on her website, Let’s Grow Speech. You can also follow her on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter. I’m so excited to be joining Carrie for her Blog Birthday! She is a party animal with all of her giveaways this week. It’s so much fun being an SLP. We all remember what it was like to be a newbie, though, trying to figure out the ropes of our profession. There is definitely a learning curve, and I think every SLP would agree that he/she is still learning. For all of you recent graduates, clinical fellows, and maybe even some experienced SLPs, here are the top 5 things I wish I had known as a new SLP: 1. Use visuals and other multi-sensory approaches One of the best things I learned as a new SLP was the importance of using visual supports and other multi-sensory approaches in therapy. Visuals are an excellent way to support learning. Concepts stick with students better when they are paired with a visual, tactile, or auditory cue. I recently shared one of my favorite visual supports for scaffolding narrative interventions. I also use visuals to encourage articulation skills with my sound association cards. For my students with autism, I encourage the use of visual schedules and reinforcers to provide structure and foster independence. I have even implemented some of these strategies with my preschool daughter to help with her morning routine and managing iPad time. My poor kiddos always have their mom using therapy techniques on them at home :) 2. Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate You are surrounded by experienced professionals. Use them as a resource. One of my best mentors was a special education language arts teacher. I used a push-in model during her resource English class. We had a room full of unmotivated high schoolers who were supposed to be reading novels and writing essays, but who would’ve rather been playing video games or sleeping on their desks. I learned so much as I watched this teacher carefully select literature that would appeal to this group and scaffold writing assignments so they didn’t even realize they were writing 5-paragraph essays until they were done. After I had done a vocabulary or narrative activity with the class, I would return for my next session to find her reinforcing the concepts I had taught earlier in the week. It was brilliant! Some teachers are more willing to work with you than others, but don’t be afraid to suggest a more collaborative approach to therapy. I know it is not always feasible or best to use this type of push-in model, but there is always something to learn and to be learned between professionals. Many teachers just don’t understand what we do in our closet space and this is our chance to show them. 3. Take meaningful data Ah, data. I still don’t think I am a pro at this, but I have definitely learned a few things along the way. For my first few years, I frequently switched my approach to keeping data. Some worked better than others, but none of them were super efficient. I would spend hours transferring plus and minus signs from piles of sticky notes to therapy logs, and then when it was time for progress reports, I spent hours transferring information from therapy logs into progress reports. Luckily I had all the time in the world to stay at work until 6pm every night! I most recently discovered an organized, visual way to monitor progress using Excel spreadsheets, but then my coworker shared an awesome datatracker app she downloaded from Super Duper that essentially does the same thing with even less paperwork! It is $1.99 and well worth every cent. She is even able to email progress to parents as needed. So when should you take data? I also struggled with this one. I like to approach therapy sessions with the “I do, we do, you do” model. First, I teach and model the target concept. Then, we practice the concept together. Finally, I have the student demonstrate his proficiency with the concept. This is when I take data. 4. Make sure the student knows the goal for each therapy session. Give the what and the why at the beginning of each session. Identify your goal for the session and give the student a reason to accomplish it. Will it help him to communicate better with his friends? Will it help him to write an A+ book report that he can be proud of? When the student is struggling with motivation, you can remind him why you are doing what you doing. Too often I would go through therapy without giving my students a reason to care. 5. Have fun and be creative One reason I love being a speech-language pathologist is because I can get away with doing silly, unexpected things. I can guarantee that you will have your student’s full attention if you show up dressed as a Dumbledore for your Harry Potter unit (yes, I actually did this) or be sitting under the table when they show up for their social skills group. Use technology if you have it. Teachers Pay Teachers is a goldmine for motivating activities to use in therapy. Let your students know that you are enjoying therapy and they will enjoy it too! So… what do you wish you’d known as a new SLP? Thank you, thank you, Katie! This is great information for new (and even experienced) SLPs! I know I'm continually striving for a better/more efficient means of data collection! Katie also donated one of her Let's Grow Articulation books for my BIG giveaway! You will definitely want to check out these amazing resources!
We have a real treat today. In this guest post, Nancy shows us how she "painted" a portrait of a sweet little dog using torn scraps of colored paper on
Caramel Pear (Upside Down) Cake When I was absent from blogosphere for almost a year, I missed out reading my favourite blogs and chatting with my lovely blog friends. When I came back I found that there were many new food blogs, more than I had on my google reader! Among the lot, I found some really unique and interesting food blogs with beautiful narration and well presented food. One such blog was Look Who’s Cooking Too by gorgeous Nisha. I found her blog by accident but falling in love with her blog was no accident! Nisha shares wonderful recipes from her home and abroad, and the goodies she whips up in her London kitchen is something that will leave you drooling over your keyboard! It’s my joy to bring Nisha to Monsoon Spice kitchen. You can keep in touch with Nisha by become her friend on Facebook. The great thing about blogging is the fact that you make so many friends in the virtual world, and somewhere along the way you are so itching to meet them face to face and talk about all things food and photography related. Sia of Monsoon Spice is one person I'd like to meet some day and if lucky, get to taste some of the amazing food she makes as well. Although Monsoon Spice had a permanent position on my bookmarks bar, it was only recently that I got to befriend the gorgeous person (with gorgeous hair, if I may add) behind the blog. Thanks to Facebook, I now not only wish to see Sia, but also her lil dumpling who is simply the cutest. Caramel Pear (Upside Down) Cake Her gorgeous blog is nothing short of perfection and her recipes are worth devouring into. Her Spring Onion Moong Dal, one of my absolute favs, still saves me on a rainy day and I have bookmarked quite a few recipes to try, with the Mirch ka Achar (seriously, I'm drooling just thinking about it) she recently posted topping the list. So imagine my delight when she asked if I could do a guest post for Monsoon Spice while she was on holiday. Of course I wasn’t gonna pass and so here I am with a delicious Caramel Pear Cake which is divine and EASY. The base is a French yoghurt cake which is so easy to put together and even an amateur baker can do it. Trust me when I say that because this was the first cake I learnt to bake on my own. It has never failed me and no matter how hard you try to goof up, the end result will always be good. The cake is also my base for any fancy schmancy cakes I want to make and can easily adapt to any flavour, fruit, topping, frosting or simply on its own. I particularly like the upside down cake combo because the caramel kinda bubbles up when its baking in the oven causing an overall caramelised effect and the cake becomes more like a sponge pudding which you can never say no to. So without rambling further, here is an utterly delicious Caramel Pear Cake you can bake for the holiday season. Caramel Pear (Upside Down) Cake Recipe: Caramel Pear (Upside Down) Cake Prep Time: 20 to 30 minutes Cooking Time: 45 to 50 minutes Serves/Makes: A 9 inch cake (about 8 generous slices) Shelf Life: 3 to 4 days at room temperature Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner Spice Level: N/A Serving Suggesion: With whipped cream or even ice cream. But I love it on its own. Ingredients: For the Caramel Topping: ½ cup Dark Brown Sugar ¼ cup Unsalted Butter- 1/4 cup 150 gms Canned Pears, drained and thinly sliced (or if using fresh pears, then peel, core and thinly slice two dessert pears) For the Cake: 1 cup Plain Flour 2 tsp Baking Powder A pinch of Salt 1 cup Granulated sugar 3 Medium size Eggs ½ cup Plain Yoghurt ¼ tsp Vanilla Extract ½ cup Flavourless Oil (I used vegetable oil) Caramel Pear (Upside Down) CakeMethod: Make the Caramel Topping: Butter and line a 9 inch cake pan and arrange the pears slices in a circle at the bottom of the pan, starting from the outer edge. Keep aside. Place a saucepan over medium low heat and melt the sugar and butter. Once the mix begins to bubble and caramelise a bit, swirl the pan and if required stir using a spatula and take it off the flame. Gently pour it over the pear slices, making sure you don’t disturb the pattern. Keep aside. Caramel Pear (Upside Down) CakeMake the Cake: Centre a rack in the oven and preheat it to 175C. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Into a separate mixing bowl throw in the sugar, eggs, yoghurt and vanilla extract and using an electric beater or whisk beat it all together till well combined. Still whisking, add the dry ingredients bit by bit, making sure no traces of flour is seen once you are done. Finally, pour the oil into the mixture and using a spatula fold it in. Don’t mix it too vigorously. Pour the cake batter gently on top of the pear slices till about 3/4th full and even it out a bit, if required Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Take it out of the oven and let it stay on a wire rack for about 5 minutes after which you can say a little prayer and turn it upside down onto a serving plate. Peel off the baking paper carefully, slice into wedges and serve with love :) Caramel Pear (Upside Down) Cake Nisha's Notes: If you don’t have dark brown sugar, use the light one instead. I use a spring form pan for upside down cakes as it is much easier to work with, especially when you turn it upside down, Use a blunt knife to first run it around the edge of the pan to slightly release the cake and then invert. If any pear slice is stuck to the baking paper, don’t panic, just carefully peel it off and paste on the cake. No one would know :) It is important that you turn the cake upside down after about 5 minutes, because the caramel can harden and stick to the pan and paper, making it a difficult and messy affair You can literally use any fruit of choice and do the above procedure. I have tried the same with peaches, plums and apples and it has always worked out great.
Differentiation is the buzzword that just keeps on buzzing! Teachers, administrators, and evaluation systems are placing more and more emphasis on differentiation in the classroom. Sometimes, the thought of organizing lessons to meet the individual needs of all of your students can feel like an overwhelming challenge. One of the best and simplest ways I have found to do this is with colored pocket folders.
What Caused Your SIBO. Learn from Dr. Nirala Jacobi about the 4 main ways + SIBO Success Plan. Guest post today on A Gutsy Girl via agutsygirl.com Click SHARE below to share with friends and family.
Learn how to create mini anchor charts for your classroom using IKEA frames. These serve as a great visual for your students to refer to daily.
If you have a large nose and you're looking for tips to help draw attention to your other features, these hairstyles for big noses will inspire you!
Be sure to check out our EMBARK Girls Camp posts (based on this year’s youth theme)! A great fit for Girls Camp and full of activities you could use on any weeknight. We’ve all b…
How to rock your student teaching with tips from a recent graduate. 10 tips for a great student teaching experience. Tips for student teachers.
Want to figure out how to get stuff done and plan your week productively? So you can accomplish your goals Stay focused on the right things And knock out your to-do list Ready for this simple method to plan your week? Let’s do this! I’ll show you in this post how to use the super...
An electrician is needed to install a Steel Wire Armoured cable in a deep trench to provide mains power in your shed.
The following is a guest post from Dr. Jacie Maslyk . You could hear the chatter heading down towards the cafeteria. The noises of curious learners working and questioning. Chairs moving and the teacher getting everyone’s attention. Things got quiet. Then a countdown in unison. 3-2-1!
The more times I have people over the more I am learning how to make guests feel welcome, at home, and comfortable in my house.
A collaborative blog by Pre K and Kindergarten specialists. Child growth and development, information, free printables.
What can we do for students who are deaf and hard-of-hearing? This guest post on Speechy Musings shares a few tips for language therapy for these students.
How to protect your skin from chlorine! Easy tips everyone can use this summer to make sure you stay safe from chlorine in the pool!
Guest post by Camino artist Kate! Check out her 12 reasons to walk the Camino AND her beautiful paintings!
Jackie's apartment is the perfect definition of chic meets glam. At only 466 square feet, this studio-turned-1-bedroom is any girl's dream sanctuary. From brass accents to cosy seating, this apartment has it all. GET THE LOOK As stunning as this apartment is, it didn’t necessarily start out this way. It took a few months to create the