Calm Down Kit

And so it begins! With services starting again on September 9th, I've been prepping away at new little easy tricks for my students.  Now that I have a bit of time on my hands (let me stress on "bit"...) I've been able to organize my materials and put together new ones!

Let me introduce to you my new Calm Down Kit!:

I apologize for the darkness of the picture... I was up till after midnight adding the final touches and was so excited I couldn't wait to take a picture! :)

I don't have BoardMaker, so I've been desperately looking for visual cues to create a calm down kit. That's when I came across this lovely teacher's creation! Melissa Toth's page on TeachersPayTeachers offers an entire downloadable calm down kit using the images of BoardMaker. I couldn't be any happier!!!

For the tub, I specifically went to target and looked for ones with clips on the side, to be sure that the cover wouldn't fall off in my rolling suitcase and spent $2.50. The other little goodies I included in there were 2 rubber spike balls, timer, bubbles and animal foam fans (an elephant and a giraffe - which I found at the Dollar Tree and they were just too cute to pass up). Thinking of adding my iPod Touch in there that I don't use as much anymore...

If you don't have a laminator or the time to put together your own, she offers a pre-made laminated kit on her TpT site as well (located here). 

Highly recommend this product!!! Can't wait to try it out with my kiddos! 

New Beginning

I had such high hopes for when I first started this blog! Well, here I am again, attempting to start it back up!

I've decided to turn this into a different type of blog - something that I know quite a big about... traveling! Not your average vacation type of traveling blog... but rather a traveling teacher who travels to children's homes. Education on wheels, if you will. :) I have been providing home-based SETSS/SEIT (Special Education Teacher Support Services/ Special Education Itinerant Teacher) services since the day I earned my initial teaching certification. Unfortunately, most of the blogs and pinterest websites I come across are geared toward classroom teachers or homeschooling. I haven't been able to find many resources for the teachers who are on wheels to provide services for their students!

So, here I will share my experiences on wheels, organization ideas, program ideas and pick-up-and-go activities for teachers who travel to children's homes. More to come!

I'm sure my fellow traveling teachers know what it's like to live out of their car!

(Yes... all school supplies!!!)

Stars Wars + Teaching = Awesome Collaboration!

Great article that brings the elements of Star Wars into the world of teaching and parent-teacher involvement! I'm a Star Wars fan myself, so I found it quite cute and rather informative! :)

What 'Star Wars' Can Teach Educators About Parent Engagement

Enjoy!

First Post

Hi there!

I've had a blogger for a little while now but never fixed it up or used it for anything. Now that one of my students has sent me his blog, he inspired me to start mine up again! :)

I suppose I'll use this post to introduce myself! I am a teacher in Astoria, Queens. This is my first teaching position! :) I student taught in Bayside, Queens for the Fall 2010 semester. I graduated from SUNY Old Westbury this past december with a certification in Childhood and Special Education with a concentration in American History. I absolutely love what I do and I'm so happy to be working with some fantastic students. :)

Before I started teaching, I use to work in a library. I worked in the movie department for about 5 years for two different libraries on Long Island. So ask me anything about books, movies or the internet!

It's a beautiful day outside! I think it's time to get off the computer an enjoy it! :)

Happy weekend!