Thursday, October 9, 2014

Let's Get This Party Started! (or Keep it Going?)

What's up blogging land?  
So glad you came to visit today as we're keeping this October Fun Party rollin'!


Here's one of the cuties you'll receive up close!


I also uploaded a new Halloween product today, Interactive Haunted House!  It's a color and black and white picture of a haunted house.  Then I've added to the packet 10 pages of interactive flaps that you can add to the house.  This would be a fun project for a Halloween Party for sure.  You can view this product here!


Once again, thanks for visiting and until tomorrow!  Make sure to stop by to see what clip art goodness I have for you next...

All My Best,

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

October Fun Continues...Free Halloween Glitter!

Let's continue with this October Fun!  I'm joining up with Mel from Graphics from the Pond and her October Fun linky party for the entire month!  What?  
 Yes, you heard me right!  There are a bunch of TpT clip artists (including me!) that are offering fun clips for the entire month of October.  I'm so happy to be participating in this because October is my birthday month and Halloween ROCKS!  It's always been my favorite holiday, so here's your exclusive freebie set, complete with glitter, from Creative Playground!

Just click on the picture above to access this clip art set! 
Here's one of the stylin' Draculas up close...

I really hope you've enjoyed the exclusive clips I've provided these past three days;)  If you download, I'd LOVE to hear from you, as I have no way of knowing how many people are downloading the exclusive clips.  So if you wouldn't mind, just leaving me some love below; heck, it could just be a "Hi" or your name and I'd be happy!

Have a wonderful day my friends,

Monday, October 6, 2014

What's Your Teacher Superpower? Mine May Be a Surprise to You...


I know as an educator you've seen this meme around on shirts and posters.  You may even have one hanging in your classroom...



Believe me, I hear ya and I'm shouting that phrase from the mountain tops as a teacher myself!  But today, I want to show you the poster I have hanging in my office at home, which to me is more important than the one above:


 I decided to have my Garyn at a later age in life...I wanted to be financially set and have my career running strong.  So I had all those things and along he came.  He came to me 2 months early, weighing only 4 lbs and could fit inside one of my hands.  He appeared to be healthy, but I knew as a Special Educator that he may have cognitive and physical delays in his development.  But that was OK with me, because he was my Angel sent from above.


When he got to Preschool, he began to have problems.  I knew he was very, very smart, but I also had that Mommy intuition that something just wasn't right with my little man.  When I heard he had hit his teacher when she was trying to get him from under the sand table, I knew my intuition was correct.  I took him to the doctor looking for answers.  I left with a referral to an Autism Specialist at a hospital two hours away.  
My heart was broken and I've never, ever felt so helpless in my life.  Not only was I a Special Educator at work, but now I'd be one at home too.  I cried, and cried, and cried.  My son Garyn had Autism and as his Mommy there was nothing I could do to fix it.

Well, I'm here with you three years later and guess what?  As Pete the Cat would say, "Everything is good!"  My son Garyn is now 7-years-old, and has Asperger's Syndrome.  He's an Aspie (someone with Asperger's) which is a form of Autism.  Autism is a developmental condition that is on a spectrum, with Aspergers being on the far right.  He has a full-scale IQ that is near genius; I knew he was very smart.  But his social IQ is that of someone with a Cognitive Impairment.  So, basically he's a genius with a mental impairment.  Crazy, I know.  Right?



As a teacher you may have a student(s) in your classroom with Autism; you may even have some unidentified Aspies in your classroom right now!  These are the kids that are super book smart, but can't make a friend and may be a social outcast in your room because their "weird".  They may appear to have ADHD, with the attention span of the Road Runner...Beep, Beep!  They finish their work and they're off runnin'.

Well, as a Mommy to the best Aspie in the world AND a teacher, I bring to you today some tips and tricks as how to handle and work with students with Asperger's Syndrome.  Hopefully, I can shed some light on the topic and make your days a little brighter!

So here we go... Let's learn about teaching your Aspie.



1)  Students with Aspergers will have sensory issues.  This means that all their senses will be affected throughout the day in some way or another.  Some Aspies have senses that are HYPERACTIVE like my son's, or they may be UNDER ACTIVE also.  In my son's case, each and everyone of his senses are in overdrive 24/7.  For example, at school, he can't eat in the lunchroom because the smell of all the food will make him crazy.  It will literally hurt is brain (his words).  So in your classroom, it's best not to have any air fresheners.  I know, I love them too!  You also should dim your lights (affects their sight) and not have any background music playing (affects their hearing).

2)  Aspies appear to have ADHD; just like "normal" students they need frequent brain breaks during the school day.  But they will need them more often~as much as one break in between each lesson.

3)  Please don't punish your Aspie for their behavior.  It's really not their fault for how they act.  It's their brains fault.  Trust me, if they could redo the calling out and rude comments that magically come out of their mouths, they would.

4)  Don't put your Aspie in a Time-Out.  A Time-Out is related to negative behaviors.  Instead, put them in a Take-a-Break area.  Have a special place for them to go in your room that is away from everyone else, it may be darker, behind a partition maybe.  But they need somewhere to go when their senses start to go into overdrive.  That's when their undesirable behaviors start to occur, which no one wants to happen.  Even them.


5)  Have a Caring Classroom, Fill-Your-Bucket, Brag Tag, SOMETHING in your classroom that is set up to assist your Aspie.  They need to feel like their environment is a safe place, one free from bully taunts and teases.  They WILL be teased so try to have a place where it's least likely for that to happen.

6)  Those with Asperger's Syndrome CANNOT read facial expressions!  You know that mean Teacher-Look that you have?  Forget it.  Look at your Aspie like that and they might even laugh back at you!  They don't understand facial expressions; they won't know if your mad, sad, happy, or disappointed with them by your face.  So you'll have to use visual and verbal cues instead.  For example, with my son, his teacher and myself use a thumbs-up, or one or two finger system with him.  If we put up one finger, he's not talking on topic.  If we put up two fingers, he's still off-topic and needs to just stop talking.  Period.  So have some system in place for them that's not some facial expression.

7)  If at possible, allow them to leave the classroom if they need to.  My son has a full-time aide at school.  When he feels like his senses are about to escalate, him and his aide go for a quick walk around the campus.  He needs to be out of the situation to get himself together.

8)  Have a system in place that you will be in constant contact with their parents.  A daily note, phone call, email...whatever.  Just make sure to let the parents know if they had a bad day especially because they may still be in a bad mood when they get home.  Prepare the parents for this by letting them know ahead of time.

And lastly...

PLEASE, even though my son drives you crazy, LOVE him like I would.  I'm not at his school to be with him, but YOU are.  I'm trusting you that you'll give him the love he needs to make it through the day and be as successful as he can.

I've put together the tips and tricks from above into two handouts for you!


I know this was a long post and I thank you for making it all the way through it!  If you ever have any questions or would like to talk to me about your Aspie, please feel free to contact me.  My email is listed on the handouts above.

Have a wonderful day my new friends and until later...Teach on!

Sincerely,


Sunday, October 5, 2014

October Fun Continues! More Free Clip Art...




Happy Sunday to you all!  Let's keep the fun rolling with Mel's (Graphics from the Pond) October Fun!




Here's what I have for you today!  A matching Ms. Dracula to the Mr. Dracula I gave you yesterday.  I really hope you like her;)



Make sure to visit tomorrow to see what goodies I have for you...  I'd love to hear what clip art images you  might like me to make for some freebies!  Leave your requests in the comments below and I'll see what I can do!

Until tomorrow,

Saturday, October 4, 2014

October Fun! Clip Art Freebie

Hello friends!  I'm so excited that it's October...It's so fun to celebrate Halloween AND it's my birthday month!  

I'm joining in with Mel from Graphics from the Pond for what she's called October Fun!  A group of clip artists have joined together to share with you FUN for the entire month of October!  Which is awesome because 1)  It's my favorite month and 2) It's my birthday month (ok, I know I already said that, but I just love October!)  So anyhoo, for October Fun, us clip artists will be sharing with you FREE clip art from out TpT Stores, Facebook, and right here on our blogs.  How awesome is that?  I told you...October Rocks!


So let get this partay started right!  Here's my October Fun Freebie for you today friends!

I even jazzed it up with glitter.  What!  I know, right?  That's awesome.  I told you October Rocked!  Just click on the image above and grab your Dracula images and make sure to check back tomorrow for more October Fun goodness!

Peace out until tomorrow friends,

Thursday, October 2, 2014

October Treat (Not a Trick!)

Hello all!  It's time for Farley's October Currently!  And here's what's on my mind right now...

Listening~  I'm a HUGE music lover...my favorite is honestly rap music, especially old-time rap music.  Right now, I'm listening to a song from Eminem, whom I just adore!  Pandora, if you're not aware, is a music feed through your computer that you can choose your favorite music, songs, genre, and it will play them all for as long as you're logged into the site.  Best thing since white bread, for sure!

Loving~  Please, please, please come visit my new collaborative blog, The Primary Pack, which is made from ideas from over 30 bloggers!  We just launched our new blog yesterday, and are having a huge giveaway as we speak!  So head on over to the Primary Pack, meet all the bloggers, get some awesome freebies, and enter to win some gifts totaling over $300!

Thinking~  You guys (and gals) my birthday is on October 30.  I have absolutely LOVED my birthday ever since I was born.  I love to dress up and wear outrageous wigs.  I secretly think that's one reason why I became a teacher...I could have an excuse to dress up for Halloween as an adult!  But this year my b-day is bittersweet.  I will be 39 years old, and that officially makes me old.  I don't feel old, don't think I look old, but I AM OLD.  And that's bringing me down this year.

Wanting~  Hunington Bank...hurry up and direct deposit my pay check.  Momma has some bills to pay, like right now!

Needing~  My son is really into the cartoon Adventure Time right now and has been wanting to be Finn from the show, like forever!  I have to get the costume (as soon as Hunington Bank gets on the ball) so he'll stop reminding me about it.  I'm going to be Princess Bubblegum from the show!  According to my son, I can't be Princess Bubblegum.  I look more like Marceline, according to him.  She's the vampire rocker that floats around with a guitar.  So, I think he's telling me I'm not Princess material.  OMGosh, see I told you my birthday is making me look old!

And finally, I have a treat!  For the launch of the Primary Pack, I'm giving away a huge clip art set that is yours for free!  Head on over to my TpT store and grab it while you can my friends.  


And happy October to you all!

Introducing the Primary Pack!


I am so excited and blessed to have the opportunity to work behind the scenes with the fabulous bloggers of The Primary Pack!  We are collaborating to bring you a rainbow of ideas!  Make sure you follow along to grab a bunch of colorful freebies, as well as enter our giveaway with $300 worth of prizes!


http://theprimarypack.blogspot.com/
Hello friends!  My name is Cara Taylor and I'm blogging from Creative Playground.  I'm so, so happy to be part of a new collaborative blog, The Primary Pack!  Just a little about me...

I love many things, but these are a few that make me REALLY happy!
I had a blast this past summer in Las Vegas at the first annual TpT Sellers Conference.  The highlight of my trip was getting to see my honey Johnny...

My family is very dear to my heart.  The number one person being my son Garyn!  He is seven years old now and I just love taking pictures of him.  I have a gazillion pictures of him, but here's just one of us at our local Butterfly Garden.

I adore my job as a teacher and have been an educator for the past 17 years!  Most of those years have been in upper elementary, in grades 3, 4, and 5.  I love to take funny pictures with my students also.

My birthday just happens to fall on the day before Halloween, so that gives me an excuse to dress up for Halloween at school.  I've been everything from a pumpkin and Little Red Riding Hood, to a ghost bride!

So there's a little (or a lot!) about me and there are 30 of us educators here at the Primary Pack.  I urge you to check out all of us with the button below, where you can meet everyone and learn more about us.  One of the best thing about introducing our new blog, is that the Primary Pack is hosting a giveaway with tons of fabulous prizes!

Enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

I have an awesome freebie for you!  I created these Crayon Cuties as a way to celebrate our new collaborative blog, The Primary Pack.  Just click on the image below to get your set of free clip art images!

 Hop along to meet our other bright bloggers and to grab a rainbow of freebies!
 

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

The Best Pumpkin Read-Alouds Ever!

Happy October to All, from Creative Playground!  This is my most favorite holiday hands-down (could be because my birthday is on Hallow's Eve!).  So let's begin this celebration with some wonderful read-aloud books for your classroom.




Do you have any favorite pumpkin books to add to the list?  I'd love to hear them; leave me a comment and I can add them to the list!

Have a Wonderful Day my friends,