Little Alchemy

Apparently there are 270 things you can make from Water, Fire, Earth and Air.  Can you figure them all out?  What a fun website!
http://littlealchemy.com/

My first 5 minutes on the site produced this:

Spelling City

I was in the computer lab today and a teacher was using Spelling City with her 2nd grade students.  I had never heard of it before so of course I had to play.  I am impressed with the games.  It allows you to type in your own spelling words and practice them.  You can also use it to print out worksheets with the words for practice.  The kids seemed to enjoy it too!

Check it out.  A good portion of the site is free, but there is also the option to buy a subscription with individual logins and more content.

The Curriculum Scoop

The Principal and Teachers at one of my schools work together to create a bulletin board in the main hallway called "The Curriculum Scoop".  It houses all of the things related to curriculum that are going on in the school and changes weekly.  It's great because it is right at the front door so as parents and other visitors walk in, they can see the objectives being taught this week as well as examples of student projects and artwork.

I talked with the Principal about this board recently and she said she thinks it is very important to show what we are doing in the classrooms.  She does her part by meeting with the teachers once per week and asking what they will be doing with the students.  She types up all of that information and posts it on the board.

Are you doing anything similar in your school? I'd love to hear about it!

Fun Learning Activities

I found this fun site today that has a ton of great learning games for kids of all ages.  I was impressed by the real life application of many of these games (Such as Games for the Grocery Story) and how fun they would be to play!

Check the site out here:
http://www.education.com/activity/

This site is developed by education.com  Enjoy.

ADHD: A Look at the Restless Mind

My First Known Experience with ADHD 

He was known as the trouble maker that was great on the court and it didn't take long for any new person to the school to learn of him.  He had been banned from all Math classes in his school because he "wouldn't" sit still and follow the class procedures of working problems during the hour and a half class period.  He was known for dancing through the hallways, getting anyone near him to join in and for having a temper toward teachers, especially if they were more strict.  Everyone believed the only thing he excelled at was basketball and maybe that hallway dancing even though it was forbidden.  For most teachers in his school, if his name was on their roster, they would cringe knowing there would be a battle all semester.

This is the story of Ted, a student that had ADHD before anyone really put much stock in ADHD.  As his former teacher, I learned that all he needed was to release his energy and it wasn't hard to tell when he needed to, because he would make it known by tapping his pencil, fingers, feet, anything on whatever was within reach. His mind would be everywhere and he was very easily distracted.  These are typical characteristics of ADHD, but here are a few more in detail:

• Inattentive: may have unrelated thoughts, difficulty monitoring their own behavior, difficulty concentrating.  It is typical that they don't hear what you're telling them because their mind is focused on something else.  
• Hyperactive: may have trouble sitting still, may feel the urge to bounce from one activity to another rather than sticking with one.  They will start a project, then move to the next--probably without thinking about cleaning up the first one.
• Impulsive: may act before they think, have trouble waiting their turn, may seem disruptive or not follow the rules.  They may talk the entire time you're teaching or shout out answers without being called upon.

A More Personal Experience

My boyfriend, since the day I met him has said he has ADHD.  Well, I'll be honest, in the world of teaching, we tend to use those 4 letters pretty loosely.  Many will shrug it off as if it's something that people get randomly like a cold and many even believe it is a made up problem.  So, when my wonderful sweetheart said this to me, I brushed it off.  He would typically bring it up when he was so overwhelmed that he was having a very hard time focusing and sadly, this went on for over a year before I realized the pattern and started to understand that yes, this was very real.

The day it clicked, I did a simple search on google for ADHD and quickly learned how it can effect all relationships in a person's life which led me to a book called The ADHD Effect on Marriage.  This book, of course, focuses on the marriage aspect, but the lessons learned in it can stretch out to any relationship a person with ADHD has with a Non-ADHD person AND vice versa.  It is written by a Non-ADHD wife of an ADHD husband.  I would HIGHLY ENCOURAGE anyone that is friends with, partners with, married to or parents of a person with ADHD read this book.  It gives a wonderful example of the ADHD mind and gives steps to build stronger relationships when a person with ADHD is involved.

Through reading the book, I learned there are many options for controlling/handling ADHD, which include:

• Medication--most will recommend other methods are tried first and low doses should be used in the beginning.  Talk to your doctor for more information
• Keeping everything organized in your home/workspace.  Less clutter in the world allows for less distraction in the mind.
• Exercise releases overstimulation, allows stress relief and gets out excess energy
• Eating a balanced diet low in sugars, fats and processed foods can help many quite significantly as the dyes and other ingredients in these foods can stimulate parts of the brain that increase ADHD symptoms

After reading the ADHD Effect on Marriage, talking to others and discussing it with some students of mine over a presentation they gave, I realized that I'll never actually "get it", but I definitely have a better understanding now.  One of the best things that I learned is that there there are many positive aspects of having ADHD and these honestly are what make the ADHD mind so fascinating and what we, as teachers need to remember when the stressful moments take over:

• The ADHD brain is moving so quickly, students have the potential to take in more information over time and can typically manage more things if the skill is honed correctly.  Multitasking is easier!
• Those with ADHD typically have very high creativity, are able to think outside of the box and be more open minded. 
• They have loads of energy which will allow them to outlast most when focused on something.
• Hyperfocus is common.  This means that when an ADHD person find something they're interested in, they will block out the entire world and focus on that one thing.  This is why you will find them highly successful in 1 or more areas because all of their focus and energy will be spent on it. 
• They adapt to change well and can make quick decisions because their minds move so quickly.  (See the video in my students' presentation for the example of this)
• Just for fun, Parenting.com's Celebrities with ADHD

I have a totally different perspective on ADHD now, but it took me some time to get to this point and I know that I still have a lot to learn.  More to come from me on this topic I'm sure, but for now...What are your experiences and stories with ADHD? I'd love to hear them! 

You Khan Do it!

I've heard about Khan Academy many times before but never really took the time to look into it.  When I finally did look at it, I saw videos and little activities but wasn't ever really impressed due to all the other things out there.  Recently, however, Maureen Davis of Stanly County Schools, showed me how students can be added to classes, coaches can be assigned to students and all student activity and goals are tracked. The data that can be pulled from student use is phenomenal and Maureen explained that the students she had worked with were so excited to use it that it seemed an unquestionable resource to try.

I encourage you to look at the classroom management side of this totally free website and let me know what your experiences with Khan Academy are!  Have you been using it successfully for a while now?  I want to hear what you think!

Pizza-riffic Families

Wandering through the halls of one of my schools today, I found this great little collage.  A pizza glyph!  The students had different pizza toppings to include for each characteristic of their family.  For example, mushrooms show how many people are in their family, while black olives show how many boys are in their family and onions show how many pets.  What a great way to learn and share data!