November Recap

Having been out of the blogosphere loop for  a bit I have been trying to catch up via my Bloglovin' feed and thought I'd make a note for myself of things coming up as well as others' ideas which have been shared recently which might also be helpful to others in the field of Special Needs education.

The wonderful and ever helpful Dr. Christine Reeve has posted about ways to help children give thanks as well as an upcoming blog hop starting on November the 28th.  So take a trip over and join in the fun!

It is always lovely to see the range of writing children actually can do at various stages in their school life.  A super blog post from Christine over at Holding Hands and Sticking Together shows lots of real examples of her children's work as well as some great inspirational books and prompt sheets to get children writing.  Go check her out at http://ckisloski.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/writing-about-books.html

Another great blog post I found was about sensory processing disorder with a super infogram (I love visuals!!) check it out at http://theadventuresofroom83.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/wiggle-worms-bouncing-beans-and-tapping.html
A lot more children are being diagnosed or are thought to have this disorder now in mainstream classes so it is a really useful tool to help those children who may be struggling with this.  And over at http://www.autismclassroomnews.com/2014/11/3-ways-to-teach-replacements-or-coping.html you can read about teaching coping strategies for children who have this disorder.

Stephany over at tutoringsuppliesbydesign.blogspot.com doesn't post often but when she does it's always an interesting one and for November she has focused on useful strategies to benefit visual learners and has gone into some detail on this.  I love it when there are actual examples to follow :)

I have got more into work baskets as an idea for helping and supporting children learn and practice and become independent in the classroom so I always enjoy looking at what others have come up with so check out http://funinecse.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/work-task-wed.html for some good ideas and colourful photographs.

As I have many fingers in many pies I am always looking out for new ideas on how to raise funds for school so I was happy to learn about "Colour Runs" which I feel sure will be something that I will be helping to organise once we return to warm weather - check it out at:
http://www.theprimarypack.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/fundraising-for-your-school-thats.html

Another problem some children have is with their working memory and over at A Special Sparkle - http://www.aspecialsparkle.com/2014/11/misunderstanding-functions-of-working.html Lisa has collected a whole load if helpful information on it and ways to make a difference to those students who need support.

And finally everyone loves a freebie, right?  So here are two very special ladies who are offering not one, not two but many freebies during this last week of November and into December.
Jamie at http://www.notsowimpyteacher.com/2014/11/12-gifts-for-you.html is announcing her special offer

and

the marvellous and talented Krista Wallden has come up with a wonderful idea

so head over to her TpT store by clicking on the poster above and download her first week's freebies and pass on the love :)

Wow - I'm so grateful I've now come to the end of nearly 250 bloglovin' catch ups - but it was well worth it and once again I've learnt so much from reading others' blog posts - so a big thank you to all those special people who keep going!!

Let me know what you think or have you got any other November posts you want to share?  I'd love to hear from you :-)

Freebie Friday - TBA

Thought I'd join in with the fun over at Teaching Blog Addict

and post my newest freebie that I created this week and shared on this blog on Tuesday.

Click on the penguin for your alphabet matching pack!

Also to give a heads up about others who are sharing this Friday including Elementary Matters who has a whole host of December themed giveaways covering a plethora of subjects including music :) as well as a bunch of ideas and a special freebie on improving reading for children.  Go and check her out!

Have a great weekend and I'd love it if you left me a comment if you download this resource :-)

Wordless Wednesday - Have I Got your Attention?

Just like children, something happens outside the window that's way more interesting than what you have to say!!  In this case, a large crow had the audacity to land in the garden!

P P P P Penguin!

Finally, I am back.  Life has been well just don't ask - we know what can happen and when it does you just have to ride the wave and hope you come out the other side and that's where I seem now to have ended up so I can get back to a bit of more normality and blogging.

Penguins seem to be featuring large at the moment and I can't watch the John Lewis ad without tears streaming down my face (what is wrong with me???)  I am hoping if I watch the ad over and over again I will be able to control my emotions when I no doubt see it in the company of others or else my secret is out I am an emotional wreck!!

So to honour penguins and give something back to all those who might have been missing me or at least wondering where I've been I created a little penguin alphabet set with a few ideas on how they could be used but if you can think of any other ways then please leave a comment below.

Just click on the penguin above to download.  Please remember that permission must be gained from myself if you wish to use my clipart other than in your own classroom.  Many thanks :)