Miss Ryder and Mrs. Noyes’ Classes
Today we continued our read a loud: “Rules” by Cynthia Lord
Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She’s spent years trying to teach David the rules from “a peach is not a funny-looking apple” to “keep your pants on in public”—in order to head off David’s embarrassing behaviors.
But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a surprising, new sort-of friend, and Kristi, the next-door friend she’s always wished for, it’s her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal?
Twelve-year-old Catherine has conflicting feelings about her younger brother, David, who is autistic. While she loves him, she is also embarrassed by his behavior and feels neglected by their parents. In an effort to keep life on an even keel, Catherine creates rules for him (It’s okay to hug Mom but not the clerk at the video store). Each chapter title is also a rule, and lots more are interspersed throughout the book. When Kristi moves in next door, Catherine hopes that the girl will become a friend, but is anxious about her reaction to David. Then Catherine meets and befriends Jason, a nonverbal paraplegic who uses a book of pictures to communicate, she begins to understand that normal is difficult, and perhaps unnecessary, to define. Rules of behavior are less important than acceptance of others. Catherine is an endearing narrator who tells her story with both humor and heartbreak. Her love for her brother is as real as are her frustrations with him. Lord has candidly captured the delicate dynamics in a family that revolves around a child’s disability. Set in coastal Maine, this sensitive story is about being different, feeling different, and finding acceptance. A lovely, warm read, and a great discussion starter.
The kids love the book!
Miss Hebert’s Class
Today we continued our read aloud: “Granny Torrelli Makes Soup” by Sharon Creech
Twelve-year-old Rosie and her best friend, Bailey, don’t always get along, that’s true. But Granny Torrelli seems to know just how to make things right again with her interesting stories and family recipes. It’s easier to remember what’s important about love, life, and friendship while Granny Torrelli makes soup.
Rosie’s story unfolds first, over making and eating zuppa, and then Granny Torrelli tells parallel stories from her own childhood to help Rosie with her current predicament. Granny Torrelli’s tales are laced with endearing, fun-to-say Italian: “I didn’t like it, not one piccolino bit,” as is her attempt to help Rosie mend her rift with her best friend Bailey (“That Bailey boy!”), for whom she’s starting to feel more-than-friendship feelings. The details of both Rosie’s and Granny Torrelli’s respective stories are often quite funny (from Braille jealousy to secret guide-dog training for the legally blind Bailey). But, as usual, what Creech does best is slyly proffer small, nourishing morsels of wisdom–not unlike the cavatelli, the “little dough canoes,” that Rosie, Granny Torrelli, and that Bailey boy labor over in the book’s sweet second half.
The kids love the book and also are enjoying learning some new Italian words!
3rd Grade Boys’ Group
No group today due to the character parade!
3rd Grade Girls Group
Today we started a new group! We read the book “I Am Utterly Unique” and then the girls came up with descriptions of themselves for each letter of their names! What a fun group this is going to be!
4th Grade Girls Group II
Today the girls worked on their speeches for a class debate. They did a terrific job!
Happy Weekend Everyone!
A Thrilling Thursday!
6th Grade Girls
Since we have heard some concerns from teachers as well as some grumblings from the girls, Mrs. Agins and I presented a two day mini-workshop on relational aggression for all 6th grade girls. Classroom teachers also participated and we all had an excellent discussion about peer relationships and how to stand up for oneself and each other when the drama starts. The girls did a fabulous job of expressing their concerns. We also provided the girls with some strategies to use when confronted with relational aggression.
5th-6th Grade Social Thinking
Today we started a new activity! “The Diary of a Social Detective”….a book that follows a boy who tries to solve the social mysteries of his friends! Today’s story: “The Mystery of Back Away Bobby”.
The kids did a great job!
8th Grade Boys
Another lovely group – we talked about high school course selection and then about pediatricians…..I let Mr. A. take charge of that conversation!!!! Some time playing basketball was also included!
5th Grade Girls
Oh the excitement of this group! I cannot get a word in edgewise! Lots of stories and Happy Happenings to share! We also celebrated Mr. A.’s birthday!
6th Grade Girls
After sharing a million Happy Happenings we continued with our discussion about “Mean Girls”……the girls felt really positive about our group work with the 6th grade girls.
7th Grade Social Thinking
It seems like it has been such a long time since we have had group! Today, I let the boys work cooperatively as a group! They were fabulous!
Once Upon A Mattress….Wonderful rehearsal today!!!!!!
A great day was had by all!
A Wonderful Wednesday!
Mrs. Pescatello and Mrs. Temel’s (Mrs. Cravinho) Classes
Today we finished our read-aloud: Jackson Whole Wyoming by Joan Clark
His classmates have identified him as a friend of Jackson, who has Asperger Syndrome, and now Tyler is tormented by what that means in terms of his own personality. Over the course of this highly readable and swift-moving middle-grade novel (2nd to 6th grade), Tyler resolves this issue and in the process recalls incidents from previous school years, growing in his understanding of this unusual classmate. Written by a speech-language pathologist who works with children with autism spectrum disorders, this novel belongs on the library shelf of any classroom.
The kids were awesome….they love read-alouds and had some great commentary! Now on to the next book!!!!
5th Grade Girls Social Thinking
The girls shared Happy Happenings and then they took a social thinking quiz!!!! We were able to identify some areas that the girls feel they need some help with……so next week, we’ll start!
Otters Class
We continued our read a-loud!!! Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. Always. And there’s no delete button. She’s the smartest kid in her whole school—but no one knows it. Most people–her teachers and doctors included–don’t think she’s capable of learning, and up until recently her school days consisted of listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again and again. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks and knows . . . but she can’t, because Melody can’t talk. She can’t walk. She can’t write.
Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind–that is, until she discovers something that will allow her to speak for the first time ever. At last Melody has a voice . . . but not everyone around her is ready to hear it.
She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom—the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged, because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. And she’s determined to let everyone know it…somehow.
Readers will come to know a brilliant mind and a brave spirit who will change forever how they look at anyone with a disability. From multiple Coretta Scott King Award winner Sharon M. Draper comes a story full of heartache and hope. Get ready to meet a girl whose voice you’ll never, ever forget.
The kids were rooting Melody on today!!! They love this book!
Bravo cast of Once Upon a Mattress! Great rehearsal!
Happy Tuesday!
Miss Lubs’ Class
Today we continued our new read a loud: “Rules” by Cynthia Lord
Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She’s spent years trying to teach David the rules from “a peach is not a funny-looking apple” to “keep your pants on in public”—in order to head off David’s embarrassing behaviors.
But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a surprising, new sort-of friend, and Kristi, the next-door friend she’s always wished for, it’s her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal?
Twelve-year-old Catherine has conflicting feelings about her younger brother, David, who is autistic. While she loves him, she is also embarrassed by his behavior and feels neglected by their parents. In an effort to keep life on an even keel, Catherine creates rules for him (It’s okay to hug Mom but not the clerk at the video store). Each chapter title is also a rule, and lots more are interspersed throughout the book. When Kristi moves in next door, Catherine hopes that the girl will become a friend, but is anxious about her reaction to David. Then Catherine meets and befriends Jason, a nonverbal paraplegic who uses a book of pictures to communicate, she begins to understand that normal is difficult, and perhaps unnecessary, to define. Rules of behavior are less important than acceptance of others. Catherine is an endearing narrator who tells her story with both humor and heartbreak. Her love for her brother is as real as are her frustrations with him. Lord has candidly captured the delicate dynamics in a family that revolves around a child’s disability. Set in coastal Maine, this sensitive story is about being different, feeling different, and finding acceptance. A lovely, warm read, and a great discussion starter.
The kids love the book!
4th Grade Girls Group 1
Today we continued our new read a loud in group! “Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls” by Meg Cabot
Allie is 9-year-old girl who’s just trying to make sense out of the 4th grade, so she jots down rules to help herself remember how to be a good sister, student, and friend – and also not to eat anything red. That’s a rule!
Book #4: Stage Fright
Mrs. Hunter’s fourth grade class is putting on a play! But Allie’s theatrical hopes are crushed when she doesn’t get cast as the princess — the part that she wanted! Instead, Allie is cast as the evil queen. But as opening night approaches, Allie learns it’s not the size of the part, it’s the size of the heart that really matters.
3rd-4th Grade Social Thinking Group
Well, these boys certainly make me smile!! Today we talked about Rock Brain and read “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”. The kids did a great job!
Mrs. Dudda’s Class
Today we started a new read aloud: “Granny Torrelli Makes Soup” by Sharon Creech
Twelve-year-old Rosie and her best friend, Bailey, don’t always get along, that’s true. But Granny Torrelli seems to know just how to make things right again with her interesting stories and family recipes. It’s easier to remember what’s important about love, life, and friendship while Granny Torrelli makes soup.
Rosie’s story unfolds first, over making and eating zuppa, and then Granny Torrelli tells parallel stories from her own childhood to help Rosie with her current predicament. Granny Torrelli’s tales are laced with endearing, fun-to-say Italian: “I didn’t like it, not one piccolino bit,” as is her attempt to help Rosie mend her rift with her best friend Bailey (“That Bailey boy!”), for whom she’s starting to feel more-than-friendship feelings. The details of both Rosie’s and Granny Torrelli’s respective stories are often quite funny (from Braille jealousy to secret guide-dog training for the legally blind Bailey). But, as usual, what Creech does best is slyly proffer small, nourishing morsels of wisdom–not unlike the cavatelli, the “little dough canoes,” that Rosie, Granny Torrelli, and that Bailey boy labor over in the book’s sweet second half.
The kids love the book and also are enjoying learning some new Italian words!
Mrs. Enoch’s Class
Today we wrapped up our read aloud: “Granny Torrelli Makes Soup” by Sharon Creech – with some fun culminating activities – First we reviewed the new Italian words that we learned and then learned Braille! The kids first decoded a special Braille message and then wrote their names in Braille! Lots of fun!
A Terrific Tuesday!!!!!!
New 8th Grade Girls Breakfast Club!
It’s that time of the year when Mrs. Agins and I invite the 8th grade girls to a weekly breakfast chat. We had a nice group of girls show up and served hot cocoa, donuts and muffins! Looking forward to expanding the group.
Anxious Girls’ Group
Today we chatted and made pencil toppers! The girls are doing so well!
5th – 6th Grade Social Thinking Group
Today we continued our new activity called “Social Fortune/Social Fate”….This program uses graphic novels to show examples of expected and unexpected behaviors and also uses consequence maps to show kids how their behavior affects others.
So far we have learned the following Quest Tips:
You Know It, We Know It, Don’t Blow It!
The Trick is to Let People Know What You Know..Without Taking Over the Group
Figure Out Which Thoughts Should Stay in Your Head
Filter! Filter! Filter!
We’ve also learned some strategy codes:
FOR: Figure Out Rules
TAC: Think About Choices
FOTO: Filter Opinions and Thoughts Often
The boys did a great job!
7th Grade Girls’ Group
Today was an arts and crafts day!
8th Grade Girls’ Group
A rather quiet group today!!!! Definitely enjoyable!
Pfish Class
We continued our read aloud: Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
Caitlin has Asperger’s. The world according to her is black and white; anything in between is confusing. Before, when things got confusing, Caitlin went to her older brother, Devon, for help. But Devon has died, and Caitlin’s dad is so distraught that he is just not helpful. Caitlin wants everything to go back to the way things were, but she doesn’t know how to do that. Then she comes across the word closure- and she realizes this is what she needs. And in her search for it, Caitlin discovers that the world may not be black and white after all. From inside Caitlin’s head, readers see the very personal aftermath of a middle school shooting that took the life of the older brother she adored. Caitlin is a bright fifth grader and a gifted artist. She also has Asperger’s syndrome, and her brother, Devon, was the one who helped her interpret the world. Now she has only her father, a widower who is grieving anew and whose ability to relate to his daughter is limited. A compassionate school counselor works with her, trying to teach her the social skills that are so difficult for her. Through her own efforts and her therapy sessions, she begins to come to terms with her loss and makes her first, tentative steps toward friendship. Caitlin’s thought processes, including her own brand of logic, are made remarkably clear. The longer readers spend in the child’s world, the more understandable her entirely literal and dispassionate interpretations are.
The kids love the book!
The kids took the ‘moan” out of Moan-day!!
A Fast Friday!!!
Miss Ryder and Miss Lubs’ Classes
Today we continued our read a loud: “Rules” by Cynthia Lord
Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She’s spent years trying to teach David the rules from “a peach is not a funny-looking apple” to “keep your pants on in public”—in order to head off David’s embarrassing behaviors.
But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a surprising, new sort-of friend, and Kristi, the next-door friend she’s always wished for, it’s her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal?
Twelve-year-old Catherine has conflicting feelings about her younger brother, David, who is autistic. While she loves him, she is also embarrassed by his behavior and feels neglected by their parents. In an effort to keep life on an even keel, Catherine creates rules for him (It’s okay to hug Mom but not the clerk at the video store). Each chapter title is also a rule, and lots more are interspersed throughout the book. When Kristi moves in next door, Catherine hopes that the girl will become a friend, but is anxious about her reaction to David. Then Catherine meets and befriends Jason, a nonverbal paraplegic who uses a book of pictures to communicate, she begins to understand that normal is difficult, and perhaps unnecessary, to define. Rules of behavior are less important than acceptance of others. Catherine is an endearing narrator who tells her story with both humor and heartbreak. Her love for her brother is as real as are her frustrations with him. Lord has candidly captured the delicate dynamics in a family that revolves around a child’s disability. Set in coastal Maine, this sensitive story is about being different, feeling different, and finding acceptance. A lovely, warm read, and a great discussion starter.
The kids love the book!
Miss Hebert’s Class
Today we continued our read aloud: “Granny Torrelli Makes Soup” by Sharon Creech
Twelve-year-old Rosie and her best friend, Bailey, don’t always get along, that’s true. But Granny Torrelli seems to know just how to make things right again with her interesting stories and family recipes. It’s easier to remember what’s important about love, life, and friendship while Granny Torrelli makes soup.
Rosie’s story unfolds first, over making and eating zuppa, and then Granny Torrelli tells parallel stories from her own childhood to help Rosie with her current predicament. Granny Torrelli’s tales are laced with endearing, fun-to-say Italian: “I didn’t like it, not one piccolino bit,” as is her attempt to help Rosie mend her rift with her best friend Bailey (“That Bailey boy!”), for whom she’s starting to feel more-than-friendship feelings. The details of both Rosie’s and Granny Torrelli’s respective stories are often quite funny (from Braille jealousy to secret guide-dog training for the legally blind Bailey). But, as usual, what Creech does best is slyly proffer small, nourishing morsels of wisdom–not unlike the cavatelli, the “little dough canoes,” that Rosie, Granny Torrelli, and that Bailey boy labor over in the book’s sweet second half.
The kids love the book and also are enjoying learning some new Italian words!
3rd Grade Boys’ Group
Mr. A. and boys continue to work on cooperative learning games! A ton of fun!
Literacy Week Kick-off!
What fun we had today at the assembly!!!! Mrs. Noyes’ class did a fabulous job!
Happy Weekend Everyone!
A Thrilling Thursday!
5th-6th Grade Social Thinking
Today we played a game called “Use Your I’s”….A board game that teaches kids how to express their feelings without jeopardizing the rights of others. The game cards provide realistic situations that provoke emotions and players learn to verbally describe their feelings to others and explain why they feel the way they do using a formula:
I Feel:
When:
Because:
I Want:
The boys did a fabulous job!
8th Grade Boys
I think these boys are growing up! What a wonderful discussion about high school and college!
5th Grade Girls
Oh the excitement of this group! I cannot get a word in edgewise! Lots of stories and Happy Happenings to share and then some time to run around outside!
6th Grade Girls
After sharing a million Happy Happenings we continued with our book called: “Confessions of a Former Bully”
After Katie gets caught teasing a schoolmate, she’s told to meet with Mrs. Petrowski, the school counselor, so she can make right her wrong and learn to be a better friend. Bothered at first, it doesn’t take long before Katie realizes that bullying has hurt not only the people around her, but her, too. Told from the unusual point of view of the bullier rather than the bullied, Confessions of a Former Bully provides kids with real life tools they can use to identify and stop relational aggression.
The girls seem to really like this book!
7th Grade Social Thinking – No Group due to Panther Pause
Panther Pause
Today, Mr. A and Miss Schon helped the group create a skit to demonstrate self-regulation and safety in the cafeteria. Everyone did a fabulous job!
Special thanks to my parents in the Autism Parent Support Group who came to speak to my graduate students last evening!
A great day was had by all!
A Wonderful Wednesday!
Mrs. Pescatello and Mrs. Temel’s (Mrs. Cravinho) Classes
Today we continued our read-aloud: Jackson Whole Wyoming by Joan Clark
His classmates have identified him as a friend of Jackson, who has Asperger Syndrome, and now Tyler is tormented by what that means in terms of his own personality. Over the course of this highly readable and swift-moving middle-grade novel (2nd to 6th grade), Tyler resolves this issue and in the process recalls incidents from previous school years, growing in his understanding of this unusual classmate. Written by a speech-language pathologist who works with children with autism spectrum disorders, this novel belongs on the library shelf of any classroom.
The kids were awesome….they love read-alouds and had some great commentary!
5th Grade Girls Social Thinking
Today the girls were just chatty and silly!!! We took them outside to let them run it off!
Otters Class
We continued our read a-loud!!! Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. Always. And there’s no delete button. She’s the smartest kid in her whole school—but no one knows it. Most people–her teachers and doctors included–don’t think she’s capable of learning, and up until recently her school days consisted of listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again and again. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks and knows . . . but she can’t, because Melody can’t talk. She can’t walk. She can’t write.
Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind–that is, until she discovers something that will allow her to speak for the first time ever. At last Melody has a voice . . . but not everyone around her is ready to hear it.
She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom—the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged, because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. And she’s determined to let everyone know it…somehow.
Readers will come to know a brilliant mind and a brave spirit who will change forever how they look at anyone with a disability. From multiple Coretta Scott King Award winner Sharon M. Draper comes a story full of heartache and hope. Get ready to meet a girl whose voice you’ll never, ever forget.
The kids begged to keep reading!!
Bravo cast of Once Upon a Mattress! Great rehearsal!
3rd-4th Grade Social Thinking Group
Today we started to work on the “Big Three” – Vocal Tone, Body Language and Facial Expression. We played a game called “Too Little, Too Much, Just Right” which had the boys “acting” out messages and actions! We focused on “just right” voices and actions!
No 4th grade girls group today – Back to the 30/30 schedule so new groups need to be made!
Mrs. Enoch’s Class
Today we finished our read aloud: “Granny Torrelli Makes Soup” by Sharon Creech
Twelve-year-old Rosie and her best friend, Bailey, don’t always get along, that’s true. But Granny Torrelli seems to know just how to make things right again with her interesting stories and family recipes. It’s easier to remember what’s important about love, life, and friendship while Granny Torrelli makes soup.
Rosie’s story unfolds first, over making and eating zuppa, and then Granny Torrelli tells parallel stories from her own childhood to help Rosie with her current predicament. Granny Torrelli’s tales are laced with endearing, fun-to-say Italian: “I didn’t like it, not one piccolino bit,” as is her attempt to help Rosie mend her rift with her best friend Bailey (“That Bailey boy!”), for whom she’s starting to feel more-than-friendship feelings. The details of both Rosie’s and Granny Torrelli’s respective stories are often quite funny (from Braille jealousy to secret guide-dog training for the legally blind Bailey). But, as usual, what Creech does best is slyly proffer small, nourishing morsels of wisdom–not unlike the cavatelli, the “little dough canoes,” that Rosie, Granny Torrelli, and that Bailey boy labor over in the book’s sweet second half.
The kids loved the book and are looking forward to participating in book related activities next week!
Happy 22nd Birthday to my daughter Samantha!
New 8th Grade Girls Breakfast Club!
It’s that time of the year when Mrs. Agins and I invite the 8th grade girls to a weekly breakfast chat. We had a nice group of girls show up and served hot cocoa and english muffins with peanut butter. Looking forward to expanding the group.
Anxious Girls’ Group
Today we used the “Thing Twice” and “Choices” cards for our discussion! It was great!
5th – 6th Grade Social Thinking Group
Today, Mr. A took the boys to the gym for some cooperative games.
The boys did a great job!
7th Grade Girls’ Group
Lots of chatting today! A little hide and go seek, too!
8th Grade Girls’ Group
Everyone did a wonderful job in group today – we had a great discussion about putting things up on Facebook and what the consequences might be. I hope the girls can maintain this level of maturity!
Pfish Class
We continued our read aloud: Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
Caitlin has Asperger’s. The world according to her is black and white; anything in between is confusing. Before, when things got confusing, Caitlin went to her older brother, Devon, for help. But Devon has died, and Caitlin’s dad is so distraught that he is just not helpful. Caitlin wants everything to go back to the way things were, but she doesn’t know how to do that. Then she comes across the word closure- and she realizes this is what she needs. And in her search for it, Caitlin discovers that the world may not be black and white after all. From inside Caitlin’s head, readers see the very personal aftermath of a middle school shooting that took the life of the older brother she adored. Caitlin is a bright fifth grader and a gifted artist. She also has Asperger’s syndrome, and her brother, Devon, was the one who helped her interpret the world. Now she has only her father, a widower who is grieving anew and whose ability to relate to his daughter is limited. A compassionate school counselor works with her, trying to teach her the social skills that are so difficult for her. Through her own efforts and her therapy sessions, she begins to come to terms with her loss and makes her first, tentative steps toward friendship. Caitlin’s thought processes, including her own brand of logic, are made remarkably clear. The longer readers spend in the child’s world, the more understandable her entirely literal and dispassionate interpretations are.
The kids love the book!
The kids took the ‘moan” out of Moan-day!!
