Autumn has officially begun, and it actually was a bit cooler this week!  I am continuing with an emphasis on Fall themes, through use of vocabulary to build background knowledge and literature to focus on answering wh-questions.  For the older elementary students, we continued the focus on figurative language, through use of Awesome Alliterations.  Within the social skills groups, the focus continues with how to take on another's perspective, inferring, and with how to be self directed problem solvers.  

Game of the Week:  Apples to Apples- wonderful game to focus on vocabulary skills, as well as articulation when having students make the case for why their card should be the winner.  This game is great for family time!

App of the Week:  Articulation Station Pro- targets consonant sound targets at varying levels and through use of flashcards and memory games.  Great way to practice when at home or while on the go!

Hope everyone has a great weekend and Go DAWGS!

Ms. Hartwell

    It has been another great week here at the Creek!  I have focused on some wonderful books to target social skills lessons, as well as beginning with Autumn language units and a great game of the week to update you on!  Specific to those students working on social language skills, I incorporated use of the book, My Mouth is a Volcano by Julia Cook, which provides children with a wonderful analogy to how their mouths can "errupt" when they interrupt others and how to help demonstrate better self-control.  How Humans Make Friends, by Loreen Leedy, focuses on an alien visiting Earth and discovering how people establish and build friendships. For the older elementary students, I have also begun discussions on inferencing within social situations, and taking others' perspectives.  
    Although yes, it is still warm outside, the last push of summer here in Georgia, I have begun with some vocabulary review for all things related to Autumn!  This will continue for the rest of September and October.  Initital literature that I like to incorporate, which you can also reinforce with your child, are:

Clifford's First Autumn by Norman Bridwell
Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell
Apples by Gail Gibbons
Amelia Bedelia's First Apple Pie by Herman Parish

Game of the Week:  HeadBanz!  I love this game and have used it for several years.  It is a type of schrades, in which, students are to try and guess a picture that is placed on their heads in a headband.  The children get a kick out of guessing, and you can focus on oral speech skills, vocabulary skills, question skills, and it is an overall good time!

Thank you and hope that everyone has a great weekend!

With regard,

Ms. Hartwell

Still cannot believe that August has already come and gone!  I hope that everyone had a restful Labor Day holiday weekend!  During the final week of August, my focus within our social skills lessons as been on times when we are worried/anxious, as well as with having to interpret facial expressions and emotions in others.  We completed a unit on the book Enemy Pie, in which the main character learns a valuable lesson on how to give others a chance and on building friendships.  We were also able to focus on answering a variety of wh-question forms and with making predictions.  I have continued to focus on using the software programs Buddy Bear and Matt and Molly to target specific social and language skills, including answering questions, sequencing, grammar, reasoning, and problem solving.  For those students working on articulation skills, we completed a target word crossword puzzle using the Mimio Board so that the students could incorporate technology with the lesson.

App of the Week:  Noodle Words through Kwiq Apps- within this app, children can manipulate a set of words and watch them come "alive" on the screen!  Great for vocabulary and grammar.

Game of the Week:  Blurt!- I use this most often with my students working on articulation.  The object is to listen to a clue and blurt out the answer as quickly as you can.  Great to see if they are carrying over speech sounds, as well as a good vocabulary game!

Thanks!

Ms. Hartwell