The Sky is the Limit
Last week our classroom took two science field trips. First we visited the Science Museum in Orlando, which was an incredible experience for Alex, Wyatt and Island. We spent four hours exploring four different levels of the museum!
CO2 Cars at the Science Museum
After the science museum, we headed over to a true Florida staple: Gatorland! There was a lot to learn at Gatorland, in addition to many animal encounters and shows! Wyatt and Alex loved every second.
If you’re a parent – unless you have been living under a rock (haha) – you are familiar with these activities:
Kids EVERYWHERE have seemed to gravitate to this whole “rock adventure” craze and Alex, Island and Wyatt are no different!
Proud Alex
Today, after a successful library trip, we made our way to the butterfly garden of Okeechobee! There were lots of hidden rocks located in this “secret garden” and it really was a magical experience for the students.
Racing to the Entrance of the Library
Lunchtime
Who misses paper maps?
If you’re like me, you miss this antiquated way of getting around. There was nothing like the smell the old paper and having to squint to see itty bitty city names! Or how about trying to figure out which way to fold the map when done with it? Those creases never seemed to line up right. Haha, okay maybe I don’t miss those maps as much as I thought…
That being said, as a teacher, I can confidently say that the importance of map skills has fallen to the wayside – thanks to google maps and GPS on smart phones. But for many students and/or dyslexics, using a paper map as a learning tool can offer many academic opportunities.
Currently, Alex is using “Which Way USA” paper maps by Highlights to explore the U.S. states and their capitals.
Paper maps are multi-sensory and therefore work amazingly for all students, including dyslexics!
Alex completed lesson 4 in his Connections curriculum today! Towards the end of the lesson, we introduced affixes and word derivatives.
To make this lesson multi-sensory, we used foldable paper word strips. The strips have the base word on one side and the suffix ‘s’ on the other side. Alex would first read the word and then he flipped the end of the strip of paper over to add the -s. Thus, creating the derivative of the original word (pluralized).
Check out the video on READ Youtube.
Meet “Flat Alex”, an art project that Alex completed today! We will be submitting Alex’s artwork to the International Dyslexia Association of Florida’s Youth Art Gallery, which will be displayed at the annual conference in October. We hope they like his project as much as he had fun creating it!
Educational Therapy and Consulting by Betsey LaFoy 