A Letter To My Teacher

I came across this touching and very meaningful post by Karen Janowski, Assistive & Educational Technology Consultant and blogger from the USA.  Reposted with permission from http://teachingeverystudent.blogspot.ca/2013/04/a-letter-to-my-teacher.html

Dear Teacher,

I want to learn

I want to be independent, but

Sometimes your curriculum is the disability.

When you give it to me in paper form, I can’t access it.

When text is digital, I can manipulate it. I can make it bigger, pick the right font, 

add more white space – it’s easier to read.

When text is digital, I can add a voice and listen to it.

I don’t have to struggle with reading each word.

Please don’t make me read outloud;

I work so hard to avoid humiliation.

Do you know,  I have great ideas…but I can’t get them down on paper?

Please give me another way to share them. Paper just doesn't work for me.

I need you to know……I’m  not stupid……I want to learn

You just have to remove the barriers for me.

I can’t read my own writing but there are other ways…..  

Give me other ways to show what I know.

I can’t sit still….so let me move.

Do you know, I really, really want to learn?

If you make videos of your instruction, I can review them at home….as often as I need to.

I want to learn

I want to be independent

Don’t put me on the bell curve, put me on the J- curve – it shows you want me to learn, too.

Will you teach me

                        Reach me

                                    Engage me                              

  in a way that works for me?

Merry Christmas!

Making Gingerbread Men?

Every year I have parents, former students and colleagues asking me for this recipe and I always have to search to find it. It only took me ten years of teaching, but I am finally posting it online so I won't have to search anymore!

Mrs. Baker’s Famous
Child Friendly Gingerbread Men

Children like this recipe because the gingerbread is sweeter and chewier than traditional molasses cookies.

• ½ cup softened butter (Earth Balance works best if dairy-free is needed)
• 1 egg
• ½ cup natural cane sugar
• 1 ½ cup flour (all-purpose, all-purpose gluten free + 1 ½ tsp. Xanthan gum  or finely ground whole grain all work fine)
• 1 package instant butterscotch pudding mix
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp baking soda

v  favourite frosting
v  candies, sprinkles etc.
v  cookie cutter

Mix together butter, egg and sugar.  Add remaining ingredients.  Dough may be quite crumbly; continue to work the dough until you can roll it out.  (Don’t worry – it still bakes nicely!) 

Roll out dough and cut into gingerbread men with cookie cutter. 

Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Cool. 

Decorate using a favourite tasty frosting and candies.

Math Links

I found a couple of evenings (miracle of miracles!) to work on math links, so while they are certainly not complete there is now something there for you as a resource!

Click to visit my MATH PAGE, and enjoy!

Literacy & Language Links are Ready!

Good day!

I have made some decent progress with organizing the language links from my old sites.  Sheesh, there was a lot of dead stuff in there!

Check it out here or click on the individual pages at the top of this site any time.
 

Under Construction!

Welcome to my new blog!  

I`m going to try to find time to convert all of the great links from both of my other websites over to here for everyone to access.  Check out the pages as they are updated to find LOTS of great web 2.0 resources for you and your students, school families and your children!