The Home Stretch!

The third quarter is officially over!  I have had the pleasure of meeting with many parents over the past couple weeks during IEP meetings.  For those of you who I have not met with, as well as those on intervention plans, please look for updated progress in your child's report card.

 For most of my students, we will be introducing and addressing the new IEP goals and objectives over the course of the fourth quarter.  Many of my intervention students will be continuing on their current intervention plan, and some have been dismissed.

Language lessons in Mrs. Lea's room will focus on Spring, Bugs, Farm and Zoo Animals.  Hopefully we can start getting some consistent spring-like weather to help us out!

April marks Autism Awareness Month and May marks Better Speech and Hearing Month.  Look for some app sales in the App store!

Here's to the last nine weeks :)
Mrs. Hodgson

Third Quarter

Today ends the second quarter of school as well as the first semester.  I've been busy collecting and calculating data.  I am amazed at how far the kids have come since the beginning of the school year.  Progress notes will be sent home with the student report cards next week so be on the look out.  As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me.  IEP annual reviews will be here before we know it.  Much of February and March will be spent probing for new goals and objectives based upon when the annual review is due as well as assessing those students who are due for their three year reevaluation.  Along with all that, we will continue to address current goals and objectives that have not yet been mastered.  Topics for group language lessons in Mrs. Lea's class will include Valentines Day, Friends, Fairy Tales, and St. Patrick's Day.  As we move from Winter to Spring near the end of the third quarter we will begin to touch upon the change of seasons. 

Mrs. Hodgson

Second Quarter

Halloween is finally behind us after being extended into November thanks to Hurricane Sandy.  We've changed our clocks back, the days seem shorter,  and now we begin the second quarter of school.  Report cards will be issued this week.  Please look for speech and language progress notes included in the report card envelope.  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call. 

In Mrs. Lea's class we will be discussing winter holidays and weather changes during our class lessons.  We will be reading many adapted books related to the seasons, playing games, cooking, and working on the Smartboard and iPads throught the next two months.  If your child receives monthly progress notes, keep in mind we combine the months of November and December due to the holiday breaks.  You will receive your next report in December. 

Individual therapy sessions are running smoothly.  For the most part the kids are taking responsibility of coming down on time, bringing their folders, and working hard during our sessions.  Some students have not been bringing their folders.  We use folders to keep sticker incentives and to send home work completed in class.  If you have not seen a folder come home, please ask your child about this.  I remind them each time, to put the folders in their backpacks to take home. 

Happy November
Mrs. Hodgson

Time to turn the calendar!

I cannot believe it is October already!  The first month of school has flown by.  In the speech-language room we have been busy.  During the month of September we have worked on understanding our individual goals and objectives.  This is often difficult for elementary aged kids.  At the beginning of each session, I provide each student with their individual learning target for the session.  At the end of each session, I asked them what they worked on or learned.  We will be transforming these into I Can statements during the month of October.  For example, I Can describe items with 3-4 attributes, I Can say my sound in words and sentences, I Can answer WH questions, I Can state synonyms. 

For language group in Mrs. Lea's class we will be focusing on Harvest Time and Halloween during the month of October.  We are adding new books to our adapted library as well as electronic books on the Smartboard and iPad.  We will continue cooking, playing interactive games, and reading stories.  Group time provides many opportunities to practice speech and language skills and address carryover from the speech room to the classroom. 

Good Luck to all my third graders who will be taking the OAA tomorrow!

The end of the month will close out the first quarter.  Look for speech-language progress notes in the student report cards. 

Teaching Children New Languages

Below is an interesting read on teaching children new languages.  Check it out!

http://www.gonannies.com/blog/2012/5-trends-for-teaching-kids-languages/

And we're off....

The first three days of school flew by.  I had a great time meeting all the new kinders during Phase In and speech-language screening.  What a wonderful group of kids!  I cannot wait to watch them grow this year.  This will be the first week I will be seeing my current caseload of kids.  I will spend the week collecting baseline data, introducing "speech-buddies", and reviewing goals and rules for speech-language sessions.  I will conclude the week with our first language group in Mrs. Lea's class on Friday morning.  We will be reading an adapted book about school and reviewing school related vocabulary.  We will take turns completing iPad activities related to the theme as well as our individual IEP objectives.  Everyone will get a turn to show what they know! 

How do social and behavioral skills such as listening and paying attention affect childrens' success?

Medical News Today released an article on how the ability to listen, pay attention, and complete important tasks is crucial for success later in life.  Click on the link below to read the entire article.

Medical News Today