Archive for June, 2013
I would like to thank Collette Bauman, Michigan Department of Education, for adding my manipulatives to her DOE’s listserv. Because I am still teaching in the classroom and a great distance from Michigan, I will be now able to reach parents, teachers, and administrators more efficiently. I am looking forward to the challenge in helping as many Michigan students as I can in least amount of time. Ready! Set! Learn!
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My son and I were at a gas station near Atlanta’s Hartsfield Airport. A Georgia state trooper was parked next to me by the gasoline pump. The state trooper roller down his window and asked for information about Slide-A-Round Math Manipulatives because he saw the magnet on my car. The state trooper stated that he and his wife are very concerned about his son’s progress in math. After discussing his strengths and weaknesses, we decided that the 100x and Money manipulatives would be in his best interest. After doing a short demonstration by the gasoline pump, he purchased those manipulatives for his son to use during the 2013-14 school year. I never really thought about being able to help a student at a gas station. My goal is to help one student a time regardless of where I am.
I spoke with Jodi Burr, Assistive Technology Strategist at the Northwest Assistive Technology Center. We scheduled a training session for her colleagues to effectively implement the manipulatives in their classrooms that her center recently purchased. This is so exciting! While I am teaching my students at Elm Street Elementary in Rome, Georgia, my manipulatives are helping students about 600 miles away. The dream keeps on getting bigger!
I would like to thank Rebecca Cowan-Story, Georgia State Coordinator of Deaf Blind Services, for the opportunity to demonstrate my math manipulatives at the Cave Spring Vocational Rehabilitation Center for individuals who might have macular degeneration or other low vision conditions. My goal is to help one person at a time by sharing my ideas with parents, teachers, and specialists.
I met an administrator, Donna Morris, Assistant Director for the Tri- County Special Education Association, in Bloomington, Illinois. Even though I “dropped by”, she still made time to hear new strategies to help her students. After a short demonstration, she was willing to share my contact information with her colleagues. We discussed how my math manipulatives can be used to differentiate instruction in all academic settings and the limited manipulatives for students to use to round numbers up to 10,000,000.
I demonstrated my math manipulatives to Beverley Holden Johns. Because my manipulatives would be effective for all students, Ms. Johns invited me to present at the 2014 Illinois Council for Children with Behavior Disorders Conference on February 1st and exhibit at the 2013 Illinois CEC Conference on November 7th-9th. After I meet my commitments to schools and school systems and have time available on my calendar, I would like to accept her invitation.
Follow my blog for more information regarding my attendance at the conferences.