I had the opportunity to meet with Ms. Leasha Hayes, the assistant director/teacher center coordinator for the Wilbur D. Mills Education Service Cooperative in Beebe, Arkansas on Monday, October 8th.  I demonstrated each manipulative and shared examples from the complimentary handouts.  Ms. Hayes provided very positive feedback and wanted to share with her colleagues.

Slide-A-Round Math Manipulatives has been added to the agenda for the regional special education directors’ meeting at the Auburn City School Board of Education on October 19th.  With the information I provide, the special education directors can offer new strategies to their teachers. I will also be able to give a full one-hour presentation at the Alabama Council of Teachers of Mathematics on November 2nd at 10:30 for any teachers who are interested in more information.

I have a follow-up  meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 9th with Karrie Bennett of  the Region VII Center for Assistive Technology to finalize their manipulatives order. After meeting with Teresa Doss in June on my way to the Houston Assistive Technology Conference, she referred me to Ms. Bennett to complete the order process.

As a result of my meeting with Maia Santamaria and Christina Holtzclaw, I have been invited  to share my math manipulatives at the Georgia Deaf/Blind Sensory Assistance Project Conference on October 6th in Cave Spring, Georgia. I am excited to meet with educators, consultants, and parents and have the opportunity to share my ideas.

I have a meeting scheduled for 9/27 with Ms. Maia Santamaria, the Executive Director of DisAbility Link, to demonstrate our Braille math manipulatives. The Braille/Low Vision  manipulatives were brought to her attention by Mr. Johnny McDonald, a Northwest Georgia sign language instructor.

I am currently in the process of creating and posting “How-To” videos for my math manipulatives. I now have two,  100x and Fractions 16ths, posted as links. More videos are on the way!

I received word on Friday that the Slide-A-Round Money Manipulative is the first Braille product to be completed. In the next few weeks, we are also anticipating a shipment of 100x, Elapsed Time, and Fractions (12ths & 16ths). Please check back for more Braille updates!

My math manipulatives are a feature article in the Inclusive Schools Network September newsletter. You can view the article online at www.inclusiveschools.org .

Ms. Cindy Kroon, Webmaster for SDCTM and math instructor at Montross High School in Montross, SD, has included a link to our website on the SDCTM website as a way to help us reach even more math teachers throughout the United States. After she shared our product information with the executive board, they approved our placement on their website.

The Math Forum @ Drexel has placed a link to our website in their Math Forum Internet Mathematics Library. This Drexel University site features current products and educational tools to increase student learning and mastery of math standards.