Books read in 2011

I have to give myself a major high 5. Unlike last year, I rocked my reading this year. 63 books.


63!


I'm listing my favorites by category, with the entire list at the bottom. And out of laziness simplicity, I have only summarized my 2 favorite books of the year. All others you can follow the links to read about on Amazon.

Books related to special needs, Speech Pathology, etc The Brain that Changes Itself- Tied for all time favorite book of the year! Story after story about the plasticity of the brain and ways that we and others can change our brains!

Knowing Jesse Mockingbird Schuyler's Monster

Non-fiction (historical)

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Blink What the Dog Saw Non-fiction (inspiring) Unbroken-Tied as best book of the year for me. The true and amazing story of a man ready to give up time after time with his horrid life circumstances (shot down during WWII, prisoner in Japanense internment camp, etc.), yet ends up as a changed man and evangelist. Half the Sky Born to Run The Year of Living Biblically Fiction Cutting for Stone Bel Canto The Girl Who Played with Fire The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest Alas, Babylon Room The Forgotten Garden Shantaram How did I read so many books? Mostly, this accomplishment was from the shocking realization that I can listen to an audiobook while doing P90X.  ((Gasp!)) Half the Sky***** Girl Meets God**** Room***** Born to Run***** The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks**** The Forgotten Garden**** The Worst Hard Time**** Born to Run***** The Paris Wife*** Shantaram**** In the Garden of Beasts**** A Dog's Purpose*** Alas, Babylon***** State of Wonder**** The Lacuna*** Unbroken***** Bel Canto***** Mathilda**** Sang Spell*** All Quiet on the Western Front**** The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest***** The Girl Who Played with Fire***** Blindness**** The Little Stranger** From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler*** The Miserable Mill**** We Need to Talk About Kevin***** The Evoluation of Calpurnia Tate*** Matched**** Bad Mother*** The Lotus Eaters**** Speak*** Incendiary** Cutting for Stone***** The Little Prince*** Bunnicula**** The Pleasure of My Company** Chocolate and Vicodin**** Poppy*** Half Broke Horses**** The Wide Window**** Knowing Jesse***** Blink***** Weird Sisters*** What the Dog Saw***** A Girl From Yamhill*** Mockingbird***** One Thousand White Women** Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing*** The Trumpet of the Swan***** The Year of Living Biblically ***** The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane ** Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen ** A Field Guide to Burying Your Parents ** Hoot **** The Brain that Changes Itself ***** A Nest for Celeste **** The Other Wes Moore **** The Incredible Journey **** The BFG **** The Housekeeper and the Professor ***** The Pact *** Stones Into Schools *** To Kill a Mockingbird ***** Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ***** Schuyler's Monster *****

Confessions

Photo by Chris Nixon: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sansbury/6112158484/

Sometimes I get tired of telling kids to stop picking their nose/teeth/private parts and just try to look the other way.

I fast forward through the slow bits of p90x to get it done with sooner.

I count audio books listened to as books I've read.

I drink a Diet Coke everyday and begin to panic when I'm running low and there are no sales (cuz I will NEVER pay grocery store normal price for soda!)

I "accidentally" forget to look under my kids' beds and dressers when inspecting their clean up job.

Sometimes... Rice is a veggie at dinner time.

I bought the kids almost nothing for Christmas and really hope the extended family got them a few fun gifts.

I almost never clean the bathroom. I keep hoping someone will surprise me with some free maid service and I wouldn't want to clean right before the maid came. ;)

I go to sleep before my kids do on most nights.

The only background music I can stand is Christmas music.

Clutter stresses me out more than deadlines.

I screen 99% of all phone calls, and the 1% of the time that I pick up, there us a 100% chance it's a telemarketer.

I have possibly taken perfectly good zip lick bags out of the trash in my classroom so that I can wash and re-use at home.


Spill it... what do you have to confess?

How to "transform" my pathetic year into glittery goo.

As much as I'd love to create a sappy, woe-is-me post, I've decided to stick my chin up, put on a fake smile, and throw glitter obnoxiously around until everything looks pretty. Cuz I really like sparkles.

Goo: Professor X had a $70,000 surgery that led to no pain relief and increased pain for several months following the surgery as he recovered.
Glittery goo: We had a $100 co-pay for a medical procedure that cost 7000x that much! And he now has some cool scars that make him look "dangerous". ;)

Goo: I lost 11 hours/week of assistant time (over 50%) at work.
Glittery goo: I now have a great excuse as to why I don't have time to Medicaid bill!

Goo: The kids minds rotted substantially on screen time.
Glittery goo: I had much more time to read and listen to audio books!

Goo: My couponing endeavors have gone caput since the airing of that ridiculous show "Extreme Couponing" and the frenzy it created. I can no longer collect items for our holiday boxes for needy families or give away freebies to co-workers.
Glittery goo: I spend less time at stores and arguing with cashiers.

Goo: I have daily Kindergarten lunch/cafeteria duty... Something I've avoided for 9 years.
Glittery goo: I've actually bonded with some of these kiddos. Even ones that I will never service for therapy.

Goo: I have been publicly critisized by co-workers and parents for things I felt were completely unjustified.
Glittery goo: My new principal has been awesome at helping quell these storms and decrease tension.

Goo: The education system budget cuts have devisitated our ability to adequately provide assistants and services to kids that really need more help.
Glittery goo: I get to run around the school with my super powered "siren hat" putting out kid fires instead of actually doing therapy.

Goo: Professor X has had no improvements and is doing quite badly.
Glittery goo: He has applied for Social Security Disability and in a mere 36-96 months may get some money to help pay for all the things that would help him (and the family)!


Well, there you have it. The end of a cruddy year (almost). I look forward to even more crud next year as the school budget decreases even more (!!), parents and co-workers become even more upset, and Professor X gets even more frustrated at his constant pain.

The end. Poof! (and I vanish into sparkly fairy dust)

Speech & Language Homework

I know there are multiple free download for speech homework, but none have satisfactorily met my needs. For the last 2 years I have been custom writing my own speech HW during every. single. treatment. session. (And I know this for a fact, because I've been taking data on my HW assignments and return rates.)  This, of course, is difficult when I have less than 30 minutes to do therapy, behavior management, and transition the students back to class. Plus, my assistant is having a very difficult time with writing homework.

So... at least for this week and next month I have developed some speech homework that can be generically applied to many of my students.

You can download for free a generic articulation homework, December homework, and 3 weeks worth of January homeworks (leveled).

Hope you find these free printables useful!

Year-round Articulation HW

Level 1 December HW
Level 2 December HW

Level 1 January HW 1
Level 1 January HW 2
Level 1 January HW 3

Level 2 January HW 1
Level 2 January HW 2
Level 3 January HW 3

On and Off

I had a lot of fun today working on the /f/ sound, the concept of on/off, and turn taking with two Kindergarten students.

We made "presents" (and discussed shapes, colors, sizes) and "bows" and practiced taking them "on" and "off". The boys then had to request what color marker they would like and if they wanted it handed to them with the cap "on" or "off".

Hee hee! I wish more of my therapy time could be this spontaneous and play-like!

The Musubi Man

*Gasp!* I actually have done something this school year besides while and moan about my caseload, lack of help, and toxic work environment (trust me, no one is more shocked about this than myself).

I created a new vocabulary and articulation unit to go with this month's book, The Musubi Man. The Masubi Man is a Hawaiian Gingerbread Man tale, with lots of opportunity to increase cultural awareness, new vocabulary, and compare/contrast skills. As an added bonus, it takes me into my own mental vacation of warm breezes and tropical waters.

Download my vocabulary for the book, as well as a list of /r/ and /s/ words in the story:
Musubi Man download

After reading the story and learning the vocabulary, it is time to use the Gingerbread Man unit I posted about two years ago. Then compare and contrast the stories for great language therapy fun!

And thanks to my new time suck addiction that is Pinterest, I have some additional fun Gingerbread Man links and activities:
Mrs. Ayala's Gingerbread Man Unit
Babbling Abby's Gingerbread Man Unit
Gingerbread Cookies Sorting Activity
Gingerbread and Snowman Sorting Activity
Gingerbread Story Sequence Cards