Thursday, July 23, 2015

Book Ring Object Cards

Are you an intervener or para on the go that struggles with carrying all your object cards? It's tough to be a jack of all trades when you are in these roles. You have to sign or physically prompt, support the student and get the object into position to use. It's a lot of work!

I was visiting one of my classrooms where I saw this great little idea: object cards on book rings. Now I know that isn't anything unusual. Many people put object cards on book rings. But let me share with you why I thought this was a fun idea to share. This idea belongs to an awesome intervener, Angel, who let me take pics and share. She puts her student's cards on her keychain strap thing--can't describe it well (see the black loop in the picture) when they are on the move.  Angel needs two hands when she is working and she needs her object cards quick because attention spans can be like a blink of an eye. 


In case you are new to object cards maintenance, first thing is to laminate your cards first! Drool, dropping them in water, etc. is a likely situation not to mention crumpling, attempts at tearing and just general wear and tear. After lamination, punch a hole in the corner. 



















I like the key ring set up that Angel uses (see below). By using the latch (as opposed to a traditional key ring), she can quickly load up her cards for each activity when they are on the move. Plus the latch allows doesn't destroy the card. She also uses book rings as opposed to key rings. Book rings have a quick open-and-shut feature that is also secure. You can purchase book rings from a variety of places such as Staples for about $4-5 a box. The other thing to notice is that she doesn't put all her object cards just on one ring. She has multiple rings so each card gets its on place. That's smart because she can use her cards in isolation or have them ready for a sequence.
 

Below is another view of her on the go object cards: 


Tuesday, July 21, 2015

A Must-See Music Video!

Hi friends,
Sorry for the big gap in posts--it's summer time and for those of you that have been following me for awhile know that I'm away at summer programs. This summer was my busiest summer! I did 4 (almost consecutive) residential summer programs for students all over Utah. It was a blast!

This morning while I was warming up for my workout I was watching VH-1 and I saw this video by the group X Ambassadors. It caught my attention because it opens featuring a blind woman who power lifts. At first I thought it was a USABA commercial. But I recognized the song so I kept watching. Check out the video:

I love the clips they used, the athletes that they featured and the whole vibe of the video with this awesome song playing in the background. 

I love the message in the video!! Let's share messages like this. Let's support the empowerment and keep sharing the video (and keep listening to the song--it's awesome!).