Teach the Expanded Core Curriculum by Writing Letters to North Pole Friends

Writing letters to Santa Claus is a very popular activity for this time of year. However, you can include a lot more kids and A LOT more Expanded Core skills if you put a twist on this popular activity and write letters to North Pole friends. 
This twist give you a handful more opportunities for skills. Here are some ideas:
Learn about the post office and writing letters free matter for the blind

Addressing envelopes (almost a lost art at this time)

Learn how to write a letter with a greeting and a closing. 

Developing and practicing a signature. 

Make choices about the friend you want to write to (I gave my students Santa, Rudolf or Frosty) and what you want to say or write to that person

Teach about weather (what type of weather do you think the North Pole has?)

Writing to North Pole friends as opposed to just Santa means you can do letter correspondence into January (feel free to pick other North Pole friends).

Give different writing prompts (It doesn't just have to be about what you want for a holiday present--you can write about different things).

Literacy, literacy, literacy! Lots of of opportunities for literacy in a project like this.

I found these super cute mailboxes at Target (there's even a light in the outside). We set up the North Pole mailbox in the office with our secretary because that's where the mail is delivered at our school. However, if you are doing this virtual or just at home as a parent you can use your own mailbox. 

I provided students with three choices for their letters. Santa, Rudolf or Frosty. I whipped up these images on Canva. Notice that I used strong contrast for the pictures to make them friendly for low vision and CVI students. My amazing para took the next leg and put the tactile items on it. We LOVE the APH Carousel of Textures kit but you can also hit up a Joanns or Michaels for some tactile paper. She didn't do the whole picture tactile rather just the critical features of each to highlight them. 

Our students could write in any writing mode that worked for them (and then received a letter in return in that mode). We received letters in Braille, large print and pictures. Now this is the cool part, we had our high school students write the Braille replies. So if you are a teacher with older students, this could be a fun project that your high school students do for younger students on your caseload! 

I wanted to include pictures of how we did the picture letters because sometimes that is tricky for folks to know how to do. The above picture is the letter from a student that uses pictures. There are Braille labels over the large print with large clear pictures. We returned his letter in the same format and signed it from Santa with the same Santa picture (plus tactile beard) as the signature. 

Now we started this by writing letters to North Pole friends (again, I meant for this to be inclusive for students who do not celebrate Christmas) but can you see where you can keep this going in the new year? You can continue to use actual letters or you can keep practicing and learn how to transfer this to digital communication such as an email or have a lot of fun and move to Twitter!

Teachers, you can make this as a kit and send it to families and then work together virtually. Parents, you can do this in your home. It's an accessible activity that practically every child can participate in. Happy holidays! 

 

The Power of Theater and the Expanded Core Curriculum

A graphic that reads The Power of Theater and the Expanded Core Curriculum for students with vision impairments. A new blog series for youth with vision impairments with Blind Ambition's Frankie Ann Marcille. 

As a visually impaired adult now working towards developing a career in teaching the Expanded Core Curriculum, I have thought a lot about what the most meaningful experiences were throughout my teenage years. I’ve thought about experiences that gave me real time, true to life opportunities to learn valuable lessons in the ECC. One such experience was my time participating in theatre.

I first started participating in theatre when I was just two years old. My parents signed me up for dance classes and let’s just say-that was it! I fell in love. I have never stopped dancing. From there my passion only continued to grow when I performed in my first musical at age six. I continued performing, participating in at least two shows per year with my various schools, dance studios, etc. from elementary school through high school. I even went on to major in Theatre for my undergraduate degree.

Looking back, I realize how much the arts did for me as a child/teenager with a vision impairment. Participating in theatre/dance programs taught me discipline and advocacy. Because I was the only person in all of my programs with a vision impairment, it was up to me to let my instructors know what I needed and work with them to find a solution as to how I could best participate. They taught me confidence and self determination. Theatre showed me how I could be confident in myself and my abilities as a woman with a vision impairment. I felt like if I could get on stage and perform for crowds of people, I could stand up and tell people about my vision/ I could engage with others in meaningful discussions about my future and my dreams. 

Most practically though- theatre helped me to understand basic social interaction skills. There was so much that I realized I didn’t understand as a person with a vision impairment. I didn’t realize I didn’t make eye contact. I didn’t realize sometimes that my facial expressions said more to others and I often missed seeing other’s facial expressions and picking up on subtle cues. However, theatre helped me to work on these skills. Because of this, I have come up with a new way to teach social interaction as a part of the ECC.

I have put together a curriculum of social interaction based theatre games to help other blind and visually impaired students to learn these same skills in a way that is more than just educational. This curriculum is emotional, engaging, true to life, and did I mention...FUN!! I am so excited to share some of them with you here on “The Independent LIttle Bee”! Keep an eye out and until then…

Stay Ambitious!

Frankie Ann

Teach the Expanded Core Curriculum with a Murder Mystery Party

We have new ways of teaching in today's world. This is exciting because it is empowering us to find new meaningful ways to teach the Expanded Core. My new favorite activity? A murder mystery! Yasssss, it was awesome!  Murder mystery parties are fantastic for teaching the Expanded Core because it really pushes our students to ask questions, pay attention to details and work on their problem solving skills. 

I know you are excited about this idea but are you wondering where to even start? Don't recreate the wheel on this one. We bought a murder mystery game and then went to work on infusing ECC. We bought ours from Red Herring Games. Ours was The Great Spatsby: https://www.red-herring-games.com/events/murder-at-great-spatsby/.  Yes, they have virtual games, too!!

Step one is to get the game. 

Step two: identify what you need to pre-teach. I can't stress this enough--we have to create the best conditions for learning. This often means pre-teaching so our students have an idea of what's going to happen or to plot their move. We did three pre-teach sessions. These sessions focused on The Gatsby era of US history. We focused on the "backstory" of the setting of our game. For example, we discussed the impact of the stock market crash, the Great Depression, opulence and wealth in the elite class, etc. 

Step three: accessibility. We made sure all of our clues were tactile, Braille copies of anything in print and large print tags on things. Accessibility wasn't just having things in accessible form. We did this in a vintage hotel so the setting was spot on, the characters were in dress and character. Pretty much everything that was visual was brought to life and accessible. 

Step four: characters. The characters were the essence of the party! They had to be spot on. Fortunately, Red Herring games comes with scripts which made a lot of this possible. We roped in fun people from our school including our superintendent (she's the maid) and our campus director (pictured next to her). We also included our college transition students in the fun. They worked on their part with the coaching of Frankie Ann (from Blind Ambition who blogs here on The Bee). 

Step five: TIME. We provided support on asking good questions, how to evaluate details and facts and then provided students time to work this out as groups. Oh man, can you see all the Expanded Core skills?? They are literally ooozing out of this idea! There were so many skills that we intentionally planned/infused for. 

We ended with light refreshments and a fun social gathering as we learned from Inspector Dina Tracy (aka Robbin) who the culprit was (it was the maid!). And just in case you were wondering how we pulled this off during Covid, everyone wore masks, practiced social distance as much as possible, temp checks and lot of cleaning. Check out videos of our fun night on 9MoreThanCore on Instagram. 

By the way, this was so awesome that this is our new annual October event! 

ECC Chill Pill Lesson

Happy back to school friends! I know it is crazy right now but we can still provide meaningful Expanded Core instruction for our students. Check out this fun idea: make chill pills with students. Huh? I'm sure you have seen this fun idea floating around on Pinterest or other craft places. You can take this fun idea and infuse a TON of ECC learning and skills practice for students of various abilities. 

 I referenced our ECC assessments (you should do this, too!)
Here's a few of my ideas of how you can infuse ECC learning:

Community learning: what is a pharmacy? learn about employees that work there--what are their titles? Research different types of pharmacies and locations. Plot a bus/walking route. What are items you can get a pharmacy? Over the counter vs prescription? Safety measures with medication

Social/emotional: review why someone would need to take a "chill pill", what does it mean to "chill out". You can review emotions and healthy ways to manage them and express them. I also like to do a mental health toolbox where students learn different ways to manage mental health and then select ideas to build their own coping skills. 

Independent living skills: how do you manage your personal medication? Hygiene is another great topic at this time. How do you open and store medication safely? Use technology to read medication labels. 

Now it's important to remind you that you want to have intentional, meaningful instruction so ponder how you will present this and work through material with students. Don't shove all this information into one lesson! The bonus part is the actual chill pills. We used a mix of Skittles and M&Ms. Another bonus ILS is to review favorite snacks, prices, location of these items, etc. Allow students to mix it up and select their own "pill combinations". 

These make great gifts for others. You may have to stuff them with pre-packaged candies for Covid safety but all in all, it will still work. Last but not least, the label lesson! Teach students what is on a prescription label. We had print and then Braille labels for students. Big shout out to my secretary who assembled these ones! She did a great job. Our students loved them. They were part of our back to school for our residential students. 

Would you like the label to make your own? I'm happy to share! Email me at robbin.keating@gmail.com and I'll get you the template. 

 

ECC Family Project 2

I quite possibly think that this new series is becoming my favorite during this quarantine time. Why? Because I am a mom and I know first-hand how hard it is to manage life! This is a project that kiddos with multiple impairments or typically developing can do with their siblings. 

You only need THREE ingredients and a popsicle mold--easy peasy! I bought these molds in the Dollar Spot at Target awhile back. You can also probably find them at Dollar Tree or order them for a minimal cost. My youngest (she's 6 years old) did the project with minimal support from me. 

The other bonus? It wasn't a marathon long project. We were done (including set up, preparation and clean up) in 15 minutes. Boom! The recipe was a find from Pinterest. Here it is: http://poofycheeks.com/2014/06/jell-o-popsicle-recipe/. Now that we have discovered this one, Pinterest has been awesome to find me a dozen more variations. 

A couple of important notes for maximizing your total Expanded Core learning: 

1. Your child is the one who should be in charge of the set up & clean up (not just the actual cooking). They should pull out the pot for the water, measuring cup, bowl and spoon. This is the part that may take a few extra minutes if they are new to the kitchen scene. Don't do this part with siblings as they tend to be well meaning but give away the answers. Normally I would suggest that your child also buy the Jell-O but we are in a new normal here. Have a quick (seriously--QUICK) discussion on the different flavors of Jell-O if they are new to Jell-O. Talk about the cost (Jell-O and store brand is cheap!).

2. Consider contrast. Notice that I selected dark blue. It is easy to see. If your child has no vision, consider using a tray with all of the ingredients to keep things organized. 

3. If your child has limitations such as multiple impairments, think about how they can actively participate. That's different than being totally independent. Can they hold the box? Open it? Can they stir? You can discuss hot and cold, empty and full concepts easily. Are they very limited with their hands? No worries--go hand-under-hand with them. Not sure how? Watch this super quick and awesome video: https://www.wsdsonline.org/hand-under-hand/ (watch Daniel Makes A Smoothie). 

4. Let them use the stove! The easiest thing you can do on a stove is boil water. Highlight how you know water is boiling without seeing it. You can hear it! 

5. Put your child in charge of cleaning up! That includes wiping down the counter. 

I have to admit that I was a little nervous about how my little one was going to pour the mix into the containers. I have a small one cup measuring cup. We simply dunked the cup in the mix and then poured it. She did it all by herself. ECC bonus skills: pouring! No vision? No worries! Don't let your child put their finger in (we do discourage it but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do). Try having them feel the outside of the container while they pour. The water is hot and you can feel it fill up the container. BEFORE they pour have them indicate with their finger where the top of the mold is. This way you know that they know where the top is. 

Freeze for a few hours and enjoy! I didn't add as much sugar as the recipe called for but you can do whatever works for your family. NOTE: for kids with multiple impairments, really play up the temperature aspects of this. There are repeated opportunities to talk about hot and cold. You could easily make a new recipe with a new flavor each week. Once you master these, you can rank up and try the fruit ones with fresh fruit and coconut milk. Go for it! 

Expanded Core Family Project

Hi everyone, here is a quick and easy Expanded Core FAMILY activity! Make sunshine cards for patients in the hospital. I got this idea because it dawned on me that people weren't easily able to visit loved ones who are sick. The great thing about the ECC is that sooooo many ideas match ECC skills. Here's a fun and easy way that the whole family can do an activity together that also gives you a ton of ECC learning.
Below is the text from post: 

Get a pack of cards. Tip:  I used some blank cards from Dollar Tree (only 50 cents a card!)

ECC spotlight: 

talk about the price of cards, purpose of cards, location of cards in a store

Research thoughtful messages for cards. Type or print messages for cards.

ECC spotlight: 

use assistive tech to do research for messages. practice typing skills!

Call a local hospital to find out how you can drop off cards.

ECC spotlight: 

research the address of the hospital--discuss landmarks, find out if there is a bus route or careers at a hospital 

We also bought some sticker since we knew that there were some kids who would receive this. We downloaded free lunchbox notes from Pinterest. Note: We put these items into a bag. Our original thought was to put them inside the cards but since we wanted every item to be safe for patients, we put them in a bag with a post-it for hospital staff to put inside cards after they were finished with their quarantine.

 We took our research of get well notes and wrote them in the cards. The message says: Dear Friend, There are times that we need to know that people care about us. This is one of those times and I happen to be one of those people. Hope you feel better soon!

 We know our parents have a lot going on with "the new normal".  Anyway that we can include things for the whole family can help a lot! I hope this gave you some fun ideas!

Support Independence for Students with Vision Impairments with a Teacher Feedback Group

Are you loving our mugshots? These are some of the awesome people on our team getting into our new teacher feedback group. Back story: we have some new teachers, veteran teachers and new staff that struggle with knowing when and how to step back to support our students with their independence. It's a common problem. It's often an unconscious problem. People don't realize how much they are impeding our students. My team has good intentions. They have hearts of gold and they work hard but we make the same mistake: impeding independence. 

I wanted to continue to give my team feedback but I didn't want it to feel punitive or create a negative environment. Giving citations is a popular strategy for students in general education. Sometimes they are called "speeding tickets". This inspired this idea!  

I wanted to do something that I could get teacher buy in with. I created the (above pictured) "independence violation". Teachers could observe each other and cite them when they are impeding independence of our students. We all know these offenses: carrying their books, helping them open containers, serving them food, getting them whatever and not making them get up---the list could go on and on. I needed us to get present about this hinderance. We aren't doing students ANY favors by doing so many things for them especially our students who are completely blind. They don't pick up on the incidental learning. They need all these little opportunities for independence.
Again, I wanted something that empowers teachers. Feedback for instruction helps with this. But it can go wrong if not handled the right way. People can be sensitive. Fortunately my staff and I have a collaborative environment and we support each other. But....I still wanted to have fun with this. Enter my funny officer and our mugshots! The team got where I was going with this and everyone jumped on board. 

Important: I didn't want to just do negative call outs or citations. I wanted teachers to develop to learn how to give meaningful feedback. I added a section to the citation ticket that says "rectify the offense". This allows us to shift from the violation to a solution. We created a bulletin board where we post our citations/solutions and once a month we get together and review them.
We have loved this idea and the positive outcomes are far reaching. Teachers are now going to be more aware of their interactions with students. Teachers will find new solutions for how to step back. Want a copy of my citation? Send me an email and I'm happy to share. Try this out with everyone--parents, teachers and paraprofessionals. We included everyone (even my secretary) on this! Anyone who has interactions with our students was included. We are hoping our feedback group will help us move from villains to heroes! 

Ten Tips for Advocacy & Self Love to Carry With You Over the Next Ten Years

“Ten Tips for Advocacy and Self Love To Carry With You Over the Next Ten Years”

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Hi everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday surrounded by your family and friends! I know I did! As we approach the end and beginning of a decade, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I’ve grown over the last ten years. And man, have I CHANGED. In 2009-2010 I was in my sophomore year of high school. I was experiencing a lot of challenges with my condition, not just visually, but in every aspect. I was working really hard to navigate my peer relationships, do well in school, balance my life... plus manage my ever fluctuating SOD (septo-optic dysplasia). I’ve written before about the challenges I faced during my teenage years and how that time often felt like it was never going to end...

 BUT IT DID!!! There were still hard moments over the years but since then I have accomplished a lot! I successfully graduated both high school and college within the normal time frame. I have traveled to and spent time living in twelve different states (some more than once), one foreign country, and one tropical island. I worked on over fifty productions both on and off the stage. I got my first white cane and pair of glasses. I danced on the stage at Radio City Music Hall. I climbed three different literal mountains and more figurative mountains than i can name. I got my first professional teaching job. I learned to be independent AND interdependent. I fell in love. And the list keeps going! 

But this is life. It isn’t all sunshine and happiness all of the time. And I would be lying if I said that for all the joy, succsss, and adventure this decade brought me- it’s kind of come full circle. I started the decade in a rough spot and I’m ending it that way too.

But I’m hopeful that just like the past ten years, the next ten will bring so many wonderful opportunities. And as i reflect on the past decade and prepare for the new, I have Ten Tips to share with you to hopefully inspire you to live your best life, advocate for your success, and love yourself a little more in the years ahead! (They are a little long so bare with me!)

1. Every part of you is something to celebrate. It can be tempting sometimes to try and “hide” your vision impairment. But why?? Everyone has something going on in their life or something about them that makes them unique or special. And yours just happens to be your vision! Embrace it! Once you accept yourself and celebrate all the elements that make you who you are, it will be hard for others not to follow suit!
2. You are your own worst enemy-not sighted people. It’s easy to feel like because sighted people don’t always understand you that they are against you. This is SO NOT TRUE. Most sighted people just don’t get it initially. But once you explain you’re vision, there is so much opportunity to create a dynamic relationship! Thinking that because they may not understand means they can’t or don’t want to understand you will only do you a disservice. You could miss out on incredible connections, friendships, and opportunities. Don’t let your own insecurities and anxieties about how they may view you get in your way. Which brings me to my next point....
3. Stop worrying so much! Life is way too short to let anxiety and insecurity rule your daily life. You are so capable and deserve to have every possible experience life has to offer. The only one holding you back from taking those chances and leaps of faith is you! I know it can be scary and anxiety inducing thinking about all of the potential “no”s you will hear or the ones you’ve already heard. But don’t let those rule your world. Find every opportunity to take that “No”and turn it into a “YES”!
4. It’s okay to not be okay. Sometimes though, despite our best efforts, there are some things we just cannot do. And it’s okay to feel that. It’s okay to be sad about that. Sometimes things happen that are genuinely really awful. The only way to truly move forward is to let yourself feel those sad and bad feelings. Eventually you will grow through it. Eventually you will be able to use that as fuel to persevere. But in the meantime, if you are having trouble moving on.... have a good cry. Eat that pint of Ben and Jerry’s. Call your best friend and vent about it. Allow yourself that time to process so that you can come back stronger than ever.
5. It’s okay to let go. Sometimes things in our life no longer serve us anymore, or no longer fit in with our plan. Whether it’s moving on from a place, or saying goodbye to a friendship; sometimes holding on to tightly can only do more damage. It’s okay to let go of the things that don’t support you anymore. People grow, circumstances change. And there is nothing wrong with that. Allow yourself the freedom to move forward and maybe leave some things behind.
6. Asking for help isn’t a bad thing. You are strong. You are capable. You can do anything. But we don’t always feel that way. And in those moments it’s more than acceptable to ask for help and lean on someone else for a minute. Surround yourself with people who lift you up when you feel like you’ve hit rock bottom. And remember that you can do the same for them. That’s what support is all about; being there for each other to help each other through!
7. Fall down seven times, stand up eight. It’s easy to feel sometimes like you are stuck. When things go wrong, or if you’re feeling down, it can be easy to live in the discouragement. But I firmly believe that if you trust in yourself and the support of those around you, you will find yourself standing taller than ever before. Life knocks us down. And it can be devastating. But the more we fall, each time we end up standing a little taller,  with our head held a little higher. Each time we fall is a chance to learn and grow. It may take us sometime to get ourselves up. It may take us some time to heal. During my hard moments this is the mantra i use to help myself remember how strong I am. And i push myself to get up and keep going. I hope that you can use this phrase to get you through any of the moments where you feel like you can’t stand up anymore- you’ve fallen down seven times. But you will stand up eight!
8. Create your own way. This phrase has been on my mind so much, especially for the past few months. A friend of mine, Tara Llewelyn, who has had an incredibly successful career as a Broadway dresser is my current inspiration and motivation to live this phrase out. Throughout her time living in New York, Tara has definitely had her share of struggles. But despite any doubts or discouragements, she has risen up and used those moments as fuel to get creative and make something happen for herself. Tara is also a performer, which can be a challenging path. She has had many successful auditions and performed in many pieces in the city. But like every performer, there have been periods where she was said “no” to. And those are the moments in which Tara has truly thrived. She wrote and starred in her own one woman cabaret, “Seams and Songs” which she has revamped and reprised multiple times in venues throughout NYC and Connecticut. Most recently, she wrote, produced, starred in, and is currently working on post production edits of the pilot for her new television series, “Under The Influence”. She is also an avid blogger and always up for an adventure. Watching this friend of mine take life into her own hands has been  amazing and has inspired me to do the same. I’ve been writing more, singing more, and doing my best to use the talents I have to make opportunities! And so moving forward I hope that in moments where you feel stuck or unsure that you too will take life into your own hands and “create your own way”!
9. You really do only live once. Piggy backing off of that last one, when creating your own way don’t forget to take chances and try the things you’ve always wanted to. Over the past ten years, i have lost too many people. My community back hone lost two little angels who hadn’t even gotten to really experience life yet. I lost my dear teachers (Pam Diana, Ms. Helen, Louise Neistat, John Ayres). I lost a dear friend, LeRoy Walton. I lost three of my loving uncles. I lost my great grandfather. I lost my grandfather. I lost my sweet aunt. As I think back on all of the loss, I am reminded of how precious life is. It really is just too short, and though this phrase has become something rather comical, there is some serious truth to it. You really do only live once. So why waste it? Why waste the time you have waiting for something to happen? Go out there and do it! If there is something you’ve wanted to do but just haven’t gotten around to it or are nervous about it- get up, get out, and go do it! I had been saying for years that i wanted to try sky diving. It had always been in the back of my mind. But I kept telling myself it’s nice to think about but there’s no way I’ll actually do that. Then in 2018, my grandfather passed away. And shortly after that my dad and i were listening to “Live Like You Were Dying” by Tim McGraw. I’ve heard this song before, but this time it was different. I thought about all of the things my grandfather did and didn’t get to do. I wondered if he would have things he wished he had done. And in that moment I decided that I wasn’t going to waste a minute. So you know what I did? Later that year, I went skydiving. So go do it. Go skydiving. Go Rocky Mountain climbing. Love deeper. Speak sweeter. Give forgiveness you’ve been denying. Life is too short not to and you only live once.
10. Stay Ambitious! The catch phrase of my blog and my mantra for the next decade. I hope that you all never lose your ambition. We all have goals and dreams and the key to achieving them is through pure determination and ambition! Hold on to those dreams and goals. Don’t let bumps in the road scare you from following it still. I urge you all to live ambitiously. Take chances. Say yes. Fail. Try again. Today again, again. Be kind to yourself. Let yourself feel. Let things go. Fall down seven times. Stand up eight. Create your own way. Live ambitiously because you only have one life to do so! Use your ambition to turn the things you wish you did into the things you DID! Adventure is out there.... no go and get it!

Thanks for reading, friends! I wish you all so much love and happiness in the new year that I hope stays with you throughout the decade! Cheers to ten new years to chase your dreams, achieve those goals, and create the best and most exciting life for yourself! Your vision may not be 20/20, but that doesn’t mean 2020 can’t be the year to find your vision for life!

Stay Ambitious,

Frankie Ann