Tag: Learning

Rising Together: How Mark Ingrassia Is Using Special Ed Rising To Empower Families and Educators

On By justmymomsenseIn PodcastLeave a comment

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed navigating the world of special education, you’re not alone. This week on the Just My MomSense podcast, I talk with Mark Ingrassia, the heart and voice behind SpecialEdRising.com, to talk about his inspiring journey and mission to uplift families, educators, and students everywhere.

Mark is a passionate advocate and educator who has dedicated his career to supporting children with diverse learning needs. Through his podcast and website, Special Ed Rising, he’s built a safe and welcoming space for conversations about inclusion, advocacy, and understanding.

In our episode, Mark shares his journey into the world of special education, the lessons he’s learned along the way, and the inspiration behind Special Ed Rising. We also talk about the importance of community and how support, understanding, and a shared mission can make all the difference for children and the adults who champion them.

🔗 Listen to the Episode

For more about Mark’s work, visit SpecialEdRising.com and follow Special Ed Rising on social media.

Tech Life Inner Circle Launch

On By justmymomsenseIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Did you know the Tech Life Inner Circle Membership, created by Joan Green, with over 35 years of expertise, offers a supportive community for those seeking to enhance their technological proficiency? Members gain access to live office hours, tech challenges, and webinars that focus on innovative strategies for improving organization, productivity, communication, and social engagement. Joan regularly invites experts in the fields of accessibility, aging, special needs, learning, and productivity to provide diverse perspectives and specialized knowledge. This membership offers tools and insights for effectively integrating technology into daily life, catering to both personal and professional growth. It’s an ideal resource for anyone looking to navigate the complexities of modern technology with expert guidance.

This program is ideal for:

  • Parents: Gain tech skills that not only benefit you but also help you support your children’s educational and developmental needs.
  • Lifelong Learners: Stay connected and proficient in an increasingly digital world, reducing isolation and engaging actively with modern technology.
  • Educators and tutors: Improve your ability to incorporate technology into learning environments, making education more accessible and engaging for all students.
  • Executive Functioning Coaches: Enhance your toolkit with digital tools that support your clients’ needs for organization, planning, and task completion.
  • Speech-Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, and Educational Therapists: Build your confidence in integrating modern tech solutions to support individuals with ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, executive dysfunction, attention, cognitive, communication, and other challenges.
  • Senior Care Providers: Equip yourself with knowledge and tools to improve the engagement and independence of older adults in your care.
  • Neuropsychologists,  Vocational Rehab Specialists, Disability/ Accessibility Support Specialists, and Educational Consultants: Discover cutting-edge technologies that can refine your recommendations, particularly for students  and adults with learning and cognitive difficulties.
  • Caregivers of Adults with Developmental Disabilities: Learn about assistive technologies that can help increase independence and self-sufficiency for those you care for.
  • Anyone Seeking Less Stress and More Engagement and Productivity: Explore how everyday tech can simplify tasks, manage time better, and enhance overall quality of life.
  • Professionals in Transition: Ideal for individuals shifting careers or entering new life stages who need to upskill quickly and efficiently in technology.

Click here to learn more and to join the Tech Life Inner Circle with Joan Green!

Themed Learning Week | Day 2

On By justmymomsenseIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

“Climb the mountain, not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world.” – David McCullough

The World was our theme for Day 2 this week!

We kicked off our time by reading an oldie but goodie “I Am Human.” We love adding this book into our rotation from time to time to open the discussion of kindness, how we’re all connected and what we can do to make the world a better place. The conversation led to why it’s good to reduce, reuse and recycle and different types of ways we can help other people.

I found these awesome worksheets from clevelearner.com via Pinterest. They got to review directions of a compass and started to working on reading a map. Would a map discussion be complete if they weren’t able to create their own treasure map?

They decided to complete the treasure map while dressed as pirates. I took apart an old box and planned to have them create a city out of it. They had bigger plans!

Since they were already dressed as pirates and had a treasure map, why not create a whole island? They got to work with crayons, Play-Doh, figures and anything else they could find!

All in all, Day 2 was a success. The best part was watching their imaginations take over and finish off learning time.

There will be a total of 4 days in this series. A cold ran through the house that gave us a mid-week break!

Themed Learning Week | Day 1

On By justmymomsenseIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

In the last few weeks I’ve been squeezing in some learning time during the day. Not too much where they feel like it’s “school” but just enough to get some practice in before school starts. They’ve been doing some workbook pages, iPad learning games and having some solo reading time daily.

This week I decided to change things up by having a theme each day for “Learning Time.” First up: Pixar Day!

Have I mentioned how thankful I am for Pinterest? They get me through any kind of spontaneous teaching/learning I end up doing! I found this ‘Inside Out’ worksheet (courtesy of buildingyourstory.com) and circles (which I laminated and cut out).

I had them write out how the felt, in age appropriate ways. ‘J’ at 7 was able to write out sentences, while his sister at 4, copied which feeling she aligned with and one word that caused her to feel that way. They both picked Joy and considering it was Monday, I thought that was a great way to kick off their week!

I created a game with the circles. I turned them all face down and had them take turns picking one. Whatever circle they picked, they had to describe a time they felt like that character.

Since we were on a social-emotional path, we also read some of our ‘Inside Out’ character books.

Staying on our path, we discussed the Silenzio Bruno scene in ‘Luca.’ We talked through silencing negative thoughts, replacing them with positives and being brave! Then they colored this worksheet!

Next up, I snuck in some age appropriate Math! ‘J’ practiced money with a Toy Story worksheet and his sister worked on a Toy Story puzzle to practice number order. I built on both a bit by changing up the number order for the puzzle and having ‘J’ use pretend money to pay for the items on the worksheet.

We finished things up with a Toy Story matching game!

Day 1 was a success and they were excited to see what was in store for Day 2! Stay tuned for more!

Happy Earth Day!

On By justmymomsenseIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Picture it: 5 AM in my house (said in my Sophia Petrillo voice):

‘J’ wakes up, comes into our room and excitedly whispers IT’S EARTH DAY IT’S EARTH DAY!

Do I love how into Earth Day he is? YES

Do I love how he wants to learn more about helping the environment? YES

Do I love that he wanted to buy the Earth a gift? YES

Do I love that he acted like it was Christmas morning and woke everyone else up? No, no I don’t. But hey, ya win some ya lose some.

‘J’ has been learning about Earth Day this week in school. He’s learned all about reducing, reusing and recycling. Watching all of this reminds me that each generation gets smarter. It’s awesome being a fly on the wall to watch it all.

‘J’ and his sister were all in for some Earth Day photos. We worked on arts and crafts by reusing various materials and planted some flowers in old coffee cans. How did you celebrate Earth Day?

L to R: Creating the earth with a paper plate, paint and a ziplock bag, Making flowers out of recycled paper, planting flowers in old coffee cans

Sorting Fun

On By justmymomsenseIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Impromptu sorting game for a lil TGIF fun!

My kiddos are 4 and 21 months, so we worked on a variety learning objectives with this one. Each plate had the name of the color written uppercase in that color. I also wrote it out in lowercase on the bottom. I grabbed random toys from around the house and threw them in a big pile in the middle.

img_3256.jpg

This ended up being a great success!

  • I had them sit on the couch to listen to the instructions. #listeningcomprehension
  • They worked together to sort random toys on the correct plate. #teamwork
  • ‘J’ was able to read the words on the plate. #reading
  • When there was more than one of any item, we worked on counting. #math
  • Speaking candidly, ‘Baby J’ was over the sorting portion a lot sooner than ‘J,’ so she started putting the mega blocks together. Working on those gross motor skill, right?

Sometimes I forget how easy it is to create games with things you already have in the house. They both had fun and we’ll definitely do it again soon!

 

Breathe, Think, Do

On By justmymomsenseIn Uncategorized1 Comment

We often hear that screen time is bad. It’s detrimental to a child and their learning process. I’m of the belief that there’s a great balance between personal interaction, reading, playing and screen time. For me screen time includes TV, movies and apps.

One of my favorite apps I have come across is: ‘Sesame Street Breathe, Think, Do.’ This app has children help a Blue Monster through challenges. For example, the Blue Monster has trouble tying his shoes and becomes frustrated. First, the child helps the monster take three deep breaths. Then, the child can pop bubbles which helps the monster think of three possible solutions. Finally, the child gets to choose which of the three options may best help the monster.

‘J’ really enjoys this app and it’s great at teaching him to stop and think through his challenges or frustrations. He breathes along with the monster. He has fun popping the bubbles and learns how different choices can be made when approaching a challenge.

There are so many great learning apps out there. You can learn letters, numbers, shapes, spelling, the list goes on. ‘J’ has loves playing these “games” and doesn’t even realize how much he learns from them.

What I love about Breathe, Think, Do is that it addresses daily challenges and feelings, which is a lot harder to teach. Especially for someone who has sensory difficulties.

Then again, I wouldn’t expect anything less from Sesame Street.

IMG_8389E23DA6AF-1