Chalk is a disaster for my students. They get it everywhere, sometimes it stains certain knits, or they try eating it so frequently that I cannot keep up with redirecting them all. However, it is also a lot of fun for practicing handwriting and hanging out outside.
I had not seen much in the form of chalk paint except at craft stores and the colors are quite dull. I used baking soda, flour, and a few drops of food coloring (add more or less depending on how hot of a color you want). Depending on size and how thick you would like it to be, use about equal parts water and flour to make a mixture of 2/3s. Then, match that to 1/3 baking soda to complete the mixture. My students practiced tacting shapes, tracing, and holding the brushes with a more firm grip. I used a thicker mixture with students who had a harder time with fine motor skills. This helped it transfer to the concrete without the student showing more of a struggle than the rest of the class. After all, this is supposed to be fun!
I will definitely use this play based learning activity next year and have the students more involved with the measuring and mixing next time.
I had a great opportunity to go to SXSWedu this year. Attending was one of my goals for the year, so I am on track for doing great things in education this year. You can view the article here.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me and given me cool ideas to incorporate in my classroom!
SXSW for most Austinites means traffic and not being able to do much of anything around town. This is mainly true for me---- Okay, well maybe I still spend my time watching a ton of my favorite bands play and its fun, but this year I switched it up and went to SXSWedu. I had a great time attending the #ETW15 conference and made a lot of great connections with like minded women. The theme among my conversations with others was that there is a need to support each other instead of innately pitting against one another. I think there was some validity in that, but I did not agree when I heard some women saying that those without children need to cut slack for women with children. I don't understand that. I hold everyone to the same standard and some days you choose to work, others you choose to slack. How other women manage their time isn't my concern. If something is done wrong or late that is on the person not meeting expectations. It is not the responsibility of others to cut slack.
The rest of the week went really well. I taught a class on the ProLoQuo2Go system to parents and district staff, saw a handful of solid educational films, hung outside of the formal parts of SX with some really great Grrrls, and was able to increase my personal growth. The week left me feeling reaffirmed in my belief that large strides need to be taken toward a technologically enriched classroom for all students, including Special Education students.
