8 Ways to Make Outings Less Stressful

The holidays are a time of year families and classrooms go on fun outings. 8 Ways to Make Outings Less Stressful includes eight helpful hints for making any family outing or class trip less stressful.

Please feel free to share this article or any other Sandbox Learning articles with other parents and professionals.
 
          8 Ways to Make Outings Less Stressful - PDF
          8 Ways to Make Outings Less Stressful - Web Article
                      Full List of Articles

Student Links
For Fun
Funbrain- online educational games for kids of all ages
CBC kids- games, videos and activities for children
CBC kids- games, videos and activties for the younger children
Seussville- official Dr Seuss website
PBS Kids- educational programs for children
Chef Solus- free kids healthy games



Math
Cool Math for Kids
Mr Anker Tests
A Plus Math 



Science
National Geographic for Kids
Weather Network
Astronomy picture of the Day



Language
Raz-kids - a site for reading leveled books
Tumble books-interactive library of animated, talking storybooks
Starfall-A free website to teach children to read with phonics
Scholastic Canada-A world-wide publisher and distributor of children's books, classroom and professional magazines, educational software and instructional materials.Mr Anker Tests- Fun quizzes to practice skills of by subject and grade levels



News
CBC for Kids
Owl MagazineSSRSB Website



Search
Wikipedia- a great site for any information
Ask Jeeves Kids- a great search engine for answering simple questions


Library Websites
www.childrenslibrary.org
www.readingrockets.org
www.funbrain.com
www.magickeys.com
www.scholastic.com
www.virtual-egypt.com

    Two very good sites I discovered ~


Lives in the Balance is the non-profit organization founded by child psychologist Dr. Ross Greene, author of The Explosive Child and Lost at School, and originator of the Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) approach. This website contains a ton of information – streaming video, an extensive Listening Library, and a boatload of additional resources -- to help you learn about and implement the research-based CPS model and provide you with the support you need. Just CLICK HERE to get started.  
Sign up for our newsletter
Home Page:  http://www.livesinthebalance.org/

Excellent articles written by Dr. Sutton on topics relating to Home & Family, School, and Counseling. These involve his personal experiences and the experiences shared with him by others. Most of these articles have appeared in different blogs and the ODD Management Digest over the last several years. 
  SUBSCRIBE to The ODD Management Digest: (FREE)

  An excellent up-to-date resource for parents, teachers, and counselors. 

Home Page:   http://www.friendlyoakspublications.com/Docspeak/?page_id=543

          Helping Children Cope with Stressful Situations

The article, Helping Children Cope with Stressful Situations, includes strategies children can use to identify and cope with stressful situations.
Helping Children Cope with Stressful Situations - PDF
Helping Children Cope with Stressful Situations - Web Article

 Frustration is a feeling that often results from stressful situations. The story Feeling Frustrated discusses coping strategies for a variety of frustrating situations such as trying new activities, completing work, and dealing with schedule changes. The story includes an area for addressing situations especially frustrating for the child and preferred coping strategies.
Deciding how to respond to situations can be stressful for children. Help children learn to make good decisions about their actions with the story, Making Good Choices.

Change, whether big or small, can be stressful. Divorce, a new teacher, a change in routine, the death of a pet, or a friend moving away are just a few examples of changes that can be addressed in When Things Change. This story discusses feelings associated with change and ways to cope with it. It includes personalization of small and big changes that are especially difficult for the child and individual coping strategies.

One of the most stressful situations for children is dealing with a bully. Bullies discusses bullying including strategies to avoid being bothered and how to react to bullies.
One feeling children may have when under stress is sadness. Feeling Sad discusses feeling sad and recognizing it in others. It shows appropriate responses for managing sadness and includes customization of times a child feels sad and coping strategies.


     Feelings Faces Emotions Cards
Stressful situations can cause a spectrum of feelings from anger and frustration to anxiety and sadness. Feelings Faces is a set of 38 illustrated feelings that can be customized just like Success Stories. The unlimited customization and printing allow these cards to be used for a wide range of purposes such as identification of feelings, games, literacy activities, and visual prompts. Check out the link below to get more great ideas on Feelings Faces!
Activity Ideas and More Information

Source: http://www.sandbox-learning.com         

Looking for a Social Preparedness Story on Personal Space ??? 


Here is a very good video to show students to help explain Personal Space.
Personal space can also be referred to as the bubble around me.
                                
Here is the link:  
 http://scaffimd.blogspot.com/2009/03/personal-space-social-story.html

 
             
                 

   Check out this website for OCALI:

    

        http://www.ocali.org/  

 OCALI: stands for Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI) serves families, educators, and professionals working with students with autism and low-incidence disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairments, other health impairments, and traumatic brain injuries.   

            Check out Free Online Webinar Series on Social Competence which begins Nov. 28^th (the site shows presentation times in EST) The webinars will actually show from 4 to 5 pm AST : Register for password in advance and you may need to download free plug-in software ahead of time to view the show.     

http://www.ocali.org/project/social_competence_webinar_serie

There are also Archived Webinars on this site  including one called “Autism 101.”

  An app for OCALI is also available through itunes

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ocali/id447612401?mt=8

     
                             Source: http://kidshealth.org/kid/closet/


Here's where you'll find games and activities to help you explore your health and
 the human body.Click on any category below to view the articles.

                      

            Games

• Food Flight Christmas Game
• Halloween Candy Game
• Mission Nutrition!
• Spelling Bee Game
• Time for Bed?

            Movies

• Asthma Movie
• Diabetes Movie
• Getting a Blood Test (Video)
• Getting a CAT Scan (Video)
• Getting a Spirometry Test (Video)
• Getting a Strep Test (Video)
• Getting a Urine Test (Video)
• Getting an EKG (Video)
• Getting an IV (Video)
• Getting an MRI (Video)
• Getting an Upper GI (Video)
• Getting an X-ray (Video)
• How We Play
• How the Body Works: Movies
• Kids Ask Cal
• Video: What It's Like to Be Color Blind

            Experiments

• All About Your Senses: Experiments to Try
• Candy Experiment: Acid Test
• Candy Experiment: Chocolate Bloom
• Candy Experiment: Color Separation
• Candy Experiment: Density Rainbow
• Candy Experiment: Floating Letters
• Candy Experiment: Lifesaver Lights
• Candy Experiment: Oil Test
• Candy Experiment: Sink or Float?
• Candy Experiment: Sticky Stuff
• Candy Experiments
• Senses Experiment: Are Two Eyes Better Than One?
• Senses Experiment: Brain Box
• Senses Experiment: Catch the Penny!
• Senses Experiment: Do You Hear What I Hear?
• Senses Experiment: Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
• Senses Experiment: Model Eardrum
• Senses Experiment: Mystery Smells
• Senses Experiment: No Flavor Without Saliva
• Senses Experiment: One or Two?
• Senses Experiment: Surprise
• Senses Experiment: Take a Walk on the Smelly Side
• Senses Experiment: Tasting - With Your Nose?
• Senses Experiment: The Red, White, and Blue
• Senses Experiment: Which One's Heavier?

             What Is It?

• Focus on Food
• Topic Microscopic

              Quizzes

• Organize, Focus, Get It Done Quiz
• Quiz: Do You Need a Flu Shot?

              Activities

• Brain Songs by Roger Day
• Explore the Food Guide Pyramid (Interactive)
• HealthSearch
• HealthSearch Answer Sheet
• How the Body Works Scavenger Hunt
• How the Body Works Scavenger Hunt Answer Sheet
• My Body
• Printable: Play the Game of Like
• Rainy Day Fun
• Road Trip Fun
• Step Into Your Brain: An American Museum of Natural History Exhibit

• Asthma Movie
• Diabetes Movie
• Getting a Blood Test (Video)
• Getting a CAT Scan (Video)
• Getting a Spirometry Test (Video)
• Getting a Strep Test (Video)
• Getting a Urine Test (Video)
• Getting an EKG (Video)
• Getting an IV (Video)
• Getting an MRI (Video)
• Getting an Upper GI (Video)
• Getting an X-ray (Video)
• How We Play
• How the Body Works: Movies
• Kids Ask Cal
• Video: What It's Like to Be Color Blind

                             NEW!!  

         Your snowman is hungry, but can you feed him healthy food?

          Use the arrow keys to move the snowman left and right.

       

            Source:    http://kidshealth.org/kid/closet/games/food_flight_game.html 

                             

Kidspiration Helps Students:

Develop strong thinking skills

Strengthen reading and writing skills

Build conceptual understanding in math Helps

                                   
                                                Resource:   http://www.inspiration.com/Kidspiration

Kidspiration^® supports success across the curriculum

Develop Critical Thinking Skills
Strengthen Reading and Writing Skills
Build Conceptual Understanding in Math
Educator Developed Resources Support Curriculum Integration
Easy Navigation and Simple Operations Support for Every K-5 Learner
Teacher Options Keep Students Focused on Learning
Support for ELL and ESL Students
Kidspiration Keeps Up with the Latest Technology

Kidspiration  provides a wonderful way for children to interact and connect concepts, content, and ideas through flow charts and pictures. Ideal for brainstorming, idea creating and planning. Great for visual / spatial learners.

You can add images from the huge database or you can import any from your computer. You can also draw your own pictures / words using the mouse.          

There are built in templates such as graphs,

character profiles, creative writing templates, and many more.

Ideal for IWB and well worth a look. There is a  21 day free trial at the moment - but is available for a reasonable price.

                       
                                              Resource:  http://www.inspiration.com/Kidspiration

    iPads and Autism – A 60 Minutes Documentary





This CBS 60 minutes documentary provides fascinating insights into the use of the iPad as a communication tool for individuals with autism. A must see!!!

 Building a Community of Learners 

  The Whole Child Newsletter October 24, 2011 is the source for this article.


"A successful learner is a child who enters school emotionally and physically healthy; feels safe and is ready to learn; is connected to the school and the community; and has access to challenging and engaging academic programs. A successful learner is prepared for further education, work, and civic life. When schools implement this whole child approach to education, they make healthy development, student learning, and academic achievement cornerstones of comprehensive, systematic, and collaborative school improvement ," quoted from the website newsletter. 


Read full article at "The Whole Child" website and see 'From the newsletter' on the right
 http://www.wholechildeducation.org/?topicId=16816&lk=9387021-9387021-0-49179-O584FSIKBp831qevhnCGUaeU7QNDLdOR


This website has many resources including informative articles, podcasts, newsletters and a blog to name a few.
To go to the home page: http://www.wholechildeducation.org/  
To receive the newsletter: http://whatworks.wholechildeducation.org/newsletter/
To check out the Blog: http://whatworks.wholechildeducation.org/about-blog/

              25 Great Math Games !!           
                                                                             




Math Baseball           Counting on a Cloud        Estimation Contraption

Multiplication Matho            Crack Hacker's Safe                   Fresh Baked Fractions

Concentration Memory Game        Number Cracker               Maze & Marbles

Math Mystery Word            Dr. Brain's Robot                        Addition Attack

Chess                              Virtual Coin Toss                         Shape Surveyor 
                             
Build It!                                 Martian Math                             Tangrams


                

Math Machine Games has more than 50 online math games for students from Early Elementary to Grade 12 !!

Building Sandcastles
Math Skills: shape recognition (Grades Pre-K-K)

Perfectly Symmetrical
Math Skills: plotting points with x and y axes; symmetry (Grades 4-8)
Mission: Magnetite
Math Skills: understanding relationships between percents, fractions, and pictures (Grades 3-5)


Time Travelin' Math Skills: telling time (Grades 2-4)

Power Football
Math Skills: addition; subtraction; multiplication; division; computation with decimals (Grades 4-8)
Traffic Jam
Math Skills: problem solving; logic (Grades K-12)
Jumping Math Cats
Math Skills: problem solving (Grades 4-12)
Counting Money
Math Skills: counting with money (Grades 1-2)
Disguise Combos
Math Skills: data analysis; probability; problem solving (Grades 2-5)
Measure It!
Math Skills: using rulers to measure centimeters and inches (Grades 1-6)
Penguin Waiter
Math skills: calculation with percentages and money (Grades 4-12)

Mathteroids
Math Skills: multiples (Grades 3-6)
Multiplication Mystery
Math Skills: identifying factors; multiplication (Grades 3-5)
Guess a Number!
Math Skills: number sense; problem solving (Grades K-12)
Logic Zoo
Math Skills: sorting; finding attributes; using Venn diagrams; problem solving; logic (Grades 2-5)

Da' Numba
Math Skills: addition (Grades 1-12)
Reversi
Math Skills: strategy; logic; problem solving (Grades 1-12)
Cookie Dough
Math Skills: spelling number words; converting number words to digits; place value (Grades K-5)
Tangram Game
Math Skills: recognizing and manipulating shapes; problem solving (Grades K-6)
Star Gazing
Math Skills: angle measurement (Grades 2-6)

The Crazy Pattern Machine
Math Skills: completing patterns (Grades K-3)
Buggin' Out
Math Skills: problem solving (Grades 1-4)
Math Frozen Bubble
Math Skills: matching patterns; addition; odd and even; multiples (Grades K-12)
Operation Order
Math Skills: order of operations; addition; subtraction; multiplication; division (Grades 6-10)
Multiplication Mystery
Math Skills: identifying factors; multiplication (Grades 3-5)

Send in the Trolls
Math Skills: data analysis; probability (Grades 2-6)
Long Line o' Math Cats
Math Skills: addition; subtraction; multiplication; division; problem solving (Grades 5-12)
Math Splat
Math Skills: addition and subtraction with fractions and mixed numerals (Grades 4-6)
Disaster Math
Math Skills: interpreting and solving word problems (Grades 5-8)
Reaction Math
Math Skills: addition; subtraction; multiplication (Grades 1-12)

       
This site is a purpose built library of visual, dynamic, and interactive resources. All of these resources are free!
These resources are designed for the whiteboard  but can be used on individual computers.



  http://christmas.iboard.co.uk/curriculummobile.htm?launch=3588#maths-year1numstrategy_yearreception


  http://christmas.iboard.co.uk/curriculummobile.htm?launch=3588#newliteracy-topic1


  http://christmas.iboard.co.uk/phonics.htm#2__Words_using_sets_1_and_2_GPCs


   http://christmas.iboard.co.uk/curriculum.htm#science-year1sci_yearyear1


  http://christmas.iboard.co.uk/curriculum.htm#ict-year1ict_yearyear1


 http://christmas.iboard.co.uk/curriculum.htm#geography-year1geog_yearyear1


  http://christmas.iboard.co.uk/curriculum.htm#history-year1history_yearyear1


   http://christmas.iboard.co.uk/curriculum.htm#re-year1re_yearyear1


                                                                                                       

          Anxious Kids: Are You Dealing with an Insecure Teen?

This article written by Janet Lehman is quite informative. 

Preteens and teens emotions can be all over the place from anxiety, insecurity and over sensitive. 

Read the article at:

http://www.empoweringparents.com/anxious-kids-dealing-with-an-insecure-teen.php 

Also here website I found the article at:      

http://www.empoweringparents.com/ 

Since the signs differ a little for kids versus adults, here’s a list of seven signs that tell you if your child needs further assessment:

      1. Delayed development

      2. Feeling fatigued or lacking interest

      3. Poor Grades 

      4. Falling back

      5. Excessive complaints about aches and pains

      6. Feeling over the top anger

      7. Feeling excessive fear

Read more about each of the 7 signs here: 

http://blogs.psychcentral.com/anxiety/2011/09/seven-signs-your-kid-needs-professional-help/

   

More Lists of Apps for Autism!

Click here to read Jeremy Brown's Android App List.


Click here to read a list of the Favorite iTunes Apps from the AACchicks!


Click here to read The iTaalk Top 30: Educational Apps to Get You Started, and All for Under $30!


Click here to visit autismepicenter.net for a list of Autism Apps That Will Help You!


Click here to view iPad Apps for Autism: A Spreadsheet of Reviews and Recommendations from Squidalicious.


Click here to visit Apps for Children with Special Needs.


Click here for a list of Apps for Special Education from Cognitech Cafe.

Communication Apps

Picture Planner
Picture Planner is a day/event planner that uses images with prompts and reminders to help individuals stay on track. Totally customizable and mobile, Picture Planner is viewable on iPad and iPod touch. Create schedules on a desktop and sync to the mobile devices so Picture Planner goes where you go.
www.cognitopia.com


School Skills
School Skills is an iPod/iPad app that addresses social skills using expected and unexpected behavior. The expected and unexpected behaviors gives the student a concrete understanding of the specific social skill. Target areas in school includes Conversations, Classroom, Cafeteria, PE, Recess, Playing Games with friends and the feelings Anger, disappointment waiting, and responsibility. The app also explains in a social story type fashion about the social skills needed.
itunes.com


Visual Prompts Board
Visual Prompts Board offers to enhance communication abilities for individuals with limited speech communication skills. The application empowers the individuals with Autism, Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, Apraxia of speech, communication delays or learning differences with opportunity to become independent and able to express their own specific needs and wants.
itunes.apple.com