Transition Activity

Looking for a quick and easy transition activity for your students?

Linking Learning Centers to Themes

One of the things we discuss a lot is making connections between themes and learning centers. For some teachers this comes easily, and for others it can be very challenging. There are lots of resources available to assist you if you don't feel creative or inspired, and I think this would be a good topic for discussion on our Big Tent site. Lean on each other for support, advice and encouragement. We all have great ideas to share, so when you are stuck and need inspiration, ask! I'm willing to bet you will get a response that is helpful!

Here are some pictures I took a few weeks ago...can you guess what the theme was?

And we're back!

...almost! Things are moving, though not as quickly as any of us want them to be.

Please be patient while I update links, etc.

Looking forward to a fantastic year! :)

Around the classroom...

Daily sign-in :)

Magnetic letters and environmental print

Birthday Chart

Writing center

Self-Regulation

Article on Self-Regulation

A serious setback to Pre-K schooling - Other Views - NewsObserver.com

A serious setback to Pre-K schooling - Other Views - NewsObserver.com

Social Emotional Development

I saw a great idea in a classroom and wanted to share it with all of you! In response to some unattractive behaviors in the classroom, this teacher created a "work it out" station. The idea is that the children use the station independently, with the help of a peer mediator. To get things started the teacher explained the way to use the station, and selected the first peer mediator based on the child's maturity. In other words, she selected a child that she knew was up to the task!  I don't have a lot of details of how she got started, but I am sure that in addition to the explanations she used role-playing so the children could "see" what she was describing.

Along with the mediator, the children who are having the issue complete the following steps:

• What's the problem?
• How does it make you feel?
• What should we do?
• Let's try it!

Photo attached so you can see it :) (If you click on the picture it will get larger)

Isn't this a fantastic idea? I love it! The teacher reported that it has been very successful!

Earth Day is April 22nd

What will you do to celebrate Earth Day? This is a great time to talk about Global Awareness!

Last year when we talked about Earth Day we linked it to Global Awareness. This led to (among other things!) a celebration. Our unit lasted until Cinco de Mayo, so we decided to have a Fiesta!

Initially we started our "Earth Day" unit with conversations about recycling. We walked around the school and picked up trash. We read lots of books about our Earth and about recycling. We collected things from the cafeteria and took them back to our room. We washed and reused what we could from our collected "treasures." We took home what we could recycle. We discussed ways to reduce the amount of waste we created. It was a wonderful experience for all of us! Here are some pictures:

Painting on newspaper instead of easel paper :) (Kids in the background washing out spoons and yogurt cups so we can recycle them)

 Collage with recycled newspapers

 We are making a pinata! Mixing the ingredients.

Making the pinata (recycled newspaper strips over a large bouncy ball (that we popped after the newspaper strips were dry).

The kids loved doing this :)

  

Painting our "Earth"

Pinata time!

Involving Parents

What do you do to involve parents in your program? Is your classroom inviting and welcoming? Actively involving families in your classroom is a wonderful way to bridge the gap between school and home. Here are some suggestions:

• It's never too late to start, but start early! The very first time you meet is a great time to tell them how much you would love for them to participate!
• Create a family board with volunteer opportunities.
• Ask parents to volunteer... some may be too shy to offer!
• Create a welcoming environment - make them feel like they belong in your room. Give them specific ideas of things to do...they might not know how to make themselves useful.
• Have a parent "training" or workshop several times throughout the year. Ask them what they would like to learn about. You can create a short survey and ask them to complete and return it. Ideas: behavior management strategies; developmentally appropriate math or literacy activities; creative activities, etc.
• Post pictures of family members in your classroom.
• Ask parents to share family traditions, cultural traditions, etc.
• Provide ways for parents to volunteer outside of the classroom (cutting out materials, helping with project preparation).
• Be thankful and express your appreciation!

 Here is a parent who loved to interact with the students in my classroom. After I noticed a pattern of "lingering" in the mornings, I asked him if he'd like to participate. He created the cardboard box "puppet theatre" and did puppet shows for and with the children. His child was so proud and happy to have him there...and all of my students enjoyed the activity.

I had parent workshops after dismissal. This was a take-home math activity. All of the parents worked together along with their children (my students as well as younger and older siblings). These workshops created a really nice family atmosphere and the families formed relationships with one another outside of the classroom because of their connections within the classroom.  I really enjoyed being a part of this :)

Advocacy

Standard 1 is all about Leadership... and advocacy work is a wonderful way to demonstrate that you have it! Please consider contacting legislators to advocate for young children. Let them know that you do not support cuts to More at Four or Smart Start. If you need help or guidance, please let me know.

Advocacy Alert!

From the NC Early Childhood Association (ie - not my words):

Dear Early Childhood Advocates,

We need your help now more than ever!
Last week, our legislators in the House released their budget for 2011-2012. The news was not good because they seriously hinder our ability to deliver services, raise funds, or even remain in business. In addition, it would virtually eliminate two programs that have proven to be very successful...

The Smart Start Program- a 20% cut ($37 million dollar cut)

In addition to the cuts, these special provisions were added:

1. Administrative funds for local partnerships are capped at 8% and exclude the $52 million required to be set aside for child care subsidy. This means our partnership would face about a 50% reduction in administrative funds. (It is unlikely many partnerships, including ours, would be able to afford to stay in business.)

2. Local partnerships must raise 15% cash match and another 5% inkind match on all non-subsidy dollars. This doubles the match percentage expectation and means that about $15 million in cash match will need to be raised. (Currently, partnerships are required to raise 10% in cash and in kind with no requirement on whether it will be cash, in kind, or a combination of both; it is unlikely partnerships would be able to raise these funds in this economic climate).

3. The mission of Smart Start has been changed from a broad focus on the health, early education and well-being of all young children to improving the quality of early care and education in North Carolina for children from birth to five. This eliminates the funding of health, family support and perhaps most early intervention activities that are currently supported. (Although the legislature cannot change the mission of our own local organization, this would eliminate our ability to use our funds on these activities and to raise additional funds that would be able to count towards our new fundraising requirement).

4. The $52 million in subsidy funding would be taken directly off the top and the remaining $37 million in cuts would have to come from the remaining 61% of the budget. This would effectively eliminate our programming because the percentage cut would actually be much more substantial when applied to a smaller portion of the budget.



The More at Four Program- a 20% cut (32 million) and the elimination of the office of early learning

In addition, these special provisions were added:

1. More at Four is moved to Division of Child Development, and be designated as pre-kindergarten on the five-star licensing system.
2. Pre-kindergarten slots will be available to eligible children.
3. Parents will be required to pay a co-pay. (Currently the program is free to qualifying families)
4. The pre-kindergarten day will be expanded to a full day, full year program as in the subsidy system, no longer a 6 hour day, for 10 months. (This will significantly increase the costs, with many fewer children being served)
5. Payment for pre-kindergarten will be run through the SEEK system. (Payment will go directly through this new payment system and Smart Start will no longer receive administrative funding for this activity)
6. Pre-kindergarten classrooms will be expected to meet higher standards and be paid higher rates.

What do we need from you?


These cuts are absolutely devastating! They are clearly a back door way to get rid of Smart Start and More at Four. These programs won't be able to function and we will not survive. We cannot accept one single special provision. They are about reducing spending and not about doing what is best for children. We must fight now and not stop until this is over.

It has been brought to my attention that this is a "test" to see what our advocates will do. My understanding is that the senate proposal will be much worse and will probably remove subsidy funding in its entirety. Without subsidy funds, or the funds to administer them, we will have no ability to affect change. We will see the destruction of quality child care as we know it and all of our hard earned investments and work will simply go down the tubes. I am not willing to let that happen and I will fight for this program to the very end. This is not about fighting for my job. It is about fighting for the children who will be most impacted by our presence.

Advocacy DOES work. I have seen some of these special provisions in the past and I have seen them go away due to the efforts of a lot of people who care about the work we do.

Please pick up the phone and start calling our legislators today. Don't let them tell you about tough times and how we have to tighten our belt. The decisions they make now are going to impact all of our communities for the next 20-30 years. You must tell them that the cuts to More at Four and Smart Start are too deep and that we cannot accept any of these special provisions.


Senator Stan Bingham

2117 Legislative Bldg.

Raleigh, NC 27601

(919)733-5665

Stan.Bingham@ncleg.net



Representative Jerry Dockham

1213 Legislative Bldg.

Raleigh, NC 27601

(919)715-2526

Jerry.Dockham@ncleg.net



Representative Rayne Brown

638 Legislative Office Bldg.

Raleigh, NC 27601

(919)715-0873

Rayne.Brown@ncleg.net



Representative Larry Brown

303 Legislative Office Bldg.

Raleigh, NC 27603

(919)733-5607

Larry.Brown@ncleg.net

Start with your own legislators and feel free to call other representatives from other counties. Don't stop even if they ask you to. We have nothing to lose!

Other NC House Members

http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/members/memberList.pl?sChamber=House


Other NC Senate Members

http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/members/memberList.pl?sChamber=Senate

Thank you for your help saving these vital Early Childhood Programs!

The Teacher Report: Earth Day Lesson Plans

The Teacher Report: Earth Day Lesson Plans

NC's Young Children Need You!

Early Learning Matters - Great video that you should watch and share with others!

New Study: N.C. Investments in Early Childhood Programs Pay Off

New Study: N.C. Investments in Early Childhood Programs Pay Off

Behavior Management

Several of you have asked for help with behavioral issues in your classroom. Unfortunately, there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to managing behaviors, but there are some "big picture" things to keep in mind.

First, in an effort to be proactive and prevent problems from occurring in the first place, be positive, warm and encouraging. Second, provide the children with a lot of choices. You can control the choices, but make sure that you are allowing children to have some control over their day. Third, be clear and direct, and don't use too many words (children will get confused so keep it simple).

I went to the Conscious Discipline Website and found a ton of great information. It's a great resource and everyone should check it out. I found the information that is below on the site, and I copied and pasted it from here:

http://www.consciousdiscipline.com/resources/challenging_behavior.asp

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When two kids are fighting, what should I do?

First, breathe deeply and affirm, “I’m safe. Keep breathing. I can handle this,” so you can approach the children calmly. I heard a coach once start a story about breaking up a schoolyard fight by saying, “I knew I really had the composure thing down pat when I noticed myself automatically breathing and saying, “I’m safe, keep breathing, I’ve got this,” in my head as I sprinted across the court to get to Marcus and Jacob.”

Physically separate the children and assertively say, “Stop.” Breathe and focus on maintaining the inner state you want both children to return to. Encourage them to take a deep breath. Say, “Breathe with me,” and help them calm themselves. Next, get down to their eye-level and say, “Both of you seem so angry. Something must have happened.” Let each child know you will listen to her story. Ask the first child, “Something must have happened?” in a questioning tone. Offer support to the second child by positioning yourself next to her and putting your hand on her shoulder as you listen. The second child will often interrupt, “But she…” Reassure her by keeping your hand on her shoulder and saying, “It’s hard to wait your turn. You will get a turn when she’s finished.” When the first child has finished, restate what she said to get clarification, offer empathy and reframe the situation with positive intent. “You were angry because she took your hat. You wanted it back and forgot to ask.” Then reposition yourself next to the first child and ask the second child to share. Restate, clarify, offer empathy and reframe with positive intent. “You were upset about what she said on the bus and didn’t know other ways to let her know.”


Step 1: Ask, “Did you like it when she_____?”
Step 2: She responds “NO!”
Step 3: Set the limit on the hurtful act and include choices for the next time: “You may not grab someone’s hat. Grabbing is hurtful. The next time you want her to know you are upset with something she said, say, ' I didn’t like it when you said_____.' Next time please say or do _____. Or come ask me for help.” 

Step 4: Say it now for practice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Food for Thought

"Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater." ~Gail Godwin

{You've heard me refer to teaching as "acting," so my posting this quote won't surprise you. Your attitude and tone influence everyone around you, especially the children. It's not always easy, but it's critical that you set aside any distractions and put on a good show every single day. If you want your children engaged, you have to engage. If you want them to be excited about what you are reading, singing, sharing, etc., then you have to make it exciting. They will follow your lead... so make sure your example, your performance, is a good one!}

"In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work.  It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years."  ~Jacques Barzun

{Perhaps one of the most frustrating things about teaching, right? But know that you are building important, foundational skills that will serve your children for the rest of their lives. Take that extra few minutes with them. Read it again. Answer all of those questions. Explain "why." Ask questions that make them think. Smile. Give hugs and show warmth. Sometimes - and it's way too often - the respect and love children are shown at school is the only respect and love they are shown. Be the difference in a child's life. And know that someone up the chain is seeing the fruits of your labor.}

Seven Simple Secrets

A few years ago I participated in a book study with several other teachers in my district. The book, Seven Simple Secrets: What the BEST Teachers Know and Do, has lots of good information and was/is a valuable resource that I turn to again and again.

Part 1 offers (broad, big-picture) tips for lesson planning. Here are a few:

• Determine your objective (you should always use objectives as a basis for planning... ask yourself, "why am I doing this? what is the purpose?).

• Figure out how you will make things interesting and inviting.

• Actively involve the children in every part of the lesson.

• Gather all the necessary materials beforehand (in other words, be prepared!).

• Have fun with everything you do!

• Accept the fact that sometimes things won't go as expected - plan well and thoroughly, but when things go off course, accept it and move on.

• Remember that whoever is doing the "doing" is doing the learning. Children should be engaged, talking, and active. Teachers are there to guide and facilitate and expand upon things (this is where asking well thought-out, open-ended questions comes into play).

• Remember that an objective is a very specific goal - what you plan on accomplishing. An activity is one of many ways of reaching that goal.

Free Braille ABC Card

Free Resource! Check it out :)


http://www.afb.org/braillebug/Braille.asp

Link to a Helpful Article

Moving Beyond "Letter of the Week" Article

Link to the Resource Manual

Resource Manual

The above link will take you to a .pdf of the Resource Manual. This is a document we use to guide us with the evaluation process and observations. Scroll to Page 47 to learn more about the Standards and Elements.

Signing In

An example of a daily "sign-in" sheet. You can also provide a piece of paper (no lines!) and name cards for children who need them. You may also want to consider providing name cards with a picture of the child next to their name, if there are children in your classroom that need the support.

Link to NAEYC Articles

NAEYC Articles

Another great link! :)

Making Connections

Have you ever noticed that many young children get fidgety when you read to them? Children (and let's face it, adults!) like to actively engage with their environment. And just like you and I, young children are capable of listening while "fidgeting" with something. Do you doodle at workshops? I do... and when I doodle I have a much easier time staying focused. Think of it the same way with your students... some people just need to move and "do" at all times.

I think I am particularly sensitive about this because I understand it. And when I was in the classroom I tried really hard to provide some kind of tangible object that I could pass out to the kids who wanted or needed it. It can be really simple... here are some quick examples: when talking about outer-space, hand out little pom-poms (planets, stars, moons); when taking about snow or winter, hand out pieces of cotton (snow); when talking about construction hand out little rocks; when talking about Fall hand out acorns or leaves... the list goes on and on. When I read The Very Hungry Caterpillar I handed out foods from dramatic play; when I read Caps for Sale I handed out paper hats that we'd made; when I read Blueberies for Sal I handed out plastic grapes. The children don't care if the object is exactly like the object that is in the book. They like the connection though, and it helps make it concrete for them. Use your imagination and the sky is the limit. What can you turn cotton or pom poms into? Please share your ideas in the comments below! :)

Also, below are a couple of pictures of things that were made to accompany books. They are simple and inexpensive... have fun and be creative!

What can you do to make your stories come to life?


These are construction paper sea animals to accompany the book Swimmy by Leo Lionni.



These are felt pieces to accompany The Jacket I Wear in the Snow.



The cast from Brown Bear, Brown Bear.

Food for Thought

"Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire."
~William Butler Yeats

• What does this quote mean to you?

• Are you "lighting the fire" of the children you teach, or extinguishing the flame?

• Are you excited about the possibilities of each day, and do you share your enthusiasm for learning and discovery with the children in your classroom?

• How can you turn your students on to learning?

• What steps can you take to engage every child?

• If you were a child in your classroom would you have fun? Would you enjoy spending the day there?
  

• What is the most important thing you can do each day...? And do you do it?
  

Magnetic Letters

A teacher in Wake County created this activity for the children in her classroom. She provided environmental print and some picture cards along with magnetic letters. This was a very popular activity the day I was there!

Pete the Cat

Pete the Cat story telling video

Have you heard of Pete the Cat? Click on the link above to see a live telling of the story.

Parent Involvement

Looking for ways to get your parents involved? This example is provided by a teacher in Harnett County. She has it posted near the entrance on the side of the cubbies. Isn't this great?!

Another Great Link! :)

A link to Foundations

Birthday Chart

This is a clever way to display birthdays. The months of the year are written across the bottom of the poster board (in orange) and the children's pictures are in columns above the month of their birthday. This is a great graphing activity.

Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills

The link below will take you to a wonderful article - please take a few moments to read it.

Above the article is a tab (it says "Listen to the Story") that you can click on for audio that accompanies the article. It's wonderful - make sure you check it out!

Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills

Winter Weather Activity

Take advantage of the cold weather and have some fun with science! Children are little scientists... they love to figure out how things work! We took blue and green paint and watered it down a lot... and then poured it into an ice cube tray. We placed the ice-cube tray outside and the children took guesses at what would happen overnight. The next morning when everyone arrived we went outside to retrieve our ice cube tray, and found that the colorful water was frozen solid! I placed some of the frozen cubes in a plastic bin for exploration, and some on a plate in the art center so the children could paint with them.

Spring is coming! What can you do in your classroom to take advantage of our last few weeks of freezing temps?

Another Idea for Name Cards

Here is another example of how to use name cards in your classroom. Here Arturo uses magnetized letters and a name card to spell his name. Note that he knows an "r" is the same as a "R" and has substituted an "h" for a "u" (he turned the "h" upside down). This is a meaningful, hands-on way for children to learn letters. What can you do with name cards in your room? Get creative and share your ideas in the comments section! PS: Cheap cookie sheets are perfect companions for magnetic letters!

Name Cards

Using name cards is a great way to help children identify and write their names. In the image above Susie uses her friend Sinai's name card to practice writing her name. Children love to learn how to identify and write their own names, but they also enjoy learning the names of friends and family.

If you look closely in this picture you will see some examples of the children's writing on the wall. Children love to display their work!

Also on the wall is a letter we wrote and mailed. The children "wrote" (I wrote the words but they decided what we'd write, and each child signed their name) a letter to my sons and my sons wrote them back. This created wonderful conversation about letter writing and mail in general. We charted the number of days it took for the mail to be delivered from school to my house, and the number of days it took for Joey and Jack's response to get from our house to school. The kids were very excited when the letter arrived. They enjoyed looking at the post mark and stamps, and we compared the two envelopes, the dates on the envelopes, etc. It was a really meaningful experience and we had a lot of fun with it.


This is another example of name cards. These have each child's name on one side, and the first letter of their name on the other. These name cards were in the art center and the children used them as a reference when they were autographing their works of art.

KWL Chart

This is an example of how I used a KWL Chart in my prekindergarten classroom. For those of you that don't know, KWL stands for "Know," "Want to know," and "Learned." In this situation, we were reading Good Morning, Chick. After we'd done a picture walk I asked the children what they knew about the story, and wrote down their responses under "K." Then we discussed what they wanted to know, based on the pictures they'd seen and the information they had. I wrote their responses in the "W" column. I explained that the next day we'd read the book, and then we would have more information. The next day before I read we reviewed what we had written down in the "K" and "W" columns. After I read the story we talked about what we had learned and I wrote that down in the "L" column. Then we discussed all of the elements of the chart and made decisions about what we wanted to learn more about.

(If you click on the picture it will enlarge)

In this picture...

(Click on the picture to make it bigger)

I used sequencing cards in a variety of ways. In this picture you can see sequencing picture cards and sentences that tell the folk tale The Little Red Hen. In this particular activity I used them to retell the story, and then invited the children to come up to retell the story in their own words.

I tried to make picture cards to accompany stories whenever possible. It's fairly easy to find images online, or if they are simple images you can sketch them yourselves. The pictures don't have to look exactly like the ones in the story - the children won't mind.

Another thing to share: Next to the sentence strips and pictures, you can see a rain stick. I used the rain stick as a cue for transitions. Children respond so much better to change when they know it's coming (don't we all!?), so I made sure to give them a warning before a change. I would turn the rain stick to get everyone's attention (this worked better than trying to get everyone's attention verbally) and let them know what transition was coming, and how much time I was putting on the timer. When the timer went off I would hold the rain stick up and turn it over, signaling the time for transition. If you've never heard a rain stick, they make a sound that is intended to sound like a heavy rain. It's fairly soothing, and worked well for this purpose.

Art

Developmentally appropriate art is creative and process-driven. It's open-ended. There is no desired "product" or "outcome." When children create, they create for the joy of creating. It's important to make sure that you offer children the materials and time to create, but that's about all. They don't need help, they don't need to see an example, and they definitely don't need something drawn for them to color or paint. The best art activities you can provide are those that allow children to create what *they* want to create... no models to try to copy, no intended outcome.

"All children are born artists. The problem is to remain artist as we grow up." ~ Pablo Picasso

Need help improving your grammar?

http://www.wadsworth.com/devenglish_d/special_features/grammarquizzes.html

http://www.world-english.org/diagnostic_grammar.htm

http://www.kristisiegel.com/grammartest2.html

http://www.grammar-monster.com/

http://www.ego4u.com/

More examples of print in the classroom

Here are two of my little friends sharing a book :) I wanted to share this picture because you can see some examples of print in the classroom (if you click on the picture it gets bigger). The kids were really interested in "The Eensy Weensy Spider" and we played some word games substituting different verbs for the word "climbed." If you look closely at the white easel to the right of the picture you'll see a sentence that says, "The eensy weensy spider ______ up the water spout." As we read the poem they would take turns calling out a word (jumped, ran, danced, etc) to fill the blank. I would write the word down on a piece of paper, hold it up to the blank, and we'd all "read" the sentence together. It was very informal and fun, and if someone wasn't interested they didn't have to participate. This was a way that I differentiated instruction for some of the kids in my class that were a little further along in their literacy development.

You can also see a green piece of paper below the "X." This was a sheet of paper with pictures and words that illustrated our group/circle time promises. I would just quickly grab the paper and hold it up if I had a little friend who was being disruptive and the visual was usually enough to remind them of the expectations.

This is a picture from my old classroom :) I posted the alphabet on the whiteboard, and we added each child's name, as well as words the children were interested in. This was our "word wall."

The children loved to use the dry erase markers on the whiteboard. To the right you can see the picture schedule (turquoise paper). You can also see some environmental print (McDonalds and Dominos) that I printed from Boardmaker - I laminated them and then put magnets on the back. The kids loved "reading"and playing with them.

Moving through Learning Centers Independently

Children need to be able to navigate through the classroom independently. This is one example of a center management system that allows children to independently determine whether or not a center is full. There are many ways to do this - I used velcro and sticks. After Winter Break I removed the pictures of the children so they could focus on the letters in their names. By then they all knew their own names or at least the first few letters, so it was a smooth transition. Each of my centers had one of these, and the sticks were returned to a central location in the classroom after centers.

As you can see, I had a large space for art, so I was able to have five children in art at one time. You can see from the black velcro dot that there is one space left. This was a very successful system and the children were able to learn and understand it within a few days.




Below are some pictures taken at a classroom in Harnett County. This teacher uses a similar design and said that she's had great success with it.

As you can see above the sticks "live" on the green poster board. There is a photo of each child, along with velcro. The sticks are placed there by the children when they are done with center time. In the picture above you can see that this teacher uses little people figures. There is velcro on each "person" for the children to hang their sticks.

Sweet Poem :)

If I Had My Child to Raise Over Again

If I had my child to raise over again
I'd finger paint more, and point the finger less.
I'd do less correcting, and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.·
I would care to know less, and know to care more.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I'd run through more fields, and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging, and less tugging.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I'd teach less about the love of power,
And more about the power of love.
-Diane Loomans

Welcome!

Hey Everyone :)
I'm setting up this blog as an online resource for you. I will be posting pictures, videos, links, and other resources to help you reach your goals. On the right side of the page you will see a list of widgets -- there are links to important websites and resources so make sure you check it out!

This site is different than our google group. You can comment on this site, but unlike our google groups site you won't be able to have an online "conversation" here. This is more of a storage place for resources.

I am excited about the possibilities of using technology. Please think creatively with me and send me suggestions for what you would like to see, and what would be most helpful to you! I am open to ideas - my goal is to help you reach your goal!

Enjoy :)