Social Skills

So... I teach kids Social Skills...

Well, it can be really simple or really complicated depending on how you look at it...

I explained it to 4th graders like this: Coming to Social Skills groups in my class will help you learn to be a better citizen and you will get the chance to help others learn too. Since some of us are great at reading and math, and some of us are great at making friends and making other people laugh, we can all help each other in the areas that we are not so good at. We will do fun activities and crafts and some science experiments and learning too. We will also get to learn more about being a good citizen in our community.

And... I explained it a 1st grade student with Autism who is also a Gifted student, like this: You are Really good at math, right? And you are Really good at reading too? You are really good at math and reading and science and social studies so you don't need extra help with those things like your friends do. But, sometimes you need a little extra help remembering to look at my eyes when we are saying hi, and with playing games with your friends. We are going to work on some of those things. But the cool part is, your friends get to come with you! (He loved that part!)

So... what I want all of my readers to take away from this is... Social Skills isn't a scary topic to talk about with kids. It is something that lots of our kiddos with Autism need tremendous help with, but no one ever takes the time to work on with them. So, I'm going to give a few tips on how to approach/help kiddos that seem to be lacking in the area of Social Skills...

To Parents: Require your child to look at you in the eyes when answering your questions about school that day. Don't yell at them or get upset, but just let them know that you want to try answering again with looking eyes OR if that's too elementary for them, tell them you would like them to look at you when they answer. This may take a few tries, but we willing to actually stop what you are doing and FOLLOW THROUGH. Make a habit to do this every day for at least one activity- maybe every day after school, or every day after breakfast...

To Teachers: Take the few extra seconds each day to facilitate conversations and prompt your students lacking in social skills to answer their friends when someone is talking to them. So many times, our students aren't involved in any conversations because no one reminds them/requires them to respond to their peers. If you hear a student talking to the kiddo with special needs and our kiddo just keeps playing by themselves and not responding, call their name and tell them that their friend is talking to them, then- ask the friend to be your helper and ask the question again. The more you practice, the friends will start wanting to be leaders and help more any time our kiddos need assistance. Other students will be more likely to interact with our kiddos with limited social skills the more we help show them ways to get involved and especially when we help our students interact/respond back to their friends.

To everyone: Social Skills is about being SOCIAL! You can't practice Social Skills without friends around! I teach social skills discretely with my students during some direct instruction sessions and then I give them lots of opportunities to practice their social skills with their friends. Our kiddos need to be around their typical peers. One way I do this is by working in the general education classroom to build relationships between our kiddos and their classmates, and then by inviting those classmates down to our room for fun social skills groups. Social Skills is a huge, sometimes overwhelming topic and I think sometimes it gets avoided or lost in the mix of academics. I think Social Skills are SOOOOO important to help our kiddos with Autism and other disabilities to be able to interact with their peers/members of society.

This was just a brief intro to social skills... I'm sure I'll get more into the Social Skills topic again soon! Socials Skills was on my mind this week since I started a new 4th grade Social Skills Group this week and the first group was a great success! The girls who participated want to come back, and lots of the students in the classroom said they want to come next time! Oh, quick clarification- Social Skills Groups usually have 1-2 of our students with limited social skills and then anywhere from 2-5ish typical peers (role models) from their general education classrooms. I teach social skills with just the student I am targeting/teaching the skills to, but the groups include that student and their peers.

Please leave your comments, questions, concerns with Socials Skills below! I'd love to hear your thoughts/opinions!!

~LaKrystal~

Dating...

So... here goes... my thoughts of Dating:


Dating-  a stage in a person's life when he or she is actively pursuing romantic relationships with different people.

Or at least that's a definition floating around the internet...


My definition- an absolutely insane portion of a female's life where she is probably testing the man/men she is going out on dates with to either a)to see if he is hubby material, or b) to see if he will keep her busy and entertained for the time being...


Okay so now I will tell you my personal story on this topic... please feel free to comment, but remember this is my life- so please be nice :-)


I've only been in a few boyfriend/girlfriend "relationships" in my life. In college, I did a lot of what we called "talking" to guys with no relationships. Now, for those of you who don't know- "talking" and "dating" are NOT the same!! Talking can be a variety of things- spending time together, dating without a dating title, sleeping together, texting/talking everyday or more lol, etc.


I don't really do well with meeting new men. I'm VERY shy... So college was great. We met new people all the time in groups at events. I never really had to meet people on my own. So now, as an adult, meeting new men is a challenge. I also don't like to give out my phone number. This poses another problem... AND believe it or not... I don't like to go out to clubs and bars. Thus another problem. 

Also important to note, I watch a LOT of Criminal Minds, Law and Order: SVU, and NCIS... so going places with men I just met, scares me.


So... dating is very tricky at this point in my life. Also, I'm not sure if anyone else ever has this problem, but have you ever met a wonderful person, and they're either a couple hours away, or even a couple of states away... sigh.

Is anyone willing to comment below and share your dating tips and thoughts?? I'm also still giving out 3 gifts for people who comment (as noted in my post Pay It Forward.)

Love you all :-)


~LaKrystal~
 

Organizing!

For those of you that know me, you know that I Love organizing!! My old teaching partner used to tell me that I should be a professional organizer... 

Anyway, here are 5 areas of my house with pics of how I have organized them along with a few organization tips:


1. Books/Printing area:
Who says your printer has to go on a desk? I opted to put my printer on a bookshelf instead of the typical placement for it on a desk. This is because it is so large that it would take up the entire desk! 

This also allowed me to organize my paper on a bookshelf right by the printer making it easy to pick out and change out paper if needed. I also opted to purchase a new wireless printer this school year and I absolutely LOVE it!! Now that I have a home with 3 levels (including the basement I will one day finish) the printer was a perfect purchase for me! I also organized my teaching resources (there are still many more that need to be added- summer project! lol) into these large binders on the bottom shelf. I love having them organized this way because it is so easy to access and grab what I need. One day I'll do an organization post of my classroom...

2. Kitchen Spices:

I searched for a spice rack that I liked for a month probably and I couldn't find one. I didn't want the spices to take up valuable space on the counter and I hated rummaging through the cabinet to find the spice that I was looking for all the time. I also loved the spice racks that turned (oscillated) on the counter but there was only space for like 15-20 spices. So... I made my own.

I bought these clear glass spice containers from Bed, Bath, and Beyond for 99cents each I believe and then used my label maker to label each spice. I also purchased the adjustable shelf at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for $15 I believe. I love my spice cabinet and other people love it when they come over to cook also! I have a similar set up for my sprinkles for baking :-) You can see it in the pic below the spices.

3. File Cabinet area:
I have a small file cabinet that I use to stay organized. I love it because all of my paperwork can stay out of the open. Here you can see how I've organized the top of it to be functional as well... 

I have cute file folders and label them according to what I need/use the most often. The folders I chose are: To Do, Mail, To File, Return, and Other. Most are self explanatory, however, I the "Return" folder is for items that I've borrowed from friends or receipts of items I need to return, or mail that isn't mine that needs to be returned.


4. Closet space: 
Now, this must be said first, in my bedroom I have 2 closets. I also use some of the closet space in my office/craftroom.  

I color-coordinate my clothes in my closet, and I hang them up from no-sleeves to short sleeves to long sleeves. In one closet, I have white/tan/yellow/orange/pink/red. In the other closet in my room I have green/blue/purple/brown/gray/black. Then in the office/craftroom closet, I have multi-colored shirts, dresses, suits, and shoes.


5. Linen Closet:
This isn't the best organizing, but at least it's organized right? Here is a pic of the whole thing...

My linen closet is located in a weird place, on my first floor. To me that's weird since all the showers and bedrooms and laundry are all upstairs. Anyway, I use baskets all over my house to keep things organized. The top two shelves are towels. 

Next is a shelf with some mixmatched items on it. I have a few tableclothes, extra curtains etc. on the right, and a basket on the left.

In the basket is full of the following... batteries, extra light bulbs, extra nails, and hammer (it's not pictured here because I was using it to hang items in my craft room!), also extra outlet/surge protectors, and extension cords:

On the next shelf, there are two baskets:

 

One is used for candles, Scentsy bricks, candle lighters, etc. 

The other basket is full of medicine. I don't have a need to sort out my medicine into separate baskets right now since I live by myself.

Now, the bottom shelf is a little different. It used to hold cleaning supplies, but I finally moved those under the bathroom sink on the main floor. Now, the bottom shelf holds all my extra lotions, shower gels/body wash, handsoaps, etc. 

These are just a few of the things in my home that are organized. Please share with me some of the ways you organize!

Thanks for stopping by:

~LaKrystal~ 

Last Week's Cooking: Jan 20, 2013

So, I'm back into the swing of school, which means less time to cook due to lesson planning, data summarizing, and homework for my classes I'm taking. I guess there's one plus to my job... I don't do a lot of homework grading like I did when I was a gen Ed classroom teacher. I had LOTS to grade when I taught 4th grade. Now I have lots to prep and lots of data to take and summarize.

Anyway... I didn't cook much this week but I did prep some freezer to crockpot meals today with my mom. So here's the cooking summary from last week...

Sunday: beef enchiladas, cheesy Mexican rice, and white queso/rotel with Italian sausage and chips
Monday: ham and beans with cornbread *pic below*

Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: precooked pulled pork from Sam's Club
Thursday: Panda Express with a gift card
Friday: KFC
Saturday: homemade baked potato soup *pic below*

And today my mom and were on Pinterest doing some meal prep for some chicken crock pot recipes. Below you can see our work (we only prepped for about an hour and got 3 meals each, plus she put another meal directly in the crockpot) and the links to the recipes:

 We made two types of Teriyaki Chicken. One recipe is here: http://www.ringaroundtherosies.net/2012/02/freezer-cooking.html

We also made Honey Sesame Chicken: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/01/slow-cooker-honey-sesame-chicken-recipe.html

We also made a Honey Garlic Chicken. I'm not sure of that exact recipe- we modified it to our taste.

And... My little sister (she's 10) and I made some fudge today! She's our little experimenter! I think she'll definitely be either an amazing cook when she gets older, orrrr a cook that no one wants to try her concoctions lol. *pic below*

What did you guys cook over the past week??


~LaKrystal~

Scratched and It Hurt!

I was scratched this week... I've been scratched before, no big deal. But this time it actually HURT! I was scratched by a student of mine. Now, I'm not angry or upset. Yes, I would like for the scratch(es) to heal without a scar BUT I am not mad. Here is a picture of the scratch: (it's difficult to see but it actually broke the skin and there was blood -not dripping- but there was blood).

 Now that I've got your attention, let me tell you why:

The student that scratched me is a student with Autism. He is also a student who is classified as "nonverbal". This confuses some people, so I will try to explain it. This student, let's call him Samuel*, does not use verbal/spoken words to communicate. He uses sign language, touching, pointing, pictures and/or occasional sounds. He is very smart. The student is new to my classroom (joined my classroom in January, right after winter break) but he is not new to school. He is in the 2nd grade and has been in this school for all of his schooling. 

SO... what does all that have to do with me being scratched... Let me enlighten you: 

I believe that it is our responsibility to teach our students our expectations of them. For my students, all of whom have Autism and/or other special needs, it is even more important that I teach them expectations of different environments. It is important for them to know the difference between what is expected/allowed at school, at home, at the store, and other places in the community. The reason I believe this particular student, Samuel, still grabs/scratches while grabbing others, is because he hasn't been taught an appropriate replacement behavior. OR in other words, he hasn't been taught an appropriate way to get someone's attention/tell them something that doesn't require using talking verbally- since, as I mentioned earlier, he is a "nonverbal" student.

Because I've only had this student for about 2 weeks, this is something will take some time to teach him. I am excited about his learning and excited to watch this process. I love my students and it is SOO COOL to see them do things people said they can't do!

In the past (it appears) this student hasn't been reinforced for using his words (in the form of sign language, pointing, touching, etc.) when he wants something. I have observed him in the past 5 months and he was definitely reinforced for having inappropriate behaviors with the grabbing/scratching, screaming/running. What I mean by that is, he was given LOTS of attention in the form of yelling, reprimanding and physically moving him to a time out chair, in the past. This attention may have reinforced his behavior and reinforced his escape from his work. Every time he engaged in one of these behaviors, he was yelled at and put into time out--- thus allowing him to escape his work. AND let me tell you, this kiddo is SMART! He totally knew it :-)

Anyway, I got scratched this week, it hurt. I am still working to determine the exact function (the why) of the grabbing/scratching behavior. We did switch this kiddo to a new classroom, mine, and a new teacher, me, AND new paras, and teaching procedures. I did tell his parents to be aware that his behavior may get a little worse before it gets better, since we have changed his environment in so many ways.


One more cool story about this awesome kid: Yesterday, a little girl (who happened to have a learning disability) saw Samuel and I walking down the hallway, I was holding his hand. She asked me- What's wrong with him? I asked her, What do you mean? She says, Why can't he talk? I told her, He does talk, just not always with his mouth like you do. Sometimes he uses his hands to talk and, sometimes he uses his sounds. It's cool that he can talk with his hands isn't it? She looks at me thinking and says, Yah, that is really cool! 

I share this with you because I think life is determined by the way we perceive it. It's our job to help others perceive and view how Awesome and Amazing our kiddos with Autism really are! They are not weird, and they don't have anything wrong with them. They may grab or scratch you sometimes, but it's not because they want to hurt you. They simply are trying to tell you something and may not have the verbal words to do it.

In summary, I love what I do. And I even have some battle wounds to prove it :-)

*All names are changed to maintain confidentiality*

Alpha Kappa Alpha--- January 15

Over 6 Years Ago...

 I was blessed enough to join an amazing sorority: 

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

I must say... throughout my years in this wonderful Sorority, I have shed tears, felt pain, joy, and felt a bond like no other.

Soror- my sister, my friend... 

Joining my Sweet Kappa Pi was a mixture of emotions... but one stands out the most... TIRED... I don't think I've ever been as tired as I was then... Lol. However, my lovely LS and I were so excited to have a probate (coming out show) since we were the first to have one after our chapter came back from being suspended... And... let me say, our show was low-profile, like 30 minutes long... maybe even 20. The Best Part was... my cousin, a NUPE, drove all the way from KC to see it/me!! Also, I will say that all of the neos from my chapter have had amazing probates since then... what can I say, you live and you learn :-)

Now... what most of you don't know... I did my research. I was ready to join AKA a month after starting college. I was soooooooo excited and ready... or so I thought... lol. It hurt my heart that most people didn't want Freshman to join due to maturity and other issues. However, I was so blessed to join as a Freshman. Not many get to say they got to experience being "Greek" all of their years of college. 

More you don't know... Alpha Kappa Alpha has taught me so much. I know that I love my Sorors, and I definitely appreciate every single one. But, Alpha Kappa Alpha has also taught me to value and cherish Family and God first. I've seen women"leave" their Sororities because they say it took them away from their faith... and I've also seen women, even some in my own chapter, worship the sisterhood more than their faith, more than family. Although the sisterhood is an amazing part of my life, I know that God and Family are first. Always.

To all my Sorors: Happy 105 Years! I love you all so much.

PS... To my prophytes and my LS--- I love you ladies more than you know!!! You are absolutely a crucial part of me growing up to be me... I love you and am so blessed to know you ladies...


Skee- Wee My Sorors!!!
SKEEEEEEEEE-WEEEEE!!!

Last week's cooking: Jan 13, 2013

Hi everyone,

This past week, I didn't cook much, but I finally cooked a decent meal. I've been a little busy here lately with getting back in the routine of work, classes, and life :-) I think this past week's dinner menu looked a little something like this:

• Sunday- spaghetti
• Monday- no cooking, Wendy's
• Tuesday- leftover spaghetti 
• Wednesday- no cooking, Panda Express (used a gift card from Christmas!)
• Thursday-  I cooked a delicious meal, just because I hadn't Really cooked in a while. Pecan crusted salmon, sweet corn, rice, scalloped potatoes, and cornbread muffins.
  *pic below*
  
  
  
  And my cousin helped me bake some fudge brownies with chocolate fudge frosting. I'm actually not a gigantic chocolate lover, but these turned out delicious!!!  *pic below- I didn't get a before pic, this was the halfway gone stage lol*
  
  
  

  
  
• Friday- leftovers 
• Saturday- egg and ham breakfast casserole *pic below*
   

I love cooking! I even went grocery shopping yesterday and did some meal planning for the next couple of weeks! What's your meal plan look like for this week?



~LaKrystal~

Me in a Nutshell

Since we are now in 2013... here are 13 things about me you may not know:
  

1.  I LOVE my grandma!!!!!! She is my absolute best friend in the world! Since my mom had me at a young age, my grandma helped take care of me. Now, we tell each other ALMOST everything... Lol. I can talk to her about normal things like relationships, food, my job, shopping, etc... AND I can talk to her about not so normal things to talk to your grandma about like depression and sex. 
    
2. I LOVE to eat! I enjoy cooking and baking too :-)
3. I do NOT like going out of my comfort zone and going out on dates with people I don't know! 
4. I do NOT like ANYTHING on my burgers except the meat and cheese.
5. I LOVE dipping my fries in my frosty!
6. I think families blessed by Autism are the coolest families I know! I admire the strength of the families that are able to stay together and I admire the single parents left alone due to one parent walking away because the Autism is "too much" even more!
7. I LOVE hugs! I think they are the best!
8. I do NOT like scary movies. AT ALL!
9. I am a part of a very "blended" or "unblended" family, per say. I have no siblings with both the same mother and father as me. I have 2 amazing sisters that I share my beautiful mom with. I also have 5 precious brothers and 1 adorable sister that I share one of my dads with (biological). AND I have an older stepsister that I just found out about a few years ago that I share my other dad (step dad) with. AND I haven't actually met a few of those siblings...
10. I admire my mom more than any woman in the world. She is amazing. Absolutely amazing. I would say more, but I'll start to cry. I wrote about her on my facebook a few months ago. I may go back and link to that status here.
11.  I am scared that I am going to be alone forever. It's not something that bothers me all the time, but something that I've thought about since high school.
12. I LOVE Ice cream! Vanilla ice cream, Cookies and Cream, and Cookie Dough are my favorites.
13. I don't like folding clothes. I LOVE to organize things and I LOVE to have a clean house, but folding clothes is my least favorite thing to do in the house... thus, I have 4 loads of dirty laundry needing to be washed still... AND I have 4 or maybe 6, lol, loads of clean clothes that need to be folded/hung/put away. And I should go ahead and admit, I will probably only put away 2 loads over the course of the next week. I mean, I still have 2 1/2 closets full of clothes to wear... :-) 
    
    
    I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about me! I love life, and overall, I think I'm pretty blessed! Have a great weekend!
    
    ~LaKrystal~
    
     

Pay It Forward

So... I saw this on a friend's facebook and thought I would do it for my blog readers...

I'm in--who are my top 5? 2013 creative pay it forward. The first five people to leave a comment on this post will receive a a gift from me at some random point throughout the year, whether it be an actual gift, lunch, or something creative. You will receive it when the mood strikes me. The only catch is you have to post a comment on this post with your name :-)

I love fun ways to do nice things for people! I wonder if anyone will even comment...

Comment below with: Your name, and if I don't know you personally, your email address so I can reach you. 

Friends and Relationships

Friends 

Friends are those people that you love, care about, tell things to. Friends are the ones we enjoy spending time with. Friends are who look to for encouragement and advice.

I'm grateful for my friends. Yes. Even when things are not going so well... I love my friends.

And that leads to the real topic of this post...


Relationships

Now, before I start I will give you a warning... this could change your views and opinions of me... it could make you judge me. Not everything in my life is the picture perfect Christian that we all strive to be. And you know what- if you judge me, That's okay. The point of this blog is for me to speak out what I feel. What I've been through. Maybe some of you have gone through similar, or the same things...

So, with that said- here goes...  

Have you ever had those friends of the opposite sex that you spend lots of time with. Can talk to about anything. Can go to the movies or out to eat with when you're bored with nothing to do. And that you... at some point had or still have... a Crush on????

Yah, in college I had a friend. We called each other "Best Friend"... We were really close. Spent every day together for months just hanging out, going to dinner, doing homework, etc. At one point we did kiss and crossed the friendship line...

Has this ever happened to you? The funny part is, we are still friends, and even though this happened years ago, we still get awkward around each other when we start telling each other about people we are currently dating/seeing... Lol.

Just wondered if this happened to anyone else! :-)