Poverty is timeless, ageless, and does not discriminate...

Kudos to the Missouri Community Action who created the Poverty Simulation.  http://www.communityaction.org/poverty%20simulation.aspx

We never had tons of money growing up and I was always proud - and still am by the way- that we made ends meet as a family.  My parents never talked about just how bad things got at times until after I was grown and married.  Plus, our humble living abode was in a nice neighborhood with the largest yards NOT in the country that became "the hood" pretty quickly.  Still- I am proud- to say that is my childhood and adolescent history.   

Why the little rant? Well.........I experienced in the Poverty Simulation for the first time 4 years ago.  I have since facilitated the simulation many times.  It NEVER fails to hit me that I have only experienced a small slice of low income and struggling finances yet, hardly poverty!  Participants, mostly school faculty in sessions, are assigned a role in a family.  Each family and its membes have a scenario they must play out for "a month." Some people are children ages 2-17.  Some people begin the month already homeless in the shelter.  Some are elderly and living alone.  Others are unwed teens with a child.  

To facilitate the simulation, community agencies surround the room.  Typical agencies include the police department and juvinille hall, the grocery store, bank, employer, pawn shop, social security office, school, day care, and others.  Families have responsibilities and tasks to carry out throughout the month. Each week of the month lasts 15 minutes.  Oh, and in order to visit any agency, the family member must use transportation passes.  

The reality is that for some families their situation never improves only deteriates.  The snowball effect of consequences and circumstances grows to epic proportions.  Participants who take the simulation seriously get emotional, irritated, even hostile at times at the helplessness and chaos of trying to "make it work."  At the end of the day we debrief with the group and discuss situations, scenarios, and feelings experienced during the "month".  As I watch and listen the participants usually have the "Ah Ha!" moment of just how poverty affects the students and the families they work with on a day in and day out basis.  

If you ever have the opportunity, check out a half day session of the Poverty Simulation.  It may be the experience of a lifetime that changes your whole perspective and inturn makes a difference in the lives of those who live in the hopeless trenches of poverty.

As always, thanks for stopping by!  Follow Trudy_Little on Twitter, TrudyLittle on Pinterest, Trudy Little on LinkedIn, Trudy Little on Google+!  

                                                                                                     

On the Hunt for FREE EC Tech

I was asked to present 4 mini sessions on technology integration for early childhood.  I LOVE working with technology, early childhood, differentiation and accessibility for special needs students.  I did not, however, already have this presentation ready.  So I began my search for ideas.

Pinterest was my first "go to" for ideas.  I always ask, "what is everyone else doing?"  I also know that many teachers "pin" from teacher blogs!  Cool! Two birds, one stone..... But what I discovered is that days of all free is dwindling and morphing into occasionally free, but mostly for purchase. Let's face it, money is money and teachers don't ever and may never make enough!!!!  I am all for supporting your family and supplementing the pitiful salaries teachers make, BUT I needed free resources for the other teachers who are not supplementing and have no budget to purchase cool creations and apps for their class.... NOW THE HUNT FOR FREE REALLY BEGAN.... 

So, I asked myself, "Where can a teacher find free resources without being directed to "MY TPT" page????" I actually answered my own question! The following resources are great to find FREE technology apps, websites, interactive whiteboard resources and much much more!  There are paid resources also, but those are EASY to find, right???

	Symbaloo Webmixes	Symbaloo offers free accounts.  Webmixes are created to house favorite sites, files, apps, etc in a grid of clickable buttons.  Webmixes can be saved, shared, embedded, and followed.  Webmixes are customizable and SEARCHABLE!!!! Here are some of my favorites for EC Tech.... Matt Gomez webmixes (he has several wonderful resources) PreK - K- 1st TA Networking Fall Great Classroom Tools
	Livebinders	Livebinders are digital "3 Ring Binders" online.  They can store websites, PDFs, Word docs, PowerPoints, and more all online.  They can be shared with others and embedded on blogs and websites in a variety of ways. Livebinders are SEARCHABLE also!!! To create your own binder, you must have a livebinder account, but it is free.  Livebinders has even created a bookmarklet tool to add to your browser toolbar for easy website saving.  Look for this handy feature under the "tools" tab of livebinders.
	Teachers Noteboook	Teacher's Notebook and Teachers Pay Teachers are online stores where you can create educational products and house them for sale in your own shop.  Sites like these are assisting teachers in making a little extra income on the things they are making for their classrooms anyway.  The beauty of these sites is that they offer freebies, drawings, specials, and even ideas of ways to create your own material specifically for the needs in your classroom and your students. You can search for any grade level, any subject, or resources by type, i.e. interactive whiteboards.  If you watch the sites regularly, and follow the creators on their blogs, many of them will host drawings and contests for free materials.  Sometimes all that is required is being the first to comment on the posting.  Weighing the cost of purchasing someone else's work against the amount of time it would take me to recreate it, and asking the question, "would it be just as cute????" *because CUTENESS can be a factor!* sometimes shows it is way worth it for me to buy.
	FREE INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARDS ON Teachers Pay Teachers

This was an incredible journey searching for free materials! I think that I found plenty of things for those teachers to go back to their classrooms and implement at least 1 thing they learned without a lot of prep.  If you would like to check out the resources I collected, feel free to check out MY livebinder here.

Where do you go to find the cool stuff, preferably free for your early childhood classroom?   Do you know about a well kept secret?  PLEASE SHARE!  We are all dying to know!

Until next time, Happy hunting!!!

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In the Beginning

Have you ever had an idea buzz around your head like a worrisome fly?

Boy, let me just say.... That is the way this Special Education Perspectives project has been for me.  I have been on the verge of "something" for a while now.  It finally came together yesterday.... I know today is the posting, but it really took some additional structured thought to get things worked out.  

So here I am! Officially blogging about things I see in many aspects of general and special education that can be helpful for everyone.  I am thrilled to be penning my ideas for the first time beyond my own classroom! 

So Welcome!  We are in this together and here we go! 

Feel free to subscribe here and look for me on Twitter, Pinterest, Linkedin, Google+, Diigo, Livebinders, & Symbaloo! Trudy Little