I can... get ready for the holidays!

Is it already that time of year again? As 2008 draws to a close, students are starting to think about the holidays, celebrations and time to be spent with family and friends. It’s a time for giving, a time for wishing and a great time to talk about special events that happen only once a year ….

Here are some vocabulary suggestions for the holidays:

Happy Holidays!	Let’s sing some holiday songs.	See you in January!
What are you doing over the holidays?	I’ve been so good this year.  I’m hoping for a….	My favourite holiday movie is….what’s yours?
My favourite holiday food is….what’s yours?	I’m going to miss you over the holidays.	What do you like best about the holiday season?
I want to write a letter to…	Can we play some holiday games?	Have a Happy New Year!

Gift Ideas!

Sometimes it can be challenging to find gifts that are fun and appropriate for students who use switches to control their world.  Here are some suggestions to consider for the wish list (or maybe even the classroom wish list!).

Switch Adapted Products for the Young at Heart:

Jokemaster: http://rjcooper.com/jokemaster/index.html

Adpated Mini Bubble Blower: http://www.flaghouse.ca/itemdy00.asp?T1=36741

Switch Adapted Products for Teens:

Game Box Controller: http://rjcooper.com/game-controller/index.html

Computer Hardware & Software:

ICanEmail Software: http://rjcooper.com/icanemail/index.html

Communication:

AbleNet has made improvements to many of their products.  Now would be a great time to purchase a new Step-by-Step^TM. http://www.ablenetinc.com/Store/tabid/205/Default.aspx?CategoryCode=108

Light Tech Ideas 

• Keep everyone up to date with what’s happening: fund raising events, the school play, the Christmas concert. In the weeks leading up to the December school break, there are often many new and different events happening around the school. Designate one of your students to report on the events each week. Classmates can decide on the topic for the week and the information that needs to be reported. A peer could record the messages into a Step-by-Step^TM, and then the student could then report to students across the school.

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High Tech Ideas

This is a great time of year to complete some topic-specific writing tasks.  Make use of some ready-made activities.

Send a holiday e-card:  http://www.mayer-johnson.com/ECard.aspx?DirID=Christmas

Winter Holiday Writing (including Kwanzaa, Christmas, Eid and Hanukkah):

http://aex.intellitools.com/searchdetails.php?act_key=winterholidaywriting 

Write about Charles Dickens ‘A Christmas Carol’:

http://www.learninggrids.com/us/SearchResults.aspx?p=1&sp=3&program=1&cid=2168&recs=10&level=3