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Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Rebecca and all the SmartHome residents and staff members!

Getting In The Thanksgiving Spirit

Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident Donna is getting in the spirit of Thanksgiving by learning about the Pilgrims and the Mayflower.

Technology Tuesday

This week’s Technology Tuesday comes to you from Suzanne Phillips, the newest Communication Teacher at Imagine!’s Longmont CORE/Labor Source hub. She gives a great example of how technology is being used in her classes to help overcome the challenges that arise when teaching a class of students who have a wide range of abilities and communication methods. Thanks Suzanne – we look forward to hearing more!

Suzanne Phillips

There is a challenge that presents itself to every teacher at CORE/Labor Source. Every day we ask ourselves, “How can I be sure that today’s lesson will reach ALL of my students?” In any given classroom there may be a combination of students with complete hearing loss, students with impaired vision, students who are completely non-verbal, etc. As teachers we must create activities and lesson plans that actively engage every individual…but how can we accomplish this?

Innovative classroom technology makes this possible. Take for example Longmont CORE’s Thursday morning Communication Class. This class includes three non-verbal students that use communication devices and one partially verbal student who does not use a communication device. Playing a game of Hangman with this class is very different than playing a traditional game of Hangman! As the students take turns choosing a letter, it looks something like this:

• One student who is proficient with her communication device will decide on a specific letter, highlight that letter on the screen of her communication device and use her head to press a switch that is connected to her communication device. The device will then announce this letter out loud.
• Two other students in the class who use communication devices will choose one of the following groups of letters: A-I, J-R or S-Z. They choose a group of letters by pressing a head switch that is connected to their communication device. Staff then connects an All-Turn-It Spinner to their head switch, the student presses their head switch and the spinner’s arrow will turn and then eventually land on a letter within the group of letters that the student had previously indicated.
• The fourth student who is partially verbal is given a laminated letter board and an expo marker. This student will circle a letter on the letter board and staff will encourage her to say this letter out loud.

Having the technology to facilitate a class like this is crucial. By putting these adaptations to use, the teacher can help students with very different communication methods achieve similar goals within one classroom activity. As we continue to develop more specific adaptations for our students, they in turn have greater opportunities to achieve their goals. Stay tuned to see what we’re doing in our classrooms next!

John Has A New Job

Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident John is excited to be working at a new job at Celestial Seasonings. Congrats, John!

Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome Therapy Dog and Volunteer Celebrate First Anniversary

November 14 marked the one year anniversary of when Raven, the beloved therapy dog, began coming to the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder. Ingrid (Raven’s handler) and Raven celebrated their first year as our volunteers with the residents on their anniversary date. Once John heard them walk in, he came right out of his room and said “Raven is here!.”  Ingrid and Raven stood by to support and cheer on Rebecca and Donna as they did their exercises. The residents love to snuggle and pet Raven, and Raven loves getting treats. We look forward to another year to come. Pictured with Raven the therapy dog (front row lying down) are some of the residents and staff members from the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome. From the left, front row and sitting are residents Rebecca (having fun making a face), Mandy, Gerald, and Donna. In the back row and standing are John (resident), Chantelle (Site Supervisor), Chris (resident), Phil (live in staff member), and Lana (resident).

Studying The States

This photos came to us in a visit on Monday to the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome. Three of the residents are working on a project orchestrated by Claudette Moloney, one of the counselors at the home. The project involves them each choosing a state they wanted to research, and making posters with various information about those states. John chose New York, Rae chose California (where she was born), and Lana chose Oklahoma. Below are some photos of the project. The posters include items such as the state bird, state flower, state motto, state capital, and a map of the state. It seems like a safe bet that not many people know that the state muffin of New York is the "apple muffin," but thanks to John, now we know.

John with his New York state book.

John's New York poster.

Lana's Oklahoma book.

Rae's California poster.