The importance of developing early literacy skills in preschool children is well documented. Literacy competence in our youngest learners helps ensure later success in school. Therefore, as parents and teachers of preschool children who have visual...
Emergent Literacy
Posted by Elsie Rao
I loved teaching tactile skills and braille. It was a giant puzzle for me to discover the student's learning style and material preferences. One story I want to share that sticks in my memory happened when I had two young students in kindergarten. Once...
Posted by JasamynNichols
One of my favorite areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum to teach is assistive technology. One of the first tools we introduce to our students with low vision is the hand-held magnifier.
Selecting an Appropriate Magnifier
Each one of our students...
Posted by Derya Uyar
January is a special month for us because it is Braille Awareness Month and braille, blind children, and their families are important to me. This is why I am here sharing with you a story from Turkey.
Supporting at Home Work Being Done at...
Posted by Megan Mogan
Let’s start with the good news. You have emerging readers with visual impairment who have learned the meaning of tactile name symbols for people in their lives. The bad news? You are considering crossing that skill off your list of “Things...
Posted by Kate Hurst
Pegboard books provide a way for young children who are blind or visually impaired, including those with multiple disabilities, to begin to explore books. Based on the work of Dr. Lilli Nielsen and her Active Learning approach, this format uses real...
Posted by Lisa Pruner
A critical component of early literacy is having something meaningful and interesting to talk, read or write about. All children build vocabulary through experiences - be they real life experiences, stories and pictures in books, or videos/television...
Posted by Jaime Brown
Summertime can be very relaxing. Sometimes though, long summer days lead to boredom The kids have played with everything. It’s too hot to go anywhere. And you don’t want them to just sit in front of the television all day....
Posted by Diane Sheline
Make sure your student or child with CVI has a variety of literacy materials this summer that are relevant and enticing. The Yellow Bucket and the Red Shovel is easy to make and can be adapted, depending on the color of bucket and shovel you happen to have...
Posted by Liamsmom
I have always wanted to make my son an accessible garden that my son could learn to take care of independently. I was hoping a garden could be something he could learn to enjoy and learn from.
Earlier this year I applied for the...
Posted by Cheryl Kamei Hannan
My interest in bringing storytelling to life grew out of a growing interest in Waldorf-inspired education. While story boxes have been around in our field for many years, I wanted to try to create a full multi-sensory experience to bring stories to life...
Posted by Charlotte Cushman
Purpose of Experience Books
Personal book is motivating
How many of you scrapbook or keep a journal to remember important events/people in your lives? An experience book is a way for a student with deafblindness to record such...
Posted by Anna C. Gayle
In 2011, I was a poster presenter at the Getting in Touch with Literacy conference held in Louisville, Kentucky. I presented on creating tactile memory for understanding. My information came from a lesson I had used in class for reading comprehension of...
Posted by Jodi Floyd
Systematic building of skills in toddlers and pre-schoolers will facilitate learning to read and write braille in the future! Skills to build include: concepts such as same and different, tactual awareness and perception, and fine motor such as exploring...
Posted by Debra Goodsir
I’m a TVI in NSW, Australia, and started working with a girl named Sarah halfway through her first year of Kindergarten. She is in a regular class with a class teacher and a wonderful teacher aid, Leanne Prior, who has been working with her since she...
Posted by Renee Ellis
Cardboard is my friend.
Thank goodness for Amazon, UPS and FedEx. I look forward to a delivery because I use the boxes to create books and activities for my students with visual impairments.
I like things that don't cost much that I can send home...
Posted by Charlotte Cushman
The holidays present a challenge each year to families and friends who wish to give presents to children who are blind or visually impaired, especially if they are very young or have deafblindness or multiple disabilities. You want it to be FUN and...
Posted by Charlotte Cushman
It's that time of year again, and what a perfect opportunity to share the gift of literacy with children who are blind or visually impaired! We often get questions about ideas for holiday giving and we're happy to share some of our favorite...
Posted by Peg Palmer
Recently I had yet another conversation with a distraught parent from another state, who was upset that her child who has cortical visual impairment (CVI) was not being included in the story/circle time at preschool. “He doesn’t need to see the...
Posted by Megan Mogan
Around 4 pm every day, something wonderful happens to me. I get to reunite with my 3 children after school/work and find out how their days went. I get to hear about spelling tests, lunchbox trades, science experiments, and playground drama....