Coffee Corner 2.0
Hey, hey! Welcome to the coffee corner, a blog series featuring what I’m reading, listening to, buying, and resources I’m loving. Grab your cup of coffee and enjoy!
What I’m reading
I Have M.S. This is What it’s Like to Be Fed by Other People: Another amazing New York Times piece written by a woman with Multiple Sclerosis who shares her personal experience on being fed by other people. So beautifully written and eye-opening. The following quote really stuck with me:
“Because of my disability, I constantly worry if I am being too demanding when I eat. When I communicate how I want to be fed, I sometimes feel I am a burden, but I also feel that this communication is essential if I am going to be treated as a person who deserves to enjoy her food, her sanity. I wonder how other people, such as people with dementia or other disabilities, or how children who are nonverbal express their desires. This debate over the difference between want and need is a distinction many of us who require assistance wrestle with every day.”
The First Day of School: Will They Like My Mask?: There is so much controversy surrounding schools reopening this fall in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Written from the perspective of a teacher and a kindergartener, this is an interesting read on how schools reopening will negatively impact the school experience for students and teachers alike.
How to Reopen Schools: What Science and Other Countries Teach Us: This article shares how other countries have reopened schools following their full shut-down. It’s really interesting to see some of the data emerge regarding differences in transmission and infection based on age, specifically elementary school-aged kids versus high schoolers.
What I’m listening to
Calm app: I made a New Year’s resolution to develop a more consistent meditation practice. I love using the Calm app as a guide. Meditation has been so helpful in managing my anxiety, especially since the start of the pandemic. The following meditation series are my favorites:
Body scan - These meditations are broken down into time increments based on how much time you want to dedicate to meditation, so I typically do the 3- or 5-minute body scan when I don’t have a ton of time.
7 Days of Soothing Pain - This is great for those who also deal with chronic pain.
How to Meditate - The best 30-day introduction to meditation with Jeff Warren is fabulous! I first completed the series in January when I started meditating and am in the process of repeating it.
What I’m Buying
TechOrbits Mobile Projector Stand: If you know me, you may be familiar with the fact that I deal with chronic low back pain (thank you, gymnastics). Sitting is very difficult for me and so I’m all about a good standing desk! Since transitioning to teletherapy and working from home full-time, I’ve been putting a shoebox on top of our air conditioning unit (workspace pictured above). I’m thinking about purchasing this collapsable standing desk contraption to make my work from home situation a little bit more functional. I’ll report back with a full review.
I’ve been purchasing more books with tactile components for my kiddos with expressive language delays. I’ve been loving the Xavier Deneux and Melissa and Doug Poke-a-Dot books! I would highly recommend. Thank you to some of my families for their suggestions on these!
Resources I’m Loving
The Social Express: The Social Express has so many videos reviewing specific aspects of pragmatic language. What I love about these videos is how each video is broken down into a very specific skill area, such as making comments within conversation, effectively ending a conversation, determining one’s thoughts based on the direction of their eye gaze, etc. The videos are only a few minutes long, so they are the perfect length to either introduce or review a topic. The short length of the videos is also wonderful for children who struggle attending for extended periods of time.
Boom Card Pronoun Bundle: These Boom Card decks are a great tool for targeting personal pronouns, possessive pronouns, and and reflexive pronouns! I have quite a few materials to work on subjective and objective pronouns, but struggle to find activities to work on some of these other types of pronouns.
Now it’s your turn! What have you been loving lately?