Happy Halloween from LIFE Transition

My students wanted a creepy poster of themselves...so they got one thanks to some Picnik options!

My students put so much love into decorating and baking for our 1st Ever Transition Halloween Party, that I teared up a little with pride. Our hallways were frighteningly awesome, as was the academic room and the kitchen area.
The party was an overall success! We had approximately 25-30 students and 10 teachers/paras rovering between rooms. Pizza was served, then later came the dips/chips and desserts. Maybe next year we'll get to decorate and plan a party at the new transition house. Fingers crossed!

Funday Friday: Longhorn Caverns

As part of my initative to have student participation, good attendance and positive behavior both in the classoom and on their job site, my class receives the bonus of enjoying activities on "Funday Fridays."

Every Friday students will get to participate in an activity that is not only fun, but enriching in some way or another. This week the students were rewarded with a field trip to Longhorn Caverns. Some of the favorite parts of the tour were the crystals, formations that looked like things such as SpongeBob and the bats!

2010-2011 class photo

I would like to share an updated photo of my awesome group! If you would like a copy of this picture, e-mail me and I'll be happy to share it with you!

Go Mustangs!!

A housing tour

A special thanks to Mr. Bob Tueter of ReMax Marble Falls for giving my students a tour of some rental properties in the city limits. They enjoyed finding out what things cost and what you get for the amount of money you spend. It was very enriching!

Scavenger hunt for pumpkins....and information!

My students seem to get very bored by walking into a location and listening to a person discuss their services. I learned this the second week of school and decided to re-vamp my lessons. This lesson takes a lot of pre-planning, but is worth every ounce of effort!

Objective: Teach students a component of residential life planning by having them engage local utility companies for clues and information about the business.


I had the students engage in decorating a set of pumpkins, which they LOVED! They spent an entire morning deciding what to draw on them and then actually doing the art work. That afternoon, I took the pumpkins to a local restaurant and asked them to hold the pumpkins for us and put them on the tables the following day, for the students, when we came in.
The next morning the students came in to find the pumpkins missing and a note from "the bandit" with a clue as to where the pumpkins might be. The students loaded our program vehicle and we went on a scavenger hunt.
Each business was given a clue and asked to tell the students what services they provide when preparing to move into a residence. At each stop, students would inquire about the pumpkins, receive information about the services, and then get another clue.
Doing any more than 4 or 5 stops would lose their interest, so we had a limited number of stops before the final clue sent them to the restaurant.


I was so excited and happy that my students were eager to learn and gain more information about housing expenses while also having fun.

Gaining insight through others

I am so impressed with the number of districts who are creating Life Skills Transition Programs. In fact, I came across one today that was called "Transition Academy" which made the program seem more like a trade school....and really it is on many levels.


Finding the various ways to teach a student something, in an appealing manner, has become the true task. My students seem to enjoy learning in the most informal manner (having fun and learning without knowing it). I have enjoyed finding other Transition program teacher's blogs and gaining new ideas. I hope I can provide the same in return.