http://www.twls.org Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:02:36 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en One of the delights of each new school year at TWLS is the chance for the faculty, the parents, and the students to all meet each other for the first time at our annual ice cream social. A typical ice cream social is mostly a time to meet and mingle.  The ... http://www.twls.org/new-school-year-2010/ While our students are off enjoying their summer holiday, we wanted to check in with our teaching staff to see what they’re thinking about this summer. We spoke with Sarah Trout, who has been working with us for over two years now, about how she learned about TWLS, what she ... http://www.twls.org/teacher-spotlight-sarah-trout/ Most kids have probably run a lemonade stand in their neighborhood once or twice at some point, but that's as far as that business will go. The Whole Learning School has taken that basic lemonade stand idea and expanded it into a week-long camp for children with special needs; helping ... http://www.twls.org/bringing-business-smarts-to-twls/ If you haven't had the chance to read Part 1 or Part 2 of our American Sign Language Series, check them out - you might like to read some of the science behind our ASL program or hear some stories of success and joy.  Otherwise, enjoy this video glimpse into ... http://www.twls.org/why-we-teach-american-sign-language-part-three/ Last week in Part 1 of our series, we discussed why American Sign Language (ASL) is so valuable to our students as a vehicle to help them improve their motor control and spatial awareness. Now, we’d like to talk a little about the types of personal and social growth – ... http://www.twls.org/why-we-teach-american-sign-language-part-two/ This week’s Teacher Spotlight features our life skills teacher, Sue McCrary. She talks about how she's been drawn to work with special needs children since the third grade, what makes TWLS different not only for students, but for teachers, and her passions outside of the classroom. You’ve been teaching at TWLS ... http://www.twls.org/teacher-spotlight-sue-mccrary/ How many 11-year-olds have the concentration, attention, and energy to learn another language, a language with no familiar sounds, words, or sentence structures? Every Wednesday afternoon, our special needs students can be found intently focused on learning to communicate without a single spoken word, with American Sign Language lessons taught by ... http://www.twls.org/why-we-teach-american-sign-language-part-one/ This summer, we wanted to give our families and friends a peek at the lives and backgrounds of our teachers, for they are who shape the children’s lives and make TWLS so special . We have asked Kim Gallant to share with us this week a bit about herself and ... http://www.twls.org/teacherspotlightkim/ This week - spelling, farm animal games, and a special trip to a Wisconsin farm to learn about farm animals firsthand! From Sarah Trout: This week we are focusing on farm animals.  We have had an energetic, silly, and animated week so far.  We have pretended to be several animals on the farm ... http://www.twls.org/weekly-highlights-15/ Let's go fly a kite!  See a quick video of a TWLS spring recess, as well as them learning all about trains, transportation, and spelling in Sarah Trout's classroom. From Sarah Trout: Planes, Trains, Cars, and Boats!  This week we are focusing on transportations.  We are reading about, categorizing, and interacting with ... http://www.twls.org/weekly-highlights-14/