About MeHi, I'm Kathie. Here's just a little about me and my goals for this site. Basically, the details are: * This is an Australian site (Tasmanian to be specific). I plan my resources in accordance with the Tasmanian Curriculum, and attempt to impart best practice teaching in numeracy and literacy. This is based on my experiences with First Steps Spelling, Reading and Writing and Count Me In Too Maths. As all states and territories will soon be transitioning from their own curricula to the Australian Curriculum, this will be the basis of my resources in the future. * I'm a primary school teacher and currently work full-time. This year I am teaching a Prep class some days, and I get to interact with all classes K-6, in an advisory and support role. I work each week with a couple of maths groups that include Grade 4,5 and 6 students, and I support teachers and students in their use of computer programs such as Lexia, Smartkiddies and Mathletics. I also oversee programs for individuals and small groups in need of literacy and numeracy support, gross motor skills, and life skills. * I've been a classroom teacher of all classes K-6, and have taught lots of children who've experienced delays in learning for various reasons. In recent years, I've worked with many children on the Autism Spectrum, some with classic autism, some pervasive developmental disorder, and most, aspergers' disorder. A lot of my games are ideal for children with learning delays. They allow children to work on relevant concepts with repetitive activities that are predictable but fun. I am building a collection of games that allow children to work on the same concept every day (for long periods if necessary), in a variety of ways. The childen think they have played 3 or 4 different games each day, but they are reinforcing the same concept (eg. developing automatic recognition of the numerals 0-10 or recalling simple sight words). * I've had my own 'obsession' with creating fun resources for numeracy and literacy, and I needed to put this interest to good use. I keep a journal of ideas for resources and add to it frequently, as ideas come to mind. Then on weekends and holidays, I use these ideas to formulate new games and worksheets. My website is in its 3rd year now and I'm still excited about creating resources, especially when I see children getting excited about learning literacy and numeracy concepts with my games! * I hope this website can be a time-saver for hard working, busy teachers who would also like to incorporate interactive activities online in their classrooms. There are links to lots of great websites from around the world, for both teachers and students. Put the ones you'd like to use in your classroom on a links page of your school or class webpage, or intranet, or even just in your 'favorites' or 'bookmarks' so students can access them easily. * I've seen my students make tremendous progress with literacy and numeracy outcomes, and build confidence and a love of learning, from my inclusion of a 20 minute games session for maths and reading, each day. If you like the idea of supporting the teaching of essential literacy and numeracy skills with fun games, this website is for you! **A family project: My technical advisor (on computer issues) is my son Alex. This website would have taken twice as long to get up and running without him. He's a great teacher too, as he's not just fixed problems, but shown me how to solve things myself. My daughter Madi has helped me by creating some of the images I needed for the games, with the help of graphic tablets and pens. Madi's also got lots of great ideas for more games, and likes to help me trial the ones I've made. Zac gives me moral support with lots of positive feedback, but unfortunately I haven't been able to coax him into lending me his considerable creative and artistic skills. Maybe one day. If you would like to suggest concepts for me to develop resources for, let me know. I can't promise immediate action, but these ideas go into my journal and I then start thinking of ways to approach them. There is a link on the home page for feedback. Kathie McKeown
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