Tips For Prioritizing Summer Down Time As A Special Education Teacher
Summer break is a well-deserved time to rest and recharge. A bit of thoughtful prep during the summer can make a huge difference in easing the transition into the new school year. During the summer I enjoy prepping and gathering ideas for my classroom for the upcoming...
Planning for the Fall: Part 2 – Visual Schedules
In Part 1, we laid the foundation for planning for the fall by mapping out the physical structure of your classroom. If you missed it, check it out here. Now that you have planned the physical structure, you can start creating individual visual schedules for your...
Creating Predictable Routines for Young Learners
In our kindergarten through second-grade special education classroom, routines aren’t just helpful, they’re essential. Many of our learners thrive on predictability, and when routines are clear, consistent, and supportive, they create a classroom climate where...
Wrapping Up A Wonderful School Year as a Kindergarten Teacher
As the final days of the school year approach, I have noticed an increase in the energy in both our kindergarten students as well as staff. The weather is getting warmer and the end of the year is felt throughout the building. While there is still a lot of learning to...
How General Education Teachers Can Incorporate Social-Emotional Learning Activities
As educators, academic skills are only a part of what students need to succeed in school and to increase independence in their home life. Social-emotional learning (SEL) is equally important, helping students manage their emotions, build positive relationships, and...
How to Create and Use Individualized Learning Bins
Kindergarten is a time for young learners to develop foundational skills, but each child progresses at their own pace and has unique learning needs. One effective way to address this diversity is through individualized learning bins. These bins are a powerful tool to...
Classroom Flow Check-In
Happy Fall! By now, you may be four to eight weeks into your back-to-school routine. How are things going? If you feel like things are chaotic or not quite right, just know that you are not alone! Sometimes this feeling can come from the actual structure and set up of...
Setting Up Your Classroom for the Fall!
As the new school year approaches, setting up a classroom requires thoughtful planning to create a structured and supportive environment. Thinking about the flow of your classroom will help you get started! You might need to adjust as you go and learn the needs of...
Setting up Behavior Resources and Conversations as a Team
There are many resources that we want to share with our educational team, even those veterans! Best practices and research within education are abundant. During our first few days together, we talk about the following information while organizing and setting up the...
Summer to Fall Classroom Ideas!
As a special educator on the Infants & Toddlers team, I have the opportunity to go into homes, daycares, and summer school programs! While you may not be quite ready to think about classroom set up, think of this post as some summer manifesting. This month I had...
How to Use Visual Supports Every Day
Maintaining communication skills that our children and learners have worked on throughout the school year should not be lost over the summer months. It is important for some of our families, occasionally including our own, to continue structure and predictability...
The Use of Punishment versus Reinforcement
Behavior change is something that is most often referred to in the world of ABA. More and more, I have been seeing BCBAs and RBTs in the school settings. Strategies that are based on the science of human behavior are being implemented within classrooms, both in...
Simple Visual Schedules
Let’s talk about some simple visual schedules for my autistic students!In my classroom, I've come to appreciate the power of visuals in aiding communication, promoting independence, and reducing anxiety for my autistic students. Visual schedules serve as roadmaps for...
Differentiation in the General Education Classroom: Large Group
Differentiation in a classroom does take a lot of planning and prep, but don’t panic! Differentiation is important in both general education classrooms, specials, and self-contained classrooms. Throughout a learner's educational experience, we as a team are to...
Supporting Students with Autism in the General Education Classroom: Visual Structure
Students with Autism thrive with the use of visuals and structure. When we expect our students to complete work, whether in the general education classroom, special education classroom, or community, we need to remember to use visual structure to help them understand...
Data and Interventions for Off-Task Behavior
Off a learner is off task, they can be demonstrating that behavior in many different ways. Off-task behavior can have the function of access, escape, attention, or a sensory need. Just like any other behavior, we start with our ABC data and meet as a team to analyze...
IEP Goal Examples: Functional Routines
My goal is always to help other teachers with things that I struggled with. In my experience, it was hard to ask for help and I wanted people to believe that I had it all together. Being an educator is hard, and after my experiences, I learned that asking for help is...
3 Thing to Prep This Summer
Summer Prep When I'm on summer break, I don't want to do TOO much related to school. However, I've found that if I prep a few things here and there, I can make the back-to-school rush a little easier for myself. No matter if you are new to the classroom or an...
Using Visuals in the Classroom
Let’s talk about using visuals in a self-contained classroom! Visuals are a super important part of my learners’ day. Visuals help my students understand their environment. There are many types of visuals that I use in my classroom but for now, I want to...
Using QR Codes in the Classroom
I may be late to the game, but I love QR codes and all the great ways to put them to use in the classroom. Several years ago, I found an article about QR codes in the school environment. It was something I always wanted to implement. I started small by incorporating...