I’m linking up with Blog Hoppin‘ for Teacher Week! Today: Must-haves Monday! This is kind of a tough question for me! What are my must haves??

 

 

 

 

Macbook: my one true love! It does everything and more! 

iPads: seeing a trend? I’m a little obsessed with apple products – okay fine a lot obsessed! But I don’t care. We have two iPads for my classroom (one I got from my school and one I got from DonorsChoose). These are my most valuable teaching tool. Not only are these amazingly powerful reinforcers (I have some little guys that will literally work all day long for a just 5 minutes with one of these bad boys) but I track and chart all of my data in the iPad and we use academic apps daily. There is an app to work on anything you can think of!

BoardMaker: Boardmaker is software that can be used to create visuals, activities, schedules, behavior support, etc. Couldn’t live without it!

Laminator: Many of my students need hands on materials so I make TONS of laminated activities. I also make visual communication systems for my students who are nonverbal.

Timers: There is a big focus on fluency in my class so we have timers in every station. I bought a few of these sets from Lakeshore. They are compact and simple to use!

Organizers: I am hyper organized! With 10 students, 2 paraprofessionals, and countless therapists in and out of the room there is always a lot going on. I make sure everything has a place and everything is in it’s place! This prevents SO many problems and issues later and you will get so much more done! I have these awesome dividers from Lakeshore.

Futon: I invested in a futon last year for my break area. I don’t do bean bags for my kids since they are a little too old (also – I think laying on bean bags can lead to some roaming hands with teenage boys if you know what I mean!). A lot of the ‘sensory’ type chairs are usually too small for big old boys. This futon works great and is really sturdy. Give my kids a place to sit and relax – read books, etc. – while they are in break time! 

What are your must-haves?