The 12 Days of St. Patrick’s Day with Free Book Visuals and Questions
I’m always on the lookout for new books to use with my students related to holidays and I recently found one for St. Patrick’s Day which is “The 12 Days of St. Patrick’s Day.” I have used the other “The 12 Days of….” holiday books by Jenna Lettice and when I saw this...
Winter Themed Activities and Centers
I love a good theme. Teaching with a theme never gets old. In fact, I find it brings excitement and wonder back into the classroom after the holidays. Winter months always draw me to themes of snow, arctic animals and penguins. I intertwine themes in our center time....
Focus on Five: Virtual Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays to celebrate in the classroom and this year, I am starting to plan ways I can celebrate with my students virtually. While it seems a little early, planning ahead for Valentine’s can ensure you have time to have students...
Winter Sensory Play & Fine Motor Activities
Teaching before winter break is hard. This year is especially hard. It's cold outside, festivities are likely cancelled or drastically changed due to COVID, and we seem to be squeezing in every assessment possible in the last few days of school. I'm determined to have...
Favorite Holiday Activities Roundup
As an Infants and Toddler’s Special Education teacher, I follow a coaching model and everything since March has been completely virtual. I understand the challenges of virtual teaching especially with children birth to 3! Being cognizant of different home situations...
Focus on Five: The Twelve Days of Fitness
It's the most wonderful time of the year...to get some movement activities into the classroom! Every Monday for Special Activity Time, we do Special Olympics practice. Special Olympics Chicago has been sending us a Movement of the Week to teach students during remote...
Focus on Five: Holiday Gifts
The holidays are here! Last school year, I had students make and wrap holiday gifts for their family members. My colleague and I co-teach Special Activity Time each day and we did this project together for the first time last school year. Having students make and...
Turkey Fun in Early Childhood
There’s nothing more comforting (in my eyes at this point) in the midst of a pandemic than the thought of comforting Thanksgiving food. If you’re looking for ways to incorporate some turkey and Thanksgiving fun into your classroom or virtual session, then this post...
Halloween Core and Fringe Boards
Halloween and other themed activities may look a little different this year but as special education teachers, one thing that remains the same is structure and the need for language support! I love creating themed core and fringe language boards so that my students...
Halloween Resources for Virtual or In-Person Learning
I love teaching in October. Students are in a routine, expectations have been set and the real fun and learning can begin. There are so many great fall resources at The Autism Helper! My students this year adore Halloween, and I'm gathering and prepping all of the...
St. Patrick’s Day Activities
St. Patrick's Day Activities I love bringing holidays and seasons into the classroom. It keeps things new and fresh. I try to tie in activities and centers to holidays and seasons whenever possible. Here are some of my favorite St. Patrick's Day activities. Materials...
Focus on Five: Leap Day Activities
Leap Day happens once every four years, so make it special! My cousin was born on leap day, so I remember being a kid and thinking it was such an interesting and unusual concept that there coulf be an extra day one year and then it wasn't there the following year....
Focus on Five: Valentine’s Day Ideas with Links
In my experience, students love Valentine's Day-the colorful hearts, sending Valentines and most important, the candy. Incorporating Valentine's Day in your classroom is great way to keep in the energy up in the dreary winter months. Here are some ideas for...
Free Valentine Recipe, Craft, and Sort
Valentine DipAs many of you know I love to do cooking activities with my students. It’s a great way to work on some many different language and social skills while having fun. My students are always engaged and willing to participate when we cook in speech! I...
Winter Themed Gross Motor Activities
We all know how important it is for our kids to play outside, but unpredictable winter weather can make that a little challenging. During these long months of indoor recess, it can be hard to think of new gross motor ideas to keep kids engaged and moving. I thought...
Ten Sparkly Snowflakes Free Book Visuals
Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a great holiday with friends and family. We always need some new activities as we get back in the swing of school after the long winter break so I wanted to share another one of my book companions I created for you to...
New Year, Fresh Start
Nothing Says Fresh Start Like the New Year.If you are reading this in December, chances are the last thing you want to do right now is think about coming back to school in January. However, now is the perfect time to take a minute to revamp your classroom...
Ten on the Sled with Free Book Visuals
I was looking for some new winter books to use with my students and I found this cute “Ten on the Sled” book by Kim Norman. This book is perfect for the winter season. I created some free visuals to pair with the book along with some larger sequencing...
Holiday Core and Fringe!
It is no secret that I LOVE a holiday in school. I think I love them so much because the level of engagement and language that can be produced is so incredibly high just naturally. Plus, I just love creating happy moments with my kids. Below are some of...
Holiday Sensory Bin Ideas
Free Snowman Bingo
Now that the weather is getting colder it’s time for some snow activities! I created this fun Snowman Bingo game to work with my students on color concepts. Each snowman is wearing a different color hat and/or scarf. There are 6 different bingo boards...