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Simply Special Ed

Resource Downloads & Teaching Advice

Blog Fall Seasonal Simple Classroom

Happy October!

So first things first – October! October is one of my favorite months and I had been stashing up some good ideas for my future classroom for quite some time now! I am so excited to share with you! Here’s what we have been up to in room 107 these last 2 weeks!

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We have been making monthly suncatchers for our windows this year. I just love this activity. Perfect for fine motor practice. I couldn’t find contact paper so I just used packaging tape. Have the kids rip and crinkle the tissue paper and stick it down!

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Target had little ” Grow a Pumpkin” ‘s in the 1 dollar section! I was so pumped but a little worried they wouldn’t work! They sure did!

7004499_origPumpkin carving! This was the first time carving a pumpkin for many of my kids. I have a few with sensory issues that were reluctant to try to touch the guts, but I always make everyone try! Here is one of my students scooping out the guts using my paras hand as a tool 🙂 We then carved the pumpkin together. Each student had to make a request for what they wanted to carve on the pumpkin using a full sentence.

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Here’s another fine motor task. Painting with Pom Poms. I found this one on pinterest. Use orange, yellow and white pom poms with corresponding paint. Then I clip the pom poms with a clothespin and have them dot to paint! I also used chalk to differentiate which section is for what color for my more visual kidsOur theme for October was BATS! We read books about bats, learned bat facts and made bats to hang from the ceiling! These bats are made from painted toilet paper rolls. I always try my best to recycle materials around the house before I buy new materials for the classroom!

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We also made ghosts to hang alongside the bats. These ghosts are tootsie pops and a napkin! So easy and quick for those students who can’t sit for long crafts.

Hope you all enjoyed your October. I will post pictures and elements of my classroom Halloween party this afternoon!

That’s all for now!
Ms. Alyssa

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Hi amazing teachers!
I'm Alyssa Shanahan -- a former Elementary Special Ed & Life Skills teacher. My classroom focus was always to keep things simple, increase communication, and build independence. Simply Special Ed's goal is to help teachers and students reach their full potential in and out of the classroom!

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