January is the time of year associated with fresh starts and new habits. Many of us teachers take some time during the month of January to evaluate what has worked well during the first half of the school year and what systems may need some tweaking. Luckily, the new year brings new opportunities to build independence in the classroom! Read on for some ideas of ways to increase your students’ independence this month!
The Importance of Independence
Increasing student independence is a goal for most teachers– especially special education teachers! By helping our students build independence we are giving them a valuable life skill. We want our students to become self-sufficient so they can be more confident and feel empowered to do things for themselves! Providing activities that students can do on their own lets them build their independence and become less reliant on adult prompting.
Centers Build Independence
Many classrooms – both special education and general ed – already run on centers. (If you need more info about setting up centers, check out this post!) Centers are perfect for helping our special education students become more independent! Some of the benefits of centers are:
- Teaching students how to follow a schedule
- Giving students targeted work to complete
- Providing a built-in movement break for regulation
- Giving students the opportunity to complete with a variety of task types
- Letting students work with different adults
- Promoting student independence!
January Activity Ideas for Your Classroom
Incorporating seasonal activities makes centers feel extra fun. Plus, the novelty of new activities keeps students engaged. Here are some different January-themed centers that my students and I love!
January File Folders
File folders are a staple activity in my classroom! They are a favorite addition to the independent work system I have put in place. This January-themed file folder set is super cute and also reinforces a variety of skills! Students will practice 1:1 correspondence, big vs small, colors, letters, numbers, and shapes. And, they will do it with the cutest winter themes like penguins, snowflakes, mints, and hot cocoa!
Winter Fine Motor Centers
Developing the fine motor muscles helps children build the skills they need to do independent activities. Fine motor centers are an awesome way to help your students develop these skills while also building their independence! There are centers for each season, and the Winter set is perfect to use in January! I love that sone of the activities can be laminated and used over and over again. It makes setting up centers easy for me. Also, it helps my students gain familiarity with the activities. Once students have mastered activities like clipping, punching, tracing, or poking, they will be able to easily do the activities on their own throughout the year!
January Cooking Projects
My students LOVE cooking in the classroom! The best part is that I hear from SO many parents that because of the activities we do at school, their children become more confident to help with cooking at home! Independence at school AND home is a huge win!
Visual recipe sets include ingredient lists, step-by-step picture directions, sequencing activities, and student comprehension questions. The January set includes recipes for Rice Marshmallow Snowmen, No Bake Oreo Cheesecake, Snow Pudding Cup, and Snow Ice Cream.
Find these recipes (and more resources!) in the January Activities Bundle!
Picture Comprehension
Picture Comprehension stories are a great way to help students build independence! Understanding and responding to questions is an important skill for students to hone. Using monthly themed stories helps students practice answering questions. For students who are more independent readers, they can do this as a station activity. I like to laminate the stories or put them in sleeves for students to respond using dry erase markers. That way, they can be reused year after year for practice!
There are so many fun, seasonal ways to keep students engaged in class and building their independent skills! Have any questions about setting up centers or other activities in your classroom? Ask them below!
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