Valentine's Day Sensory Bin This is my new favorite Valentine's Day Sensory Bin! Starbucks blended with some hearts! This bin is geared towards younger children but I will also share how to adapt the bin to focus on different concepts and academic skills! Themes Valentine’s Day is the day of love, overpriced decorative cards, and delicious chocolate. I have so many great childhood memories of Valentine's Day! I loved making my Valentine’s Day box with my grandma and signing my ... continue reading...
Search Results for: sensory bins
Land and Water Sensory Bin
Sensory bins are allow children to explore, imagine, and discover while meeting all of the senses. Long story short: kids love sensory bins- and there is SO much learning we can work into them! This post will contain affiliate links. You don’t pay any more, but if you purchase from my link I get a small commission. This allows me to try everything out that I recommend to you and keep my blog running smoothly. (so thanks for clicking my links!)) My daughter Quinn is now 14 months and ... continue reading...
January Peppermint Sensory Bin
Sensory bins are not only a great motivator but a great way to get kids with disabilities the sensory feedback they need to be successful throughout the day. I have my sensory bin on the schedule for the middle of the day EVERY. DAY. It is not just a fun one time activity- it is part of our day! Here's how I made my January Peppermint Sensory Bin! Here are all the materials I used! I ended up using half of another blue food coloring to get a darker blue, but you can use as much or as little ... continue reading...
Tips for Toe Walking
Toe walking can be due to a number of underlying reasons. Determining the cause of the toe walking can help to find the best way to address it. That being said, some children have "idiopathic" toe walking that is just their preferred gait pattern. As always, I recommend that you consult with an occupational therapist (OT) and/or a physical therapist (PT) if you are concerned with your child's gait and walking habits. These professionals can assess potential neurological and muscle tone ... continue reading...
5 Ways to Promote Independent Sitting
In early childhood special education, promoting independence is a key goal, and one important milestone is independent sitting. Independent sitting not only enhances student’s physical development but also supports their cognitive and social skills. For students with special needs, achieving this milestone may require tailored strategies and support. In this blog post, we’ll explore five effective ways to promote independent sitting in early childhood special education. Happy ... continue reading...
10 Ways to Promote Learning through Play
Are you an Early Childhood Teacher or Preschool Special Education Teacher? Maybe a parent looking for play based ideas? Well, look no further! Promoting learning through play is an effective and enjoyable way to enhance educational experiences. Here are ten strategies to encourage learning through play: 1.Provide open-ended materials Offer a variety of toys, building blocks, art supplies , and other open-ended materials that allow students to explore and create freely. This fosters ... continue reading...
Early Intervention Preschool Classroom Tour
Are you a new teacher who just landed a job teaching preschool? Or are you an early intervention preschool teacher who is looking to revamp your classroom? This early intervention preschool classroom tour blog post will give you ideas to get started! Schedule Wall A big focus in our early intervention program is to build a sense of routine and school readiness in our students. Schedules help us do that. Students in the early intervention program utilize personalized visual schedules ... continue reading...
How I Plan for The Last 10 Days of School
End of year is here and so is the STRESS! I'm so thankful for the resource from Simply Special Ed. It helped make my last 10 days a breeze! Woo hoo! Check out what's included below! This resource can be found here. Last 10 Days Plan One thing I appreciate about this resource, is that it came with a lesson plan that includes 5 activities per day for 10 days. This information was edited to fit my lesson plan template and school requirements. I omitted what I did not want to use and ... continue reading...
Play Ideas to Encourage School-Aged Development
Sometimes we forget about play for our elementary-school aged students! Children learn so much through play, and while a focus on academics has its place, kids definitely need time to learn through trial and error as well as free play! Check out my blog on play ideas to encourage preschool aged development for ideas for younger kiddos! The resource I highlighted in that blog, the Play Center Visual Support resource, is great for early learners! As a school-based occupational therapist ... continue reading...
Play Ideas to Encourage Pre-K Development
As an occupational therapist (OT), I like to say that play is the primary occupation of children! In the world of OT, we describe "occupations" as any activity that a person wants or needs to do. These are things that "occupy" a person's day/time. For children, so much learning occurs in these activities! Let's be honest: we like to push a lot of academic learning skills on our littles. Overall, I think it is so important to remember that play-based tasks are one of THE BEST ways to engage ... continue reading...
A Look inside my Classroom Centers
Are you an Early Childhood Special Education Teacher? Do you have centers in your class? If so, come take a sneak peek in to my classroom centers! I'm an Early Childhood Special Education Teacher in a Pre-K Co-Teach Classroom. I have a mixture of full day students and part time students ages 3-5 years old. Our district requires us to have a minimum of eight centers. Read more to see how I use my centers for gathering data and how I use them for my 3 year olds. Light Table Light tables ... continue reading...
Hacks for the Special Ed Classroom
I am so excited to share some of the best hacks and advice with you for your special education classroom from our very own SSE Blogger Team! 1. USE IEP GOAL BINS "IEP Goal Bins are a life saver in self-contained since our students have several goals and objectives on their IEP! Go through each student’s IEP and gather all materials needed to monitor each of their IEP goals and objectives. Organize the materials into baggies and label with the objective it is for and instructions on how ... continue reading...
8 Pinterest Boards for Special Education Teachers
If you are a new special education teacher, I am here to let you in on a little secret! (PINTEREST is a search engine, yup that's right) Your 2 new best friends will now be Teachers Pay Teachers and Pinterest! If you have for some reason not heard of either of these, it’s time to create accounts ASAP! All joking aside, Pinterest is a great website to utilize for educators. You have to be careful, however, not to get caught up in the “Pinterest haze''. What I mean by this is you don’t have to ... continue reading...
Pre-writing Skills: Where to Start
Pre- Writing Skills: Where to Start Pre-writing skills appear very textbook. We have all seen the charts on the timeframe when children should be making what type of stroke pattern. We use this as our guide. I think what we often forget is those developmental milestones, just as academic skills, aren’t linear. Children meet them at different points when they are ready. As educators, practitioners, and parents we can help guide children. Our job is to give them the tools they need to ... continue reading...
Multiple Disabilities Classroom Setup
I am so excited to share everything I've learned about setting up a multiple disabilities classroom with you! I've spent a lot of time mapping out my classroom layout this year. I hope this blog post about setting up a multiple disabilities classroom will be helpful for you! My Caseload I currently have seven students that are wheelchair users and 3 that are not. I have 2 students that are fully virtual that I service through seesaw and google meets sessions on Wednesdays. Most of ... continue reading...