With new guidelines for keeping students safe for back to school 2020, one of the major questions is how to keep student supplies separate. Sharing supplies and containers is just not feasible or safe this year- therefore personal supplies will be key to keeping students safe and reducing exposure. Read on for tips for organizing materials and keeping student supplies separate. REMOVE SHARED CONTAINERS In order to keep student materials and supplies separate, we must remove " shared ... continue reading...
Search Results for: sensory bins
October in my Autism Classroom
October is one of my absolute favorite months! I love when the weather gets that chill and you can break out the warm sweaters, fluffy socks, and spooky decor! My students thrive off of themes. Because it takes them so long to acquire skills, the work would become just plain boring after months and months of the same tasks. Themes give us the chance to spice up the work, get our kids more engaged, and make working on skills FUN! I change out my work each month with thematic, engaging, ... continue reading...
Three Ways To Manage Different Levels Of Learners
If you teach in a self-contained special education classroom, chances are you teach multiple grades at one time. It can feel overwhelming to think about meeting the needs of each student. Luckily, managing a wide range of levels of learners in the classroom doesn’t have to be difficult. I teach students in grades 2nd-5th in all academic subjects and I’ve come up with three ways to manage different levels of learners. Differentiate, Differentiate, Differentiate You can still teach ... continue reading...
Must-Have Containers for Special Education Teachers
Have you always wanted to be the type A organized special education teacher? Same here! After years of trial and error, I have found some organizational tools to make classroom routines more efficient and manageable. I'm here to share ten must-have containers for organizing your special education classroom. 1. Photo Boxes These photo boxes are a cult favorite. They are versatile and just the perfect size for the various organizational needs of special education teachers, which is why it ... continue reading...
Prepping for Back to School with a Large OT Caseload
It's back-to-school season and time to start thinking about your caseload for the upcoming year [maybe while on the beach...?]. If you're anything like me, your caseload may seem a bit overwhelming. School-based OTs have a lot on their plates [check out A Day in the Life of a School-Based OT]. Whether you have 30 students or 100, making sure that all your kiddos get the support they need can be quite the challenge. Doing some preparation before the school is essential to starting the year ... continue reading...
Intermediate Elementary Classroom Tour
Welcome to a tour of my Intermediate Elementary Classroom! I teach a multiple disabilities class for grades 3 - 5 at a public intermediate school. This is my first year in this classroom. When I found out that I would be moving rooms, I went right to the Classroom Layout Builder from the Simple Self-Contained 101 to help me plan! I was able to plug in the built-in features like the cabinets, sink, windows, and bulletin boards. Then, I could easily plan how to set up the rest of the room by ... continue reading...
4 Tips for a Special Needs Class FIeld Trip
If general education classes get to go on field trips, then yes, special education classes get to as well! Figuring out how to manage a field trip for a special needs class can be overwhelming and maybe even scary to think about. Here in this blog you will find 4 different tips to help you better prepare and feel confident heading into your field trip! Field trip tip 1: Parent Involvement One of the first things I do when beginning to think about / planning for a field is reach out to ... continue reading...
Skills to Teach during Lunch
Manners, beginning a conversation, opening their milk and even carrying their own lunch tray are some of the skills we teach during lunch. How do I track these skills? What skills should I teach? What strategies do I use? Keep reading below to find out my answers to each of these questions and be sure to comment if you do the same or something different! What skills should I teach? In Early Childhood, I’m provided with a booklet of developmental milestones by age. This ... continue reading...
How to Implement the Fall Fine Motor Centers
You may be familiar with the Simply Special Ed Fine Motor Centers. OT Blogger, Taylor, called them her number one must-have SSE resource! But did you know that there is a fall version of these fine motor centers!? I love a good seasonal theme for my occupational therapy (OT) sessions! These centers are great for daily classroom practice. They can be implemented these with teachers, support staff or as independent or group work! I even share activities like these with parents who want ... continue reading...
Elementary Mod/Severe Classroom Tour
Here is my elementary mod/severe classroom tour! I teach a 1st through 4th self-contained, mod/severe, special day class. I am going to highlight some of my classroom staples and key elements I use when setting up my classroom. Break/sensory area Pictured above here is my break corner and sensory area! This is an area of my classroom that my students can go to when they are feeling overwhelmed, tired, escalated, etc. This area is designed for my student to use when they need to calm ... continue reading...
Pre-K ECSE Classroom Tour
Do you teach Pre-K or ECSE? Are you teaching in a blended or self contained classroom this year? I’m an Early Childhood Special Education Teacher teaching in a blended classroom. This means that I co-teach with a General Education Teacher. In this classroom, there are four adults, two teacher and 2 assistant/paraprofessional. My co-teacher had a theme in mind and it turned out wonderful. Keep scrolling to see how we set up our co-teach Pre-K classroom. Whole Group Area Our ... continue reading...
Occupational Therapy Room Tour
Welcome to the Occupational Therapy Classroom! Hello, and welcome to the tour of my occupational therapy classroom! I'm extremely fortunate to have a designated space [that doubles as a sensory room!] in all of my buildings. This is uncommon for related service providers! I definitely don't take it for granted! Working as a district employee at a public school in Pennsylvania, I service four buildings. I am in two secondary and two elementary schools, and I love the variety! This tour ... continue reading...
Organization Materials from Amazon
Like probably every other teacher, I am an Amazon queen. I make an Amazon Classroom Wish List every year, and it is where 90% of my classroom organization comes from. Let's do a tour of my favorite classroom organization materials from Amazon! ((This blog post contains affiliate links for your convenience. You don’t pay any more by clicking my link (and I actually find the best prices for you!) but I make a small commission off of sales. This helps me to test out more materials and bring you ... continue reading...
4 Tips you NEED to KNOW for Teaching ESY
Are you prepared for teaching ESY or are you frantically trying to come up with a game plan so that you can squeeze in some pool time first this summer?! If you are new to special education, you might even be wondering what ESY is and why we are talking about it. Let's discuss what ESY stands for, how long it is and 4 tips you NEED to know before teaching ESY. What is ESY? In education, ESY is an acronym for extended school year. This is always part of an IEP of a student with ... continue reading...
Five Deescalation Tips to Manage Meltdowns
Meltdowns/Tantrums Operationally Defined "Any instance where, with or without crying, student engages in non-compliance paired with 1 or more of the following behaviors: throwing self to floor, inappropriate use of materials (e.g., property destruction) and/or yelling/screaming." Antecedent Strategies 1. Take Informed Data and Use It Please remember that behavior is communication. If your students are engaging in frequent episodes of tantrum behavior, take ABC data to see if there ... continue reading...