Here is how I structure my daily schedule in my 3rd/4th grade 6:1:1 classroom! Pictured above is a schedule that one of my students keeps on his desk that he checks off throughout the day. It includes our daily schedule along with his pull outs (and its dinosaur themed- dinosaurs are his favorite!) Background about my Classroom I work at a K-12 Special Education school that is run through an agency. Many of our students have experienced trauma and have an emotional disability (ED). We ... continue reading...
Search Results for: iep bins
Ideas for Spring Fine Motor Practice
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 Spring Version of these fine motor centers!? Fine motor skills and goals are a staples in most special education classrooms. A few years ago I developed the popular Simple Fine Motor Centers which has been loved by self-contained special education teachers AND occupational therapists. Now the seasonal themed Spring set has ... 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...
How to set up Play Centers
Centers or "Play centers" are centers that are intentionally planned; with a purpose in mind. A lot of my play based centers are planned around IEP goals and or functional skills. I've used centers to address IEP Goals as a Life Skills Special Education Teacher and in my Early Childhood Special Education Co-Teach classroom. Keep reading to learn how I set my centers up and to see examples of centers. What skills do I target? My go to as a special education teacher are the IEP goals. My ... 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...
Ideas for Winter Fine Motor Practice
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 Winter Version of these fine motor centers!? Fine motor skills and goals are a staples in most special education classrooms. A few years ago I developed the popular Simple Fine Motor Centers which has been loved by self-contained special education teachers AND occupational therapists. Now the seasonal themed Winter set has ... 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...
My Daily Schedule in an Autism Classroom
Let's take a dive into my daily schedule in an autism classroom! I will be showing you all of the ins and outs to keep the day running as smoothly as possible! Maybe you're looking for some new ideas or you don't know where to start. I'm here to help you keep it simple! Morning Routine Before my students enter the classroom, my paras and I get the room prepared for our morning routine. This includes setting out breakfast, making sure the sign-in sheets are cleared from the day before, ... continue reading...
How to Setup Fall Fine Motor Centers
Fine motor skills and goals are a staples in most special education classrooms. A few years ago I developed the popular Simple Fine Motor Centers which has been loved by self-contained special education teachers AND occupational therapists. Now the seasonal themed fall set has been released. If you have students with fine motor IEP goals- keep reading! What are Simple Fine Motor Centers? Simple Fine Motor Centers are created with your self-contained special education students in mind and ... continue reading...
How to Analyze Your Data
Data is the name of the game in special ed. You have all your data, but now what? Analyze it! Let me walk you through how to analyze your data to increase student progress! Prepare Your Data Sheets To get started with your data collection, you need to prepare your data sheets. I use the Simple Data Sheets. These data sheets are totally editable, plus they come in print and digital versions. I have started trying some of the digital versions, but I still mainly use the print version. I ... continue reading...
The Special Educator’s Guide to Data Collection
Data drives all decisions in special education. It can be an extremely daunting task, so let's dive into the special educator's guide to data collection. What You Need You're ready to prep you data collection, but what do you need? To start, you need: How to Prep Data Collection One of the biggest hurdles in data collection is figuring out how to prep it all. IEP Goal Bins take away the guesswork of data collection prep. Read my blog post on how to setup IEP goal ... 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...
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...