It is a holiday many of us fear as teachers. There are so many differing opinions on this holiday. What is and is not appropriate to teach? And then there is all that candy!! I’ve put together this group of …
Category: Uncategorized
Teaching About Halloween in Special Ed
Do You Teach Halloween?? So for years I was in an elementary public school setting that seriously frowned upon teaching anything relating directly to Halloween. Kids were not allowed to dress up, and we did not have the parades around …
Hygiene : YUCK!!
Ok, so I admit it. As a teacher I hated teaching hygiene skills. I am somewhat of a germaphobe. I like things to be neat and clean. Keeping track of 5-10 hygiene kits meant LOTS of mess and potential for …
Not Your Average Novel Study
Do you do read-alouds in your classroom? I taught in a class for students with autism for 10 years. I had students in grades kindergarten through 5th grade. Some students were early readers, some students could not even identify their …
Quilted Books: A great sensory choice
So this is Jimmy. Jimmy has had a book in his hands since before he could walk. He LOVES his books, especially Sandra Boyton, Dr. Seuss and Eric Carle. I have even made him a quilt of one of his …
Teaching Topics that are Uncomfortable
As February begins, and I finish my monthly book club selection: Glory Over Everything, I realize that Black History Month is upon us. It has been in the back of my mind for a while that I need to put …
Teachers that Give
Be sure to hop to all the blogs and sign up for ALL the giveaways!! Just click on the image below to see all the amazing teacher-authors who are participating. I am such a sucker for books. I love to read, and I …
Through the Eyes of Autism
I love to quilt, and I love a challenge. So, this year I decided to join a Quilting Challenge group. Every two weeks, they give you a topic, and you have to come up with an original idea and turn …
Being a Good Sport
Being a good sport is not always easy, but it is very important. Learning how to win and how to lose graciously is something every student deserves to be taught as well as witness from their heroes. Download this FREE …
Subitizing and Why It’s Important
Subitizing is the ability to quickly identify the number of items or dots in a small set without counting. Researchers have demonstrated the ability to subitize is a necessary early math skill. In addition, toddlers as young as 12 months have …
Do You Hug Your Students?
As a previous elementary teacher in an autism classroom, I often got asked why I was not more affectionate with my students. Don’t get me wrong, I did the occasional hugs, but in general I was not a big one …
Circle Maps in Special Ed
Circle maps are a type of graphic organizer or thinking map. It is a wonderful tool for helping students visualize what they know about a particular topic. Below is a short video of how these can be used in a …
Learning a New Year
Even for most of us it is always a challenge to remember to write the correct year after January 1. Our brain and finger muscles have had 365 days to practice writing 2016. Now, all of a sudden, we need …
Buying the Perfect “Autism” Gift
I love Christmas. I love coming up with the perfect gift for my teenage daughter. There are so many great things I can find for her. My son, however, is another story. He is almost 19 but has interests similar …
Why I Teach Social Studies
There seems to be barely enough time in the day to fit in all the required material that the school district throws our way. On top of that, imagine being in a class with students who have the most significant disabilities …
Teaching Students to Open Presents plus a FREEBIE for You
Remember how excited you would be Christmas morning as a child? All those presents under the tree just waiting to be unwrapped. Just as excited were the family members who had carefully picked out the perfect present for you. They …
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Assessment in the Special Education Setting
Why I Assess Even My Most Affected Students I spent almost 10 years in a classroom serving the most severely affected students in the elementary school where I worked. The challenges were real and daily, but my ultimate challenge was …
Adding Literacy to your Math Lesson and a FREEBIE
If you know me or have visited my store on teacherspayteachers, you know I write a book for EVERYTHING even math. When I was teaching in an autism classroom, I loved starting my lessons with a book, and so did …
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If Keywords Don’t Work, Then What?
Full disclosure: I used keywords when teaching my students how to solve word problems. I had a K-5 classroom for students with autism. There were so many different learning styles and needs just within my small class. In addition, these …
5 Things About Me
So here are 5 things about me… I am a veterinarian. I graduated in 1995 from the College of Veterinary Medicine in Raleigh, NC. I practiced small animal medicine until my son was born in 1997. I LOVED it. But, …
Teaching the Letter of the Week
Do you use a letter of the week strategy in your classroom? I found it a helpful way to teach letters and sounds in a self-contained setting. After years of tweaking, I came up with a lesson plan that not …
Living Between Two Worlds
This has been an interesting couple of weeks with my family, so I thought I would take a break from school posts and write something more personal that I know so many of my friends with special kids can relate …
Reading Novels to a Low Incidence Class
At one point in my teaching career, my class schedule worked out so I had this 15 minute block of time when the kids came back from specials and before they had to go to lunch. It was not enough …
Using Color Coding for Differentiation
Our special education classes tend to have such a HUGE variety of learning levels and needs. It can drive a teacher to insanity trying to come up with separate lessons for each child that is differentiated to their specific learning …
A New Transition Strategy
The time we dread as special education teachers: transitioning from one activity to another, or moving from one location to another. You have all your students, or small groups, where they are supposed to be, relatively engaged, and then time …
Back to School Tip
It is the first week of school, and all the teachers are going through the school rules with their students. You see them in the hallway, in the library, and in the cafeteria. They are all standing at attention (even …
Re-purposing Old Calendars
So, I cannot take credit for the invention of this idea, but once I saw it, I ran with it. My students loved matching tasks, and so did I. It allowed me to gather some IEP data as well as …
Social Media Overload
So I have been on teacherspayteachers for a few years now. Up until this year, I really did not devote much time or attention to my store. I realized what a great venue it could be, but I was more …
Summer School : 2015
Friday was the last day of summer school for Jimmy in 2015. It is the first time he has ever had the opportunity to continue his educational experience during the summer months. As many of you know, we moved to …
Repetition Repetition Repetition
This 4 minute video talks about the importance of utilizing repetition in your daily lesson plans. I walk through an example of how I used one of my favorite tools, a literacy unit. I never felt like I was cheating …
Don’t Feel Sorry For Me
So once again, I find myself holding down the fort this week. This Memorial Day weekend, Jim had a Caterpillar meeting and event that led him to Indianapolis. He actually got to participate in many of the Indy 500 pre-race …
Watering the Grass
Well we made it through the week with minimal issues. Just one night of almost no sleep which is pretty good. Jim had asked me to water the new grass we had seeded while he was gone. It would take …
Juggling it All
As I approach this week on my own with my hubby in NC for the week, I feel the anxiety of trying to juggle it all. I know there are so many parents out there with special needs children who …
My thoughts on social stories & a freebie
Why social stories are important for teachers and parents
A Very Winding Road (not so less traveled)
I am so happy you have stumbled upon this blog. I am so excited to start sharing some of the things I have learned on my special education journey. But, before I start, I guess I should fill you in …