Establishing a Fun, Engaging and Effective Circle Time in a Special Needs Classroom

If you've followed me for a while or you've spent any time on my blog, then you probably know I've always LOVED circle time/ morning meeting.

It's so nice to start the day in a fun and engaging way that builds classroom community! You can also work on SO many different academic, functional and social skills!

I think it's really important that we mix up our instruction (and materials) so our students don't get bored! Although our students likely need a lot of repetition with tasks, they also need to generalize those skills with a variety of materials!

FREE Editable Labels for Rolling Carts and Drawers

I'm all about labeling ALL THE THINGS... It keeps you from having to tell students and staff where things are and where to put things a million times a day.

So many people use the medium size Sterilite 3 drawers and the rolling carts, so I want to share the free editable labels I have. I also want to share a hack for putting labels on the rolling cart drawers without having any visible cuts in the paper!

Ideas for Making Structured Work Systems Portable & Practical for any Classroom

I've preached and preached about why it's SO important to teach students to work independently and use structured work systems.

I want to show you three ways to use structured work systems in a variety of settings. These systems are great because they can be implemented in any classroom and at home! You can also use similar structured systems during direct instruction and groups to provide students with consistent structure.

I love all of these systems because they're PORTABLE! They're small and students can easily take them from class to class or between home and school but they provide students with the structure they need!

Packing the BEST Teacher Field Trip Bag

Field trips are SO fun but can also be super stressful and chaotic. Having a field trip "go bag" can make field trips run a little smoother! I like to have our field trip bag packed and prepped at all times!

I found our backpack at Micheal's for $13 (I used at 40% off coupon) and used my Cricut machine to make the iron on with A Perfect Blend fonts.

Creating a Morning Routine in a Special Education Classroom

Creating a classroom morning routine that works well can be tough... It's the first chunk of the day and it's often a hard transition for students.

Before I explain our morning routine, I want to give you a little background about my classroom. Classroom models like mine typically have anywhere from 8-15 students and we have a teacher and 2-4 paraprofessionals. It's technically a "self-contained" classroom, but all of my students have a general education teacher in their grade level and go to their general ed teacher for at least part of their day depending on their needs.