Sharing my experience in the classroom as a life skills special education transition teacher and providing resources and solutions for fellow educators.
By IDEA definition, ‘extended school year services means special education and related services that are provided to a child with a disability beyond the normal school year of the public agency; in accordance with the child’s IEP; and at no cost to the parents of the child.’
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Let me clear something up right off the bat, I’m leaving teaching to stay home to care for my young daughter. She is my top priority at this time in my life and it took me daily reflection over several months to become comfortable with my decision to leave my steady-paycheck-job to be...
When you think of safety skills you probably think of teaching students to wear oven mitts when using the oven, to not share their personal information with strangers, and to lock the door when they are home alone.
You probably embed safety skills into specific lessons (like kitchen...
Typically, my blog posts are written with educators in mind, educators who are in the classroom and looking for ways to be better teachers. This blog post is going to be a little different.
Yes, this post is still for educators, but it is for educators who have an online presence. If...
I love routine. I love having to think 1 time and just automate from there. It frees up my brain and allows my students to know what to expect and when, which we all know is helpful on multiple levels.
Well, I’ve been expanding my ‘weekly’ resources (beyond...
Whether you are new to teaching special education or a 15 year veteran…
You teach at the middle school level or transition…
Your students are on track to attend college or a rehab day program…
Your families are highly involved or they trust the school to take the lead with...
If you live in Illinois and your student is in Special Education then you may have heard of PUNS at an IEP meeting or from fellow parents/family members. With a funny name and less than stellar history, it probably left you either scratching your head or with a sour taste in your...
I love a really good transition assessment. I love when parents/family members give quality feedback. I love when staff share their ideas and insight about a student’s future. But, I really love when students are open, honest, and (most importantly) realistic* about their...
What is ‘functional reading?’ According to me, it’s being able to read and understand enough to get what you want or need AND what you don’t want or don’t need. This includes weeding out the fluff stuff that doesn’t matter. The fluff detracts you from...
You are sitting down to write a student’s IEP and you get to the Transition Plan section. You plug in the same phrasing you use to every other student.
GASP!!!!
You would never do that!!! You are a better educator than to copy + paste (even if it would save you a...
Every school year comes with a lot of excitement, overwhelm, and new support staff to train. While we may have the best of intentions to provide hands-on training for the newest of staff, schedules may not always allow this.
Give your paraprofessionals the training they want and...
You know that starting off each school day with consistent structure, meaningful engaging activities, and skill-focused conversation will really set up your students for a great day.
Well, I always wished I had a daily resource with fresh questions that were life skill related, but...
I can picture it now…
You are an effective, student-focused teacher who wants to provide valuable vocational experiences to give students work-based practice beyond a vocational box in the classroom. You want them to get out of your room, work with new, less familiar...
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Create schedule
Let me preface this by saying that YOU won’t be doing any work for your well earned summer break. Instead, you’ll give your families a summer to-do list to help them be ready to dive into the benefits/service/support application process in the fall.
Here are...
Importance of Knowing How to Behave in a Sit Down Restaurant and How to Tip
Your students may enjoy a sit down restaurant every week with family, they may go periodically on the weekend with friends, or they may go a couple times a year for special celebrations. Either way, they...
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