Sharing my experience in the classroom as a life skills special education transition teacher and providing resources and solutions for fellow educators.
Whether you teach high school, middle school, or elementary, when you long to teach transition (special education programming for 18-22 yr olds) you’ll search far and wide for that coveted position. Since so many schools are interviewing candidates, now seems like the best time to...
Are you tired of ‘Dollar Over’ being your go-to functional math and independent living goal? Because let’s be honest, how many people carry a $20 bill, $10 bill, $5 bill, and four $1 bills with them at all times?
Are you also over ‘Will develop a...
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.’
...
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...
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...
-
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...
I’m going to give it to you straight right from the get-go: Some teachers will NEVER be given a budget to spend on their classroom, some will be given various amounts of money at various times with a strict timeline of when to spend it or what to spend it on, and some will have the luxury...
Subscribe to my newsletter!
You will get access to exclusive material (Free Resources password) and notifications of upcoming sales and new resources!
