Sharing my experience in the classroom as a life skills special ed transition teacher by providing resources and solutions for fellow educators
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?’ I believe 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 your...
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 brings a lot of excitement and overwhelm, as well as new paraprofessionals and support staff to train. While we may have the best intentions to provide hands-on training for the newest classroom staff, schedules may not always allow this.
Give your special education...
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,...
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...
To Do: Create Schedule
It’s the thing that lingers on a special education teacher's to-do list and weighs on you all summer because it is NEVER just a one-and-done sort of thing. The first student schedule draft will take you a few hours and you’ll...
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...
For some students, ordering food from a restaurant is basically a part of their everyday life, but for others, it's an important life skill they might use a handful of times a month. Regardless, food is a basic necessity and students are bound to access a restaurant (either by visiting...
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...
Importance of Navigating a Store
Importance of Online Banking and ATM
Importance of Teaching How to Budget
Importance of Knowing How to Pay with Cash and a Debit Card
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