Monday Made It

Well, my summer has officially ended.  Today was my first day back and walked into a thousand changes.  But hey, changes are good for the soul and these will be fine.  Education is like that - especially special education - but you roll with the punches.  So here we go, I'm ready to roll!

I am linking up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for her Monday Made It series.  I have just recently found her blog however have spent several hours days going through the previous Monday Made It posts.  I love seeing what others have made for their classrooms.

Made It #1:

You know it's time for school to start when you see a personal laminator, lots of lamination scraps, bits of paper, and lots of cardstock copies laid out on a coffee table.  I worked on some labels for my book bins, some cards for our study of habitats (The name of the habitat is on one side and animals found in that habitat are on the other side.  Students are given a habitat and then they will choose an animal to do their animal studies from one that is listed on the back.)  Especially with my students, they need choices.  Just giving them the name of the habitat and telling them to find an animal is way too "wide open" for them.  I still want them to have a choice of animal but I just help them to narrow it down a bit.

I'm using navy blue and lime green in my classroom (when you have a classroom of high school boys "girly colors" are pretty much a no go!)  They will give me a hard enough time when they realize that everything matches but at least I used colors they like!  Plus, I'm on my blue / green kick right now but they don't have to know that I like it - it's all for the kiddos, right?!?

Made It #2:

This is a wreath that I made for a friend for her classroom.  Still debating on making one for my classroom in my blue / green color scheme but remembering the boys again.  They may have to deal with a big ole' wreath in the room!

 

 

 

Thanks for visiting!

 

Changes . . . Good for the Soul

Well, where to begin?!?  I guess explaining the reason for the confusing header is a good place to start.  The 2011-2012 school year was my first year teaching. (Several posts below you will get a glimpse into that world).  Fast forward to the 2012-2013 school year and you get the "big change" - I went from teaching 6 and 7 year olds with moderate to severe Autism to teaching a High School life skills class  in an Alternative School in our county.  The students I had this past year had all been diagnosed with an Emotional Disability and were determined to be better suited in an alternative school setting.  Most are boys, with only 2 or 3 girls, and many have had previous episodes of severe aggression in the "typical" classroom.  Pretty big change, however, through it all I've learned that change is good!  I love what I am doing and feel this is why I went back to school in the first place.  Most of my students function several levels below grade level so I love finding resources on other blogs.  I will be with the same kiddos this year and am really looking forward to it.

People think I'm crazy, but I love the "rowdiness" that I experience every day and I love the behavior management portion of a classroom.  But most of all, I love the look on their faces when they realize that a teacher really does care and has the desire for them to learn.  Hopefully they are learning from me because I know I am learning from them!

Welcome to Room 307.

P . . . is for Penguins

We have been working on the letter "P" and the letter "I" this month so to do that we have been talking about penguins and igloos.  The kids have had a great time and have really enjoyed making the different items.  As it goes with children with Autism, you have some that are meticulous and their pictures are perfect and some that just get it finished.  However, they are perfect if you ask me!!

Welcome . . .

Welcome!  Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the world wide web.  I started this blog as a resource for myself to remember my first year of teaching.  Oh yes, I am a first year teacher.  A little background about me.  I am 34 years old and married to a great man.  We have no children of our own as of yet but have lots of furbabies running around.  I graduated from Clemson University in 1999 with a degree in Recreational Therapy.  I worked in a Nursing Home for about 8 years before heading to a special needs school.  For the last 5 years I have been a Recreational Therapist and Behavior Interventionist with Emotionally Disturbed children.  I absolutely adored those kids and learned so much from them in the process!  Most importantly, I learned that I wanted to be in a classroom - a classroom full of children with Special Needs.  I completed my Masters Degree and my 30 hours above this past July and started my job in August.  I am at the same school however in a different division.  I have 6 children in my classroom, all boys, all of whom are diagnosed with Autism.  They are curious, tough, and the delights of my day.  I hope this blog can be an insight, and maybe a resource, for others who are also learning from kiddos with Autism.  Welcome to Room 322.