HUGE TpT Sale!!!

I love TpT sales! It's definitely the best time to stock up on new products :) My entire store is discounted 20% off, and you can get an extra 10% off with the promo code TPT3 when you check out. The sale is going on now through Friday the 28th.

(click the image above to go to my store )

I've added some new products lately, such as my Bowling Unit, which contains BINGO boards, a coloring book, worksheets, and a social skills game. We have been using these materials to prepare for our field trip, which is tomorrow!

And then there's the TEACCH schedules, labels, and data sheets that I just uploaded last night! These materials are what I used to set up my work boxes. Plus, since this is a new product it is currently 50% off (all new products are for the first 48 hours) and then you can get an additional 10% off of that price too. What a steal!!!

I also just posted this UNO game, so it is currently 50% off as well. I am so excited to print this and set it up for my students to use. They play UNO all of the time and have a hard time recognizing numbers anyway, so I am really hoping this game with the dollar bills with help with their money identification. Playing a game while working on IEP goals, now that's called teaching! :)

I'm up to 30 products in my store, so you have a few to browse through and see if there is anything you can't live without! Happy shopping!

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Simple TEACCH / Work Task boxes - part two

I hope you're excited for Work Tasks #2! Again, my work task station is one of my favorites in our morning routine, because students are expected to be independent and they shine given the opportunities! I give students three letters on a mini schedule and they find the boxes and then complete them in order, ideally moving from one box to the next on their own.

I like this box for working on fine motor and 1:1 correspondence. The student has to put one eraser on each pencil (and they have to put it on the right end!) When one of my students was having trouble with this task, one of my aides quickly printed this picture off from Google images. Easy, efficient, and does the job!

This is another simple box, sorting pencils from pens. I used different types of pens and pencils to make it just a little more challenging. I started out the year created these visuals for each box...but didn't end up making them for all of the boxes.

For this box, the student counts the items and then puts the clothespin on that number. I think this set came from a health unit created by Kara at Sped-ventures!

When using coins, I typically like to use real coins, because plastic ones just don't seem like coins and they really don't look much like the real thing....however, since I had them I decided to use them for this sorting activity! I taped a coin and wrote on amount on each yogurt cup for students to sort the coins in. (I use yogurt cups for a lot of things in my classroom).

I found these lacing cards at a garage sale for $1 this past summer. I often have some students lace and other un-lace for this task. This seems to be a calming activity for a couple of my students when they are very active, probably because they have to focus so much.

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out Work Task boxes A-E. And if you need materials to set up a work task station, check out these materials on TpT.

Also, check out these posts to see tons of more work boxes!

Work Task Boxes Post 1 

Work Tasks Post 3

Work Tasks Post 4 

Work Tasks Post 5

My Work Task/TEACCH Pinterest Board ~ All Breezy Special Ed Pinterest Boards

Printable Schedules, Labels and Data Sheets

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6+ Snowy Art Activities for the month of January

So I'm really good at stealing ideas from Pinterest :) My Fine Arts class does two art projects a week (on Tuesday and Thursdays) so I have lots of opportunities to steal ideas. I decided the month of January was our Snowy/Arctic month so our art activities revolved around that. And I know January has passed...but I'm sharing now so I don't forget and you could still incorporate these now! :) Here's my favorites and their respective pins.

Shredded Paper Polar Bears - Pin here but it didn't pin to directions...however a quick google search of the picture helped me find directions here. I made my students each shred their own paper and color the background of their Polar Bear. It was difficult for most students to color the background instead of the object - something we usually don't do!

Sensory Hot Chocolate activity! I loved this activity. The pin links to a free printable of the mug and marshmallows. And then we added hot chocolate powder and sugar! Pinned here.

Symmetrical penguins! Pinned here.

MLK dove activity. As you can see above, this class was very small the day we did this activity so I added our teachers as well, Great for classes of any size, just adjust how many times each student puts their fingerprint on! Pinned here. If you are looking for academic MLK Jr. activities, check out these MLK lessons for multiple free lesson ideas and download links!

Snowmen names. Pinned here.

I think these Polar Bears were my FAVORITE! Great directions (except for some reason we couldn't get the moon to work). I can't believe I had never thought to make stencils before! Click through the pin to read the step by step directions. 

We also brought snow inside to play with for one of our sensory days.

I don't have pictures, but we made some Arctic Animal landscapes by creating these animals pinned here.

So, pretty much, everyone at school thinks I'm really creative for coming up with these ideas, when the truth is, I'm just obsessed with Pinterest :)

Throwback Thursday! Check out my Velcro Crossword Puzzle!

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Money File Folders

This year my goal for many of my students is for them to be able to recognize the different between different bills. For example, a $20 bill is different than a $1 bill! Even though some of my students can't recognize numbers, I feel like this is something they will be able to grasp, because bills have pictures and even colors to help distinguish them!

I created this set of 7 file folders to help reinforce these concepts. Four of the file folders are simple money identification, for example, sorting $1 bills and not $1 bills. (I am currently using both pictures of the front and the back of bills, but if I notice that confusing any of my students, I will print off more of the pieces and only use the front side of the bills.) Then there are three sorting file folders, sorting $1 and $5, sorting $10 and $20, and then sorting all. I introduced these file folders a week ago, and so far they are going great. I love using file folders to work on skills, because for some reason, my students think they are playing a fun game rather than working. Why? I don't really know, but I'll take it!

Here is an example of an IEP goal for this concept: Given a variety of bills, the student will identify a) one dollar bill, b) five dollar bill, c) ten dollar bill, and d) twenty dollar bill with 80% accuracy, 4 out of 5 trials.

Tabs on the file folders are shaded differently based on the task. Identification file folders are light green and the sorting file folders are a darker green.

Here you can see one of the identification file folders. I have added visuals of the bill being identified at the top to assist with sorting between $1 and not $1.

The sorting file folders are similar, but now the student is encouraged to be aware of two different bills in order to sort the two.

For the last two money file folders, I have all of the bills in one folder.

In the harder level, the student sorts the bills as seen above. The easier level has the pictures of the bills in each sorting area and student will match each bill on top of them same one.

You can get these materials to create your own file folder activities over at my TpT store! 

I hope they will be as helpful in your classroom as they are in mine.

Update: Also available on Etsy, already prepped for you! Check the etsy ones out here!

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Voice Volume 5 point scale Visuals

I have a couple of students who can get very loud when they are excited. This 5 point volume scale has been an extremely helpful tool to help those students regulate their volume. 

I have a large copy on my white board and smaller copies on two of my students' desks. I often redirect then to a level 3 voice.

I found this awesome book on Board Maker Achieve that explains each of the volume levels and when they are appropriate to use. I edited it a little bit to add pictures and just changed a couple of the words. I love the book because it helps explain to the student the purpose of the voice chart. And of course I love the interactive pieces, you all know how much I love my adapted books!

Download the book here and the visual here. Do you use these or similar visuals in your classroom?

Join the conversation on Facebook about your favorite special education curriculum materials and get new ideas from everyone else! I'm trying to figure out what new materials to request for next year already.

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Environmental Print Signs Resource from PCI

Most of the resources that I used in my classroom I have created or received from other teachers - as I don't have a specific curriculum and usually am looking for very specific things. However, I LOVE this Environmental Print resource from PCI. It is appropriate for all my students and works on teaching important environmental print signs as well as reading. 

Each story has 3 signs. We spend 1-2 weeks on each story. I display the sign posters in my room.

 

First, we read the story on the projector (it comes with a PDF on a CD) together as a class to introduce the story and signs. I then store the current story we are reading by our binders, so we can review the story with the students before we do the worksheets during our binder time. Also if we review the story enough, many students are able to tell the story on their own towards the end!

 

Here's a few of the worksheets. There's about 7 for each unit. I have my students just do 1 a day so that we get practice on the symbols every single day.

I checked the PCI website, and you can download a sample and read more about what all is included.

This is not a sponsored post, I just wanted to share what I think is a really awesome resource! Please share any other resources you have found that you think have been helpful because I am always looking for new things!

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February Currently + Super Bowl Sale

It's February!! Go link up with Farley for this month's currently if you haven't already. And here's what I'm up to currently...

Listening: Um, yes, I'm spoiled. I'm sitting here at my computer being lazy (well, not sure if writing blog posts is exactly being lazy...but it feels like it sometimes) and my husband is doing the laundry and cleaning the house. I'll probably help him later though... But, yes, he's the best!

Loving: I took my class to THREE stores yesterday for our monthly community trip and it was a huge success. Stay tuned for a blog post on that soon.

Thinking: Yeah, Super Bowl plans, don't really have any yet so just thinking about what we might end up doing :) I'm not a huge football fan, but I do enjoy watching the game and eating food. Plus, I'm doing squares with some co-workers, so it's exciting to see if I'll win anything! One thing I am loving about this Super Bowl Sunday is the teachers pay teachers sales! There isn't a sitewide sale this year, but plenty of stores (including me) have their stores for 20% off!

Click the picture above to go to my store

Wanting: Holy snow this year! It's beautiful and I do love it. I am just so over shoveling, especially when it's this heavy, thick stuff.

Needing: IEP goals...I put them off. I have an IEP on Tuesday and one the next week and I can't decide what I want to write for goals. Too many options, too much pressure!

2 Truths and a Fib: Okay, this was really hard! I'm not a good liar. Could you tell my fib right away?
1) Doing good on my 2014 goals - TRUE! I have been planning a few meals a week (this just means I know what I'm going to make before I get home, nothing too elaborate usually, but so helpful to have somewhat of a plan in mind). I have posted 6 blog posts in January (goal was at least 5). Added 8 products to my store (goal is 5 a month). Better communication with my aide staff - I have set up individual 5-15 minute meetings that will happen every other week and it's off to a good start! Also, communicating with my aides has led to better data collection.
2) Going to Mexico on spring break - LIE. I tried to convince my hubby...but that's not going on happen. Sad day, right? Well, there is still a small part of me that is hoping and checking Living Social escape deals daily :)
3) Named my dog after a cookie - TRUE! Yup, her name is Oreo and she's a cutie.

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