I love October!! It is my favorite month. Fall is here 🍂, decorations are up🎃, and it's my birthday month 🎂!  Halloween Theme October is also a fun time in the classroom. We focus on lots of fun Halloween activities each year including learning new vocabulary, playing Halloween games, and sorting and graphing Halloween candy. ...

After all the talk about what students love during Valentine's Day activities, I always found a natural next step in my thematic units was to focus on feelings and emotions.  Check out some of my favorite Emotions activities: ELA Ideas I first introduce feelings vocabulary. We use a variety of visuals including photos, icons, and even emojis.  Next, we practice sorting emotions based on the vocabulary we've learned. These cut and paste worksheets are also included in my Feelings Thematic Unit .  Then, we read stories to discuss each emotion in context. I love The Way I Feel by Janan Cain because it covers so many robust feeling words. I use the communication board from my Feelings Thematic Unit for students to participate. Another favorite feelings story is When Sophie Gets Angry-- Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang. I love this story for introducing the concept of coping strategies to my students.  I love this story so much that I created an entire Picture Book Comm......

The holiday season is my absolute favorite time of year outside and inside of the classroom! My students and I always have so much fun celebrating the holidays. And the first holiday to kick things off will be here before we know it! Keep reading to learn more about how I celebrate Thanksgiving in my special education classroom....

Pumpkin carving can be a fun and educational experience for students in the special education classroom, especially when you plan ahead for success. Whether you're a teacher, parent, or caregiver, incorporating sensory-friendly and accessible activities, such as pumpkin carving, into your fall curriculum can boost engagement and learning. In this post, you'll discover five practical tips to make pumpkin carving a safe, inclusive, and memorable activity for all learners—perfect for your Halloween or autumn-themed lesson plans. Tip #1: Consider Sensory Needs Sometimes a student may not be comfortable touching the pumpkin guts, so you can allow them to use gloves or even put some in a ziploc baggy to let them explore in a less overwhelming way. Sometimes, I had students who would absolutely gag at the sight of the pumpkin guts. I allowed them to do something else during that time like painting pumpkins or using stickers . This activity is not worth that much distress!  Tip #2: U......

In early intervention settings, Structured Play Groups are a perfect, developmentally-appropriate evidence-based practice for autistic students and can be a valuable support for developing friendships and communication skills. In my experience, the benefit of these groups certainly stretches beyond just my autistic students but those with other developmental disabilities and even their neurotypical peers! Especially in these unique post-pandemic lockdown times when all students have had gaps in their opportunities for social engagement. Play-Based Communication Boards To facilitate communication during structured play groups, I created communication boards with common play phrases in predictable locations and fringe words specific to the play activity including related labels, actions, and even descriptive words.  Each board was easy to implement because all I needed to do was print and laminate and they were ready to go! In my opinion, sometimes low-tech options are all you need!......