Hi everyone!
The school year is in full swing where I teach and we have been back in the classroom for a full week! It was full of energy, kids anxious to learn, and lots of new faces as well as familiar ones. I was lucky enough to "loop up" with my students from the previous year. Looping gives the teacher an advantage that we know the kids, the goals, their needs, the needs of the parents, and the students strengths and weaknesses. Setting up the room was much easier this year as I thought about the learning style of each student.
My students on the autism spectrum like structure and after several tweaks last year, I was happy to see that we could start the year in a bit of "comfortable" change. Some minor changes were made with desk placements. However, they were made with the needs of the student in mind. For instance, I have one student who required a study area away from other students. Last year it was further from the front. But she excels at helping the other students and likes feeling like a teachers helper. I moved her desk closer to mine and gave her the title of peer helper. She loved it and I can see the advantage of having her near me as well as giving her more independence to help others.
I have a new listing on www.teachersnotebook.com called Welcome Back! Sailing Back to School! All About Me! It is a great first week back to school activity. It is an opportunity to get to know your students and for them to tell you about their summer. There is also an emergency section for the parents and info for you. My students really enjoyed it. Have your camera ready for great picture opportunities.
Speaking of your camera....if you have the opportunity to attend the meet and greet or sneak a peak or whatever they call it in your area, take your camera. If you have a child on the spectrum that needs to know when change is coming, ask the new teacher or teachers if you can take their picture. It may help the student transition to the new year with the new face. Take a picture of the room without other students in it, the hall, the library, bus lanes, etc. Get permission if you need to and remember to respect the privacy of the other students but not taking pictures of them. But enjoy this time with your child and help them make a photo book with new images of their day. Dollar Tree sells great little photos books to put them it.
SALE!!!!
Lastly, I wanted to let you in on a back to school sale that will allow you to purchase my items at a largely discounted price and Build A Bundle. The sale will begin on Aug. 13. Build-a-Bundle allows customers to handpick items they want and need. This makes good sense (and saves cents) because buyers choose the resources that best address their classroom requirements. The new Build-a-Bundle feature will be available to members starting on August 13. Tuesday, August 13th at 12:00am CST. www.teachersnotebook.com
Here is to a wonderful school year!!!!
Thanks for visiting and don't forget to check out the Build A Bundle on Aug. 13!
