Classroom Setup

I have finally uploaded pictures of my classroom.  So here are a few pictures of my Kindergarten/1st Grade Autism Classroom.

Communication Board.  This is located next to the student schedules.  Another post dedicated to the communication board will follow.

I CAN board (weekly statements related to the common core standard, put into child friendly language)

Students add words to the word wall as necessary (student write on index cards words they want added/cards are inserted into library pocket cards)

Students each have their own independent work area (TEACCH system)

Our "Coffee Lounge."  The students enjoy reading a book or working on the iPad in this area.   The books are located directly across from the chairs.

This is the best system I have found to store icons that are used daily!

Another view of individual student work area (TEACCH).  the left set of shelves holds art supplies and the right holds books sorted by category, author, and/or reading level.

I found these on TpT... how perfect!

The classroom also has a break area that is used by the students which includes a trampoline, exercise ball and choice board of calming activities.

Our SmartBoard is being installed tonight!  It is located in our whole group area.  More pictures will follow.


I feel that over the past month I have spent way to much time at Walmart buying supplies and materials.  I am so glad to be done with the initial process of setup!  I big thank you to everyone who has helped, including all those people of Walmart who made me giggle or smile during my time spent there.

Pica Box and the First Day of School

Today was our first official day of school! Thankfully my kindergartners are doing a staggered start (one started today and another starts tomorrow). The day went fairly smoothly. My room is missing a few essentials that would have made it a little better (mind you I was told all of these would be completed by the first day of school). These missing essentials included dividers, SmartBoard, Vizzle installed on computers (thankfully I was able to login through the web), touchscreen, and a few other small things. The good news is we all survived and the students had a good day!

So what is a Pica Box? A colleague told me about this idea. A Pica Box is used as a replacement behavior for students who eat inedible objects. When the students goes to eat something they shouldn't, you direct them to the box. The box contains items they are allowed to eat. As the student progresses, the intent is that the student will independently go to the box when they feel the need. Here are a few ideas: decorate the box to motivate the child; we are starting with a clear box and a clear sticker so the student trusts us and is motivated by the food. Next idea, use a box with a hole that they put their hand in; eliminate they "hmmmm, what should I pick" game. As the child utilizes the box, switch to healthier options. We are starting with foods that are highly motivating to our student and foods that have similar consistency to the inedible objects the student tries to place in their mouth.

I hope everyone's year starts well! I will post classroom pictures soon!

The research article about the Pica Box is titled: "The use of a pica box in reducing pica behavior in a student with autism" by Nancy and Brenda Smith-Myles.

ESY

And here we are, day 2 of summer school complete.  I only have 2 of my usual students, the other 4, oh boy....what a handful!  Our preschoolers are used to a 2.5 hour day (unless they are with me, in which case they are used to full day programming); however, for summer school we are asking them to attend and focus for 4 hours.  Needless to say these 4 kiddos are EXHAUSTED!  I even had one fall asleep yesterday...oops!

This week our "theme" (and oh how I use that term loosely!) was farm animals.  We made such a fun craft! And I am the most un-crafty person, so any time we do a craft in my room it is a pretty big deal.  Our classroom art motto is "Art is a Process, NOT a Product."  I took a separate picture of each step and copy and pasted into a BoardMaker schedule.  The kiddos responded well to this and were proud of their cows!

In my class when I want the students to check their schedules I will ring a bell.  Of course I had left my bell down on the first day, and low and behold, my student did not want to continue with the activity we were doing, rang the bell and yelled "Check schedule!" I love how she wants to communicate and loves/thrives on the routine of our classroom.

My classroom aides for summer are not my aides that I have during the school year.  Today the one aide asks, "Is it going well?  Am I doing ok?"  My response, "Nobody hurt each other, there were no death threats, there was no blood, and no one filed workmen's comp...yep, it's going pretty well!"  Here's to next week going just as well :)

Intro

Hi all,
This blog will be devoted to special education with a focus in autism and severe behavior strategies.  I will post pictures of classroom set-up, data collection, TEACCH bins, etc.  I am a sixth year teacher.  I currently run a preschool Autism/Resource classroom, in addition to my preschool class, I have been asked to start-up/run a K-1 grade AU unit as well.  I invite you to embark on a this journey with me.