Presentation: Creating systems for success in an Early Childhood Special Education Classroom

Creating systems for success in an Early Childhood Special Education Classroom

Presentation for The Kansas Division of Early Childhood Conference. 

iPad Divider: Creating Individual Work Spaces

Last year, I started a system where students would work at direct instruction in small groups of two or three students.   I had each student work one-on-one with me while their peers reviewed concepts and skills on the iPad. 

This system was extremely helpful because it gave me an opportunity to work individually with a student on specific academic skills like writing his/her name and labeling colors, shapes, numbers and letters.

However, there was a small problem with this system.  Because the iPad is highly motivating and interesting to children, students working with me would be easily distracted by the students working on the iPad.  I couldn't move the students who were working on the iPad because they often need support in using it, especially in transitioning from one app to another.

Rework:   I developed visuals to help students focus on both their individual teacher instruction and iPad work times.  The visuals are placed on the inside & outside of a binder.  The binder is then propped up to divide the work space for the children.  

Quiet Prompts are taped to the inside cover of the binder & 
reminds the student to "Quietly Work on iPad".

Listen & Work prompts are slid into the binder's clear cover &
reminds the student to focus on individualized teacher instruction.  

Here is a picture of my boys using the visual. Payton worked 
on the iPad, while EJ & I made a birthday card for daddy.

Three Tips Just for YOU!

Greetings to all my new Northwest Kansas followers!  Last Monday, I gave a "Conscious Discipline & Other Discipline Strategies" presentation to a group of Head Start and Special Education Teachers & Staff from the Northwest Kansas Educational Service Center as part of their February In-Service Day.   I wanted to share a little follow-up from that presentation. 

Boxed Tables

First, here's a picture of what our tables look like with the cardboard boxes taped under them as we discussed on Monday.  

It's super simple!  All I did was find cardboard boxes that were a little taller than my tables, put them next to the table, and cut down the corners to the table height.  Then, I folded that part down and duct taped it to the bottom of the table.  Teacher's Tip: If you use boxes with lots of wording on them, cut down one side and turn them inside out so they are less visually distracting.  

Remember the purpose of the cardboard boxes under the tables is to support children from crawling under the table to avoid their work.  They can still get under the table but they can’t go as far under making it easier for you and your staff to support them in coming out.

Ready/Not Ready Visual

Next, I wanted to share a little update to the "Ready/Not Ready" visual.  The version I shared with you Monday had an “all done, put in” prompt on the top inside. 

Just yesterday, I changed that to support one of my students with transitioning and to remind my staff and I to use the same language with him.  It now says “all done, time for. . .”.  He struggles with transitioning from choice time into centers &/or large group activities, rather than putting away his work  so this supports him in prepping for that change. 

As a little background, the purpose of the "Ready/Not Ready" visual is to help children transition from one activity to the next by prepping them for the change.  It also gives them the words to use if they need more time to make the transition. For example, we set a timer for how long they get to play.  When the timer has one minute remaining, we set the visual out to show"One More Minute" 

When the timer goes off we say, “All Done. Put In.” 

Or depending on what the child needs, we may say, “All Done. Time for. . .” 

Next we ask, “Are you ready? Or not ready?”  If they respond not ready, we set the timer for one more minute, take the not ready icon off the inside of the visual and prop the visual back up to remind them one more minute.

When the timer goes off a minute later, we open the visual and say, “All done, time for. . . You are ready!” (Not ready is no longer an option.) 

We then support the child in transitioning to the next activity.  For further support, I have added some feeling language to the back of the visual.  It provides children with the language necessary to express their disappointment.  

I would much rather have a student say “I am angry. I don’t want to go to snack.” than hit or throw his/her toys when they are asked to transition.  (Instructor's Insight:  Remember we are supporting them with problem solving and accessing the higher centers of their brains through modeling language and  helping them experience success.)  

Several of the attendees from Monday's session were planning to make this visual.  Send me an email if you would like my Boardmaker file. I can also send a pdf version for those who do not have Boardmaker.  

Finally, I must give credit where credit is do.  A very special thank you to Lee Stickle and Linda Wilkerson for giving me the idea of the "Ready/Not Ready" visual.  It has been an amazing support and learning tool for many students.

Response Time Visual

I wanted to share the staff visual, I shared with you regarding response time.  

   

For the longest time,  my staff and I have been working on giving our students wait time after we state a directive or command. When I attended a session on Sensory Diets by Susan Aebker at the OCALI conference in November, she shared a visual of Templin Grandin (a famous adult with Autism)’s ear canal versus a neurotypical ear canal. She said look at all the channels auditory information has to go through in order to get to the brain of someone with Autism.  For this reason, it is crucial to state a command and then give students time to process.

On my visual, I have 10 periods after Give a Command to remind us to wait 10 seconds before giving the command again or support the child with other directives.  I encourage you to post the visual to support your staff in doing the same because it provides independence and success for your students. 
  

Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to spend the day with you Monday!  It was fun to learn and grow with you.  

Best wishes to all of you! 

-Lindy

Teaching Roles at the Play Center

During each thematic unit in our classroom, we transform the pretend play center into a related place to play.  For example, earlier this year when we did a pizza a unit, it became a Pizza Hut.  

Last month we did a pet unit so the center was transformed into a Vet Clinic.  I made some modifications that I am excited to share, as we noticed our students were having a difficult time playing pretend and participating in the center appropriately.  To support their play, I added name tags for the different vet clinic jobs and roles.  On the front of the tag, there is a picture of my son playing the role and then on back it gives various tips for being that role.  

For instance, on the name tag that says "I am a vet.", I added play prompts like "I check the animals heart.", "I give them shots." and "I check the pets' ears and throats." On the name tag for the customer, I put prompts like "I bring in my cat or dog.", "I listen to the vet.", "I pay the receptionist.".  The receptionist's name tag says "I listen to the veterinarian.", "I answer the phone.", "I take money.", and "I book appointments.".

Front:  Photo of my son playing the role.

Back:  Prompts of the activities the role may perform.

These name tags are almost like functional power cards the students can use to support their play.  They have been very helpful to both students and staff because it helps them know the different roles in the center.  Each role also has a defined place to play as you can see in the pictures below.
 


   

The Veterinarian's Area

The Receptionist's Area: I use
toddler locks to make the
pretend kitchen items off limits

A basket of materials and
 pets for the customers to use. 

To support the children in learning how to play at the center initially, I had them sit in the center and watch some video modeling clips of my son and his friend playing in the center.

Also to support the children in keeping their vet play (or any other play) in the Pretend Play area, we have a peg board divider that serves as door on one side and place to hang costumes on the other.

The Back of Our Pretend Door

Our Pretend Door- it has a hook
to switch the "Stop! We're Closed"
 to "Yes, We're Open"

New Year's Resolution Update & Task Box Countdown: Task Box # 10 - Pincer Grasp Bead Grab

Today is the final task in my Taskbox Countdown.  As you may recall, my New Year's Resolution was to use my classroom materials in a more purposeful and sequential order. 

Post Update:  I really did have the very best of intentions to get my classroom organized this year. Unfortunately, life had other plans.  The sickness of my own boys, as well as managing daily stresses like classroom paperwork, new students, IEPs, and inservice trainings have kept me busy recently.  However, I owe it to my readers to press on with my New Year's Resolution. Frankly, this blog keeps me accountable and I refuse to be one of the 92% who do not keep New Year's Resolutions!

So even if it gets done December 31, 2013, I will get it accomplished! Stay tuned & please keep me accountable! In the meantime, I'd love to hear about your classroom happenings and how you adapt my ideas in your classrooms.  Join the discussion on Facebook! 



Task Box Countdown: Task Box # 10 - Pincer Grasp Bead Grab

Several years ago, someone donated small tackle boxes of pony beads to the classroom.  For the longest time we used them to make bracelets and necklaces at the art center until I came up with this special function.  

Melissa, an occupational therapist in our school district, explained to me that children can really exercise their pincer grasps by digging small items out of little cases and containers.  For example, instructing them to use their thumbs & pointer fingers to pull out coins or beads from film canisters.  This is an excellent fine motor activity! 

With this idea in mind, I created two different tackle box activities that work on fine motor skills to strengthen students' pincer grasps while simultaneously providing students an opportunity to review colors, numbers, and counting.

In the above task, the students take the film canisters from the top row, read the color on them and put the same colored bead inside the canister. They then put the lid on them and place the canister in the third row (a.k.a. the "all done" row).

In the above task, the students take the film canisters from the top row, read the color and number label on the canister and then fill them accordingly.  When finished, they put the lid on the canister and place it in the "all done" third row.

Teacher's Tip: Although this task serves two purposes, I am able to store them together in one tackle box to save space.  (Keeping in line with my New Year's Resolution!)

Task Box Countdown: Task Box # 9 - Magnetic Answers

This taskbox is an oldie...but goodie!  I originally created this activity while in college, as a supplement to a magnetic theme I submitted for a thematic unit assignment. It was long before I knew anything about task boxes and work systems.  But makes for an excellent task box because it could easily be used for a variety of learning concepts. 

Simply make a worksheet of questions with Yes/No  answers.

Then, glue the worksheet to the inside of a file folder.  (Teacher's Tip: Laminate the worksheet before gluing it to the file folder for added durability.) Next, program the back of the file folder to showcase the correct answers by hot gluing circle magnets to the back of the folder directly behind the correct answers.  Finally, glue another file folder over the top of the magnets to hide the answers. 

Provide your students with magnetic dots to answer the questions.  They simply read the question and cover the correct answer with a magnet.  It is a fun self-correcting activity that could be used for any age to review concepts or for test prep.

 

Classroom Valentine's Party Idea: Special Deliveries

It's an annual tradition in our classroom to let the children dress up as mail carriers to deliver their valentines to each other. 

We invite parents and other family members to join us for the Valentine's Day celebration.  The children sit in a circle in the large group area.  Then each child dresses up as a mail carrier and delivers his/her valentines.

  

A few days prior to the party, the children make valentine boxes or bags at the art center.  Here is a picture of what last year's valentine bags looked like.  

In the past, I have had the students make their boxes out a variety of things like milk jugs, cereal boxes, shoe boxes, oatmeal containers, etc.  This year, a parent is donating large tins from her restaurant to paint and decorate for our party.  I am looking forward to seeing how they turn out. 

Teacher's Tip:  To make the process runs smoothly, check the student's valentines the night before the party to make sure everyone has a valentine for each student.  I also take out the teacher's valentines and have the kids hand-deliver them to the teachers prior to the party.  This helps the students get a little advance practice and shortens the time required to pass out valentines.

   

Instructor's Insight:  In advance, think about which students would be good models to deliver their valentines first.  Have students who have a hard time waiting go toward the end so they spend their wait time anticipating the activity. If they go first, they might lose interest and have a difficult time waiting for their friends to deliver their valentines.

 

To support the students in being successful with this activity, I velcro a schedule to a paint stick as a reminder of how to deliver their special valentines.  There is velcro on the back of the stick too so as the children do each step we can remove that step by velcroing it to the back.  Turn the stick over and we are already to use it for the next student.   

  

If you would like a copy of this schedule send me an email and I will email you a boardmaker version of it.

Task Box Countdown: Task Box # 8 - Drawing a Self-Portrait

Each month my students draw self-portraits to demonstrate their handwriting and problem solving skills development.  We hang them in slicker sheets above the direct instruction table and share them with parents at parent-teacher conferences & IEP meetings.  

After each month’s drawing, we slip the students' work into the front of the slicker sheet so their most current work is displayed.  We also pass them along to the students’ next teacher when they transition to kindergarten. 

To support their progress and provide them with the same consistent visuals each month, I created a series of eight step-by-step cards.  The visuals give the students a starting place to work from because most of our students do not have the thought process to even begin drawing themselves.  The goal is that the visuals are no longer needed by the time they leave our program.  We use the technique of Mat Man from the Handwriting without Tears   program to narrate the process of drawing of self-portraits.  This allows us to use the same verbal prompts each month.  

Self-Portrait Instruction Series 

Step 1:  Make a mat for your body.

Step 2:  Add a circle head on top of the mat.

Step 3:  Add a face on the head (little curve mouth,
ears, eyes, and nose). What else can you add to your face?

Step 4:  Add two big lines for arms.

Step 5:  Add little lines for hands & fingers.

Step 6:  Add 2 big lines for legs.

Step 7:  Add 2 little lines for feet.

Step 8:  Add personal touches - hair, shirt designs,
eyebrows, shoes, etc.      

Teacher's tip:  Have students write their names in a rectangle box at the top of the page each month to track handwriting progress too. 

Valentine's Pretend Play for Pre-K Classrooms

It is an annual tradition in our classroom to transform the pretend play center into a post office a few weeks before Valentine's Day.  

We add individual mailboxes that were created and given to me by a well-respected mentor and dear friend, Louise Younger.  I believe she got the idea from Mailbox Magazine several years back.  

We add a wooden mailbox made by Melisa and Doug and a small free standing plasticmailbox made by step 2  In the play center, there are a small scale, cash register, a few boxes and small packages, as well as envelopes programmed to work on specific skills.   

The children pretend to be mail carriers and customers getting their mail.  We incorporate academic concepts by having the students place mail in the correct boxes.  Some children work on matching the pictures of friends to the correct mailboxes, while others work on matching the correct address number or reading & matching their friends' names.    

Number Recognition:  Matching envelopes to the correct mailbox number.

Face Recognition: Matching envelopes to it's corresponding photo.

Name Recognition:  Matching envelopes to the correct name.

To make the center even more fun, the students have the opportunity to dress up as mail carriers.  They wear postal hats, button down shirts and a mailbag.

Extra Credit: We have also incorporated a field trip to the post office in recent years.  It allows the children to see what real mail carriers and postal workers do. Rework:  Another option is to plan a trip to the school's office to hand-deliver our parent valentines to our school mail carrier and watch him leave in the mail truck.  The students then see how the process works a few days later when their parents valentines arrive at home.