Seasons Greetings

Christmas Sale

Just checking in to say hello and to let you know I appreciate you stopping by to check out my blog!

I also want to let you know that I am offering 20% off my entire store as a special holiday thank you.

Sale runs December 11th-13th so stop on by and enjoy great savings!! Thank you!!

Adaptive Tasks by Dianne Matthews

Illustrations Bring Books To Life

If you place books in a literacy center and students go to make choices, which ones do you think they like the most? Books with words only or eye catching illustrated books?

Children are drawn to eye catching images which peak their interest to know more about the image themselves. Providing both written work with colorful images is what helps to encourage literacy skills and comprehension.

When you connect the image to what is written it makes the book more real to them and stimulates their imagination. Pictures help to increase vocabulary as well as identifying such things as shapes, colors, names, and objects.

Image books are not only helpful for early learning, they serve great value with higher levels of education as well. As students get older chapter books are encouraged for academics and education goals but having a mix of reading choices helps to encourage students who may not like to read or are stimulated to read more because of visuals.

Mary Jo Fresch, a professor at Ohio Sate University stated, "Not everything is in the picture and not everything is in the words. It takes some real critical thinking to use a picture book." I truly believe this and this concept should be encouraged. Pictures help people of all ages recall memories and experiences that help to encourage social skills and helps to increase reading comprehension.

Let's keep the passion for reading alive!

Here is one of my latest products for early education that is full of colorful images to share with students about that first trip to the dentist. By reading it during group time it will encourage conversation about students personal experiences at the dentist.

Your Teeth and How to Care for Them

Crafty Fall Fun

Fall is my favorite season. I enjoy the colors of the leaves, smell of warm spices and the flavor of pumpkin recipes galore! I also love finding crafty ideals that kids will have fun with and keeps the fall season alive!

This sun catcher craft is a nice way to present the colors of fall and shaping them in to leaf form reminds us of the first signs and a way to keep fall alive.


Click on the link above to see a nice tutorial on how to make these crafty sun catchers!

Including Special Needs During the Holidays

Holidays are times where families enjoy spending time together and the traditions surrounding the holidays. It is important to include each member of the family in creating memorable moments especially if a member of the family has a disability or special needs. It is important to find ways to help everyone connect so know one feels uncomfortable or left out. Sometimes those with special needs receive more attention and their siblings feel left out and sometimes those with special needs are left out of preparation or traditions because of their disability.

Coming together to make everyone a part of the holiday will help everyone to bond and enjoy some very special moments together. Here are some great tips for including family special needs:

"Tips for Developing Traditions with Special Needs Children:

*When planning a meal for a child with food allergies or other special diet needs, try to offer several choices of special foods if possible and serve the special foods in festive dishes so the food is seen as special too.
*Share special family stories and memories, and be sure to include the special needs child as well as others.
*If your child has difficulty sharing stories because of language issues, allow him to show pictures of happy events or times that were special for him.
*Have each person share something they are thankful for, or share something they appreciate about the family.
*Read stories about the holiday together. Choose books with illustrations and words that your special needs child can understand.
*Be sure to take pictures of everyone, and display them for everyone to see. After the celebration, help family members place photos in scrapbooks.
*Include your children in decorating for the holiday. Provide your child with some appropriate choices for decoration, and allow her to choose what to display and where. The holidays are such a special time, creating family memories and traditions which will stay with your special-needs children the rest of their lives.
*Allow your child to participate in food preparation, setting the table, and clean up as her ability levels allow.
*Include your child in making invitations and sending thank you notes. If your child has writing difficulty, allow him to use stamps, color designs or images, or decorate with embellishments that are appropriate for his age and developmental level.
*Keep realistic behavior expectations, and plan alternative activities for your child when she needs a break from others. Know your child's limits, and ensure adequate nap time or time away from the noise and stimulation that sometimes comes at family gatherings.
*Family traditions are things that families do together on a regular basis. These things can be patterns of behavior, enjoyable activities or a certain food that a family likes. It is important for families to observe their traditions even as their children get older.

Here is my latest product that helps students in the classroom learn about traditional Thanksgiving foods and matching meals for serving.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thanksgiving-Dinner-Meal-Serving-Life-Skill-Task-2146081

Importance of Dramatic Play in the Learning Process

Dramatic play is such a vital part of a child's learning process.  Through dramatic play, young children up to students of all ages with special needs enhance their development in major areas such as language, social/emotional, cognitive, and physical skills.

Incorporating dramatic play into the school day can be as simply offering a play area that is open for children to actively initiate play with materials provided to spark their imagination, and it can be done by incorporating materials for dramatic play that correspond with lesson plans and themes.

Below are three of my newest products that work well to develop the major areas as listed above. Children learn to be social, follow direction, incorporate math skills, and learn valuable life and vocational skills as well.

These products work well for food theme, cooking, community service, etc...
Seafood Restaurant

Italian Restaurant

Mexican Restaurant

Reinforcement Tasks Used In Various Environments

Making tasks and activities to meet the needs of students of various age and ability is what I enjoy doing. I make products to reinforce learning in the early education, home school, and special need classrooms but never thought of uses beyond these settings until a customer of mine enlightened me.

I make a variety of tasks to include English language arts, functional curriculum, life skills and vocational skills. I found out that they are working well in rehab of a skilled nursing facility! I never really thought of this environment and the importance of the need for these types of tasks when working with speech and occupational therapy.

I will continue making tasks to meet needs in all of these environments and am now inspired to create things that will meet the needs of rehabilitation teams that work with guests individual needs.

Here is a sample of tasks that help with life skills including laundry, categorizing products, and meal presentation/food recognition:

Life Skill Bundle #4