Creativity in the Classroom

I love finding new ways for the kids to use their creative side.  Currently we are doing a unit on food and this would be a fun project for the students to create their own masterpiece using various sections of vegetables.

Here are some picture samples and where you can read more about this fun activity! http://www.socreativethings.com/creative-craft-using-vegetables-as-stamps/

Working With Students With Special Needs

We are well in to our second full week of school and things could not be better.

I am a para that works in a high school life skills room with some of the most wonderful students you can imagine.  Often times people ask me where I work and what I do.  When I tell them I work with students with special needs I hear a variety of responses most of which includes, "Oh my, you have a very tough job"   My response to that is, "I work with some of the best students in the school and they are a joy to be around."

Now my days do come with struggles as with any classroom setting, but overall, these students can put such a smile on my face and brighten my day.  It is such a satisfying experience to know that what you teach them begins to take hold and you see growth in their abilities that exceed every expectation.

Another wonderful experience is seeing the parents of our students comforted in knowing that their child is safe and is enjoying their learning experience.  A lot has been said about the low pay we receive which I do agree, but I try to overlook this fact and remind myself that my true reward is getting to be a part of these special lives.

One of the favorite parts of what I do is working with these students trying to help them increase their independence by learning life skills and vocational skills.  Although nowhere in my job description does it state to provide materials to help with these skills, I take it upon myself to make sure we provide as much variety of materials to help each student meet their needs.

I love creating and I have great in site to what these students need by following IEP goals or observing areas that each student may be struggling with.  As I began creating more materials and saw how effective they were with our students, I found a way to provide them for anyone that found them useful for their own classroom or home school needs through TPT.

I would encourage you to check out my store and see the variety of materials that we have used with great success at: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Adaptive-Tasks

Here is my newest FREE product for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.  It can be used as file folder matching, as matching task cards, or maybe a memory game.  Enjoy!!
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thanksgiving-Visual-Matching-1418188

Take Two!!

It's a one day only BOOSTER sale with TPT!

TPT wants to help you with products you need to start out your school year by offering a second sale, one day only, on August 20th.

Stop on by my store for a 28% savings at Adaptive Tasks.  Make sure and use the promo code BOOST when you are checking out!!

Countdown to Day One!

It is unbelievable how quickly the summers seem to come and go.  The first day of school is all but here and the class preparation has begun.

Having a life skill classroom is such a rewarding experience and so much fun!  Teaching students valuable skills needed for living more independently is something I enjoy doing and providing interactive bulletin boards is just a small part of the classroom theme.

This year we are "Cooking Up a Great Year" and showing students the "Recipes for Success"

I had fun expressing these quotes by way of interactive bulletin boards.  These pictures show how I made use of presentation boards. I cut and painted them to make cabinets, refrigerator, oven, and a microwave that open and close with use of magnets.  I also used clip art images and online images to make things to go in them like pots and pans, pie plates, foods, etc...

This type of bulletin board allows students to interact with it by taking the items out and placing them back in the matching place that each item belongs.  To do this, the student looks on the back of each item where the word it written of what the object is.  The student matches the words and places the items where they belong.  Here are the pictures of the finished boards:

August 4th-5th TPT Sale!

It's time for the TPT site wide sale.  Check out my store and enjoy a 28% savings on all of my products!!

Back to School Home Cooking

Well it's almost time to set those alarm clocks for the back to school routine.  If you are at all like me, I've had many times where it seems so much easier to grab something quick for a meal and spend less time cooking home meals.  I don't want to feel this way, so  I'm always looking for easier meals to avoid this costly habit.

The thought of grabbing food to take home mainly stems from not wanting to spend the time preparing and making a meal when I get home.  One easy solution to this is crock pot meals.  Many recipes can be put together with some pre-preparation on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon so that they can be easily put together during the week and cooking while you are at work. Who doesn't love a meal ready when you get home!

Here is a nice collection of recipes that I found, 35 Back to School Crockpot Recipes.

Enjoy!

Simple Craft for Upcoming Holidays and Special Occasions

Don't you just love easy inexpensive ideas for gift giving, or crafting ideas for your students!

This is a simple way to give a gift for different occasions by simply using a paper plate.  The creativity is endless, and for students they can decorate the plates before folding and adding things like ribbon, buttons, etc...

If you are anything like me I like to think ahead on fun things to do with the students to help them create gifts for special occasions to give to friends, family members, etc.

I read about this idea on the following blog, so click on the link to find out more.
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2014/03/diy-cookie-basket-made-from-a-paper-plate.html

Enjoy!!