SPED Summer Bloghop: Week 1 {Scheduling}

For the next five weeks, a great group of special education teachers will be blogging about important beginning of the year topics for special education teachers. This week we are talking about scheduling!

As a resource and inclusion teacher, scheduling can be a bit of a headache in the beginning of the year. I have to get schedules from the general education teachers, so that I can be sure my students are receiving services at an appropriate time. Then I have to check their IEPs to see what services they receive, for how long, and for how many days during the week. Then I try to decide when to work with them and fit it all into a schedule. I also have to decide how to group my resource students so that our time will be used most effectively and we will see the most growth. 

If you're lucky, it will all work out nicely and the schedule for each day will be very similar. If not, I suggest using a spreadsheet to plan and organize each day's schedule!

My principal helped me set up my initial schedule last school year, since it was my first year working with those students and teachers. For this upcoming year, I've already given her my ideal schedule and she's going to take it into consideration when making classes for next year. I am very, very lucky to have such a supportive administration! If you're new to scheduling, talk with your administration if you have questions. They might know what kids shouldn't be pulled together, what kids are best pulled in the morning or afternoon, etc. 

On the first day of school, I had a generic schedule that looked like this:

I adjusted as the year went on as new kids were added to my caseload or kids moved to another school. Also, mid-year I realized that one of my third grade students would be better helped if he were pulled with my second graders, so that affected my schedule. Flexibility is so key for special educators! Make sure your schedule works for you AND that it also works for your kids!

Tips for Scheduling in a Resource/Inclusion Setting:

1. Be flexible! Things change all the time! 

2. Get copies of the general education teachers' schedules before the year starts, so you can make a tentative schedule for yourself. You want to start working with your kids as soon as possible so they begin to learn the day's routine. 

3. Don't be afraid to rework your schedule if something isn't working. Talk to the general education teachers. Reflect on what is happening in your room. Make sure your schedule and groupings are best for your kids too! 

4. Make sure you are aware of special events happening in the school. If a grade is going on a field trip or having a special speaker, make sure you make a note of it. You don't want to be running all over the school trying to find your kids when they are off on a field trip!

Visit Sarah at The Eager Teacher next to see how she handles scheduling in her classroom!

TpT Seller Challenge: Week 2 {Dare to Dream}

It's time for week two of the TpT Seller Challenge. If you want to see my week one challenge, click here!

Since I'm "all in" for this challenge, I finally created a Facebook page. You can follow me here!

This week is all about goals and dreams. When I put my first product on TpT, I had no expectations. I thought it would be so cool to even sell one product a month. I was unaware of the potential that TpT could have for me and my life. I am beyond grateful for the extra income, inspiration, and creative outlet that TpT brings to my life. 

That said, the endless possibilities on TpT allow me to dream for more than I ever thought possible on a teacher's salary. 

Travel: I want to go everywhere. I can't really think of a place I don't want to go. Italy, Vietnam, Australia, Spain, South Africa, etc. My soon to be husband also loves to travel. We dream of future excursions all the time. Some day I hope to make those discussions a reality. 

Collaborate: In the short time I've been blogging and TpTing, I have been blown away by the creativity and talent of other teachers. I hope to not only continue to learn from others, but collaborate with them in order to help other teachers around the globe. Also, I love that the idea that collaborating and learning from other teacher-blogger-TpTers pushes me to become a better teacher and seller. 

Pay Off Debt: I went to a big college...and I was an out of state student. I am also currently working on my Master's degree. Needless to say, I have a LOT of loans to pay back. I also have a relatively new car to pay off. Although they are all deferred right now because I'm in school, I know those payments are going to be very, very scary once they kick in. 

Thanks to the bloggers below for setting up this great set of challenges! 

TpT Seller Challenge: Week 1 {Makeover Madness}

I know I've really been dropping the ball on the blogging front, but the last two months of this school year were NON-STOP. Now that life has slowed down just a little bit (I'm still planning my wedding and taking grad school classes this summer), I am super excited to announce that I am joining up with a bunch of other teachers for a TpT Seller Challenge. If you're interested in joining yourself, you can get all of the information you need here. 

Before starting the challenge, we wrote down our current data. One of my major goals this month is to get a facebook page up and running!

For my makeover, I decided to update my Subject Verb Agreement Task Cards. These task cards are one of my favorite products, so I thought now was a great time to give them a little facelift. 

The content is still the same, but I've updated the fonts and backgrounds. You can find the updated version in my TpT store here. 

Thanks to these ladies for setting up this challenge and keeping us motivated during the summer!

Stay tuned for Week 2!