Category: Special Education

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Product Update :: Winter Social Emotional Activity Pack

Winter Social Emotional Activity PackWell, it’s been just over 2 years since I first posted my Winter Social-Emotional Activity Pack. It’s definitely been one of my most popular products, and the activities have been used in my classroom many times over. So, I figured it was about time to add a few more! So, just in time for some shorter days and cooler temperatures (I know, I know, I’m sorry!), here they are!

First up are my seasonal Whole Body Listening Posters. The set contains 4 different posters (a boy and a girl of 2 different ethnicities) and highlights skills for being a good listener. My students love when my fall poster comes down and my elf poster goes up!

Whole Body Listening

Next, I added a “Guess the Feeling Activity.” Many of you know I’ve been dabbling in creating my own clipart recently and this activity features several of my new Holiday Emotion faces! Students cut out feelings words on one page, and glue them underneath the corresponding face on the other page. It’s great for my K-2 students who struggle with emotional identification.


 Guess the Emotion

Guess the Feeling

Last but not least, are some holiday-themed feelings flash cards. Using the same faces as my “Guess the Feeling” activity, you can use these cards for everything from role playing situations, to memory (just cut out 2 sets), or student communication cards.

Feelings Flash Cards Feelings Flash Cards

If you’ve already purchased this pack before, head over to TeachersPayTeachers and redownload it to get the new activities for free! And if you don’t have it yet, now’s your chance!

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Review :: Julia Cook Books

One of my favorite authors for social-emotional learning is Julia Cook. She has a book for almost every single type of behavior or situation I encounter as a school social worker and they’re great for on-the-go lesson planning when I’m scrambling to make time to plan. Best of all, my students love the books and actually pay attention while we’re reading and talking about them. What’s not to love? Here are a few of my favorites:

 

 

 

 

 

Do you have any favorite books for teaching social-emotional skills?

Disclaimer: I didn’t receive any compensation for reviewing these books. I just own all of them and love using them with my students! However, the links in this post are Amazon Affiliate links, so if you buy them from Amazon through these links, I get a little extra money to help pay for the blog/hosting/etc!

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Tips & Tricks :: Inexpensive & Creative Therapy Toys

With the school year starting up in just a few weeks (I know, I know), many of you are probably starting to stock up on new materials for your classrooms and offices. If you’re looking to save a little money, here are some creative ideas to help you get the biggest bang for your buck!

Dollhouse

If you don’t have the money to spring for an awesome actual dollhouse like this one, Kim’s Counseling Corner has a few great ideas for saving money  – just use a bookshelf or dresser from a garage or rummage sale, add a little paint, and you’re done! Amazon also has some really cheap bookshelves that would work perfectly here.

DIY Dollhouse

If you’re REALLY on a budget, just tape cereal boxes together to make walls and voila!

Dollhouse 3

Play-Doh or Clay

While Play-Doh isn’t really that expensive, you could include your students in a project to make your own! Here’s an easy recipe you could do for kids of all ages (they make great kneaders after it cools – obviously don’t let them handle the boiling water!):

  • 2 cups all-purpose flourplaydoh
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
  • 1 1/2 cups boiling water
  • food coloring (optional)
  • few drops glycerine (optional, but adds nice shine)

Mix the flour, salt, cream of tartar and oil in a large mixing bowl. Add food coloring to the boiling water then into the dry ingredients (color optional). Stir continuously until it becomes a sticky, combined dough. If you’re using it, add the glycerine. Allow it to cool down then take it out of the bowl and knead it vigorously for a couple of minutes until all of the stickiness has gone. If it comes out a little sticky, add a bit more flour until you reach the right consistency. Store in plastic bags and it’ll last for several months!

TotikaJenga

There are tons of great icebreaker get-to-know-you type games out there, but my personal favorite is a variation on Jenga. One game you could buy is called Totika, which combines Jenga with many different types of questions to get kids talking. If you don’t want to spend the money and have a bit of free time on your hands, you could use regular Jenga or wooden blocks and tape your own questions to the bottom of each block. It makes them a little harder to balance when stacking, but definitely gets the job done!

Stress BallsStress Ball Pool Noodles

One of my favorite crafts for the beginning of the school year are stress balls. We’ve all seen the flour-filled balloons that inevitable get holes in them and spill all over the place. Well, here’s a no mess, no fuss, dirt cheap solution…pool noodles! Just grab a bread knife, slice 2″ segments and you’re set. At the beginning of the year, I leave a bunch in the teacher’s lounge (or teachers or kids!) and have received an awesome response!

Sand/Sensory Tray

There are a lot of really great sand trays out there. However, you don’t necessary have to spend a lot of money unless you want to! When I was younger, my mom bought a huge bag of rice and dumped it into a storage bin. I loved playing with little toys, measuring cups, etc. in it and it was significantly less messy than sand.

Therapy TangleFidgets

There are a million different types of things you can use as fidgets. I’ve shared a great resource that details many of them here, but examples include keychains, pieces of exercise band, paper clamps, pipe cleaners with pony beads on them, therapy tangles, beanbags…the list goes on and on!

Have any other ways to create therapy toys? Share below in the comments!