Sunday, October 30, 2016

SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies!

Welcome to SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies!! Every Sunday I host this freebie link up here on my blog! Visit every week to download free resources for your classroom! If this is your first time visiting, you can access all of the freebies from previous link ups by clicking on "SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies" under "My Files" on my right sidebar. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If you're a TPT seller, blogger, or resource creator, I invite you to link up and share your own freebie using the link up tool below! 


Link Up Rules

1. All resources must be FREE! It can be free for the day, but please delete your link once you mark it back to paid.
2. Your freebie may link to your blog or store.
3. Freebie does not have to be related specifically to SPED, but should be practical for SPED.
4. If you are linking up from your blog, using this image in your post and linking back to my blog is not required, but is greatly appreciated! Be sure to share this image on your social media so others can see your freebie!

*I recommend using an image of your freebie & not your button when linking up. 

 Feel free to share the image above all over your social media to let other teachers know about these freebies! 

The link up tool will close on Saturday each week, but most freebies will remain accessible! Come back every Sunday to link up or download new freebies!

Grab your freebies and link up below, and then keep scrolling down to enter my HP Printer giveaway!




Friday, October 28, 2016

Celebrate NV Day With Me! Hacks, Giveaways, & Sales!


Can I just say I am beyond thrilled to be sharing a guest post from Amy Mascott, author of "Teachmama.com" on my blog today!! Quick break...{turn and scream}! I mean seriously! Below she shares 7 Classroom Hacks for Teachers, and {turn and scream again}, The Bender Bunch is cited in her post!  

Save Money and Time this School Year: 7 Classroom Hacks for Teachers
By: Amy Mascott of TeachMama.com
Date: [10/28/16]

Back-to-school season isn’t just for students, my friends.

As thousands of schools have been opening their doors, teachers have been working tirelessly setting up classrooms, preparing lesson plans and printing materials for their students.

In a school spending survey, almost 80% of teachers say they use their own money on material supplies in what amounts to a $1 billion annual spend for their classrooms. That is a LOT of money. And many teachers don’t have the extra to spend.

As a former high school teacher whose sister is a pre-K teacher, whose in-laws are former educators, and whose husband is an elementary school principal, I can absolutely empathize. I remember vividly the days of saving pennies for classroom supplies and begging the PTA for reimbursement. It wasn’t easy.

With that amount of money spent on back-to-school prep, it’s no wonder educators are constantly searching for tips on cutting back.

Several of my teacher friends with more than 60 years of combined classroom experience shared seven money and time-saving tips for this school year.

Whether you are a classroom teacher or a supportive parent, knowing these tips is hugely helpful. Keep this information in your back pocket. Share it. Use it to drive your support for school fundraisers or classroom gifts.

Here’s the skinny. . .

Save Money and Time this School Year: 7 Classroom Hacks for Teachers

    1.      Preserve materials you’ll use multiple times. Shannon Lisowe, from Speechy Musings, laminates useful visuals, pages, and books and stores them in a binder to make it easy to grab and go from year to year. “It’s a little more cost and time upfront, but it will absolutely save you in the long run!”

    2.      Reduce printing costs with a subscription service. Many teachers have printers in their classrooms but very little budget to print.  Between activities for lessons or centers, many teachers end up printing up to 300+ pages per month.

HP’s Instant Ink program allows subscribers to save time and money by delivering ink cartridges at a fraction of the cost of store-bought ink, right to your door. This program offers a month-to-month subscription and you can cancel anytime. Plans start as low as $2.99/month which can save teachers TONS of money on ink. I mean tons.

“I do not feel guilty about printing games and activities for my students because I am not having to spend a fortune out of my own pocket!” Chandra Dills, from Teaching with Crayons and Curls.

Photo Credit: TeachingWithCrayonsAndCurls.com

I use HP Instant Ink for my home, and I’d be lost without it. I love it. With three kids in 7th, 5th, and 4th grades, my kids already do a lot of printing. HP Instant Ink takes one thing off of my list of things to remember. Your compatible HP printer communicates low ink levels to HP so ink is delivered to your door before you run out. “My favorite thing about HP Instant Ink is the fact that not only is the ink inexpensive, but it is shipped to your door so you never have to leave your house!” Lauren Shirk, a K-3 Reading Intervention teacher from A Teachable Teacher.

There are so many perks packaged into the HP Instant Ink program that extend beyond ease and convenience. For example, Jennifer Kadar, from
SimplyKinder, has referred enough friends to receive free ink until 2020! “It's effortless.” With the HP Instant Ink Refer-a-Friend program, you and the friend you refer receive a free month of ink. The best part is the amounts of referrals are unlimited! “The HP Instant Ink program is made for teachers. Period.”

Photo Credit: SimplyKinder.com

HP Instant Ink also offers great options for teachers who are tired of only printing in black and white to save on costs. Kristin Oldham, from A Teeny Tiny Teacher, loves the aspect of being able to print in color too, for the same price. “I love how I don’t have to prioritize what I will print in color or what I will print from home vs. school.” You can learn more about HP Instant Ink by visiting www.hpinstantink.com.

    3.      Organize your space. Vanessa Levin, from Pre-K Pages, recommends a well-organized and fully functional classroom environment where materials necessary for teaching and learning are easily accessible to both teachers and students. “Clear the clutter. If it hasn’t been used in one year, toss it. Lighten the load to make more time for teaching and learning.”

4.      Be a smart shopper. Getting ready for back to school is costly. Cut back on costs by visiting local thrift shops. “You'll be amazed at how many goodies you can find for little to nothing for your classrooms.” Traci Bender, special education teacher for grades 3-5 from The Bender Bunch.

5.      Stock up during back-to-school sale events. Buy as many 1-cent composition books and packs of paper as possible, and ask friends and neighbors to buy them, too. Many states offer tax-free weekends for school supplies. Kallie Lerchbacker, who is going into her third year of teaching says, “Don’t buy everything all at once. It’s okay to have a classroom that is not decorated like a Pinterest classroom. Also, it’s good to make/print your own centers because the stations from the teacher stores are very expensive.”

6.      Hone your parent-teacher presentation. Teachers like Vanessa Levin from Pre-K Pages, admit that parent-teacher nights can be nerve-wracking. Calm your nerves by planning and anticipating parents’ questions. Vanessa suggests creating a parent handbook to arm yourself with the answers they are looking for. This way you will appear confident and knowledgeable and parents will be at ease knowing their child is in good hands.

7.      Ask for donations. You might be surprised to learn how many of your students’ families have extras around the house that you can use in the classroom. Make a list at the beginning of the school year with everything you might need: tissues, hand sanitizer, crayons, glue, etc. and send it home with each student. Even indoor recess activities can be supplied via donations if families have extra puzzles or games sitting around.

What do you think? How do you support your child’s teacher, or if you are a teacher, how do you save money in the classroom?

{end of post}

I love all of these hacks! And yes, I shop thrift stores all the time for goodies for my classroom! If you're not, you're missing out on some great deals! 

The second best advice given above is HP Instant Ink! I LOVE Instant Ink! If you're still running out of ink, shopping for ink, sparingly using your ink, spending a fortune on ink, and counting the amount of colored pages you print, then STOP IT! You need to check out HP Instant Ink! You'll be sorry you didn't know about it sooner!

Curious about HP Instant Ink? You should be! You can read all about the Instant Ink Program here and even receive a link for one free month! But don't go there just yet, because not only I am giving you a free month of Instant Ink, I'm giving away an HP Printer to get you started! 


This is the world's smallest all-in-one printer and I'm excited to give it away to one lucky teacher follower! You can check it out here, and enter below to win! Once you try the Instant Ink Program, be sure to share the link with friends and other teachers so they can also learn about HP Instant Ink and get a free month!




And there's even more! No school for me today or other teachers in Nevada! It's NEVADA DAY! I'm celebrating Oct. 28-31st. Head over to my Instagram page and enter to win a $30 Amazon gift card and resources from my store and two of my other Nevada teacher friends, "An Apple for the Teach" and "Well Michelle." We're also having a 20% off sale in our stores! Grab my sales here

Good luck! Happy Nevada Day!




About the Author:
Amy Kilpatrick Mascott is the creator of teachmama.com, where since 2008, she has shared tools and resources parents can use to become the best teachers they can be for their children.

A Reading Specialist, writer, and literacy consultant, Amy’s work has been featured on dozens of online and print publications, including Scholastic Parents, PBS Parents, readwritethink.org, PBS Digital Studios, and more.

Amy is a former high school English teacher who has truly expanded the walls of classroom, sharing her expertise at local and national events and publishing her first book with Scholastic, Raising a Rock-Star Reader: 75 Quick Tips for Helping Your Child Develop a Lifelong Love for Reading in 2015.


Married to an elementary school principal, Amy resides in the DC Metro with her three crazy-cool kids (12, 11, and 9 years old), a dog, two birds, and a kingdom of sea monkeys.

Sunday, October 23, 2016

SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies!!!

Welcome to SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies!! Every Sunday I host this freebie link up here on my blog! Visit every week to download free resources for your classroom! If this is your first time visiting, you can access all of the freebies from previous link ups by clicking on "SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies" under "My Files" on my right sidebar. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If you're a TPT seller, blogger, or resource creator, I invite you to link up and share your own freebie using the link up tool below! 


Link Up Rules

1. All resources must be FREE! It can be free for the day, but please delete your link once you mark it back to paid.
2. Your freebie may link to your blog or store.
3. Freebie does not have to be related specifically to SPED, but should be practical for SPED.
4. If you are linking up from your blog, using this image in your post and linking back to my blog is not required, but is greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to share this image on your social media so your other SPED friends don't miss out! :)

*I recommend using an image of your freebie & not your button when linking up. 

 Feel free to share the image above all over your social media to let other teachers know about these freebies! 

The link up tool will close on Saturday each week, but most freebies will remain accessible! Come back every Sunday to link up or download new freebies!

Thanks for dropping by!

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Family Engagement Day Halloween Fun!!

Have some Halloween fun by hosting a Family Engagement Day! This year the special education teachers in my building have teamed up to host a Family Engagement Day every month! Family Engagement Day is where parents or other family members of our students can come from 9 am - 10 am on that day and engage in hands-on learning centers with their child. Each month will have a specific theme. There are 4 of us, the early childhood Pre-K teacher, our KIDS program teacher, our primary self-contained teacher, and me--the intermediate self-contained teacher. So each of us is responsible for creating a hands-on center. 

Our first Family Engagement Day was yesterday and it was a HUGE success! We were amazed at the amount of parent participation and engagement!

This is the center I put together. 

Younger students used counting mats or mini jack-o-lanterns to count candy pumpkins or candy corn and my intermediate students got to use candy to solve basic addition problems by placing the sum of each problem in the jack-o-lantern cups. 
These mats are free from "A Special Kind of Class," but I added the numbers myself. You can find them linked up on my SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies post on my blog from last week. 

  Our KIDS program teacher did Frankenstein handprints!
Our Pre-K teacher put together spaghetti spider webs.

She also brought some fun peel and stick foam skeletons for families to make!

Our primary self-contained teacher organized "Ghostly Bowling."

It was so much fun for everyone, and soooo much family engagement going on! It made my heart full seeing the parents so engaged with their kids!

We also played the Monster Mash song and danced! I'm already super excited for next month, which will be a Thanksgiving/Fall theme! I hope this inspires you to get your own Family Engagement Day going at your school!

Pin it to save this idea for later! :)


For more inspiration, check out my Halloween Pinterest board for more Halloween ideas!





Sunday, October 16, 2016

SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies!

Welcome to SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies!! Every Sunday I host this freebie link up here on my blog! Visit every week to download free resources for your classroom! If this is your first time visiting, you can access all of the freebies from previous link ups by clicking on "SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies" under "My Files" on my right sidebar. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If you're a TPT seller, blogger, or resource creator, I invite you to link up and share your own freebie using the link up tool below! 


Link Up Rules

1. All resources must be FREE! It can be free for the day, but please delete your link once you mark it back to paid.
2. Your freebie may link to your blog or store.
3. Freebie does not have to be related specifically to SPED, but should be practical for SPED.
4. If you are linking up from your blog, using this image in your post and linking back to my blog is not required, but is greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to share this image on your social media so your other SPED friends don't miss out! :)

*I recommend using an image of your freebie & not your button when linking up. 

Link up your free resources below and/or download the free resources you can use in your classroom! Share all over your social media to let other teachers know about these freebies! 

The link up tool will close on Saturday each week, but most freebies will remain accessible! Come back every Sunday to link up or download new freebies!

Happy Fall!




Friday, October 14, 2016

A Peek at Our Day


I frequently get asked about my daily classroom schedule, so today I'm here to share my daily schedule with you. The schedule you see above is a general overview of what our day looks like. Let me walk you through it!



9:00 - 9:15
Our district requires 30 minutes of physical activity every day, so I go ahead and knock 15 minutes of this out first thing in the morning. It gets their morning wiggles out and is also a chance to get restroom breaks out of the way. It also gives me that much needed extra time in the mornings to get activities prepped and ready to go, especially if I had meetings all morning.


9:15 - 9:30 
My students arrive in my class at 9:15. They come in and place their homework and daily behavior reports in the appropriate trays. Once everyone is seated and beginning on their morning work, our flag leader leads us in the pledge and we sing our school song, our pet keeper feeds the fish, and we view our Daily Fun Fact. Then, we complete our morning work which may look different for everyone.  




9:30 - 10:50
At 9:30 we break off into literacy rotations/centers. We have 4 groups/4 centers and each rotation/center is 20 minutes long and differentiated to meet the needs of each student. You can read more about my centers here.



10:50 - 11:20
This is when we do our "morning meeting," whole group. Our whole group consists of stating rules and goals, calendar, weather, number sense, money, and time. 


11:25 -12:15
My students go to their specials. My students have humanities/music, art, PE, and Library. This is my prep time and my aides take my students to specials. I have grades 3-5 and all of my students go to specials with 3rd graders. 



12:15 - 12:45
My students go to lunch and then get their other 15 minutes of recess. I meet them for lunch after my prep at 12:15 and have lunch with them from 12:15 - 12:30 and then take my lunch from 12:30 - 1:00. This allows me to see how my students are functioning at lunch time, work on any eating goals a student may have, and see whether or not they need more support! 



12:45 - 1:00
My students return from lunch. One of my aides reads a picture book to them and then they do one song from gonoodle.com.  



1:00 - 2:00
At 1:00, we break off into math rotations/centers. For math, I only have 3 groups/3 centers this year and each center is 20 minutes long.  


2:00 - 2:30
This is my life skills block where I also incorporate social studies, science, health, and craft time. 



2:30 - 3:10
This is classroom jobs and social time. My students complete their classroom jobs and then if they don't have any missing work (work they refused to do earlier in the day) they get to have social time. During social time, they get to play games, play with the classroom toys, do puzzles, or whatever they'd like to play.

And that's a peek at a day in The Bender Bunch classroom!

See you back on Sunday for SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies!!


Sunday, October 9, 2016

SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies!!!

Welcome to SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies!! Every Sunday I host this freebie link up here on my blog! Visit every week to download free resources for your classroom! If this is your first time visiting, you can access all of the freebies from previous link ups by clicking on "SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies" under "My Files" on my right sidebar. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If you're a TPT seller, blogger, or resource creator, I invite you to link up and share your own freebie using the link up tool below! 


Link Up Rules

1. All resources must be FREE! It can be free for the day, but please delete your link once you mark it back to paid.
2. Your freebie may link to your blog or store.
3. Freebie does not have to be related specifically to SPED, but should be practical for SPED.
4. If you are linking up from your blog, using this image in your post and linking back to my blog is not required, but is greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to share this image on your social media so your other SPED friends don't miss out! :)

*I recommend using an image of your freebie & not your button when linking up. 

Link up your free resources below and/or download the free resources you can use in your classroom! Share all over your social media to let other teachers know about these freebies! 

The link up tool will close on Saturday each week, but most freebies will remain accessible! Come back every Sunday to link up or download new freebies!

Happy Fall!




Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Behavior Buzz with The Bender Bunch!


It's time for Behavior Buzz with The Bender Bunch! Today's featured submission is from Katie. 

Katie has a student that disrupts, interrupts, and distracts during lessons and academic work. "During desired tasks, this student is an angel!" Behaviors occur during instructional time and whole group. He is also mouthy and sometimes seeks a power struggle.

Antecedent: Transitioning back to a structured activity from an unstructured activity. 

Function: Escape/Avoidance

Katie has tried redirecting, giving warnings, taking away minutes from free choice, and reminded the student of what they are working for. None of these have worked.

She has had some success with ignoring, removal, allowing student to make up work during free choice, and providing positive praise.

The student loves to be reinforced with food, and also likes computer, sports, and Michael Jackson's "Just Dance" video game.

My input. We have to teach this student to learn to tolerate unpreferred tasks. I would make all positive reinforcement he likes contingent upon the targeted behavior. So he does not earn a snack, computer, or Michael Jackson game unless he is FIRST, compliant during whole group. For some students, a simple "First-Then" board may work. 



Students simply "do this" (whole group in this case), and "then" they get this (snack, game). 

For other students it may not be that easy. We may have to start with baby steps. Expecting a disruptive, non-compliant student to all of a sudden sit during a 30 minute whole group lesson when he hasn't even been able to do it for 2 minutes is unrealistic. Start with baby steps that will ensure the student has some success! For example:

1) ______ will leave unstructured activity upon first request. Give reinforcer just for leaving unstructured activity. Right now you're just teaching him to leave unstructured activity. 
2) After mastery of #1, ______ will leave unstructured activity upon first request and calmly go to his seat. Give reinforcer. 
3) After mastery of #2, ______ will leave unstructured activity upon first request, calmly go to his seat, and tolerate 3 minutes of whole group instruction/academic work with no disruptions. Or if it's a worksheet, maybe tolerate/complete 3 out of 10 math problems, then reinforcer. 
4) After mastery of #3, increase expectations and minutes or written activities to maybe 4 or 5, and continue to increase upon mastery. Or maybe for this student, we don't even sweat the academics, we just want him to sit and refrain from being disruptive. That's a start! Academics may need to come later!

Set a timer if using computer or game, and keep it short. The longer, the harder to get them back. Plus, you want to keep providing multiple opportunities for them to come back and tolerate whole group/academics so you can reinforce, reinforce, reinforce. I give most of my students 5-7 minutes with their tangible reinforcers. When their time is up, start all over again with 1, 2, 3, or 4 above, whichever step the student is at. So, when they come back they'll have to tolerate 3 more minutes, or complete 3 more math problems. 

In the beginning, you will want the reinforcer to be VERY frequent, and then gradually increase time needed for reinforcer. Remember, baby steps. When I'm first teaching a behavior, my students may get their reinforcer every minute or two, or for every math problem they complete. It just depends on what the student can handle in order to reap their rewards and feel success. You MUST ensure success, especially in the beginning. There must be something in it for them in order for them to "buy in." If students feel no success and see no light at the end of the tunnel, they won't even try. 

We must also teach the student what our expectations look like. "Tolerating" may look different for every teacher, every classroom, and every student. Define the behavior to the student and your aides that will involved in teaching this skill. What does tolerating look like?? For instance, tolerating whole group/academic work is not sitting there playing around and disrupting even though they're sitting there. Tolerating is quiet mouth, calm body, eyes on speaker, and no talking. This is just an example. 

Each time the student disrupts or engages in the undesired behavior, provide feedback, reset the timer, and start all over. If the student is not achieving any success, reduce required minutes or go back to step #1 above. Maybe you moved on too quickly. Remember the student must feel some success! For students that love attention, make a big deal out of it when they earn their reinforcement. Have the class shout hooray, cheer him on, and clap for him. Remind him each time why he has earned the reinforcer..."Awesome, you stayed calm and quiet during instruction, and did not disrupt. That's fabulous! Go to computer buddy." When they come back, provide feedback by saying something like, "You did so awesome last time staying calm and quiet during instruction. I'm so proud of you. I bet you can do it again."

Thank you for your submission Katie! I hope these strategies will help you and benefit anyone else that may have a student with similar behaviors in your classroom. Remember, there is no cookie cutter method to shaping each and every behavior. I live by trial and error. Many times I may try a behavior intervention with a student and it does not work and I have to try something else. It happens, but eventually you will get there!

Lastly, I must leave you with some of my most crucial advice, behavior first, then academics!!! This is very hard for many teachers, to let go of the academics, but you can't teach a child anything if they don't know how to learn! Don't sweat it! Once you've taught them how to learn, the opportunities of teaching academics will be so worth the wait! 




If you're frustrated with a behavior in your classroom and are seeking behavior support, go to my right sidebar, scroll up and click on the image like the one above, and "Behavior Buzz with The Bender Bunch." Each month I'll feature a submission with advice here on my blog!


Sunday, October 2, 2016

SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies!!!

Welcome to SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies!! Every Sunday I host this freebie link up here on my blog! Visit every week to download free resources for your classroom! If this is your first time visiting, you can access all of the freebies from previous link ups by clicking on "SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies" under "My Files" on my right sidebar. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If you're a TPT seller, blogger, or resource creator, I hope you'll link up and share your own freebie with us! 


Link Up Rules

1. All resources must be FREE! It can be free for the day, but please delete your link once you mark it back to paid.
2. Your freebie may link to your blog or store.
3. Freebie does not have to be related specifically to SPED, but should be practical for SPED.
4. If you are linking up from your blog, using this image in your post and linking back to my blog is not required, but is greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to share this image on your social media so your other SPED friends don't miss out! :)

*I recommend using an image of your freebie & not your button when linking up. 

Link up your free resources below and/or download the free resources you can use in your classroom! Share all over your social media to let other teachers know about these freebies! 

The link up tool will close on Saturday each week, but most freebies will remain accessible! Come back every Sunday to link up or download new freebies!

Happy October!!!!