Monday, June 19, 2017

SPED NECESSITIES



So you're a brand new SPED teacher....what do you need for your classroom? What are the priorities? I asked some of my friends from "We Teach Sped" and this is what they had to say.

~Alyssa from "Simply Special Ed" can't live without SAND TIMERS & SPORTS TIMERS on Amazon. Find Sports timers on Amazon here.

~Kate from "Fun in ECSE" can't live without VELCRO. Definitely a must. Feiner Supply is the best place to purchase your Velcro. Go here to purchase.

~Nicole from "Learning Lab" can't live without a DESK CALENDAR. She uses it to write in important tasks since it's always right on her desk and too big to lose! She also writes notes to herself on it so she can see them first thing every morning. These can be found at Walmart, Target, or any office supply store.

~Jennipher from "Teach.Love.Autism." says the best investment you can make is a personal LAMINATOR. I must agree, I LOVE my laminator! You can find the one that I have here for only $20 and it's worked great for over two years now! I purchase my laminating sheets from SAMS; 200 for only $20, which is one of the best deals I have found. You can see the ones I use here

~Pam from "Mrs. P's Specialities" encourages a ROLLING DRY ERASE BOARD that is magnetic. She says you can use it for directions, in the writing center, in the magnetic center, for small group instruction, and more. I love this idea! I found a few on Amazon, but a little pricey. I'm going to shop around a little more for this item.

~Erin from "You-Aut-A-Know" recommends DRY ERASE MARKERS galore! She uses them to write on the tables in her classroom. Yes, you can definitely never have enough dry erase markers. Students also just love being allowed to use these to write on their tables/desks. They're a little pricey, so when you catch a sale, STOCK UP!!

~Brie from "Breezy Special Ed" suggests MINI DRY ERASE BOARDS. She says their perfect for on the go first/then boards, token boards, and a place to write reminders of social stories!

~Now my turn....here are some of my most used purchases in my classroom that I truly could not live without! 

This timer is the greatest! I have timers going all over the place in my classroom and kids on reinforcement timers continuously throughout the day. With this timer you can set it for up to four students at a time. It is available on Amazon here.

Another timer I could not live without! This is the "Time Timer" from Lakeshore and it comes in 3 different sizes. I use this timer for center rotations and I love it because it allows me to monitor when the rotation is coming to an end and whether or not I have time to start a new activity or not. It's also great for those students that need predictable time and/or warnings of an activity ending. Now while I mentioned these are available at Lakeshore, check with your Assistive Technology Department first! I was able to get mine for free from my AT Dept. 

If you are going to be using a PECS program with any of your students, I highly recommend this purchase for new teachers or teachers just starting PECS. You will have just about every symbol you could imagine right at your fingertips without the stress of having to create symbols you find you need as you go or without worrying about what program you will need to create them. This set has been a major time and lifesaver for me and is available here. It is worth every penny!

One other thing I highly recommend is a pair of Titanium non-stick scissors. These will be your best friend for cutting Velcro. 

And lastly, be sure to have plenty of token boards on hand and plenty of reinforcers. 

I hope this post has been helpful! I wish you the best of luck!

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