Hey there, teacher friends! Special education life skills are essential for students with disabilities to lead an independent life.  However, teaching life skills to these students can be a challenging task, especially when it comes to keeping them engaged.  Engaging students with disabilities in life skills training can at times a little tricky, but there are plenty of ways to make it more fun and interesting! In this blog post lets chat about  5 simple ways to make special education life skills more engaging: Incorporate Technology Technology can be a valuable tool in teaching life skills to students with disabilities. Using educational apps, online resources, and assistive technology can help make learning more engaging and accessible for students.  For example, apps can be used to teach budgeting, time management, and personal safety skills.  Assistive technology such as voice recognition software and text-to-speech programs can also help students with disabilities overcome challenges and become more independent. Making it Relevant One way to engage students in life skills training is to make it relevant to their personal lives.  Students are more likely to be interested in and motivated to learn skills that they can apply to their daily lives.  For example, teaching cooking skills by having students prepare their favourite dishes or budgeting by having them plan for a fun outing can make learning more meaningful and engaging. Working in Groups: Collaborative Learning Working in groups can be an effective way to teach life skills to students with disabilities.  Collaborative learning can help students develop communication, problem-solving, and social skills while learning important life skills.  Group projects can also make learning more engaging and fun. For example, students can work together to plan and prepare a meal, organize a community event, or create a budget for a group outing. Community Involvement Community involvement can be a great way to teach real-world skills to students with disabilities.  Taking students on field trips to local stores, restaurants, and other community venues can provide opportunities to practice and develop life skills such as money management, social interaction, and personal safety. Community involvement can also help students become more familiar with their community and develop a sense of belonging. Use Visuals Visual aids such as pictures, videos, and diagrams can make a huge difference in engaging students with disabilities.  Use visuals to teach life skills such as cooking, cleaning, and personal hygiene.  Visual aids help to break down complex tasks into simple steps and make it easier for students to understand. We use “Life Skills Bulletin Boards” in our classroom. Theta are fun, visual and tactile and come in a range of different shops for your students to experience.  Click here to for bulletin board resources So, what are your favourite teacher resources that make life skills more engaging in your classroom? Let us know in the comments below! And if you’re looking for some amazing teaching resources to support your special education students, check out our website for some great ideas! Thank You! ❤️ Thanks for hanging out with us! We hope you found this post helpful to both you and your special students. Be sure to check us out when it comes to special education teaching resources and ideas, The Special Education Studio is where it’s at. Visit our website and socials for helpful tips, resources, and personalised support.

Hey there, teacher friends! Let’s talk about emotional check-ins everyone.  Why should teachers use Social emotional check ins in their classrooms… Well this is the question we will be answering in the blog today. As teachers, we all know that when establishing core relationships with our students it is essential to provide and deliver a positive learning environment. This is especially the case and crucial special education students within our classrooms.  What are emotional check ins? So let’s chat about what social emotional check ins are! Well put simply they are devised ways into understanding our students feelings.  Normally this is done at the beginning of the day in our classroom, but it can be done anytime throughout the school day for your students. There are many ways in which students can easily communicate how they may be feeling, and they are really crucial, especially if communication might be lacking.  What do they look like? Whether you’re a high school, primary or a specialist teacher, there are plenty of ways emotional check ins can be conducted.  We use an emoji system in our classroom. This allows the students to simply identify what thoughts they maybe feeling – and gives the teacher in the room a visual communication of their well-being.  Social emotional methods ⭐️ Some methods of social emotional check ins can include:  Flip books ⏩ Task boxes Morning work emojis Posters Personal interest items  / tangible objects when feeling a particular way Check in whiteboards Placement in an area of the classroom when feeling a feeling or wanting reflection time. There are many ways this can be conducted. It just really depends upon your classroom layout and your students interests / needs. Emojis are great visual tools for communication The emoji craze hasn’t left the building, or classroom on that note. These visual emotions illustrations are a great option for students who may not want to or be able to communicate their feelings easily.  Circling or pointing at the dealings they are feeling can be good ice- breakers into helping students with feelings they may have or be experiencing.  It gives us a little bit more clue into their needs and how best we can assist them.  We often use them in our high school special education classes.  Click here to find out more about emotional check in resources Thank You! Thanks for hanging out with us! We hope you found this post helpful to both you and your special students. ___________________________________________________ ⭐️Join our free resource library (aka The Studio) to get exclusive FREE content for your classroom! ✏️ Here, in the Studio you’ll get awesome, helpful teaching resources for your class, from Daily Morning Warm Up activities, easy printing classroom tasks, games and more!!! It’s all free, and exclusive to email subscribers. Download to your heart’s content! ___________________________________________________ Shoot me an email or Instagram message if you have a suggestion for something you would like to see in the library Studio. We’re thrilled to have you!