I think it’s safe to say we all know how hard it is keeping students engaged at the end of the year. Over the years, I’ve really tried a number of different strategies – and used a lot of trial and error – to help with this. And today I am so excited to share my top tips with you for keeping your students engaged during this busy and sometimes crazy time of year. What Am I Talking About? Tips for keeping students engaged at the end of the year. The importance of routines. Free choice time. Theme...
May 04, 2021•8 min
Today on the podcast I am sharing my top 5 tips for transitioning students to a new classroom or even school. Transition can be tough – not just for the student, but for their family too. And that’s why I always like to be organized and prepared in advance for transitioning, to make it a smooth and less stressful process for everyone involved. What Am I Talking About? In this episode today, I am talking about; 5 tips to help make transition smoother. Using visuals. Social stories. Being organize...
Apr 27, 2021•10 min
Welcome to my ‘Making Reading Fun’ mini podcast series. Today on the podcast I’m talking all about the ‘Book Creator’ app for the third and final episode in this mini series. So many of you have been reaching out to me on Instagram asking how do I get my students to love reading and story time so much. And that’s when I decided to put together a mini series with ideas of how you can make reading fun.. Which will hopefully get your students to love reading as much as mine do! What Am I Talking Ab...
Apr 20, 2021•7 min
Welcome to my ‘Making Reading Fun’ mini podcast series. Today on the podcast I’m talking all about sensory stories for the second episode in this mini series. So many of you have been reaching out to me on Instagram asking how do I get my students to love reading and story time so much. And that’s when I decided to put together a mini series with ideas of how you can make reading fun.. Which will hopefully get your students to love reading as much as mine do! WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT? For the sec...
Apr 13, 2021•14 min
Welcome to my ‘Making Reading Fun’ mini podcast series. Today on the podcast I’m talking all about story sacks for the first episode in this mini series. So many of you have been reaching out to me on Instagram asking how do I get my students to love reading and story time so much. And that’s when I decided to put together a mini series with ideas of how you can make reading fun.. Which will hopefully get your students to love reading as much as mine do! What Am I Talking About? For the first ep...
Apr 06, 2021•10 min
In this podcast episode today I’m talking about why you need to stop being a yes person! (Teacher edition, of course!) I don’t know about you, but I spent many years being a yes person. I feel like within the education world, it’s just in our blood. We always want do whatever we can help to our students and those around us. And sometimes that ends up backfiring, because we don’t know when to say no. That is when burn out can hit like a spade to the face. And nobody wants that! What Am I Talking ...
Mar 30, 2021•11 min
Today on the podcast I am sharing 5 secrets to a happy classroom with you. Now it’s not all sunshine and rainbows in the classroom all day, everyday. But there are some great ways that you can ensure your classroom is a positive and welcoming place for students and staff too. I’m always asked what my ‘secrets’ are for making that type of environment.. So, I’ve been busy trying to put together my top 5 not-so-secret secrets for you all. What Am I Talking About? 5 not-so-secret secrets to a happy ...
Mar 23, 2021•6 min
On the podcast today I am answering a question that gets sent to me a lot.. ‘Why is early intervention important?’ Early intervention is becoming a more well known subject to talk about in the education world. But it might still be overwhelming if you are unsure about what the term is, who it’s for and whether it is something that will be suitable for your child or students in your care. What Am I Talking About? in this podcast episode today, I am going to be talking all about; What is it? When ...
Mar 16, 2021•5 min
In this podcast episode I am talking all about using crime scenes in the classroom. Since sharing about the crime scenes that I use on my Instagram stories, and on my blog, I have had so many questions from you all about them. So I thought I would answer some of those questions in a podcast episode. What Am I Talking About? Why I use crime scenes in the classroom. How I have them set up. When do I do them? How often? Working on senses with crime scenes. I started using crime scenes in the classr...
Mar 09, 2021•5 min
Today on the podcast I am talking all about delegating jobs to classroom staff. This is a really important subject to cover. Because I think it's very easy for us to feel like we have to do all of the things. But, we have some amazing staff in our teams - and we should be using them! What Am I Talking About? In this podcast episode today I am talking about; Why you should be delegating to your classroom staff. Staff strength and weaknesses. Professional development. Letting go of control. The be...
Mar 02, 2021•10 min
Another 'new' thing that has been thrown at us this year are online meetings. And today I am so excited to share my 10 virtual IEP meeting tips with you in this podcast episode. My tips will hopefully help you to have positive, professional and stress-free virtual IEP Meetings. Whether you are doing IEP meetings on Zoom, FaceTime, Teams.. Or any programme you are using. This podcast episode is helpful for anyone who will be running virtual IEP meetings. I've packed it with 10 of my best tips.. p...
Feb 23, 2021•8 min
Today on the podcast I am talking all about why it's ok to be angry. And that goes for our students, as well as us staff. Originally, I was going to do an episode that discussed all about feelings in general. But then recently I've been seeing a lot more discussions going on about anger and ways to stop it. And the secret is.. Don't stop it! It's ok to be angry! It's ok for us to be angry.. for our students.. our staff.. Anger is a valid emotion. And instead of discouraging it or making it feel ...
Feb 16, 2021•8 min
Today on the podcast I'm talking all about celebrating Chinese New Year in Special Ed. We love to celebrate Chinese New Year. And over the years, we've picked up lots of great ways to do it that really benefit the students. In this podcast, I'm sharing 5 ways that we celebrate with our students and the learning opportunities that they bring. I have always found it so important to teach my students about holidays and events from all around the world . And Chinese New Year has been a very popular ...
Feb 09, 2021•6 min
I'm always asked about teaching world holidays in special ed. And so in this episode today, I'm sharing my top 7 reasons why I teach about holidays around the world with my students. I'm also including some links down below for you to check out some of the different activities we do, and ways that we learn about different holidays and events. What Am I Talking About? 7 reasons I teach about holidays around the world with my students. Why you should be celebrating and teaching world holidays too....
Feb 02, 2021•8 min
I am so excited on the podcast today to be sharing 5 self-care ideas for teachers to try. Last week I was talking all about setting personal goals . And how we need to remember that we are people too - and our professions do not define us. So, I thought it was fitting this week to talk about self-care ideas. Especially after a lot of you reached out to me and spoke about how you really wanted to make self-care a priority... You just don’t know where to start. And a lot of self-care ideas either ...
Jan 26, 2021•9 min
I am so shocked by the amount of education professionals who are no longer setting personal goals for the year ahead. We get so caught up doing all the things in our professional lives, that sometimes we forget that we have personal lives too! So, although this podcast episode is a little late for the new year - 2021. I don't think it really matters. I'm not someone who waits for the whole new year, new me thing. I honestly believe that you can set a new goal whenever you want to! And so today i...
Jan 19, 2021•8 min
I think we all share the same pain of classroom rules after break. Any break. Whether it's winter break or summer. It seriously has an effect on our classroom rules and the expectations that we have set for our students. I'm always getting questions about why students have changed so much after a school break. Or why aren't listening like they used to? And honestly, a break from school is really the main reason. In this podcast episode I'm talking all about the reasons why having a school break ...
Jan 12, 2021•9 min
I am so excited to sharing my top 5 teacher planning tips with you in this podcast episode. If you follow me on social media, or even on here, you'll know I love to plan. I'm a very over the top planner. But it honestly makes my life so much easier when I have things set up and planned out ready. Especially if I need to take some last minute time off. I could easily talk about planning for days on end. But I decided to put my top 5 tips into this podcast episode for you to share ways that I can ...
Jan 05, 2021•11 min
Many of us are still virtual teaching - or we're about to go back virtual teaching. So I thought today I would share 5 ways to take data during virtual teaching that will help make your life easier! Data is a huge part of our jobs. We need it for so many different reasons in the classroom - but it can be really stressful too. And one of the ways to make it extra stressful, is to get us to take it while teaching online! But worry not, today I'm sharing 5 of my best ways to take data with you. I'v...
Nov 17, 2020•9 min
Today on the podcast I am sharing 5 parent teacher relationship breakdown tips (plus a bonus!) for you. This is a really important topic because it’s a situation that pretty much everyone may find themselves in at some point or another in their career. Maybe you will have a parent teacher relationship breaks down - or maybe you’ve never been able to build a relationship with them and it is just continuing to get worse. So to help you out, in this podcast episode I’m sharing 5 quick tips for what...
Nov 10, 2020•13 min
Have you been wondering about using virtual field trips in special education? If so, this podcast episode today is the perfect listen for you. My students love to go on field trips. And we usually go on one every week. This works well for us - it breaks up our week,. gets us outside and into different environments. But with everything going on, we haven't been able to go on any field trips. And that's been a little hard for my students. Because a lot of them really rely on that break out of the ...
Nov 03, 2020•18 min
I'm always getting asked how to use social narratives with our students - either in school or at home. So I decided to dedicate this podcast episode today to talk all about them and to share my experience with them. I have been using social narratives with my students for as long as I can remember. And they're something that I use every year, without fail. They're a staple in my planning. That's not to say that they work with every student successfully. However, I would say that the majority of ...
Oct 20, 2020•7 min
Today on the podcast I am sharing some tips for improving teacher mental health. This weekend was World Mental Health Day. And it was both saddening and amazing to talk to educators all around the world who have struggled with mental health, mainly because of our chosen career. Recent research and reports state that 1 in 20 teachers will have mental health struggles that last for over a year because of their job. And this, this is not ok. Today in this podcast, I am going to be sharing my best t...
Oct 13, 2020•15 min
Lots of you have been asking for ways you can be using paraprofessionals for distance learning. In this quick episode I'm sharing different ideas and ways to use your assistants to help take some of the workload off you, and have a positive and successful year as a team. The main thing that I say to anyone who asks me this question is to look at your assistants as your team. Everyone brings something different to the table - and this is really important to remember. Don't be afraid to ask for he...
Oct 06, 2020•12 min
I am so excited today to share my autism behavior unit success with you all. I currently work part time as an autism specialist in a behavior unit in America. We have staff who specialize in different areas working together as a team with students who are deemed to have beaviors that are too challenging or aggressive for their current school environment. We bring them to our unit and work with them each day; building relationships, trust, getting to know them, and finding out how we can help. Ou...
Sep 29, 2020•27 min
I'm so excited today to be sharing some ideas for how you can be celebrating students birthdays online this year. I don't know about you but every year I look forward to being able to celebrate my students birthdays with them in the classroom. But with us now being virtual, it's a little different and we've had to make some changes. After having so many questions from you guys on social media about the topic, I decided to put together a podcast episode where you can listen in to some of the ways...
Sep 22, 2020•10 min
Today on the podcast I'm talking with Lisa Honold all about cyber safety and screen time management. Lisa is a cyber safety expert and certified parent educator who teaches parents how to stop fighting with kids over screen time so they can get back to having fun together. As the Director for the Center for Online Safety, Lisa's work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and she facilitated discussions for the documentaries “Screenagers” and “LIKE”. Lisa specializes in helping parents end...
Sep 15, 2020•1 hr 10 min
I am so excited to welcome Cassie from Adventures in Behavior to the podcast today to talk all about using ABA in instruction. Cassie is in her 8th year as a special education teacher and has previously been on the podcast to talk all things behavior when she was working as a behavior specialist teacher. In 2019 she swapped roles to work a middle school functional academics classroom. Alongside being a teacher, Cassie is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She currently provides ABA therapy...
Sep 08, 2020•32 min
Today on the podcast I’m talking all about ways that you can keep your students active during online learning. Online learning poses a lot of challenges for us. One of these is being able to keep our students engaged and actively participating in our online lessons. We all know how hard that can be for our students in the classroom.. Never mind through a computer screen. One of the best ways that I have found to be able to keep my students engaged is to also keep them active. Sitting in front of...
Sep 01, 2020•10 min
Today in this podcast episode I’m talking all about reward systems for online learning. Almost every student responds positively to having a reward system in place. And in your classroom, you may have a whole class reward system, or you may have individual reward systems, or you may even have both. My biggest tip to remember for online learning, is that it’s similar to being in the classroom in some ways. And one of those ways is remembering that just like in our classroom, at home too, our stud...
Aug 25, 2020•12 min
