Sydney's School Stories

 I was recently looking through my Google Drive folder's from when I got my special education endorsement and thought I'd share a Padlet full of tips & words of wisdom for those thinking of entering special education this fall.  Special Education Padlet Link Google Slide of Resources As I was looking through the Padlet- I feel like the advise/stories hit different now that I'm 2 years into my special-educator journey. Here are some thoughts about special education as I wind up this school year and reflect on the past: When people say that special education is both extremely challenging and rewarding at the same time its so true! The highs of helping a student with behavior problems make progress or a kid with dyslexia learning to read is so amazing, but the challenges of getting to that point are also exhausting.  Special education is something that you need to experience and do hands on to really understand it. Teaching in general is a very learn on the job career. I...

 As a special education teacher one of your big jobs is to case manage and teach students with individualized education plans (IEPs).  What's An IEP?  IEPs are legal plans to help students with special needs and create systems to help them in school. IEPs need to be reviewed annually with a student's family/guardian, general education teacher, school administrator, special education teacher, student (if appropriate), and any specialist involved (speech, occupational or physical therapy, vision, advocates, etc.). An IEP outlines goals for student and any accommodations or modifications a student might need for that school year.  I was so nervous at the first IEP meeting I facilitated! It can be nerve wracking to create / share a presentation to a student's family and your colleagues- all while remembering that that is a legally binding document. Today I want to share with some ideas and materials to have a smooth IEP meeting! Preparing / Writing an IEP Give yourself L...

 At the end of the 21/22 school year I decided to leave the district I had been at for my entire career (6 years!). I went to a neighboring district and I have been so happy that I made this change. Change is hard- but today I want to share why change may also be just the thing you need. I remember when I got my first teaching job. I was so excited! I had a lot of big life changes coming up and really needed a job- I was moving from California to Washington, getting married, and starting my career! During my time in my district there were so many celebrations- I made some of my best friends, I learned so much as a teacher, and I earned my special education credential. There were also big challenges- I moved buildings a lot (being new/low seniority), it was a big learning curve to work at a title 1 school, and special education was a really big/hard transition. Last year I felt that there wasn't enough support for my high needs students and I felt that the district's and I's...

I've always been fairly good about working my contract hours but the last few years (pandemic teaching and teaching new subjects) have made me be more mindful of my self care and my work/life boundaries. Here are some tips for working your contract hours: Make a daily must do list. I usually about 3-5 things a day I write down that I must get done.  Make the most of your prep time. I really value my prep time and I do my must do items of the day during this time. I'm working as a special education teacher this year and I make sure to also value their prep time.  Don't grade everything. When I taught general education- I had assignments that I would just check for completion (IE center activities). There is no way you can grade everything. In special education I take data on one goal area a session (IE in a math small group I will take data on one kid's goal area and target the lesson on that- the next time I'll focus in on a different goal).  Make and re-use materia...

 Year 7! I cannot believe that time has passed so quickly. This year I am teaching a new subject (elementary resource room) at a new district. Last year was really challenging and I just needed a change. This year I am hopeful . Hopeful to fall back in love with teaching and hopeful to regain my own sense of self.  Here are some photos of my new classroom. I share this space with a wonderful PT and OT.  Update 3 weeks in... I just finished the first full week week of the school year- so tired but overall feeling happier/more at peace with teaching. I'm exhausted but I think this is just because of transitioning to being back at school.  Highlights I realize that last year I really missed having more conversations with kids and building relationships. (Last year I taught young students who were still learning how to use AAC and this made communication more challenging). I love laughing and talking more to my students.  I am using A TON of skills that I gained fro...

Summer!!! Summer is the time of year when teacher rejoice and what we look forward to all year.  In the past I've always worked summer school - it gave me extra money and I always worried about not having enough to do. People hate on summer school- but it is nice to get to get extra income (*side note- unfortunately many teachers rely on supplemental income) and I got to do creative technology camps and learn new skills. The past 2 years I didn't work during the summer because of the pandemic and this year I was honestly just too burnt out.  This summer I am approaching my time off in a whole new way! I am healing. I am resting. I am smiling.  This past school year was exhausting. I was in a new role and the learning curve was very high. I worked with students who needed a lot of support and some who could be extremely physically aggressive (I still have scars / marks that I'm healing). I am tired of fighting for support for my class / students. To add to that- we all jus...

  2021-2022 A Year In Review- Big Leaps & Persistence I’m finishing up my 6th year teaching! This year I took a big leap and went from teaching upper (general education) elementary to teaching kindergarten/1st grade special education. For me personally- this was my most challenging year. It was challenging to go from fully remote to in person, from general education to special education, and work with aggressive behaviors. In this post I want to share golden moments (good things to cherish), what I’ve learned, and some advice on persisting.  Golden Moments I made a lot of new teacher friends! The connections and community of teaching is something that is irreplaceable.  I worked with some really cool kids. The kids had a lot of needs and different struggles but they also reminded me daily of childhood joy/innocence/enjoyment in small moments. They laugh and love bubbles, playing with toys, Peppa Pig, and playing with water. The kids have a strength that is special. Th...

  PSA: It’s ok to leave your computer at school      Leaving your computer at school is 100% ok. I leave my computer at home on most school nights and weekends. Why? I try my best to do my prep work during my prep time or lunch. I don’t make/create many materials that are too time or material intensive- unless it’s something I can see the kids using often (Ex: IEP materials).       What are some of my favorite activities in a self-contained K/1 class? I really like cut & paste activities for counting, dot-blotter activities, cut and paste sorting, etc.  Leaving my computer at work has helped me to keep my work at work so that I have more freedom at home.       Now I still will check email at home or work on an IEP if I have something coming up. I will work on creative projects or school work occasionally. The big difference is that now I don’t put pressure on myself to do work at home- it's only if I want to.  Pri...

  Hello Internet Friends!  It has been a few years since I’ve done a blog post and quite a bit has happened since then- a global pandemic being one of them. I can’t really blame my lack of writing on the pandemic though- I stopped blogging in mid 2019. I decided to give my blog a facelift (Thanks to Simply Stella design It’s now 2022 so let's do a little world/life/teaching update! Pandemic. I couldn’t do an update post without mentioning the pandemic. In the 19-20 school year I was teaching 5th grade and honestly struggling with student behaviors. I had some kids who were really anxious and depressed. In March 2020 (like the rest of the world) I sent my kids home one day thinking I’d see them all in 2 weeks as we waited for the mystery virus to cool down- little did we all know lol. The rest of that school year actually wasn’t that bad- we all adjusted fairly well to remote learning and I grew closer to my kids who were struggling with anxiety because the peer pressures of sc...

  My 3rd year of teaching ended last week. It was a fast whirlwind year that was filled with many ups and downs. I will be honest in saying that it was one of the most difficult years I have had so far. I also learned and grew more as a teacher than in any other years. As I reflect here are the big takeaways from this school year.  I went to a lot of professional development trainings outside of my building this year. I had students with challenging behavior and I didn't feel like I had all of the right tools to help my students succeed. I went to PD about special education and behavior! I became more understanding about students with special needs. I learned so much about working with students with trauma, ADHD, and behavioral needs. One of my closest teacher friends is a life skills SPED teacher and we went to a lot of trainings together. I have learned that so much a population of students who are frequently underserved that I hope to possibly get a special education endors...

  As a teacher you are often also take on the role of- counselor, mentor, friend, parent, guide, and social worker. The key similarity of all of these roles is the importance of creating connection with students & developing a relationship with others.  I didn't know that relationship building was such an important part of being a teacher until I had a classroom of my own.  Last year I had a group of students that I bonded with quickly and easily- we had a lot in common and had similar family/life backgrounds. I was really lucky to share my interests of Pokemon Go, music, and TV shows with a majority of my students. We had so much fun laughing together and I had a group of sweet helpers who liked spending their recesses with me so we could hang out. My class last year was the group that taught me the "heart" of teaching.  This year I have a much more difficult group students. It is not that they don't have their charm- they really do, but most of students have ha...

This is the second post of my "3 Schools in 3 Years" series. After you have (mentally / emotionally) processed that you are moving schools or classrooms it is time to get down to the process of packing. Here are my top 10 tips for packing up your room in preparation for moving. Share with your students that you are moving . I told my students that I was moving schools because I was feeling stressed and on edge- I knew I wasn't being the more "present" teacher I could be and wanted to share what was going on in my life to my 5th graders. I also want my students to know how they can contact me next school year and not be shocked when if they come to visit in the future and can't find me.  Start early. I began packing with 3 weeks left in the school year. I started by packing things that students couldn't see- such as curriculum I was done teaching or teacher books. If you start the process early you won't feel overwhelmed at the very end of the...

The past several weeks have been difficult because I am being involuntarily transferred to another school in my district. I am being transferred because a new school is being built in my district and students from my current school will be moving there and thus several classes are being cut and determined by seniority. I will be teaching 5th grade (staying in the same grade level- yay!) at a title one school. This will be my 3rd school in my 3 years of teaching. Moving schools is not easy and it has been stressful wrapping my brain around the fact that in a few weeks I will be saying "good bye" to the new friends I have made and will have to establish new relationships. I had previously thought that if I was going to move I could at least go back to my old school- but there were no open positions there. If you are getting involuntarily moved this year- here is a hug to you. It is hard and its ok to be frustrated, confused, tired, and in a "bleh" state. It is...

Today I am going to share how to create a teacher website. I have created both a teacher portfolio and classroom website on  WEEBLY . Weebly is a free and easy to use website building plateform that is great for educators Other great website builders are: WIX . WIX is a free website builder that also has an easy drag/drop system. I know several teachers who have used WIX and love it.  BLOGSPOT . This is part of Google’s system and mostly used for blogging vs. building a traditional website. This teacher blog was created on Blogspot.  SQUARESPACE . I have friends that have used squarespace and they find it easy to use - it seems to have a similar drag and drop function as Weebly. Squarespace costs money to create a site.  Wordpress.com  or  Wordpress.org . These websites offer more customization and people create beautiful sites. I have tried wordpress.com but found it very difficult to use.  A classroom website is a great way to connect with y...

We recently had a 4 day weekend - there were district wide professional development days. The kids are always so excited to be back at school & see their friends. Whenever students come back from a break they need to talk to their friends. I had the students do peer interviews. I listed the questions on the smart-board and students interviewed one peer at a time. I set a timer for 5 minutes and after the "beep" students got another partner. It was great to see students sharing their experiences, goals, and laughing with a friend. Here are the questions I posed: What did you do over the 4 day weekend? What is a goal you have for the week? How can you show kindness this week? How can you show the Woodridge Big 3 today and everyday?​