Middle school behavior is a special kind of chaos. One minute they’re angels, and the next they’re arguing about who stole whose pencil… that’s in their own hand. Add special education needs, hormones, and a fire drill you didn’t know was happening, and you’ve got yourself a Tuesday. But good news: there are strategies that actually work reliably, consistently, “I can breathe again” level work. These are the tools I use year after year in my special education classroom because they’re simple, predictable, and don’t require you to become a behavior magician. Let’s dive into the five strategies that save my sanity (and sometimes my coffee). 1. Clear, Visual Expectations…

This happens to me all the time. I walk into my classroom during my 45-minute prep with every intention of tackling that growing pile of paperwork, only to spend the entire time hunting for a lost fidget toy, answering three “urgent” emails, and redirecting a student who wandered back in for a forgotten hoodie, or is looking to escape the class they’re in. Before you know it, the bell rings, and you’re back to teaching, and you got nothing done. In the world of Special Education, time isn’t money; it’s your sanity. This January, let’s stop “surviving” our prep periods and start reclaiming them. Here are five systems designed specifically…

As teachers, we know that every classroom is full of unique learners with diverse strengths, needs, and ways of understanding the world. Assistive technology (AT) is a game-changer in helping us create lessons that support all students—especially those with learning differences or disabilities. When thoughtfully integrated into daily teaching, AT can unlock potential, boost independence, and make learning more accessible and engaging. What is Assistive Technology? Assistive technology includes tools and devices designed to help students overcome challenges related to reading, writing, communication, mobility, and more. In the K-12 setting, AT might be as simple as using audiobooks or graphic organizers, or as advanced as speech-to-text software, screen readers, or…

Every year I struggle with the best way to track IEP data. With everything trending to digital, recently I have been trying to find ways to do this digitally, but I find that I prefer do things by hand. I also find that I am more consistent when something paper and pencil. So no matter how fancy and techy I try to be, every year I fall back to my tried and true data binders. Here is how I set them up: For each student I use a 1″ white binder. I buy them in 4 packs on Amazon. I use dry erase marker to write the students’ initials on…

Here we are again, another new year, another new Goodreads goal.  Yet again I have set the goal that I would read 50 books. Hopefully this year I’ll actually hit it. I find that the goal of a book per week is obtainable but when I get busy I tend to neglect reading.  What I am going to do this year is try to include some Audible books. I listen to so many podcasts when I’m driving, why not throw in a book or two and help knock out some of my TBR pile. The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell I gave this book five stars! I couldn’t put this…

Deadliest Enemy by Michael Osterholm Michael Osterholm is an epidemiologist.  I read this book because I wanted to feel more informed when I’m watching all the news reports about COVID-19.  Osterholm wrote this book years before COVID-19 happened but how accurate his predictions about what would happen are, were frightening! This book is very scientific and very dense, but it was also super interesting and informative. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. You Can Drop It! by Ilana Muhlstein This book is a part of the Beachbody family of healthy living.  This is the book that the 2B mindset is based off of.  I found this mindset…

I have been so overwhelmed with learning how to teach online.  This fast paced jump from face to face teaching to “distance learning” has been very challenging.  My school has been using Google Classroom and the Google Suite as our primary tool for teaching online.  I have had to take a self-taught crash course on Google. Google Docs is a powerful tool for teaching online. A Little About Google Docs Google Docs can be most closely compared to Microsoft Word.  It is a word processing software that is easily used for writing assignments, typing notes, writing letters, really anything you would use Microsoft Word for. I like Google Docs because…

I have been working on my blog for a couple of years now.  It wasn’t until I tried ConvertKit for free, that I was able to build my email list and take my blog to the next level! So, you’ve probably heard that email is where it’s at when it comes to creating an audience and earning a living online. It’s the only platform where you own your list, and your email list is the group of people that no algorithm can take away from you. Pretty cool, right? But you might also be wondering: What do I actually write to this email list?    How do I get more…