So, how is the beginning of the school year treating you?? If you follow me on Instagram you know I have been on the STRUGGLE BUS! Switching classrooms, grade levels, having a co teacher and teaching virtually have all been so challenging. 

I wanted to give you some tips I have for the beginning of the this school year. These are not going to solve all of your problems, but they might help you feel a tiny bit better.

1) Planner

No matter how you want to do it, you need a way to plan! I have gone through every possible way to plan; iPad planner, paper, digital (google slides), and more that I probably am not thinking of. Typically, I start the year with one type of planning system, and that quickly evolves into something else, and then something else, and by the end of the year I am doing something totally different. 

This year I plan on starting out with this beautiful planner I put together myself! I have ALL of the details in my Instagram story highlight. 

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Here are some of my favorite planners and resources I have used to plan, and am still using in this planner:

• Joey Udovich’s Ultimate Teacher Planner resource on TPT
• The Creative Classroom’s digital planner (that you can also print)
• Hustle Sanely’s digital planner (used on an iPad with an Apple Pencil)
• Chalkboard Superhero’s planning resource on TPT

2) Set Up

Again, no matter how or where you will be teaching to start the year, you have to set up! My distance learning office/classroom has evolved SO much over the past 6 months. I had to figure out exactly what was going to work for me, as I realized that we were in this for the long haul. Do you need drawers? Bookshelves? Rolling cart? Desk lamp? Teacher toolbox? These are some things you want to consider BEFORE you start teaching. Once the students start, and teaching is in full swing, you don’t want to have to worry about these things! My advice; have too much organization and materials…you can always take some away.

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3) Materials

Before starting the year, and definitely before your students start, you want to make sure you have all the materials you might need in order to teach. I will give you the same advice I gave above; you want to have too many materials to start, and then once you realize what you and your students will actually be working on, you can always take some away. 

To start the distance learning experience in March I used all digital materials OF COURSE. I did not think that there was a way to effectively teach my students with physical materials through a computer. 

I used all of the distance learning and digital activities that I made and then posted in my TPT store. I also purchased Made For Me Literacy’s digital activities and used the BOOM cards. Those were a game changer. They inspired me to start making BOOM cards as well that aligned with what I was teaching. My students LOVED BOOM cards. I would highly recommend looking into purchasing some BOOM cards. I used them in every small group for a few weeks. They worked on skills that we needed to work on AND they were engaging!

4) OSMO Reflector

I am making the OSMO reflector its own section because it truly deserves it. I won’t go on and on too much here because I have 2 blog posts already about the OSMO reflector. Long story short, once I discovered this, I was able to use any physical materials I wanted, and I only had to spend $10!!!!!!!! Check out my 2 OSMO blog posts here:

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5) Morning Meeting/Class Slides

The last thing I truly believe that you NEED to start the year off right is morning meeting/classroom slides for your meetings with students. This is not only essential for distance learning, but in the classroom too. Having uniform slides to start your sessions, or to run your entire session, is very important for your sanity and consistency for your students. There are many, many, many options out there BUT I think I might have the perfect one for you! 

My Editable Classroom / Morning Meeting Slides – Distance Learning product has every slide you might need to run your class meetings OR to display while students are working. This product has over 300 slides and 70 different slide headers. I also promise that as long as I have the clip art, or can find it, and you give me 48 hours, I can add whatever type of slides you want! 

As I mentioned the slides are editable and I include directions for how to add to the slides if you choose to. I also include directions for importing these slides into google slides. I have been using these slides during distance learning and they have been a LIFE SAVOR. They are cute AND make me feel super organized. 

Do you feel ready to start the year? Whether you are teaching from home or at your school, I wish you the best of luck this school year. Things will be different, and it will be a HUGE challenge, but we got this! We are in this TOGETHER!!

By the time ESY came around in July I had made all of the mistakes and came across all of the hurdles that distance learning had to offer me. I was ready for a fresh start and for more organization!

I made a schedule using @thecreativeclassroom digital decor and I was hoping that I would be able to keep the schedule consistent throughout the 4 weeks of ESY. Of course, after the first week we had to make some minor changes, but after that we were able to keep the same weekly schedule.

Our schedule consisted of 3 main activities; circle time, special activity and small groups. Here are more details about each one of those;

CIRCLE TIME: Every day at 9am

For circle time, I used my morning meeting editable slides that are in my TPT store. We went through a typical circle time routine like we would at school. Circle time lasted about 20 minutes. We did circle time with another class is ESY so that is why there are 2 teachers listed under circle time on the schedule.
–Rules
–Attendance
–Greetings
–Weather
–Countdown
–Focus question and quick lesson from curriculum
–Schedule 

**I highly recommend reviewing your schedule for the day at the end of your circle time or morning meeting. The parents loved being able to see it so that they knew what their child had to do for the rest of the day. I even highlighted the specific day with a yellow box.

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SPECIAL ACTIVITY: Tuesday-Friday at 10am

During this time we did FUN activities. Special activities typically lasted about 15-20 minutes. 

• Activities we did during this time:
  • Read aloud
    • You can hold the book up to your camera or use an OSMO
  • Scavenger hunts
    • I used the resource from my TPT store
  • Directed drawings
    • You can find for free online or make it up
  • Yoga
    • Do it live or screen-share a cosmic kids video on YouTube
  • Share a pet/stuffed animal 
    • Or any show and tell
  • Cooking
    • You can do it live or use videos on abcya.com 

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SMALL GROUPS: Monday-Thursday starting at 11am

For ESY we had to see each student for one hour every day. Circle time and special activity took care of that but I still wanted to see my students in small groups. That is how my students learn best at school, and that is when I get to work on their individual skills so I still wanted to do them. I would see 3-4 students at one time, 2 times a week. Small groups were no longer than 15 minutes.

For every single small group I either used my OSMO, BOOM cards or interactive PDFs.

For more information about the activities I would do with my OSMO click HERE.

Boom Cards I would use:
–All of the BOOM cards from my TPT store
—Made For Me Literacy BOOM Cards

I organized my BOOM Cards in the BOOM library by making folders. On the left side of your BOOM library click ‘new folder’. You can organize them by category, skill, students, etc.

Interactive PDFs I would use:
–All of the Interactive PDFs from my TPT store

I used my iPad to project all of this. I have directions in my ‘HOW TO USE THE OSMO’ blog post for connecting your iPad to your computer. The reason I loved using my iPad AND my computer is because I was able to keep my students in full screen on my computer, instead of splitting the screen between them in the google meet and the activity we were doing.

Q&A 

Q: Did you seperate your AM and PM classes?
A: In google classroom I had both classes combined. For circle time and special activity I also combined both classes. For small groups I separated them with  the students that they were familiar with since it was a more intimate setting. 

Q: How did you know if it was too much for your students and their parents
A: During ESY we were required to send a weekly survey to the parents to get their feedback on the work, sessions, etc. I highly recommend doing something like this. It was very helpful. 

Q: How did you take data during distance learning?
A: I mostly took anecdotal notes on how my students were doing. I could not take specific data for their IEP goals like we typically do because most of them have all social goals. During distance learning we were not able to work on most of their goals. 

Q: Did you have paraprofessionals during ESY?
A: My specific class did not but others did. If I did moving forward I probably would have my para take data via a google form. They can join my sessions, split their screen with the students and the data google form and take data via a google form that I would make for them.

Q: Would you meet with each student prior to this schedule starting?
A: ABSOLUTELY! If I had new students I would meet with each family individually at the beginning of the school year. Even if it is just for 10 minutes. 

Introduce back to school concepts of names, classroom rules, sounds, feelings, schedules, school workers, and making friends with the Beginning of the Year Little Books For Big Thinkers book set bundle.

WHAT IS LITTLE BOOKS FOR BIG THINKERS?

Little Books For Big Thinkers is a book series designed specifically for early learners. It covers common early childhood themes presented in developmentally appropriate texts. Little Books For Big Thinkers is inclusive of all learners. Lucy from The Alternative Way to Pre-K and I came together to create books that could supplement the books given to us by our curriculum. Lucy uses, and I used to use, the Creative Curriculum in our classes and realized quickly that most of the books were not appropriate for our preschool self-contained classes. So not only can these books be used in any preschool classroom, we also aligned them to Creative Curriculum studies. Each purchase from Little Books For Big Thinkers comes with one book with typical text and pictures, one book with symbol text version that includes supporting visuals. Each book can be used in the classroom, online, or at home. 

DO YOU TEACH LITTLE LEARNERS?

These little books are perfect for any little learner. We kept the language very general and simple so you can use this with a wide range of learners. You can use these books as a large group read aloud, in small groups, virtually during distance learning and so much more!

DO YOU USE THE CREATIVE CURRICULUM?

If you use the Creative Curriculum, these books align perfectly with the Beginning of the Year Study. We would recommend using these alongside the books that the Creative Curriculum provides, or using them to replace those books. This depends on your student’s reading comprehension skills levels. 

We are both familiar with, and have used, the Creative Curriculum in our preschool special education classrooms. We would typically spend 1-2 weeks on each focus question. We wrote one book for each focus question. 

HOW CAN I USE LITTLE BOOKS FOR BIG THINKERS BOOKS DURING DISTANCE LEARNING?

• We recommend using the books as read alouds as if you were in the classroom. You can screenshare the book and go through it with your whole class or in small groups. You can also print and prep the books and read them to your students during your virtual meetings. 
• We recommend sharing these books with your students and their families via whatever online platform you are using (Google Classroom, Seesaw, Schoology, etc.) so that they can read and review them on their own time.

BOOKS WE HAVE MADE SO FAR:

1. Names at School Social Story – Little Books For Big Thinkers
2. Sad and Scared at School Social Story – Little Books For Big Thinkers
3. School and Classroom Rules Social Story – Little Books For Big Thinkers
4. School Schedule Social Story – Little Books For Big Thinkers
5. Who Works At School Social Story – Little Books For Big Thinkers
6. Making Friends at School Social Story – Little Books For Big Thinkers
7. Sounds You Hear At School Social Story – Little Books For Big Thinkers
8. BUNDLE

EXCLUSIVE BUNDLE BONUS FILE!!

The Beginning of the Year School Stories Bundle exclusively offers all stories in boom card format. That means, students can have each beginning of the year social story read to them and at their own pace. The students will be able to listen to each story with automatic sound. They will also be able to click the button when they are ready for the next page, developing their independence skills! To preview click here: https://wow.boomlearning.com/store/bundle/NWTiJZ4sDqTy9q6Zt?ref=self

HOW TO PREP THE BOOKS:

Method 1: Bind the book with a binding machine and coils

Method 2: Put each page in a sheet protector and use binder rings to hold them together

Method 3: Use a portfolio cover and print the pages on normal paper

Method 4: Use the Happy Planner rings

Method 5: Simply print and staple!

TPT is having a BONUS site-wide BACK TO SCHOOL SALE Tuesday, September 15th!!!

This means most sellers will be making their stores 20% off and TPT will be giving an additional 5% off. In order to get the full 25% off you MUST use the code EXTRABONUS at checkout. 

I thought I would help you by letting you know 3 MUST HAVES that you should purchase during the TPT sale. 

BUNDLES

Bundles are such a steal on a normal day, but during a SALE they are priced so low that it is just a no brainer!!! Bundles are essentially a bunch of products that are related put together in one place and DISCOUNTED! Most bundles are also growing bundles. This means that sellers will add to the bundle over time. As long as you purchase the bundle, you will have lifetime access to any updates and additions that the seller chooses to make to the bundle. 

Some top-selling bundles from my store that are VERY DISCOUNTED during the sale are…

1. BOOM Cards bundle – every BOOM set from my store
2. Interactive PDF bundle – every Interactive PDF in my store 
3. Preschool Paper Assessment bundle – includes all materials for the paper assessment
4. Little Books For Big Tinkers – School Social Stories Bundle
5. Creative Curriculum Study Posters bundle – includes every CC poster in my store
6. Handwriting bundle – includes prewriting, lowercase letters, uppercase letters and a mix of upper/lowercase letters
7. AND SO MANY MORE

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DIGITAL MATERIALS/ACTIVITIES

This year is a little different. Although digital materials are always a fun addition to your classroom, this year they are essential. Most of us are going to be fully virtual to start the year or a mix of virtual and in-person. Either way, digital materials are going to be a huge part of how we teach now. Over the past 6 months I have created a bunch of digital materials so that I could effectively teach my students during distance learning. I have posted those, and so many more, in my TPT store so that you can use them too! I talk a LOT about how I taught during distance learning in my Instagram Story highlights. 

Some top-selling digital activities from my store that are ON SALE during the sale are…

1. Editable Morning Meeting/Classroom Slides
2. Editable Meet the Teacher/Open House Slides
3. Little Books For Big Thinkers – School Social Stories Bundle
4. Insects Study Bundle for Distance Learning
5. Roads Study Mini Books and Activities for Distance Learning
6. BOOM Cards bundle – every BOOM set from my store
7. Interactive PDF bundle – every Interactive PDF in my store 
8. Scavenger hunt games!
9. Questions of the Day!
10. AND SO MUCH MORE

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ASSESSMENT MATERIALS

No matter what type of classroom you’re in, it is essential to have a way to assess your students. In my preschool self-contained classroom, I would assess my students 2-3 times a year. I would use my preschool assessment resources. Since we will be mostly digital to start the school year, I have created a DIGITAL ASSESSMENT for you to effectively assess your students from home OR in school. No more big assessment bins or 100s of assessment papers. Now, you can assess your students FULL VIRTUALLY. 

You can read more about the digital assessment HERE. 

Alright, now that you know my 3 must-haves it is time to get your carts ready!!!!!!!

As always, if you have any questions please email me or message me on Instagram!

SHOP NOW

During distance learning I was struggled to find a way to assess my students properly. Typically, I assess their general academic skills 2-3 times a year to make sure that they are making progress and to update their IEPs (Individualized Education Plans). 

I brought home my assessment bin with all of my assessment materials in it, in hopes that I would be able to assess most of my students. This was not easy through the computer. 

I found myself holding up flashcard-type materials to the camera on my computer, while also trying to move my head in a certain way so that I can see the child and make sure that they could see what I was holding. Picture that for a second…it wasn’t a good sight. 

I knew that this method would not work long term, and I had a feeling that I was not the only teacher with this problem. As distance learning continued through the rest of the school year and ESY it was pretty clear that we would not be able to return in the Fall like we typically do. We were either going to have a hybrid model where students come every other day or we would be going fully virtual. As this became more obvious, I knew I had to do something for other teachers to be able to effectively assess their students while at home, as well as in the classroom. 

That is when the DIGITAL ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT came to life!

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This product comes with links to a google form and two google sheets. When you click on the links you will be forced to ‘make a copy’ of the documents. By making a copy you become the owner of the google document. This means you can edit, delete, copy, add, and so much more. I included everything I could think of into this assessment. It is basically a digital version of my paper preschool assessment (pictured below). I do understand that there may be skills that you do not want to assess in this assessment. In that case, you can simply delete those slides from the google slides and delete those questions from the google form. It is completely CUSTOMIZABLE. 

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Product Details: 

Google form: Use to track student responses to the assessment. Google forms then allows you to see your responses in a spreadsheet, which is what I would do to see all the student data. When you click the link on the last page you now have your OWN copy of this digital assessment google form. You can edit it HOWEVER you want. You can then fill out the form for each student. To see the data, go to ‘responses’ and press ‘create spreadsheet’.

Google slides – assessment materials: Use to assess each part of the assessment. The assessment materials align directly with the google form.

Google slides – assessment checklist: Fill in the boxes as you assess each student to help you keep track of your assessment progress.

How Can I Use This During Distance Learning?

I would screenshare the google slides with the materials. I would also have the google form up on my computer or on a separate device to track student responses as you go through the assessment. 

How Can I Use This When We Are Back In The Classroom?

If you want to be completely digital, I would have 2 devices out. Have the materials google slides pulled up on one and the assessment google form pulled up on the other.
OR
Use the paper assessment and the digital google slides materials
OR
Use the digital assessment google form with the printed and prepped materials

What Skills Are Included In The Digital Assessment?

• ID and Label Uppercase Letters
• ID and Label Lowercase Letters
• Letter Sounds
• Rote Counting
• Counting with 1:1 Correspondence
• ID and Label Numerals 0-20
• ID and Label Shapes
• Sorting Colors, Shapes, Sizes
• Patterns
• More/Less
• ID and Label Colors
• Name Recognition
• Writing Name
• Gross Motor Skills
• Pencil Grasp
• Drawing Skills
• Handwriting Skills
• Scissor Skills
• Developmental Handwriting Strokes
• Student Self Portrait
• Student Handwriting Sample
• Social/Emotional Skills

PURCHASE THE DIGITAL ASSESSMENT NOW!

To see more about the digital assessment head to my Instagram page or my Facebook Group!

As always, if you have any questions please email me or message me on Instagram!

Since I have showed you how to use an OSMO in my Instagram highlights and my last blog post, I thought it would be helpful to show you some examples of how I used my Osmo during distance learning. These pictures are screenshots from my Instagram story highlights from the past few months.

If you want to see me using the OSMO during a small group, head to my Instagram posts OR my OSMO & distance learning story highlights. 

Directed Drawings

These are drawings I either found for FREE on TPT/Pinterest/Google or that I came up with myself. My students LOVE these. I go step by step and show them how to draw the picture, while they follow along at home. Since we would do these at school, they know that I do a step first while they watch, then they go! I always remember to tell parents that these will not come out perfect, mine doesn’t even come out perfect. They will each be unique and special. I tell them to please let their child do it how they want unless they ASK for or need help.

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Task Boxes

Of course, all of my task boxes come from Michaela aka Especially Education aka Task Box Queen . I probably own every single task box bundle in her TPT store. I don’t print them all though. At the beginning of each school year, and throughout the year, I go through each bundle and print the ones that I KNOW will fit my students. Since each year is so different, I have probably printed them all by now 🙂
You can find Especially Education…
–> On Instagram
–> On her Blog
–> On TPT

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File Folders

Of course this file folder comes from a Made For Me Math unit: Colors! As soon as Michaela and Gabrielle (Teaching Special Thinkers) released Made For Me Math last year I purchased it. I knew they were both creative geniuses and I needed more academic, fun, easy-prep activities for my small groups! Michaela and Gabrielle also created Made For Me Literacy, which I used in my classroom. I highly recommend both!!

Sorting

This activity also comes from a Made For Me Math unit: comparing numbers to 10. Since I was using the OSMO I did not do this activity with a pocket chart as it was intended, we just made piles of ‘more’ and ‘less’.

Patterns

OF COURSE this activity also comes from a Made for Me Math unit: patterns and positional words.

Coloring Books

I purchased this coloring book at Target right before ESY (Extended School Year) started. I was trying to think of activities to engage my students since I was now able to use the OSMO. Since I had a few students just working on colors, I thought this would be perfect. Of course, they could not be the ones coloring. They had to request what color they wanted me to use, tell me what object they wanted me to color, and tell me when I should switch colors. This really focused on language skills, requesting and colors. They loved it!

Mini Eraser Activities 

My students and love mini erasers, of course! So, I made a pack with a bunch of activities that we could do during distance learning! You can get these pages from my mini erasers pack in my TPT store.

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Grab my MINI ERASER ACTIVITIES PACK here 

Read Alouds

In virtual sessions it is hard to hold up a book to the camera on your computer! Using your OSMO allows you to see your students on your computer screen, not have to position the book and your head in the camera, and your students can see the whole book clearly.

Cooking Activities

For the first time, on Friday, I will be using my OSMO to do a cooking activity with my students!! Stay tuned.

How Do I Do This With My Students That Are Non-Verbal?

At this time I do not have students that are non-verbal. Luckily, my friend Lucy from @thealternativewaytoprek does and she is an AAC device expert! Here is what she has about this:

“So Rachel is a genius and came up with using the OSMO for virtual learning. A lot of people have been asking “Can this work with my non-verbal students?” The answer is yes! Lets first get one thing clear. There is a difference between non-verbal and low cognition. Non-verbal students simply do not use expressive language to communicate. Instead they use receptive language. This can come in the form of AAC, PECS, or whatever visuals you may use. The best way to use the OSMO with non-verbal students is the same way you would teach in the classroom, modeling. Hopefully you have a similar device as your student’s, core board, or visual. When you are teaching via the OSOMO you have your device, they have theirs,  and  you model. It is that simple. Now, if you are referring as to how to use the OSMO for students with low cognition that is whole another topic. Realistically, that is going to be tough. They are going to require an adult to prompt if not use hand over hand. I suggest making a video tutorial of yourself along with a written step by step guide on how parents can prompt their students. You can also make a video of how they can model their child’s AAC device at home. ” –Lucy @thealternativewaytoprek

I hope that you found these activities and ideas helpful! As I think of more I will add them to this post. I would love to see how you use your OSMO for distance learning!! If you post, please tag me so I can see 🙂