Getting Ready

Well I've been in my classroom everyday this week and I still don't feel even close to being ready.  There are so many things I want to have done before Tuesday! My to do list seems to keep getting longer instead of shorter.  

I need to make my daily schedule or at least a flexible one for now in order to not have to get too angry if the specials schedule changes.  It's often frustrating that my class is last on the list of priorities when it comes to scheduling specials!! Kids with autism need structure so why are my kiddos last on the list when it comes to scheduling specials.  To make matters worse our specials keep getting scheduled first thing in the morning (except for one special that is the second period which makes things even more confusing) and many of my students arrive at school 15-30 minutes late because they ride a bus for over an hour.  Then my student who relies most on routines never knows what's going to happen when he arrives because he could get to eat breakfast or he could have to go right to Specials.  -Sorry for the mini-rant!

My to do list includes:

-Making a schedule.

-Finishing putting things away in my classroom.

-Making assessment binders for each of my students for their IEP goals that can be assessed via paper.

-Finish getting info together for my Gen Ed teachers I will be working with about the kiddos. (I'm also going to get folders together for my specials teachers which I didn't do last year.)

-Have my September lesson plans ready.

-the list goes on and on but those are some of the main items

I did get some stuff done this week though and I'm liking some things about my room a lot but wishing I could find more time to make other things better.  Slowly but surely I guess:)

My Word Wall!  I love it!  I painted my bulletin board black and I think the border is so cute:)  

This is a close up of the border.

This bulletin board sometimes gets ripped down by students so I kept it simple and put my feelings posters up.  We also use an old calendar pocket chart to organize our PECs for daily schedules.  These bulletin boards were painted blue by a previous teacher and they are ready for a fresh coat of paint but I think that will be a project for next summer.

This is my calendar area.  I'm going to add shapes on the left but I haven't printed them yet.  I'm trying to decide what to add along the top but I don't want to overwhelm my kiddos.  Even though I like displaying lots for calendar time I think visually it can be overwhelming so I'm trying to keep it simple.  I also bought that blue dot in a set a while ago, they are dry erase stickers that can be stuck anywhere!  

This is my calendar and I think it is perfect for my kiddos.  They really like the routine.  I got it at a workshop I went to and it's made by the county I work for.  However, I realized recently that I don't have September printed!!!  I must do that before Tuesday!!! (another list to add to the list!)

Here is the bulletin board in the hallway.  I saw an idea somewhere of putting the kids pictures by their names and I think I will do that next week.  The little owls have their names and the big owl says, "Mrs. Kaltz's class is READY!"

I bought these Cookie Sheet Challenge Sheets from TPT and I think they're so cute.  In the corner is a spice container that I bought at IKEA without a clear plan when I purchased them but this will be a perfect way to use them because they are magnetic! With the help of my aides and my sister I've been slowly prepping all of them (I bought 2 sets).

Well, I'm going to get some sleep so I can go back in tomorrow and then do some School Clothes Shopping!!  I was joking with some friends tonight about how it's fun that I get to go School Clothes Shopping for so long:)