"Must Have Monday" Link-Up

I'm joining in on my very first Link-Up with Freebielicious!

As a special education teacher, there are three main areas where I have some "Must Haves" to share for Back to School: for my students, aides, and myself.  Here we go! 

1. For my students... Smelly Pencils and Osmo!  

• The smelly pencils seem never to get old for motivation, to change things up, or just to make kiddos smile.  I use these for many different purposes, and I have yet to meet a student who doesn't get at least a little bit excited about a grape, bubblegum, blueberry, etc. smelling pencil!  
• Oh, how I love the OSMO... :) The Osmo is an add-on device for the iPad.  The students can manipulate tangrams, practice spelling (with letter cards), work on physics skills with the "Newton" app, and draw "Masterpieces" with the art app.  The Osmo is a tool for academics, motivation, and fun! 

2. For aides... Google forms and Starbucks gift cards!

• I use Google forms to collect student data, gather observational information, and total things like time spent on interventions and student behavior plan points.  I've found Google forms to be a simple way to manage data coming from multiple people. Make sure to include training for aides during your BTS inservice!  Using Google has saved us time, and now we can spend face-to-face time problem-solving for students! 
• As we all know, everyday isn't always the easiest or most rewarding.  So I always keep extra Starbucks gift cards and notes handy for whenever anyone needs a little cheer (and coffee) in their life.

3. As for me... My phone and iPad are my lifelines! 

• As I move throughout multiple classrooms and meetings throughout each day, I NEED an on-the-go schedule, timer, email, etc. device.  I've gained so much time and energy from the efficiency of on the go data gathering using Google Drive, ideas from Instagram, reading on my Kindle app, connecting on Twitter, and student progress with the sand timer app.
• Next year, I'm going to begin using Homeroom with my 6th grade resource class.  My sister, a 3rd grade teacher, uses it as a private Twitter feed to communicate with parents and share photos and reminders throughout the day and has received so much positive feedback from parents, administrators, and students.  I'll share out my experiences with it in the school year! 

Thank you for checking out my "Must Haves" for Back to School 2015! 

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