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Real by Carol Cujee and Peyton Goddard (young adult based on a true story)

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Real by Carol Cujee and Peyton Goddard (young adult based on a true story)

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https://dyslexiaresource.org/dyslexia-awareness-video-series/

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My name is Lorena Torres, and I am a first grade dual language teacher. My classroom consist of mostly Hispanic students who speak Spanish and are learning English. More than half of my students are non readers. Therefore, I am eager to learn about different types of instructional techniques I can use with my students who struggle at grasping a concept. 

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My name is Lorena Torres, and I am a first grade dual language teacher. My classroom consist of mostly Hispanic students who speak Spanish and are learning English. More than half of my students are non readers. Therefore, I am eager to learn about different types of instructional techniques I can use with my students who struggle at grasping a concept. 

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The challenges I am facing are supporting students who have a learning disability. What are the best teaching practices for students who have a learning disability? I find it difficult to support students who struggle and do not seem to grasp a concept even though I have taught it in different methods. 

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The challenges I am facing are supporting students who have a learning disability. What are the best teaching practices for students who have a learning disability? I find it difficult to support students who struggle and do not seem to grasp a concept even though I have taught it in different methods. 

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The experiences which my students enjoy and keeps them motivated is by working in academic teams. Students enjoy interacting with each other and learning from each other. 

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The experiences which my students enjoy and keeps them motivated is by working in academic teams. Students enjoy interacting with each other and learning from each other. 

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I am keeping myself motivated by seeing my students reaction when they grasp a concept. 

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I am keeping myself motivated by seeing my students reaction when they grasp a concept. 

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The book I would like to share is called, "For the love of autism" by Tamika Lechee Morales. 

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The book I would like to share is called, "For the love of autism" by Tamika Lechee Morales. 

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The content area supports I need would be support for first grade math and reading. 

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The content area supports I need would be support for first grade math and reading. 

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The social emotional supports would like would be how to handle parents pertaining to how to talk to them about ways to help their child, how to make it easier for parents to accept.

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The social emotional supports would like would be how to handle parents pertaining to how to talk to them about ways to help their child, how to make it easier for parents to accept.

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The main areas of stress are reading because more than half of my class do not know how to read. I have some students who mix numbers with letters which is a big struggle. 

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The main areas of stress are reading because more than half of my class do not know how to read. I have some students who mix numbers with letters which is a big struggle. 

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By the end of the semester, I would like to provide my students with multiple means of expression on a assessment to show their understanding of a content.

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By the end of the semester, I would like to provide my students with multiple means of expression on a assessment to show their understanding of a content.

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The surprise this year was learning how the majority of my students who are from South America had never been to school before. 

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The surprise this year was learning how the majority of my students who are from South America had never been to school before. 

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Hello, my name is Mirna Algarin and I am an EL Resource teacher in my local school district. I work with kindergarten and first grade. I love teaching and working with students from so many different countries! I am working toward completing my Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with an Early Childhood SPED endorsement. I am near the finish line and am looking forward to learning how to continue using the best resources to help my students grow and learn.

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What manipulatives are great to use during math for students who have a learning disability.

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What manipulatives are great to use during math for students who have a learning disability.

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My name is Janel Young and I have been teaching Early Childhood Education for about 15 years. I am working on getting my Early Childhood SPED endorsement. I teach Preschool right now and have 20 wonderful students. My husband and I became foster parents a couple of years ago. We have had our twin girls for 2 years. They were 15 months when they came to our home and are now a little over 3 years old. It is an amazing journey to be on. I love learning and keeping up to date in the early childhood world.  I look forward to this class. Thanks.

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Hello! My name is Kaylee Showers and I teach self-contained special education pre-k. This is my second year teaching and my first year in pre-k! Last year, I taught K-2 but I am absolutely loving the pre-k students. I teach in the Developmental Learning Program at Eisenhower Cooperative. Currently, I have an AM and PM class which each consists of 5 students. I have 2 paraprofessionals who assist me. I received my BA in Special Education at Trinity Christian College. I am currently working towards my Early Childhood SPED endorsement. I look forward to this class!

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Hi my name is Jessica McLean and I am excited to begin my coursework toward an Early Childhood SPED endorsement. I spent the early part of my career working in ECE jobs that I truly loved. I was a self contained special education teacher, a Child Development Specialist for the Dept. of Defense, a Center Director, and a teacher trainer. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to go back to NLU and gain the skills and confidence I need to go back and work directly with students and families. I am looking forward to learning from everyone in the class!

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Remembering that each day I am doing the best I can so that I can show up and be the teacher I need to be for my students!

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I am struggling with supports for students with dyslexia. It is something I want to learn more about as I support my students and their families.

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Morning meetings where we learn about growth mindset :)

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Hi All-
My name is Jennifer Hernandez. I am a 4th grade general education teacher at private school in the suburbs of Chicago. This is my 9th year teaching. In the past I have been a Resource teacher, Accelerated Math and Reading teacher, and 5th grade general ed teacher. I am at National Louis to complete my Masters in Curriculum and Instruction with Early Childhood and Special Education. I am excited to learn new techniques and ideas from everyone!

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This year, one of my biggest challenges is that I feel that there are many needs in my classroom that I am trying to meet. This can feel overwhelming.

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Since my class has a "reputation" I wanted do something to boost their confidence when they were showing appropriate behavior. They earn letters when they are caught doing the right thing. Once they spell respect they can earn a reward.

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I am staying motivated by reminding myself of the progress that we have made so far.

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A good book on social justice that I would recommend is The Hate You Give.

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I would say that reading strategies support are always helpful!

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I would love to have some executive functioning and responsibility supports.

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The main source of stress for my teaching this year is trying to support my students while bringing their behavior up to where I know 9 year olds can be.

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I would love to have time to allow for more non curriculum tasks. I know that I cannot make more time in the day but more opportunities would be wonderful.

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While I am not a new teacher, what has surprised me this year is the wide range of emotional development is in my room.

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I am just overwhelmed this year and am wanting some strategies to not feel this way.

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My name is Sandra Vazquez and I am a bilingual preschool teacher in a western suburb. I have 19 students in the classroom and most of my students are Spanish speakers learning English. I graduated in June with my MAT degree and now I am pursuing my endorsement in special education. I am a mom of 6 and grandma of 4. I look forward to learning from my peers and the course.

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I have several children with behavior issues that are very aggressive. I am already overwhelmed with my class and know taking on this course is causing me to have anxiety. I feel like I am ignoring students with special needs because I am spending more time with the 7 students who are struggling with their emotions. I hope I have not taken on more than I can handle.

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I like to have my student do classroom jobs they really love the responsibility. I also use positive praise to get the students involved and motivated in the classroom activities. We have a jar that the students get to fill when they work hard and then we celebrate with what the students choose. This week we are having a popcorn/movie day.

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I have a wonderful family and they are my motivation.

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I feel I need more experience with IEP's. I need to learn how to write goals.

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My classroom management and keeping all the students safe. I have a challenging class 9 out of my 19 students need supports, with one assistant it can be overwhelming.

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I need my preschool special education endorsement to be a blended teacher. So that I can have the knowledge to provide the necessary supports to my students.

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I have been teaching for 4 years and was a long term sub for 4 years. So I have a couple of years in education. I think the biggest surprise is all the challenges that students have.

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I am concerned that because I am not currently teaching it will be difficult for me to participate in discussions in meaningful or relevant ways. I feel like I have already gained value and insight from reading what others have posted about their classes and am so appreciative.

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Hello, my name is Sandra Vazquez and I am a mom of 6 and grandma of 4. I changed careers after 10 years in the business field. I started out as a substitute teacher before I decided to go back to school and become a teacher. I graduated from National Louis University with my MAT degree in June. I am currently working in a public school located in the western suburb of Chicago. I am a bilingual preschool teacher and have 19 students in the classroom.

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I am a little overwhelmed with the behavior challenges this year. A lot of the students are dealing with trauma from the pandemic. The students are now in school and we are seeing how they have been impacted by Covid-19. I have 9 out of 19 students who I have already referred to the MTSS process. I am now in school and I am worried I have taken on to much.

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You have to get to know the students and their families to see what motivates them, especially if the students are having a hard time in school. I have individual goals for some of the students that they work towards and their rewards are individualized to meet their needs. As a whole class they like to fill a jar and celebrate when they accomplish it with a pajama party, pizza party, popcorn party, etc.

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I need more support on helping students who have experienced trauma. I feel that I am making very little progress. I believe I am great at making a relationship with the kids and their families but I feel that these students need so much more. I just don't know what else I can do if parents are not on board.

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I would like more social emotional support for families and caregivers. In my school district we use Second Step, but I feel the families need more. We have parenting classes as well but many of the parents do not participate.

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The biggest area of stress is the behavior challenges. I am still working on classroom expectations. We also had to pack everything in the school because of construction and were let in the building 3 days earlier, so I have not even unpacked. My classroom is a mess and when I go plan for my lesson I can't find anything. I find the classroom an area of great stress itself, but I just don't have the time to stay any later than I do.

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I want to earn my special education endorsements as well as take more PD about trauma and autism. It seems that we are seeing more and more students who have autism and experienced trauma. So I want to be better prepared to help them.

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This is my 4th year in my current position but my 1st as a PLC leader. I feel more overwhelmed as a PLC leader than a teacher. I can say I really am learning as I am in the position. I have not been able to meet with my coach to discuss this new role, but I am sure I will do fine.

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I feel overwhelmed with all the hats I am currently wearing a mom, grandma, daughter, wife, teacher, leader, etc. Now I am adding student so I is causing a little bit of anxiety.

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I have son who is hearing impaired and a daughter who has ADHD, so I am familiar with their challenges and the challenges I faced to get them supports for school. I would recommend reading books about first hand experience of people who have a disability. I recommend the book Disability Visibility by Alice Wong.

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Hi everyone,

My name is Mary Glorioso. I am a blended preschool teacher, which means I teach general education students and students with special needs. In Early childhood, it’s important that we are supporting students and families, which is why I am trying to further my education to help support them. I love to dance, watch reality TV, and hang out with friends and family! I am looking forward to this course because it will provide me with the foundations of teaching the students in my classroom.

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The biggest challenge I have facing is helping my students who have aggressive behaviors. I try as much as I can through positive reinforcement, visuals, sensory stations, and more to help students with aggressive behaviors, but I am struggling.

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I motivate my students through their interests. We study themes in the classroom and we do it based on students' interests. Students have been building a lot lately so we are going to do the building study!

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I just keep reminding myself how amazing my students are. I love them as my own children. Also, coffee helps!

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I teach in at Shields Elementary, a CPS school, in a blended classroom.  I  partner with a great special education teacher.  We have very similar philosophies.  I have heard so many horror stories about trying to team teach that I realize I am very lucky.  

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I teach in at Shields Elementary, a CPS school, in a blended classroom.  I  partner with a great special education teacher.  We have very similar philosophies.  I have heard so many horror stories about trying to team teach that I realize I am very lucky.  

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In our class this year, we have a student that my special education teaching partner and I both agree  will eventually receive an autism diagnosis.  Unfortunately, the wheels of evaluation move slowly in CPS so for now we are left to figure out how to work with him on our own. He is especially challenging because we have yet to find much that motivates him except running around the room in an attempt to get us to chase him.  Okay, I exaggerate but it is a challenge because we will find something that works once but only once.  Mom reports the same thing at home.  I hope this doesn't sound like I think we are superstar teachers but I am happy this child in our class.  There may be teacher with more skills and knowledge about working with autistic children but I don't think there are many who will work harder or care more.  

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In our class this year, we have a student that my special education teaching partner and I both agree  will eventually receive an autism diagnosis.  Unfortunately, the wheels of evaluation move slowly in CPS so for now we are left to figure out how to work with him on our own. He is especially challenging because we have yet to find much that motivates him except running around the room in an attempt to get us to chase him.  Okay, I exaggerate but it is a challenge because we will find something that works once but only once.  Mom reports the same thing at home.  I hope this doesn't sound like I think we are superstar teachers but I am happy this child in our class.  There may be teacher with more skills and knowledge about working with autistic children but I don't think there are many who will work harder or care more.  

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My name is Margaret Rountree. I am curently a Pre-K teacher in School District 148 in Dolton Il.  I  have been a Pre-K teacher for 11 years. I finished my Masters Degree at National Louis University in 2014 in ESL and LBS1. I did not realize I am not endorsed to teach early childhood special education so I need one class, this one, to get my approval. I have one daughter who started college this August. I can't wait for this class to see what more I can learn and help my students succeed.

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I started this school year working with different assistant every day because my director is in process of interviewing to hire someone. It makes it very challenging with a different person every day in the classroom to keep the routine going and to be consistent. All of my preschoolers (I have 17) are mostly comfortable only with me at this point and they prefer my assistance with everything. I am feeling overwhelmed because I am trying my best to make myself available for each one of my students and offer them support all day long. I have students who are not fully potty trained yet and would only use the potty if I am with them, and I also have students that are struggling with their behaviors and I am trying to work with them, to figure out what is the cause of the certain behaviors, and how to best support them.

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Preschoolers love to have a classroom job. During morning meeting, each student gets a different job daily, examples are line leader, lunch helper, calendar helper, clean up patrol. I also involve my students as much as possible on what theme we will learn next. As I observe my students playing, I listen to their conversations and questions they ask, and based on that we decide what we want to learn about next.

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My students are my motivation, when I see their excitement when they complete an assignment or an activity and how proud they feel, keeps me motivated. When parents express how appreciative they are and how happy their children feel in my classroom.

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My name is Brianna Spencer and I am the Early Interventionist at my school in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I work with grades PreK, Kinder, and Grade 1. I grew up in Evanston, IL and moved abroad after finishing University. This is my 3rd school abroad. I worked in Germany, Kuwait, and now Vietnam. My students are almost 100% ELL. This is my first year working in the role as learning support and I look forward to learning a lot in order to support my students.

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I am new to this position and I don't know much about special needs in general. I hope this course will help me in all aspects. However, what I really need is how to identify students early. I have a hard time figuring out if a student just needs more time to catch up with their peers or actually needs intervention with me.

I am not sure if we will really get into it but I am also struggling a lot because all of my students are ELL and differentiating between learning needs and language needs is hard for me to determine.

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At the beginning of the year we do a lot of "get to know you" activities. One of my favorite has students color and answer questions about who they are and what they like. I think finding their interest and putting that into the classroom is the most important way to keep them motivated and engaged.

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I don't think I need to say anything else :)

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My name is Dana Freeman and I am currently a special education teacher in the suburbs. Throughout my years as a special education teacher, I have taught in a wide variety of settings. These settings include, resource, inclusion, and self-contained, in both public and private therapeutic day school settings. Currently, I work in a public school as a special education teacher for students in kindergarten through second grade. Currently, I  work in both inclusive settings within the general education classroom and self-contained special education classrooms. Before working at my current school, I worked at a therapeutic day school for students who have severe emotional and behavioral disorders. I have a lot of experience in teaching students social emotional skills such as how to use different coping strategies to regulate their emotions.  I know that reading and responding to each other's weekly discussion posts will be a valuable tool for me, as I love learning from real life experiences in the classroom. I believe that sharing our experiences, thoughts, ideas, and questions is going to provide great insight and be a very helpful resource for me as I learn. In my program at National Louis I am on track for finishing in August 2023.  I am working towards my M.Ed in curriculum and instruction with advanced professionalization in early childhood special education and LBS II (curriculum adaptation specialist).

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My name is Kate Schmuttenmaer and this is my second go around at National Louis. I have my bachelors in Elementary Education from Roosevelt University. After I graduated I became a paraprofessional in a few different self contained special education classrooms. I fell in love working with special needs children so I decided to go back to school in 2018 to obtain my LBS 1 endorsement from National Louis. In the Fall of 2018, I started my first year teaching self contained at a public therapeutic day school. I was there for 2 years and taught grades K-6. In the Fall of 2020, I started at a private therapeutic day school with kids who have autism. This is my third year teaching at my current school. I am back at National Louis to get my Masters in Curriculum and Instruction with concentrations in Early Childhood Special Ed and Curriculum Adaptation Specialist.

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So far this year, I am having difficulty balancing both parts of my jobs: ECE and general resource. I have a heavy caseload, and I'm trying my best to give my best to all of my students.

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I have taken the students' IEP goals and looked at the curriculum, and then I make games to play when I pull out the students. This keeps them motivated and interested in their work.

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I'd like some support for teaching letter recognition and number sense to a first grader with autism.

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My name is Carly Kolometz. I am a head start teacher in a classroom with 20 students. My students are low income and EL. I love working with this age group; to see the growth that happens within the school year.

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A challenge I am facing at my job is making sure students with special needs are getting what they need to be successful. If we have a student that needs extra support- we so not get any help in the classroom. It can be very draining.

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I keep myself motivated by telling myself I do the best that I can when I'm working with students and that is all I can do. I can not control what happens when they are not with me. I feel the love from my students everyday and that keeps me going!

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I enjoyed this book: Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally by: Emily Ladau

It makes you think about the way you speak and act to make everyone feel comfortable.

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I need supports in the language for writing IEP's. It is new to me and I want to make sure it is an area that I do well in. I want my students to be successful and achieve their goals.

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A social emotional support I can use would be helping families understand their children without offending them. It can be hard to work so hard with the students at school and then they go home with no follow through. Helping parents understand we are a team and we need to work together to achieve a goal.

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One thing that stresses me out this school year is technology. The wifi at the new building I am working at is awful. I can not send emails, my printer and scanner never work. It is very frustrating. We are required to do all these things but do not get the technology to support it.

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My name is Sheila Offenheiser. I am currently enrolled to obtain my Master's degree and special ed endorsement. I am currently working at a special ed academy. It is very different and challenging at times but I like it. I used to teach preschool for 10 years and then did administration work for 3 years. So it is quite out of my comfort zone. I like working with the different ages though and the unique style they all bring. I have 2 children, a 10 year old boy and 2 year old girl. Looking forward to learning more ways to apply the knowledge I will learn in these courses.

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I am currently teaching one of the hardest groups I have ever encountered in 10 years of teaching. There is so much emotional trauma on top of children with IEPs. While I took on this coursework to be more adept at handling their challenges, I worry that I might be spreading myself too thin right now.

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Classroom jobs and visual timers have been a game changer.  I use a digital timer on the smart board to keep children on target.

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Remembering to take things one step at a time.

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My name is Nora Schmitt. This is my fourth year teaching. I teach a PFA blended classroom. I absolutely love teaching preschool. It is probably my favorite age group. I have also worked as a para in different settings from grades prek-5th. I really enjoy doing things outside with my boyfriend or family. I am excited to start this class.

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One of the many challenges I face in the classroom I would have to agree is meeting all of the needs of my students. My classroom consists of students who are AR, Speech only, or Sped designation. We have been getting a lot of students who come in AR but need support down the road. We have been saying the kids are not the kids we taught three years ago and therefore we need to adapt to what they need.

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I try to find their interests and use them to motivate students through out the day.

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Making sure I make time for me. Trying not to work all hours of the day. Although it is hard!

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Writing IEP goals, IFSP,

I am not very familiar with this

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One of my favorite books for my preschoolers is The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates. This is a great picture book that helps students understand inclusion and equity. The illustrations are great and make it easy for any student to get engaged during story time. When I read this book I use my umbrella and I invite students to join me under the umbrella to help them understand the concept of the book even better.

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I need some strategies for students that do not talk much in the classroom. I want them to feel comfortable and communicate to let me know what they need or want. I would like to observe some other classrooms and see how they deal with students who struggle to communicate.

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Social Emotional support by Jasna Sehovic 

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Social Emotional support by Jasna Sehovic 

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I work at the Park district and not school district, and we do not have social worker, or any kind of resources to support us with students that have some difficulties with learning, behaviors and etc. It is very challenging to get directors and parents on board to recognize that some students to need more support. I need support or guidance how to get parents and directors on board, to help them understand that particular student would benefit from getting tested and starting certain therapies as soon as possible.

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I am not a new teacher. I have been in my current position for the past 6 years. This school year I moved to a new building. That has had many surprises. I went from an all Pre-K building to a K-5 elementary school. It has been nice to see some former students who I had in preschool. It is surprising how different schools in the same district are. It has been surprising to see how much the older kids want to help the preschoolers. They are always wanting to help them in the bathroom or outside on the playground. Babysitters in the making.