Happy Saturday!  Something that’s been on my mind a lot lately is how to best reach one of my Kindergarten students who has some special needs.  I see him for about 15 minutes a day, but remaining engaged for even that short amount of time is very challenging for him.  I’m still working on finding strategies that work for him, and here’s what I’ve been doing so far:

– Using a visual flip chart that he can change to see what we’re going to do next:

– Offering choices to activities so that he can select the option that seems “easier.”  The image below shows the alphabet book (laying flat on the table) that I am supposed to use with the program I teach.  It’s super effective with the other kids, but he doesn’t really like it much because it seems so “long.”  Instead, I let him choose from reviewing the letter names/sounds using the little booklet, or the ABC chart shown in the picture.  This seems like less work in his mind!

– Writing on the wall – with his fingertip!  This is a great sensory activity and gets him up and moving a little.

I also try to include as much movement as possible.  I frequently save little bits of trash so that I have an excuse to ask him to get up and throw something away! 😉  Whatever works, right?

I’m going to have to keep trying to find effective strategies for him, because we have a looong way to go, academically speaking.  However, last Friday when I asked him to write some words, he actually got some of the sounds down on paper!  This was a big step for him, and something I haven’t seen him do before.  We will keep at it, and hopefully the progress will continue.

Have a wonderful weekend!