I just a job. Next school year, I will be teaching first graders with muliple handicaps. There will for sure be five students not counting any move ins. I do not know where to begin setting up my classroom. What do I do first. Being certified to teach students K-12 I did not begin collecting any classroom materials. Any help would be appriciated.
Read their IEPs for starters to get their levels, b/c the label "multiple handicaps" can encompass SOOO many things. My class is also technically the "multi-handicapped" class. . . Find out if you will have (or need) the computer program Boardmaker available to you. . . I have found velcro to be invaluable, and contac paper to make things sturdier and last longer. You'll want things like art supplies to make concepts more multi-sensory. I love shaving cream, paint, markers, glue. . . and fun random things like popsicle sticks and paper plates. Think about things you will want to include in different segments of your day: ie, many people do morning circle including weather (you'll want some kind of board to post it on, and symbols for the different types of weather that the student can attach. I use Boardmaker symbols with velcro and my weatherboard is a cork board with 5 strips of velcro labelled with teh days at the top of each strip, so the kids put the weather symbols on the appropriate strip each day. but you do do it many different ways). Schedule--how do you want to display your schedule for the students, what activities will be options, how will you store them, etc. again, I use boardmaker and velcro, but I've seen many options. Will you do a "who's here" thing in the morning? Such as names or pictures to put up if people are there. What kind of activities will you allow them to do during free choice? Once you look at their IEPs and their goals, what kinds of manipulatives will help you achieve those goals, and how can you arrange them to be easily accessible to you--I put mine in small bins (dollar store purchases!) on shelves so I can get at them easily. I use pocket charts to store my Boardmaker pictures that we use regularly. Do you want counters (like bears), pegs, items to sort, ipctures cards, memory, matching, puzzle cards? If your students can do them you might want some type of letters, a velcro board and laminated/velcroed alphabet letters can be very useful, or maybe magnet letters and a magnetic board instead. You want lots of books--start going to yardsales!! Think about toileting needs--they may well have them--you may want bins in the bathroom to store extra clothes and pull-ups or diapers. If your class is small, you can probably have one for each child, which really helps keep straight things that may be similar. Will your students be doing life skills/activities of daily living? Again check IEPs and see if you can talk to the OT--you may want toothbrushign supplies, dishes/feeding stuff if they eat in the room or need adaptive anything. (If you eat in the classroom, a fun icebreaker beginning activity is to make placemats and laminate them for the kids!) We put our toothbrushes in individual pencil boxes in my room, which works well. Keeps it somewhat sanitary! Congrats on the job, and good luck with set up, hope some of these help!!
