How does your school run ESY?
If you are lucky, you can stay in the same class, with your same kids, and basically run the same program that you do over the school year (with a fun summer theme of course).
Some of you, like me, don’t even start ESY until late summer! (Ours runs July 2-27 this year!)
But not all of us in the SpEd world are that lucky. I actually AM blessed by this in my current job, but that was not always the case! I’m one of the weird ones who actually LIKES teaching summer school. It always just seemed more “DayCamp”-y to me. You can have water balloon fights, picnic outdoors, have water days or trips to the local pool, teach community skills and get PAID for it! Sign me up! Here are some tips and tricks I picked up along my ESY teaching journeys. I hope they help you too!
IF YOU ARE CONTINUING WITH YOUR SAME KIDDOS:
K.I.S.S. ( Keep it Simple, Silly!)
Okay, so this is an easy one! Pick a fun Summer Unit, continue with a similar schedule that you followed during the school year, and GO! In all seriousness, if you have the same kids, you are already lightyears ahead of some of your peers.
I like to keep a VERY similar schedule to the school year, especially since some of my kiddos with down syndrome and Autism are routine driven. Work on their goals, OT, PT, PE, etc. You already know what they need to learn, so just continue!
My Summer School Schedule looks like this:
8-9AM- Arrival, Toiletting, Positioning, Independent Work
9- Snack
9:30- Recess
10- Circle/Morning Meeting
1030- Group Work
11- Bathroom, Hygiene
1115- LUNCH
1145- Music & Home!
So Simple and goes by so Fast! The only things I need to prep are my group work for the day (I am following my new Summer Unit I just put up on TPT) and independent work stations for my kiddos who are able in the mornings.
Plan a few fun trips if you are able. Even community walks count! Get out of the classroom, do some outside science experiments, explore your community! Where I live, it will probably be in the high 90’s-110 the whole of summer school, so we are going to the Pool on Fridays, and a park with water features on Tuesdays. We will have fun water based play, bubbles, etc for recess on days we are in class all day.
Summer School is a time to try new things! If they work, AWESOME! Incorporate them into your school year! If NOT, Oh well- it was only summer school 🙂
I remember vividly a parent that was adamant that his son would NOT do well at the pool, would throw a tantrum leaving, etc etc. We took him anyways, primed him with a social story, and honestly it is some of the happiest pictures I have of the kid. And guess what, NO TANTRUM! Some of my kiddos in wheelchairs, this was also the ONLY time they ever got to go to the pool! So explore on!
IF YOU ARE IN A NEW SITUATION:
First of all, try not to panic. But also, try not to over-do EVERYTHING!
As a Special Education Teacher (or any Teacher for that matter), I know you want to be as prepared as possible. When I taught out of my class for Summer School I was placed with a different age group, kids with behaviors, and a room on a campus neither of us were familiar with. Stress City!
Here is how I survived:
1. USE THE PARAS- If they are the same para’s as the students are used to, you are GOLDEN! What is there schedule, what do the students like/dislike? ASK!
2. If you do not have access to the same paras that have worked with kiddos before, try to observe them before ESY.
3. If you have new Paras and you can’t observe them, can you talk to their Regular teacher? Send a quick e-mail just asking if there is a Sub Binder or anything else you can get your hands on (their routines, favorite activities, etc) to help your ESY go smoothly!
4. Read the IEP’s. Or at least the IEP’s at a Glance. You should be doing this anyways…. BUT I DIGRESS. You don’t need to memorize it, but knowing if you will be dealing with behaviors, what level the students are at, etc can be super helpful in your planning process.
5. Make a schedule. Find out about Specials like speech and OT, ask if you can go on trips or if some are already planned. Then create your schedule. Remember, this is not the regular school year. You can have a little scheduled down time! But remember that behaviors are way less likely to occur with any student if they know what is coming next. Write the schedule on the board or use visuals.
6. Invest an hour in a planner. Use a template (I love Chalkboard_Superhero or Joey Udovich, but there are hundreds of templates on TPT) and jot a group work or activity to try each day during that scheduled time. It might look like this:
Monday- Group Work- Word Wall Recess- Bubble Play
Tuesday- Group Work- Vocab Spelling Activity Recess- Walk
Wednesday- Group Work- OT Cutting Skills Recess- Water Painting
Thursday- Group Work- Art Cut and Paste Sun Project Recess- Outdoor Music
Friday- Group Work- Counting Activity Recess- MOVIE DAY
Copy, paste, and edit for 4 weeks (or however long your ESY is). Try not to repeat a lot or you will get bored staff and bored students. But don’t make it overly complicated either!
Some things to look up on Pinterest to get some great ideas: Sensory Play, Music, Summer Art, Recess Activities, Indoor Recess Activities, School Water Play!
Then all you need to do is add in your independent work/lessons. This can be as simple as setting up pre-existing task boxes or printing worksheet lessons for students. You don’t need to re-write the IEP for this one. Pick a few goals and focus on those. If Johnny has a spelling goal and Counting goal (along with 10 more), focus on those two and prep those materials. PRO TIP: Do it all Friday afternoon and you will be stress-free come Monday!
Well that’s all I got. Actually no, I got a lot more but I’m sure you’re probably done reading and ready to start planning! If you are interested in my Summer School Unit, click HERE.
And I hope you have a fabulous, cool, stress free ESY!