The Top 5 things I have learned from my internship at Harmony Elementary School:
1. The key to a great SPED team is a great team of para educators! I have loved getting to know the 5 LIFT paras at HES. They have great relationships with the students they work with and know when to challenge them and when to pull back and let them relax. Mrs. Miller has a wonderful team of paras that work so well together.
2. Autism is BEAUTIFUL! Every student in the LIFT classroom at Harmony has Autism. There is a very negative stigma surrounding Autism that they students are awkward, stupid, or unaware of their surroundings. The students at HES prove that is definitely not the case. They are each so incredibly intelligent, but they communicate that in different ways than most of the population does. People with Autism have beautiful minds and are capable of so much in life when given the chance.
3. Kids NEED recess! Goodness, children have lots of energy and the best way for them to call their energy down and focus is to spend time outside playing. The students in the LIFT classroom focus so much better once they have time to play outside. The other day, one of the students I have been working with grabbed my hand and took me to play with him. I think I went on the slide 15 times in a row!
4. Icons, Icons, Icons! Picture icons help students with special needs go about their day in a much more successful way than without it. Students will use them to pick choices of what they want to do, where they are going, and their tasks they need to complete. Paras and the SPED teachers will also have icons for quick reference on their lanyard to communicate with students what is expected of them. These things need to go everywhere.
5. LIFT is the way to go for me! After observing a variety of SPED classrooms, I have decided that my favorite classroom setting is Elementary LIFT. There is something so special about investing in such wonderfully unique children from a young age. I am so excited to spend the rest of the month at Harmony.