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Creating a calm, tidy, inviting environment in your classroom can be a challenge. Books, folders, papers, everyday supplies, manipulatives, arts and crafts materials, and games all need to be corralled yet easily accessible in the confines of one room. It’s a big task, but these easy tips and tricks can help you organize your classroom quickly!

April is Autism Awareness Month, a time to celebrate inclusion and acceptance of those with autism. One in 68 U.S. children has an autism spectrum disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control. On the site Autism Speaks, they define “spectrum” as the wide variation in challenges and strengths possessed by each person with autism.

Here are 6 easy, fun ways we (adults and kids) can help these kids and families feel understood and welcome in our lives.

1. Start with a story

An engaging storybook can help kids feel empathy with all kinds of characters, including those with autism. Some great titles include My Brother Charlie, written by actress Holly Robinson Peete and her daughter Ryan Elizabeth Peete. In the book, we learn about 10-year-old Charlie, and his autism, through the eyes of his loving sister. A Friend Like Simon, by Kate Gaynot, follows the story of kids in a mainstream school befriending a new student with autism. Different Like Me, by Jennifer Elder, is about an 8-year-old boy with Asperger’s, who introduces young readers to his heroes in math, science and history.

2. Show your support

You and your kids can join tens of thousands of people around the world wearing bright royal blue on World Autism Awareness Day next year. It’s a simple way to promote awareness of the millions of individuals and families affected by autism. Then show your support to all your friends on social media by sharing your photos with the hashtag #LightItUpBlue.

3. Crafty ideas

Did you know that the symbol of autism is a puzzle piece? It’s easy to explain to your children that just like each puzzle piece is different, each person is different, including kids with autism. And that’s a good thing!

Celebrate this message with crafts using an old jigsaw puzzle you no longer use. Your kids can paint pieces solid colors, then glue them to card stock in creative designs. Add a positive message inside each card, and give to someone you know affected by autism, including caregivers. Older kids can glue 4 or 5 painted puzzle pieces together and add a bar pin on back (available at craft stores) to make a wearable piece of art that shows support. It can also be a great conversation starter!

4. Make a play date

Would a child who might be sensitive to loud noises really want to have a play date? It’s easy to assume the answer is no, but that may not be the case. Why not approach the parent of an autistic child you know and ask them?

Kids with autism can have challenges, but also great gifts as well, like knowing lots about dinosaurs, insects, math, etc. Try to find a common interest with your child beforehand and plan an activity or two around it. It can be as simple as giving both children new sticker books featuring those beloved dinosaurs or insects. Or, it might mean providing a building set both kids can use together.

5. Remember sisters and brothers

The siblings of a child with autism can sometimes miss out on everyday outings we take for granted. Since many children with autism dislike bright lights, loud noises, and strange surrounds, families with an autistic child may stick close to home. If you’re planning a trip to an amusement park, circus, or even a big mall, invite one of these siblings to join you. Your outing could be just the break they need!

6. Just connect

Simply showing that you’re open and interested is a great step toward making a family affected by autism feel more accepted. You might discuss if they are planning to participate in any local Autism Month events and ask how you can get involved. It could be something as simple as baking puzzle-shaped cookies for a fundraiser or participating in a walk. When we practice empathy and appreciation for differences, everyone benefits!

What are you doing to celebrate Autism Awareness Month? Let us know at blog@learningresources.com!

While some students respond easily to initial instruction, others need different tools. As educators, we're challenged to respond to these learning differences, keep our eye on the standards, and find ways to teach every student. A great way to help all students succeed is by using Multisensory Learning.

What is Multisensory Learning?

Multisensory learning  involves using two or more of the senses while doing one activity. Children take in information in many different ways:by listening, seeing, touching, and moving. There’s a great Chinese proverb that speaks to this:

“Tell me and I’ll forget;

Show me and I may remember;child 

Involve me and I’ll understand.”

Using multiple senses makes it easier for students to make connections between new information and what they already know. Here are some ways to do this in your classroom:

Hands on!

Foundational learning starts with the fingers. Many children benefit from visuals and also crave tactile stimulation. Manipulatives can help you reach children on both fronts.

For example, students who struggle with reading may find success through using letter manipulatives to build words or by using word manipulatives to build sentences. And, if those manipulatives are color-coded, the visual cues may help children recognize spelling or sentence patterns, too.

Move it!

Large muscle movements stimulate the brain by increasing the flow of blood and oxygen. But did you know that movements that cross the midline, such as crawling and climbing, stimulate both sides of the brain?

Get students down on the floor! They can: Play mat games and use activity mats that target all kinds of literacy and math skills. Do giant word sorts on rolls of paper spread out on the floor. Crawl as they practice counting by tens. Pretend to climb an imaginary ladder while spelling words or reciting math facts.

Rock on!

Musical intelligence may be the first to develop, and it continues to flourish throughout our lives. You can have students make or listen to music to create those synapses!

Here are a few ideas: Go online to find songs to play in the classroom. If you have students who love to perform, use a USB recorder like the Easi-Speak™ to capture their voices as they sing upbeat educational chants. Then, replay to help the whole class build their skills in a fun way.Remember that music with visuals, physical actions or manipulatives is even more powerful. So, encourage students to tap their toes, dance along or create artwork as they listen. Or, how about playing clapping games with a partner while chanting rhymes or alliterative tongue-twisters?

Visualize it!

Graphic organizers allow students to see connections and critically analyze data by making abstract concepts more concrete. Try introducing story webs, sequencing charts and timelines into the writing process.

Each student can use info from their own writing to fill out the organizer, check that their writing makes sense, and includes all the right elements. You can also challenge students to create a new visual (like a poster, collage, drawing, or painting) based on a completed graphic organizer. Graphs can be integrated into sorting activities by having students tally their sorting results and display their findings in bar or line graphs.

Brain-based activities allow all learners to succeed. To stimulate your students' brain cells, add these multisensory tactics to your program and help everyone flourish!

Tell us about some of the ways you use Multisensory Learning in your classroom at blog@learningresources.com! 

• Did you know that March 2 was Dr. Seuss’ birthday? The National Education Association (NEA) celebrates every year with Read Across America… an entire day to dedicated to reading. Almost 1,000 events, just like this one, take place across the country every year… and next year, you can get involved!

• Easter is almost here, and we loved this idea for a Spring Ten Frame Printable from the Fun With Mama blog.  It’s such a perfect way to help your little ones celebrate Easter while building their early math skills.

• Speaking of Printables, in the last few weeks we’ve put up an Animals Activity Sheet that helps kids build their motor and vocalization skills, a 3-in-1 Printable sheet for our new TotBot toy, and a Penguins on Ice matching and coloring printable for all of your little artists-in-training.

• Check out this crafty way to make learning fun with little ones over at the Simple Moms blog. Some of the ideas include using shaving cream to trace numbers and making letters from pipe cleaners. Why didn’t we think of that?

• Worrying about a robot taking your job? It might sound like science fiction, but in fact we’re rapidly approaching a time when, according to some estimates, robots and computers might be able to do up to 47% of the current jobs. Properly preparing our children with the skills they’ll need to be competitive is crucial, and this article from the Atlantic does a great job showing how some school systems are already starting to adapt.

• How was your Valentine’s Day? Sweet, we hope. And if you’re interested in the history of this special celebration, check out this post: Why Do We Celebrate Valentine’s Day?

• Wanna win some free toys? Spoiler alert… we’ll be hosting our very first giveaway in the next few days, so stay tuned!