Work Basket Wednesday

It's been a long time since I've written a post about independent work tasks, but I wanted to get one in before the end of the school year.  At this time of year, I am starting to realize how many pieces are missing from games and center tasks wonder where they all go.  I swear my classroom is like the Bermuda Triangle!  One minute all the pieces are all there, then next some are missing, never to be found again!  At this time of year, I am tired of looking for the missing pieces and am tempted just to throw out the entire game.  But, we have limited resources and funding, so I stop myself and think about how the game can be salvaged.  And the most obvious solution is making them into independent work tasks!

These will be the easiest work tasks that you ever make.  Literally no prep time, and no cost, since they are already resources you have in your classroom!  All of these tasks are made from old games or center tasks that we had in our classroom that we couldn't use anymore due to missing pieces.  These ones were made from lotto games we had with multiple boards and matching pieces, but some of the pieces went missing, so we were no longer able to use them as lotto games.  Now they are matching tasks!

These ones were made from counting peg sets.

And this one is made from a spelling puzzle flashcard set that has missing cards.

And this last one is one of the few cards we had left that had that matching pieces!

So, before you go crazy with your end of the year purging, pause and think about how you can salvage games and make your resources go further!

And don't forget to check out the other great Workbasket Wednesday ideas from Autism Classroom News!

Until next time,

Work Basket Wednesday

Hi Everyone!  I hope you are enjoying this beautiful sunny day!  Today, I am linking up with Christine Reeve at Autism Classroom News for Workbasket Wednesday.  On the first of every month, Christine hosts this link party to share some great ideas for independent work tasks.  This week's theme seems to be Easter, and more specifically eggs!  Christine and Gabrielle from Teaching Special Thinkers have some great ideas for using plastic eggs.  Make sure to check them out!  I do have some egg tasks to share, but am sharing more of the Easter tasks my students have been doing for the last two weeks.

First up are some sorting tasks.  I use a lot of different sorting tasks in my independent work area as most of my students have mastered this skill.  For my Easter sorting tasks, I have used some plastic bunnies I found at the dollar store, plastic eggs and mini erasers.  We had the foam bunnies in our craft cupboard, which I used as sorting mats.  I found the coloured bowls at Dollarama and the coloured baskets are from an egg dyeing kit.

Next, I made some simple put in tasks for my youngest student.  He doesn't have a lot of skills yet, so we need some really easy tasks for him.  I found the bunny in the top photo at Walmart.  It's actually a cup and came with a straw, but I took the straw out and the hole at the top is perfect for these small pompoms we had in our craft cupboard.  I've had the eggs and tray in the bottom photo for a couple of years now and they are great for a different type of put in activity.

I also made this simple task for him, which involves using the spoon to transfer the eggs from one bowl to another.

I also made some assembly tasks, using plastic eggs.  In the first task, the students have to put the hair elastics in the corresponding egg. I found these eggs with the hair elastics already in them at the Dollar Tree.  I love it when I find pre-made tasks!  In the second task, students have to put the eraser in the matching egg.  And in the third task, students match the halves of the egg and put them together.

The next tasks that I have to share today are using Bingo Dauber pages from DLTK-Kids.  I love that this site has pages for all kinds of themes and holidays, and that I can use them several different ways.  In the photo on the right, students simply put the pom poms in the dots, matching the colours.  In the photo on the left, I put alphabet stickers in the dots and students have to find and cover the letter /E/ with bingo chips.

The last task involves decorating Easter eggs, following the model in the photo.  I have four different decorated egg tasks, but I only took a photo of one.  These tasks are made with magnetic pieces that I found at Dollarama years ago.

What's in your workbasket or independent work tasks this week?  I'd love to hear from you!  Leave me a comment or send me an email!  

And don't forget to come back tomorrow to celebrate Autism Awareness Day!  I am participating in a giveaway that you won't want to miss!  Some awesome special education teachers are joining together to give you the chance to win a $50 TPT gift card!  Come back tomorrow for all of the details!

Until then,

Workbasket Wednesday

I am linking up at Christine Reeve's blog, Autism Classroom News for her Workbasket Wednesday.  To see all of the other great ideas, click on the image above.  Today's post is going to be short and sweet as I am tired and still have a bit of work to do to prepare for tomorrow.  I follow Pinterest and find so many great ideas and resources there.  If you are a teacher, EA, therapist or parent and you are not on Pinterest, you really need to be!  Today's work task come from a freebie I found on Pinterest.

This is all you need to make 16 different work tasks!  I love it when I find ideas like this!  I picked these up at the dollar store and cost a total of $2 (plus tax).

Then I downloaded those pattern cards for free from the Memorizing the Moments blog.

The set includes 16 pattern cards.  Students simply copy the pattern on the cards.

After making these, I still had several blocks and popsicle sticks left, which I will use to make other simple independent work tasks.  Take a look at all of the assembled bags!  Actually, this is just half of the bags!

Quick, easy and cheap to make!  My favourite kind of work task!  For more ideas on easy independent work tasks, follow my Pinterest board on Independent Work Activities.  And be sure to check out my Independent Work System Starter Kit for help with setting up your own independent work station in you classroom.  Click on the image to view the product listing.

What's in your workbaskets this week?  I'd you love to hear about any resources or ideas you have!  email me or leave me a comment below.

Until next time,

Work Basket Wednesday!

Happy Hump Day!  I am excited to participate in my first Workbasket Wednesday Link-Up hosted by Christine Reeve at www.autismclassroomnews.com!  To see all of the other link-ups, click on the picture below.  Today, I am going to show you some Valentine's Day themed tasks that I made for students to complete during their independent work, or work alone time, as we like to call it!

After a quick trip to the Dollar Tree and Dollarama, I had all of the supplies I needed to make my Valentine's Day themed tasks!  It's amazing how many tasks you can make with just a few items!  I do have to admit that I may have gone overboard a little, but in my defence there were so many cute items!  First up are some cute bingo dauber sheets that I found on DLTK-Kids that make simple workbasket tasks when use you pompoms with them!

Next, I made these simple put in tasks with pompoms, foam heart stickers, erasers and table scatter.  The containers in the upper left photo are from the kitchen section section at The Dollar Tree and came in a package of two, as did the paint pots in the bottom right photo.  The other containers came in a package of ten.  They are small, but perfect for tasks like this!  

Next, I made some sorting tasks.  It is important to generalize skills, so I like to include a few different ways of doing one task to make sure that students have truly mastered the skill.  These tasks involve sorting by colour, size, colour and size and appearance.

I still had materials left, so I made some matching tasks!

That's it for today!  Thanks for stopping by and if you would more information on how I made these, or a downloadable file of the matching boards, please comment below, or send me an email!  I would love to hear from you!