Visitors to the Classroom

Integration with others in the community and school is equally as important as with Peers.

In the past two years the DLC class has had the pleasure of having had many visitors into our classroom. I love having people in as it’s mutually beneficial for my kids and the visitors. It’s awesome for my students to get used to communicating and being around people they don’t know. It’s equally as good for people from the community to come into our world and find out how inspiring and fun my students are. It also lets my kids experience things they may not always get to.

Some of our visitors:

-A mom of one of my peer mentors came in to teach the students yoga.

-Different teachers from WMS came in to play songs on their guitars and sing.

-An education specialist came in to do a beautiful art paining project with the kids.

-A para brought in her hiking and camping equipment to let the kids experience it all. They especially liked the headlamp, hiking boots, and sleeping bag. We got to learn how to put up a tent which was hilarious in the middle of the classroom.

-We hosted a bluegrass band and invited other classes in to listen. My kids love music and to learn about different instruments.

-The fire department came to show off their fire truck and all the hidden compartments. This was especially important as I believe the more interactions my kids can have with first responders the better, and vice versa.

-We had an umpire bring in his equipment and show it off, talking about the different pieces and what it’s used for.

-A math teacher gave us a lesson on word problems.

-An English teacher read a picture book and did a lesson on acceptance and comprehension through pictures.

-Multiple people have brought in goodies to frost and decorate. A favorite for the kids as cookie decorating = sugar eating.

-A past peer mentor came to play the ukulele and sing wonderful songs for us.

-The dean of students taught us how to put a golf ball.

If you have a special talent, passion, or past time, think about coming in to share your love. I’ve found the best way to educate people about special education is not through talking about it but by bringing them into our world to experience it through things they love.