Everyday Teaching Autism Resources

Time flies and it’s May before we knew it. Many parents have been reaching ing out to me and inquiring about summer school or the extended school year (ESY).

Is it happening despite pandemic situations? YES! We offered Extended School YEar (ESY) last year in-person as well. This year, for sure!

Which school site? It won’t be his/her own classroom. District will select 2-3 locations to run a summer school and extended program this summer.

Who’s going to work with them? It depends on the application of staff. Students will receive the agreed IEP services.

Are they getting speech and OT as usual? Yes. Students will receive the agreed IEP services according to their IEP. Refer to ESY page.

Please note that * Each school district runs the program differently- it’s just a general questions and my answers to them.

Summer Themes

Some of my favorite summer themes will be: Weather, Seasons, Sun, Butterfly, Calendar, Independence Day, Water(ocean) animals, animal habitat, camping, cooking, and so many more. Here are my suggested monthly themes.

Summer Themes Free Download PDF

Camp themes ideas

I noticed over the years that students and staff love working around the camp (camping) themes. When they arrive at the classroom that week, I love to set up tents (big and small) and get some forest decorations. Students also love to work on building their own camp site with construction paper.

Summer school ideas

Social Skills/Play Group will be fun activities for the summer school. Summer School is not usually all about academics, but social and play components. Playing with different puzzles, board games, and turn-taking games (e.g., connect 4, bingo) will be fun ideas for summer school.

In order to support behavior in class, I utilize a token system in which students get to ‘earn’ some $ throughout the activities. For young students, it’s a chance to learn about the names of bills and coins. They can make different combinations of money and “buy” snacks or toys on Friday.

Summer is fun and relaxing. This is a time that teachers can try different projects and try run stations based on different themes. Perfect time to explore different types of books and art activities as well.

This was a weekly schedule of my summer school last year 2021. It was one of the best summers ever! Great memory.