Yesterday was a big day.
It was my last day as a teacher for Jefferson County Public Schools. For several years, I’ve been wanting to
retire and start a business, and yesterday was the day.
I have a lot of emotions going on here: a little sad, but not too much, since I expect
to be seeing my former coworkers and students often; a little nervous, because I’ve told everyone
I’m starting a business, and it would be embarrassing to flop; a lot excited, because I get to play with new
software programs and spend my time focused on developing educational materials
for the special needs students I have taught for most of my life; and kind of
amazed that I get to do it on my own schedule, in my own way. As a matter of fact, I am writing this post
while walking on the treadmill!
As far as my business goes, I’m starting small. I’ll be offering Smart Board activities on
Etsy in the next day or two. And I have
an official name for the business:
Alternate Route Educational Products.
My plan is to offer activities to teach functional academics for all
ages. I pledge to avoid cartoony
graphics and “little kid” topics so that the materials will be appropriate for
teens and adults, while still keeping it accessible and interesting for the
younger set. Who decided that special
needs individuals prefer cartoons to full color photos? That has not been my experience.
I also pledge to offer a useful link or tidbit of
information with each posting. And so
here is the first: a link to an IEP goal
bank from Redmond, Oregon. The goals and
objectives start from very basic skills and go on up to grade-level goals. They even include sensory motor, daily
living, social emotional, and vocational skills! This is the best database of IEP goals I have
seen, and it’s searchable and downloadable!
