⏺️🎙️ Transforming Homework Struggles To Success

Does homework time feel like a daily battle? Are you struggling to help your child stay focused, complete assignments, or manage frustration? You’re not alone—and we’re here to help!

Join our expert-led Masterclass on Transforming Homework Struggles to Success, where we’ll break down practical strategies to make homework smoother, stress-free, and even enjoyable!

What You'll Learn:

✅ How to create a sensory-friendly and distraction-free homework space
✅ Effective time management & executive functioning hacks
✅ The power of visual schedules, timers, and reward systems
✅ How to reduce meltdowns and frustration during homework time
✅ Alternative learning approaches that fit your child’s unique needs

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Transcript

Hello everyone. If you're watching this as a recording or coming on live, I appreciate you joining me. If you are joining, it is likely that you are looking for some tips and tricks on how to help your child with homework or academic supports as we might call it. So academics being, their maths, their reading, their writing, anything that they might be working on at school.

And obviously sometimes they bring some of that work home for homework and after a long day of working. Kids don't always wanna do more work. And I think as adults we're like that too. But sometimes, it has to be done. So in that case, I wanted to give you all some hopefully tools that makes the process a little bit smoother and easier to complete.

Okay. Background about me. I always have this slide, but I change it up a little bit based on the topic. This is my 17th year working in public education in a school. I've been a coach here since December, 2020. I have a doctorate in organizational leadership and special education. I'm also a board certified behavior analyst, which impacts a lot of my practice and a lot of my work that I've done over my entire.

Career. I'm a wife, I'm a mother. I have a dog named Sussex my daughter Kalani. And I was just actually saying we're going on a trip tomorrow, so thank you for joining me on the eve of my holiday. And finally, I am someone who has provided lots of academic supports for others, and I've needed some for myself at times.

I was actually homeschooled through part of my high school career and a little bit before that as well. And that was just a choice that we made. I was pretty independent with my studies and so it was just easier for me to do it on my own. And then I would be able to babysit and do other things around my schedule, which was nice.

But that's not for everyone. But certainly there were times when I needed help and even for me with, for example what was it? I think it was algebra. Yeah, that didn't go well learning with my mom. And so I did end up going to school to take that course from a public school, but everything else I did at home, so pretty interesting.

But the point is we all need different things for different areas, different strengths and weaknesses, and so it's okay. We acknowledge that and, get what we need. So overall agenda for this masterclass is just discussing first, setting up the work environment that is probably solely maybe the most important step that you can take when you're gonna provide homework support.

And so we'll really dig into what setting up the environment. And then we'll go into modifying or accommodating the workload. This is, these are words that are pretty common in the classroom, in the school. And so we're gonna talk about what is modification and what is accommodations and how do you use those?

And as the parent, you may feel like I shouldn't have to, that should already be done by a teacher, and it might be, but sometimes doing it at home is different than school too. So sometimes you have to modify for the environment that you're in. Then we'll discuss some tools for motivation. And finally, I will have some fun resources for learning, fun to give to you all.

In the webinar resources that come with this, there's a tons of links. I posted. Tons of links and a few actual resources, but I am gonna go through some of those with you at the end. Some of my favorite websites and tools, I hope you find some use from that. Okay. So setting up the environment for work.

Okay, let's dig in. Okay, so first, let's say your child has to do homework, right? You've got to determine your workspace. Where is it gonna be? Right now I'm in my office. That's a designated place I can come and hide when I need to have quiet, when I need to focus, when I need to do these masterclass webinars.

And I know that my daughter, who's only two, can try to run in here at any point and distract me. But because I've got the doors closed and because my, we've got other rooms at the house where she is, it helps me to focus on my work. I have to pick an area and minimize distractions, right?

That can look a lot of different ways, but as you can see behind me, there's a lot of things on our walls that's just a style my husband enjoys. He likes to put his sports memorabilia up and other things. And that might be distracting for some people. And so you may need a space that's got very little on the walls, very little, to look at in order to work.

Depends on the person. Time of day is a factor. So like right now, depending on where you are, if you're in the United States, then it's probably afternoon, evening. If you're over in Australia, then it is morning for you. And like right now, honestly, I worked a full day at school and now I am doing this.

And so the time of day to focus and to be able to be productive does matter. 'cause right now I'm tired and thankfully I really enjoy doing this. This is motivating to me. So I can be present and I can, do this with everyone. But if I had to focus and write a report or come up with something a little bit more I guess not something that doesn't come as easy to me, right?

It would be really hard right now because I'm tired. So you consider the time of day where doing work is easiest for your child. It's really important to consider everyone's expectations in the house. So not just the kid doing the work, but your partner maybe siblings, even pets, right? What are they doing when it's time to do work?

So setting those expectations is important. And finally, sometimes you need tools for work completion. Not all kids can just sit down at a table and chair and be ready to go. So we're gonna dig into each of those areas a little bit more. Okay? So area in the home, consider a special workspace somewhere in the house and designate that as the workspace.

So make it a thing, right? This is where we do homework. This is a space that is designed for purposeful, meaningful, for work. So that way, especially for our kiddos who really like that routine, that will help them to know that and associate that area with the tasks that they're expected to do. Make sure it's accessible to you, but also offers privacy.

Meaning some kids are gonna need a lot of prompting to do their homework and others are gonna be able to do it more independently with minimal check-ins, right? Depending on how how interested they are in the work, how if it's a subject that they excel in, right? So make sure that you can see them and they can access you easily, but also make sure it's in a private space.

So maybe sitting on the living room couch is not gonna be the best place, right? Because it's out in the middle, in the open. Everyone might run through there or be around but also you wanna make sure that you can be nearby as needed. And like I said before, you may have to keep this area only for work activity.

So for the sake of routine, for the sake of your child, knowing what to expect and having that space always prepared for them, you may have to isolate that area just for homework. So just think about what works best for you and family. It might even be, hey, we don't have that kind of space where we can just always have that be a workspace, right?

Consider there's lots of nifty little tables out there where you can hide stuff when you're not using it. We have a coffee table in front of our couch that like lifts up to come towards you so that you can work or eat. But when you wanna put it back down it's storage.

So maybe something like that where you can hide things or just. You keep everything on a tray and then you just move the tray and then move it back when you need it. Think about those things. No shame in being creative and minimizing distraction. So for most people, quiet is probably going to be the best scenario to be productive with work.

So make sure the space is quiet or adequately just not overly noisy. Some kids can focus and work even with noise going on around them, typically not so quiet place. This is a really important one, guys. No distracting electronics like tv, tablet, et cetera. Not to say we can't incorporate those in for reinforcement breaks, but even me, when I have my phone right next to me when I'm trying to work, I will check it and I will check it several times.

It lights up, I look at it, right? Even if it doesn't light up. It's a good way to just be task, avoid it. And you know how it goes when you start scrolling and or playing a game or whatever. It, you can go down a rabbit hole and waste a lot of time. So make sure that, that's a rule that you establish that these things are not going to be in view or around during homework time.

And really consider what your child needs to focus. So this might include blocking off their view from certain things in the house. It might be giving them some kind of snack before they work that helps 'em focus really consider those sensory needs. So I have a few examples on this slide of flexible seating options.

If they're at a table, they might have a bouncy ball or a wobble seat. This one kind of allows 'em to move around while they're working, which can actually help the brain focus for many kids. This is a cushion that has a little bit of sensory input with little nubby nubby pieces on it.

And so that can just sit on top of any chair or any, seating device. If it's more mobile that way. And it can also sit on your lap. If a kid just wants to like, pick at something or have something to like pat while they're working, it could be used for that too. And then even some work may not call for, sitting at a table or sitting in a chair.

For example, reading a book or doing other activities that maybe don't require utensils. Maybe having a beanbag or one of these like cuddle cushions, right? That might actually be a more comfortable and inviting place for your child to be able to focus. So think about all these things.

Maybe it's a tent, maybe it's a teepee, whatever. But just make sure that it's, when it's comfortable and inviting, it's not too comfortable so they can still focus. So just keep all those things in mind. And then time of day. So there is no right answer for this or wrong answer. It really just depends on your child and you and what works for you.

So some kiddos, before they lose too much of their focus or they're already in the school and learning mode. So right after school, they get home and they just get right to work and get stuff done. And that way it's all finished and they can move on to the rest of their evening. But for some kids this is too much and they can't even fathom looking at any academic type of sheet or assignment.

And so they need some decompression time. And so that might be something that you schedule and you make sure that, hey, we're gonna. Get home or maybe they're decompressing in the car on the way home. And then we're gonna set the timer for 30 minutes and you get to go, jump on the trampoline, play your games, rest, have some sensory breaks, whatever it is before we start homework.

So build that routine. Think about is it better to do it before or after a meal or snack. You might wanna get it over with before dinner time, but for some having a meal or having dinner might actually help them to be able to focus better or a snack. So just think about before or after eating, is that gonna help be more productive?

Or maybe they have a snack while they're working, and this might not be the popular choice, but some kids might actually work best first thing in the morning. It depends on how early they get up and what works for you. But, some of our kiddos can get up pretty early and so they haven all that energy then and they haven't done anything yet, so they're fresh.

So maybe doing homework first thing in the morning and then taking it to school is a better option. Not for everyone, but just something to think about. Keep in mind those extracurricular activities. So after school you might have gymnastics or swimming or whatever it may be, and that's gonna take time away from work.

And you've gotta work around those things. So maybe you try to schedule homework, for nights when they don't have extracurricular activities, if that's possible, or make very short. Homework time on those nights. And in some cases maybe it's something they can do in the car. So if it's not riding and maybe they just read a book Hey, pull it out and read it to me while we're on our way somewhere.

If it's a child that doesn't need a ton of prompting that might work for you, just keep in mind and medication's a factor. So some of our kids take medication and maybe it's wearing off by the end of the day or by the end of the school day and their focus is changing. Maybe that is not the best time to do things.

So consider the medication timing and that'll also be a factor in choosing when it might be best to be productive.

Okay. And then the expectations for everyone in the house. You have to think what level of support will your child need? You may be sitting with them during the entire homework process to make sure they get things done right, or you might be able to get 'em started, walk away, cook dinner, come back, check in, do things like that.

But you wanna set that ahead of time so that everybody knows what to expect. Have those clear rules surrounding homework time. When kids have an, a chance to guess, because they don't know, they tend to pick what works in favor for them the most, right? We all do. If they don't have those set expectations, then they might wander off or go grab the iPad or the phone or whatever, and be like, oh, I didn't know I, you never said I couldn't get this right.

So have those rules visually. Audit auditorily and verbally, you can prompt it, but a lot of times having that visually established is helpful. And then just who is doing what? Is mom helping with the homework? Is it dad? Is it a sibling? What are the siblings doing while the child is trying to work?

Is everybody doing homework at the same time? Those are all things that need to be established clearly so that everyone follows those expectations. And then really keep in mind too, do you have the capacity for this or do you need to delegate? And as someone who works in a administrative role now, I very much understand the importance of being able to delegate.

I want to be able to do everything on my own. I want to be able to, it's if you want something done right, then do it yourself, right? But delegating people that you trust, utilizing people's strengths. It's a great skill to keep yourself like mentally healthy and able to do things more long-term.

Just consider, can I, is it best for me to be the one that's doing the homework help with the kiddo, or is it better for your partner to do it? Or do you need to take turns, right? So think about that. And if they have an older sibling, maybe they can help with certain parts. So don't feel like you have to do it all if there's another way and then tools that might be needed for work completion.

So I am a big fan of visual timers. You can have the them actually tangibly sitting there, or you could use a digital one as long as again that electronic is not distracting. A lot of times I'll say timer and people will get out, like the little kitchen timers where you set the numbers and then it just beeps when it's done.

Those are okay in some cases, but I'm talking about the ones specifically that show the minutes as they change. Some kids get obsessive over this and then they hyperfocus on that. So you just again know which timer it works for you. If you want one at all, sometimes you don't need it. Consider what writing utensils might be needed.

So you are gonna use pens, pencils, crayons, markers. Do you want a little bit of all of those? Are any of those gonna be distracting? Does the work require just pencils? And if you have a marker there, your child's gonna go for it and it's gonna be unclear or messy. So think about that math supports. So do you need a graphing paper or calculator or a number line to be able to help count?

These are all things that you wanna have in that designated workspace. Because if your kid has to go looking for it, they might get off track or lose focus or lose motivation. So be prepared with those things. You might need visual reminders like a break card. Hey, my kiddo's gotta do 30 minutes of work.

They might need to take a break when they get frustrated, so that break card's there to prompt them. Hey, I need a break real quick. Okay, great. So five minute break and we're back at it. A token system helps to also monitor that workload for them. Hey, we're working for five tokens and when you're, when you get those five tokens, homework is done right?

So it helps break it up for them. And a first then picture like here, first work, then your game. That can be helpful just to remember the schedule and the expectation for that. And I, if you've watched me before, I'm a big component of visuals and my last masterclass was all about using visuals and specifically when it comes to school based tasks.

I would just really encourage you, even if you're like my child should know I've told them this before, we do this every day, right? Visuals are still helpful. Reminders 'cause they're concrete. They don't go away. They mean the same thing every time. And that can just be very helpful to maintain those expectations and that focus.

Okay, thanks for hanging in there with me, for setting up the environment. Okay, so now that we have our workplace and we know what that's gonna look like, and we have all of our tools, now we have to actually look at the work, right? Is this work appropriate for the child or does it need a little tweaking?

So let's look at modifications and accommodations. I'm gonna define them for you real quick. 'cause I think oftentimes we use them interchangeably, but they actually do have a difference to them. So modifications to something, they actually change the outcome of the task. But still require. Some work effort.

So for example completing five maths problems instead of 10. Okay, so the objective was 10 problems. If you modify it to only having to do half, then you did do some work, but the outcome was half as much as what was expected. So it changed the outcome. Maybe doing a written report instead of a speech.

So if the goal was to produce a speech and to be able to vocally or, communicate to that degree somehow and you write it instead, that's changing the product and then cleaning the kitchen instead of the bathroom. So both cases involve cleaning, but the area that got cleaned is different. So a modification, it's not a bad thing, it just, you have to keep in mind it changes the end goal.

So is that okay? If it is modifications might be great. But if the end goal cannot change, then we might wanna look more at accommodations. And after I explain this, I'm gonna give you an example that really helps it make sense to me. Okay? So first let's look at accommodations. So accommodations don't change the outcome.

They don't change that product at the end, but they do add something to help make the task easier. So for example, I. Hey, we need to do write a paragraph. I'll write a sentence. You write a sentence. So the child may be dictating to you what they want to say, but all that writing is wearing them out.

Maybe they struggle fine motor wise and maybe they're just not motivated because writing is hard. Writing involves so many things, so much motor planning and thinking and blah. It's too much. But if I write one sentence and then you write one sentence and we take turns, that's taking some of the workload off of you.

The end product is still a paragraph in both cases, but you accommodated how you got to that end product. Using graph paper or multiplication chart, still doing the same maths, just adding something to make it easier or clear, more organized. Typing or talk to text instead of writing. So again, if you're writing a report or, some sort of paper about something or responding to questions and you type it or talk to text it, you're still ending with a writing product. So the example that I was referring to that I really that really makes the difference, resonate with me is think of a bicycle. Okay? So if I am riding a bicycle from point A to point B, okay a modification would be, Hey, instead of riding 20 feet, you only need to ride 10 feet.

Okay? I lessened the amount, but an accommodation would be you're riding the whole 20 feet, but we're putting training wheels on for you to help you get there. Okay? So the difference is literally what happens, what's what happens at the end. So I have few examples for us to work through and think about, on how you could accommodate or mod modify something for your child. So how could you help? Student has 10 subtraction problems and two word problems to solve for homework. He sees the paper and immediately grumbles and puts his head down oh gosh, math's not my thing, or I'm not in the mood to do all of that.

So how could you help in this situation? Let's see. I don't, oh, I am so sorry. My slides just totally jumped. Let me go back. I don't know what I did. Okay, here we go. So modification might be tell the student he only has to complete five subtraction problems and one word problem. So instead of 10 and two.

We only have to do five in one. And you know what? A modification can even come in the sense that's what we're gonna do right now. And then in the morning or a little bit later, we might do a little bit more. Okay? So it doesn't have to be like a permanent modification, it could just be in the moment to get things done.

And that's what helps your child and that's okay. An accommodation, however, might be giving them a break after doing the subtraction problem. Hey, you did all 10, you get to take a break. And then after five minutes we're gonna come back and do those word problems. 'cause they take a little bit more thought process.

Adding that break in to help build the stamina or, keep the motivation, that would be an accommodation. Okay, another scenario. How could you help? A child is supposed to read through 10 sight words and then write each word without looking. So in a sense, that's a spelling test a little bit too, right?

Read these words and then without looking, write them down. So how can we help a modification, which means again, that end product might be different. The child reads the sight words. Then just spells them orally. They are still spelling, but they're not doing the writing piece. So it is a little bit different.

And maybe that's totally okay. The teacher may say, I don't care how they do it, as long as you see them do it fine. So that might be more motivating to a kiddo if they're not a writer. An accommodation though, without changing things too much, maybe the student reads the sight words with some prompting.

Okay. So there's nothing that says that you can't help them as part of this process, and then they trace over a highlighted model. This is something I use with students quite often. Actually, I just did it today. So I have a kiddo that's working on tracing his name and the, and uppercase letters. And he still, he has some fine motor struggle, so it is hard for him.

So I said, today, can you write your name? And he said, I can't do it. And so I. Wrote it in a highlighter marker or a light colored crayon. And then he took a darker color or pencil and went over top of it. So did he write his name? Yes. He just had a little model to help support him. So the output didn't change, but he was able to do it with that accommodation.

And I think this is my last scenario. How could you help? The student has an assignment to write a poem with rhyming words. So as not all poems require rhyming words but this particular assignment does. So the modification would be the student comes up with several rhyming words, and then the parent uses those to help form sentences.

So maybe we didn't make a poem, right? We didn't write a poem, but the student was able to come up with rhyming words, right? So they still met a portion of the objective, not the whole objective. But hey. It was some work. On the other hand, an accommodation might be to give a poem template, which allows the students to fill in blanks with rhyming words.

Almost like a mad lib, if you've ever done Mad Libs. I really love those 'cause they can be funny, but with more intent. A poem template forming the sentences for them and then just wanting a rhyming word filled in, or just a visual graphic organizer that helps them to write the poem more clearly.

There's several options but anyway, that is another way to help them get the job done. And it doesn't always have to be exactly as the assignment's written. I think for me, what's more important is that the child. Is giving effort to it. And they're engaged in it. That's more important to me as a, as an educator, than having it be done exactly that one way that the assignment was given.

And so hopefully you have teachers that think that way as well and are flexible. But in the end, we all need accommodations and modifications to be successful. We do. So that's just part of life. It's a life skill to be honest, to be able to do that and cope with that. Okay. So let's look at some different tools for motivation to keep kiddos going when maybe work is hard.

Okay. I'm gonna take a moment to talk about reinforcement. If you have the Autism 360 app or, access to the resources. Then there is a whole course on reinforcement and it happened to be done by yours truly. And so if you want to learn more about this or you just want some clarity on it, I would go watch those courses.

Each video is just a few minutes. So it's easy to break up and do over time, which is an accommodation for you. But anyway, you need this basic knowledge to plan for successful activities and tasks for your child, especially when it's a non-preferred activity like work usually is. Okay?

So positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. These are two things that I wanna distinguish, okay? Because typically when we hear positive, we think what? Something good, right? And when we hear negative, we think something bad. But in this case, that is not what it is, okay? Because reinforcement in general helps strengthen a behavior.

So it continues. Oh, I got a paycheck, so I'm gonna keep working. Oh, I get dessert after dinner. So I'm going to eat everything on my plate so I can have dessert, right? And it works. So it becomes a pattern that we continue. It reinforces our behavior. Positive reinforcement just means you're adding something.

And I just put think positive as a plus sign instead of, as, a good thing. You add something to help strengthen a behavior. So yes, you get that dessert, right? Or I'm going to give you. A token for getting two problems done, right? So we're adding something in that's helping keep that behavioral momentum going, that motivation going.

Negative reinforcement on the other hand is and again, think minus instead of like bad. It's removing something to help strengthen a behavior. So it continues and I think it's a lot harder to think of examples here. But usually we're removing something adversive. So okay, it's, modifications are a good example.

I have 10 math problems to do, right? And I really hate them. Hey, if we can get through six of them, then you can take a break. Or maybe we don't have to do the last four, right? We removed something that the child really didn't love and it actually helps strengthen their ability to do their homework because they were motivated by having less, if that makes sense.

Another good example of this might be. Like when we have a headache that's aversive to us, so we, might take medication or rest, right? And that helps to remove that headache, that pain. So it would reinforce our act of resting or taking medication in the future. Okay. So hopefully that makes sense.

And a lot of times for kids and parents, I hear oh, positive reinforcement, like I can't give them something every time they do something. Like, how are they gonna learn what real life is like? You do need to have a plan for fading that. So they aren't getting a piece of candy every time they do a problem.

That's, that might be where you start in, in very more resistant cases, but. It's definitely not the end goal. But sometimes it does help you get started and you gradually fade and hopefully pair it with praise and then praise takes over as a reinforcer instead of just candy. But with homework, I find that negative reinforcement is often the actual way to go because with work and with non-preferred tasks, the best thing you can do for some kids is actually to remove some of that stress from them, right?

So how can you do the homework or get some of it done and remove aversive stressors in the process, right? So that actually might be something to consider when you wanna keep your kid motivated. So you have to plan for it though. I, if you don't have a plan, it's really easy to, to just not do it and to not do it well or with integrity with fidelity.

And so I would have, something like a token system for example, and this tokens would be a positive reinforcement. However, you could say, once you do this many things and get all your tokens, you're done with homework for the night, you don't have to do anymore. So there's a little bit of negative reinforcement in there too.

So I've suggested this to many of my parents. I've worked with just tokens that they would be interested in that set a boundary. Okay, we're gonna work for, two minutes and then get a token or two problems and get a token. You might in, instead of just having those tokens right then and there, you might have a more advanced learner who's able to use like a chart to build up, to reinforce over time.

I. I did my homework today, check mark. Tomorrow I did my homework. Check mark. At the end of the week, when I get five check marks for five days, I then get a reinforcer of going out for ice cream or a new book, something like that. And then you need to consider too, do you need to build in those breaks?

Those kind of, that negative reinforcement, like I get out of this for a little bit. And it helps me tolerate how long is appropriate, how many do they need. These are all things to plan for when you know your kiddo and you wanna set them up for success. So if they start to get antsy after 10 minutes, I would schedule a break after about eight or nine minutes, you want to get ahead of it be proactive and prevent their stress, prevent their behaviors that are not so great from happening.

And then you've gotta decide. Am I gonna reinforce based on time of working or the amount completed? Are we doing five minutes equals a token or break, or are we doing five problems equals a token or a break? So for some the kids that get fixated on time, I would do set problems or set, tasks.

But for other kids, the time might be a better factor as long as it's productive, right? And you might be using a visual schedule to help set some of those expectations as well. Like first we're doing maths, then we're going to play outside for 10 minutes, then we're coming back for reading, then we're done.

So that kind of visual schedule might help too. And I just have a cute little princess example down there of a quick token economy system that might be motivating to, someone to, to get those princesses lined up. And once you get 'em all in the castle, homework time is done.

That's just an example of one that you could use. Could. Okay.

All right. A little bit more on token economies. When will that token be earned again, is it time, is it completed work? And maybe in some cases it's just for compliance and sometimes you have to start with compliance and then move to actual work production that is. Quality. Okay. So I might just care that you came to the table or the spot with me to work for two minutes.

You're gonna get a token just for coming here and staying put, right? Or being near me near your work, right? And you don't have to just earn it for actually doing something work related. It could be you listened, you follow directions, you get a token. It could be a mix of both. You got two problems done.

Token the next time, oh my goodness, you did so much of that without my help token. So think about that too. You could be reinforcing compliant behaviors. You could be reinforcing actual work production as well, and then make those breaks contingent. So breaks can be scheduled based on amount of work done, like I said.

Breaks could be scheduled based on time. So every five minutes, 15 minutes, 25 minutes, whatever your child can tolerate. And then how long should that break be so that it's reinforcing enough, but it does not get your kiddo off task. 'cause if I take a break for too long, I'm not coming back. So it, it might have to be quick or even just, okay, get up and walk around and come back.

And then here's some examples of different ways to use a visual schedule with your kiddo. So sometimes it might be the afterschool routine. Example down here if you can see it. So when we get home from school you're gonna take off your coat and shoes, put away your coat and shoes, wash your hands, empty backpack, eat a snack.

Homework time. Play. So having that visual expectation helps your child know what to expect on a regular basis, and you can change that up if you have extra things in an evening. But it's overall pretty consistent. And I find that even kids that are really rigid in their expectations and their routines, if it's on a visual schedule, it's almost like they can accept a change a little bit easier because the schedule's still the same.

Oh, instead of doing playtime afterwards, we're gonna go to the to the park, which might still be a playtime, but, we're doing some, we're going somewhere, we're doing something different. It's often more better tolerated when the rest of the schedule is still familiar.

And you might also use a visual schedule for a homework checklist. And I think I have a couple examples. In our free resources, particularly I use artificial intelligence, AI like chat, GTP, and I said. Make me a homework checklist for reading, writing, whatever and it formulated something and you can refine it.

But just an example of how you can use AI to help you too. And kids might think that's cool if they have some input. So a homework checklist might actually say what to do during homework time. Read all directions, underline words. Write your name and date. Write your answer, double check.

If it's digital, submit. If it's paper, put it in your folder. This would be great for some of our older kiddos who have organizational struggles or their executive functioning skills need some developing, right? This is a guideline to remind them, these are the steps of how you get something done. And I know so many students in high school in particular who do the work and then.

Forget to turn it in. And so I will say, Hey, how's your day going? Is your work done? Yep, got everything done. And I'm like, great. And then the next day, come to find out their grade is failing or something's missing, and I'll say, I thought you got it done. They're like, I did look, it's done. And I said, did you turn it in?

Did you press submit? And they're like, oh no. So having this kind of a checklist that they have to go through consistently can help with some of those organizational skills as well for your older ones, and younger too. You may just have to simplify it and have it be vi more picture based and less or a lot simpler.

Which is why other helpful visuals might be like a first then. So instead of you have five or six, prompts, specific prompts, you might just need a quick, okay, first you're gonna write your name, then we're gonna color the picture. And if you have pictures to go on that first, then strip amazing.

Awesome. But you don't always have to have that. In fact, I like to laminate these or even write it on a whiteboard, then I can just fill it in whatever I need it to be on the spot. And again, something about putting it in a visual. Kids are like, oh, okay. Yeah. A lot easier than just saying it.

'cause that verbal processing can take some time. That can be aversive and they might try to escape that. So you wanna be able to avoid those aversive things as we talked about. So again, checklists first, then the visual timer. You might also want. Like a help card or a signal card, especially if you're not sitting right by your kiddo and you're, cooking dinner or again, they're in view at, they're at the dining table.

And so you can see them, but you're not right by them, and they need some help. Maybe they hold up their help card or they bring it to you. And that's a prompt to say, if you need me, come get me. A reminder of rules is always good too. Remember, when we're sitting here, we're actively working or we're, having safe feet.

Our feet aren't on the table, whatever it is. Okay. So this is probably the most fun part at the, towards the end of our masterclass here is resources for a learning fund. And we're gonna explore a little bit, okay? So one thing to consider is sensory integration. So we talked at the beginning about.

Sensory needs and considering that when you are planning for your workspace but some kids might need, in addition to that flexible seating that we talked about. Some of them might just need fidgets, so while they're doing their work, they're able to touch something. Maybe it's putty that they're forming.

It's keeping, it's good for their motor movements too. It's helping their brain focus. Maybe it's a, a spinner or something twisty. Maybe it's, excuse me, even I've had people put like Velcro, like the rough side or the soft side, whatever's preferred under the table or the chair and the student will just feel it while they're working and that is enough sensory input to keep them.

On task or in that area as well. So just little tips on how you can do that. And then you might need sound blocking earplugs. So let's just go to this link and let me know if you can't see this, but it should show you my link links as I go. Okay. So many of us by now have probably heard about these sound blocking earplugs such as loop.

There's other ones Calmer I think is a brand. I actually have the loop earplugs and you can buy all different kinds. So dream is for restful sleep. Engage is when you want to zone out some sounds but still be able to engage in a conversation. So it might block out some.

External extra sound. And then there's one that's just really for quiet. I have the one, I think it is maybe it's this experience one. And anyway it's one, it actually has a switch on it and it allows you to change. So I can go from, oh wait, it's the switch to, yeah. Oh, sorry. I can go from the quiet mode to the engage mode to, I think the experience mode.

So if I wanna go to sleep, I'll put it on quiet. If I want to just block out a little bit of sound, but still here, I'll put it on engage. So anyway it can be helpful for creating that environment that's work friendly and blocks out some of those external stimuli that can keep us from getting our work done.

Okay. Let me get us back on track here.

Oops. Sorry guys. Okay. Okay. Now this is my favorite slide, learning websites, okay? starfall.com. All right. This is gonna be for your younger kids, all right? Or lower elementary. I have used Starfall for probably my entire 17 year career, and I have access to an account so I can open everything.

But when you go on, it is limited what you can open, but there's still a lot to do. But for a small fee. Year. I think it's a yearly fee. You could unlock it all and it truly might totally be worth it for your kid. These also come in apps that go on a tablet. So if you'd prefer to just buy the app one time.

I think they do break 'em up into smaller parts. So instead of having full access, it's oh, one app is alphabet, one app is reading games, things like that. But if you have a kiddo and you just wanna enhance their learning@homestarfall.com. So let's look. Okay. Look at all the stuff on here.

So much stuff. So first of all, it's fun 'cause you can do all about me and it will teach this works on language skills too, and answering questions your kid actually gets to go through and make this little avatar look like them all while learning about themselves. So when is my birthday?

And you put in the information. How old they are. Sorry, it's being a little pokey today.

I won't show you all of it, but just real quick. So what I have, and it'll read it to you,

so you get to discuss with your child what season their birthday's in. Mine is in, oh, and then on my birthday, I like to, and anyway, you keep, you fill out all the parts and it does that for all these different things. And it has areas of the house. So that's just one section. I, and then the alphabet one is great.

It even has some sign language. It signs the letters down here which is pretty cool, but, okay, so let's just go to Jay. 'cause I'm Jennifer.

So it reinforces the letter name and the sound, and then items that start with that letter

and it'll do a few more things.

And a lot of times it'll end with a little activity. Not all of them do.

Kids just think it's funny.

Okay, so here's an activity they can spell, jump with the letters and they just drag it like that. So I won't go through all of that. So that's again, just one letter. And everyone is a little bit different. They've got colors, there's songs there's just simple little motion songs. There's holiday based things where you can build a snowman or a jack-o-lantern.

There's backpack, pair bear books, which are, cute little readers that they can listen to. There's this phonics machine where you can build words and see how different sounds work.

Anyway, all kinds of stuff. All kinds of stuff. We could spend forever on that. But I would just recommend checking out starfall.com on your own. There's math games. This is a US based thing, so some of the seasons might be, if you're in Australia, the seasons might be opposite. Or some of the terminology might be different, but it's still pretty beneficial.

I love the calendar personally. This is where it's gonna be a little off for you guys because March is going to show spring. 'cause it's spring here.

This was my calendar time in my classroom every day. And I'd have kids come up and help point.

Anyway, it goes through all of that. It lets you select the number. It just reinforces those skills too. Anyway, starfall.com and that was just the kindergarten and pre-K section and it goes on and on. If you can't tell I love it, then I didn't do a good enough job. Okay. Abc y a.com or abc. Yeah. As I call it, another great gaming site for learning.

So let's just do a grade three. I'm not signed up, but you can still do several strategy games, letter games, look at all these options. Slider puzzles. So if your kiddo's really into games and you're trying to get them, at least learning something, this is a good site for that. It goes up through, what is it, grade year?

Five. Nope. Year six and beyond. It does as well. And then Twinkle, many of you may know Twinkle, it is more a site for finding resources that you can print. So if you do need something to work on at home, twinkle is going to have some free things that you can get. It might be limited with the free account, but look at all these activities and these pages you can print.

education.com is the same concept. I think the free version, at least last time I checked, you get 10 free worksheets a month. So that's not too bad. And there again, you can decide what subject area you need, rhyming words, how to make 10, you can search to find what you're looking for, which is awesome.

And then teachers pay teachers. That's not gonna be everyone's cup of tea. It's definitely made for teachers by teachers, but there's some really awesome, like even social story I won't put in a particular topic, but you can, and you can purchase different social stories, different lessons.

You also can, and I do have. I do have a login, but I'm, I won't take the time to do it anyway. You can choose your price range. So there are a lot of free resources too that you can download. You have to create an account, but then it's free to download. So accepting differences, social skills, activities, free and then it'll be usually tells you how many pages it is and bing, bing, boom.

Great resource. So yeah, those are all the websites, not all the websites, but several that I use regularly that are really helpful or I recommend those to parents. And those are all on my resource list. Other resources might be online timers. So I showed you the timer that you can, have physically.

I would always have this up in my classroom.

So kids would know when it's time to work. Hopefully you guys can hear me. It seems to be skipping. What's really fun is these different ones up here. So like holiday timers. My daughter loves this, unfortunately, there's a lot of chop up with this. Okay, so she likes the Santa Claus one, but we'll just do, that's fine.

We'll just do an Easter one since that's coming up. So you can set the timer for, let's just do,

let's just do 10 seconds so you all can see, and you can put in different names. So if you, oh, if you have, like your kiddo's name or your family member's name, you can put that down here and it'll show them in the race. So these are just generic names, but you could put your own in. Okay. Your break time is two minutes.

Start in the timer and then it's a little race.

There you go. Okay. Various online timers you can use as well that are motivating to kids. Creating handwriting worksheets. Gosh, these are, there's so many good sites. So again, the name tracing, the word tracing. This website will allow you to make your own. So there's many choices.

There's things besides names as well, but let's say we just go here. Okay. And I just wanna do original. Okay. And I'm going to just put in my name.

Okay. And repetition amount. I only want my kid to do it three times 'cause that's all they can handle. Be careful for all these popups. So there it is. And then it's like you just download it and it's ready to print. And they have really cool packets for free too that have not only tracing, but then oh, cut out the letters and make your name or the word.

So anyway, lots of cool stuff you can explore outside of this time. Again, creating checklists and plans using AI to help you do that. Adaptive equipment. They have cool things now like reading pens. So it's a adaptive pen that you buy, and then as you put it over words in a book, it'll actually read it aloud to you.

So that's pretty cool too to help accommodate struggling readers. Okay, so that was just my resources really quick in a nutshell. And again, you can check 'em out in our free resource folder. Real quick, autism 360. If you don't know what it is, I will explain it to you real quick. So what it is.

Having a worker or a therapist practitioner working one-on-one with parents based on goals that the child needs to work on. You determine those together. You set smart goals, and then we do periodic reviews. It's all virtual, it's all online, and if you sign up, then someone hooks you up with a coach that it can, or a practitioner that can match your child's needs.

It's not for everyone. It definitely takes some time and dedication. You need to be willing to work on goals. So it, if you were to meet with someone like me on you needed academic support, I might say, Hey, try printing off these sheets and see how your child responds to this process, yada, yada.

If you do it, you might see some of that progress, but if you don't have that time, it'd be hard to commit to. It's not a course, it's actually working with someone. Benefits, you'll become a great advocate for your child in all environments. Identify opportunities and design strategies for yourself.

So learning like of all the things I talked about here in just an hour, like I hope you have several good ideas. Even if you got one. I feel like that's been beneficial and that's not even tailored specifically to you like our program would be. And you're supported on a regular basis by a team of practitioners too.

Get premium access to our app and the best thing is seeing real tangible progress. And if you do get stalled with progress, you have someone to talk to about it and troubleshoot. So if you are interested in that here is a QR code to find out more. I've been working with some of the same families for years and years.

And I've watched one kiddo in particular go from a 2-year-old and now she's in year one. And we did a lot of academic building. She gets on Starfall quite a bit. And so just being able to see that growth and having, that consistent support is awesome over time. Alright, thank you guys so much for tuning in.