Inside: Autism Classroom's guest blog series, showcasing with articles/blogs, supports and resources from various educators.

Hello, and Happy Teacher-ing, from Newfound Ideas!

I’m not new to teaching but I’m new to blogging, so let me introduce myself. I’ve been in the education field for almost 20 years, in various capacities. I hold an Arts degree in English, an Elementary Education degree, as well as a Masters in Instructional Technology. I have also taught in four different countries, in private and public schools, and at almost every grade level from Kindergarten to high school, with adult education thrown in for good measure!

After all my travels and various teaching positions, I came to realize that teachers need each other all the time, more than we care to admit sometimes. This led me to join the sharing resources craze and start an store with teacher resoruces.

Thus Newfound Ideas came to be and is a play on the name of my home province in Canada. It consists of, among other things:

• ESL products for all ages including vocabulary activities for common everyday items; speaking, listening, and writing activities; and
• alphabet/colors/numbers worksheets, aimed at Kindergarten students in particular; and
• research templates for Social Studies topics as well as for specific holidays and events.

The resources that I have in my Newfound Ideas store are beneficial to students of all ages, in various ways, but many of the resources are especially beneficial to autistic students. Activities that encourage students to practice their oral communication, as well as reading social cues and describing what is happening in a picture, can all be found there. They will be encouraged to practice these skills with a partner and learn to hold simple conversations. Creating and maintaining social relationships will be endorsed, as well as learning which conversational topics are appropriate for certain situations.

So go ahead and look around my site – I’m sure you’ll find something that will interest you!