When I started Our Spectrum of Strengths, my plan was simple:
write about my classroom, what we were learning, how I differentiate curriculum so every student gets what they need, and how I design my environment with intention.
Then school started.
This year, I welcomed four new students into my classroom. Each one came with significant support needs, big behaviors, and a story I hadn’t learned yet. Every student required 1:1 support, and one required 2:1. Suddenly, my classroom wasn’t just full of learners—it was full of adults too.
The first semester was exhausting. Chaotic. Loud.
It was constant observation, trial and error, and learning how to listen differently.
And I didn’t write a single blog post.
Not because I didn’t care.
But because all of my energy went into paying attention.
Paying attention to what behaviors were communicating.
Paying attention to which strategies helped students feel safe.
Paying attention to how too many adults in one space can change the entire emotional climate of a room.
I was still doing the work—just not the writing part.
Looking back now, I realize something important:
this is the story I wanted this blog to tell.
This semester reminded me that teaching students with complex needs isn’t about perfect plans or polished lessons. It’s about slowing down long enough to notice what’s working, what isn’t, and what a student is trying to say when they don’t yet have the words.
So this is me picking the blog back up—not with a highlight reel, but with honesty.
Moving forward, I’ll be sharing:
- what differentiation actually looks like in my classroom
- how I use curriculum as a tool, not a script
- how I think about behavior as communication
- why classroom setup matters more than people realize
- and what I’m learning along the way (sometimes the hard way)
If you’re teaching in survival mode right now, you’re not behind.
You’re learning.
And sometimes, that’s the most important work we do.
