• Jul. 11, 2008 - I.E.P's All Around!

I.E.P is the acronym for "Individual Education Plan" and I am already thinking about what I will be setting up for each child for September.  You see, they make I.E.P's all the time for special needs kids.  I have known the term for years and always set these up for all of my kids because I believe that every child is unique and needs individual plans for study.  I.E.P's allow a teacher to really assess a child's accomplishments as well as "red flag" areas  that may need a little more attention.  These I.E.P's can include more than just the educational side of things.  For example, in my son's I.E.P (14 year old with aspergers) I have a goal set to help him with his socialization. It is my goal to get him involved with Kerry's Place, a local autism support place.  They have 4H classes, art shows, etc for children on the spectrum.  My goal is to actually get him there and get him in a positive frame of mind.  For those of you who know us, you will agree that this will certainly be a challenge. For my 2nd youngest child, who will be beginning grade 1, my goals for her are very different.  I have goals set that will help her start writing her own stories, learning some new math concepts, and other more educational stuff.  As for socialization, this child integrates so well that I don't even need to include that in her I.E.P.  It is truly amazing to think about how different each child is and to be honest, it scares me when a school board (I am talking public school, not private school) follows a curriculum that is designed to work with every child.  It just doesn't work.  Nobody is the same, everyone is unique, and many of these kids fall through the cracks. So, it is only July and I am already starting to set up each child's I.E.P's.  I want to be organized before September and have all of the goals in place.  When I have them written up I will share one or two of them to show you what I mean by "individual" education plans.  These little gems are just great for me as a teacher because they help me stay focused on what needs to be worked on. I hope you are having a terrific summer so far. Love Samantha

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