Calming Strategies for Preschoolers: Managing Big Feelings

Help preschoolers learn about Managing feelings and emotions with this simple, Social Skills Story, an engaging Adapted Book and cardsThis Interactive “Calming Strategies for Big Feelings” Narrative has been designed especially for young learners, uses clear language and supportive visuals to teach the layout of what to be expected in a positive and age-appropriate way.

* Easy-to-read story card reminders (Portable calming steps)

* Adapted Version of the story with detachable supports on every page

* Printable Low Prep pages

* Great for whole-group lessons, small groups, or one-on-one use

Preschool and Pre-K
Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE)
Social-emotional learning (SEL)
Behavior support and classroom Expectations

  • Clear visuals support comprehension
    Repetitive and predictable text builds confidence
  • Easy to print, laminate, or use digitally
  • Portable visuals
  • Differentiated (with words or pictures)

This resource helps teachers, therapists, and parents gently guide children through real-life situations what to expect when feeling angry. Great for Supporting Calming skills or helping individual students who need extra practice.

Visual Choice Boards for Learning about Numbers, Colors and Shapes

Learning with Visual Choice Boards

Math can look very different from one learner to another. For some students, especially children in special education, autism, or students who are non-speaking or use AAC, a traditional worksheet may not always be the best way to show what they know.

That’s where math visual choice boards can make a big difference.

Visual choice boards give students clear, simple choices while helping make math activities more predictable and accessible. They can be especially helpful for students who benefit from visual supports, AAC, structured activities, and reduced language demands.

If you’re looking for an easy way to bring more visual support into your math routine, these Math Visual Choice Boards from ClassroomTab Books are designed with accessibility in mind.

A visual choice board uses pictures, symbols, words, or a combination of these to help students understand their options.

Instead of asking a student a broad question like, “What math activity would you like to do?”, a choice board can provide a few clear options.

For example, a student might choose between:

  • Counting
  • Matching numbers
  • Number identification
  • Shapes

The visual format can help students understand what is expected and communicate their choice more independently.

For children who are non-speaking or use AAC, visual choices can also provide another meaningful way to participate and communicate during math.

Math instruction can sometimes involve a lot of verbal directions, abstract concepts, and multiple steps. For students with autism and other learning needs, visual supports can help make those expectations easier to understand.

Math visual choice boards can help students:

Practice functional communication

Make a choice independently

Understand the activity before beginning

  • Reduce the amount of verbal prompting needed
  • Participate in math activities in a more accessible way
  • Build confidence with independent work
  • Connect communication and academic learning

The goal isn’t to make math easier just for the sake of making it easier. The goal is to give students a way into the activity.

One of the helpful features of these printable math visual choice boards is that they are available for two ability levels.

This makes it easier to provide the same type of visual structure while adjusting the activity to meet individual student needs.

That can be especially useful in special education classrooms where students may be working on very different skills during the same math block. You can use the choice boards for:

One-to-one instruction

Special education math instruction

Autism classrooms

Self-contained classrooms

Resource rooms

  • One-to-one instruction
  • Small-group math
  • Independent work
  • Visual schedules and structured work systems
  • AAC-supported learning

The printable choice boards come in two sizes, giving you flexibility depending on how you plan to use them.

A larger format can work well when the board needs to be displayed or easily seen during a lesson. A smaller format can be useful for individual student work, desks, binders, folders, or portable communication supports.

Having different sizes means you can choose what works best for your classroom setup and your students.

For students who use AAC, academic activities can be an important opportunity for communication.

A math activity doesn’t have to be separate from communication practice.

A student can use a visual choice board to communicate:

“I want this.”

“I choose counting.”

“I’m finished.”

“I need help.”

Or simply make a choice between two activities/answers.

These small moments can create meaningful opportunities for students to practice functional communication while participating in academic learning.

Visual supports can also help reduce the pressure of having to understand a long

verbal question before responding.

Teachers and support staff often need resources that are simple to prepare and easy to use.

That’s one reason printable resources can be so helpful.

You can print the Math Visual Choice Boards, prepare them for your classroom, and add them to the routines you already have in place.

For many students, knowing what is going to happen next can make classroom routines feel more manageable.

A visual choice board gives students information before they begin. Instead of math feeling like an unexpected demand, students can see their options and have a role in deciding what comes next.

That little bit of control can be powerful.

And sometimes the simplest classroom supports are the ones we reach for again and again.

If you’re looking for printable math activities for special education, visual supports for students with autism, or resources that can be paired with AAC, take a look at the Math Visual Choice Boards – ClassroomTab Books AAC resource on Teachers Pay Teachers.

With two ability levels and two printable sizes, the resource is designed to give you flexibility while supporting students with different learning and communication needs.

Interactive story for teaching kids to ask for help in Special Education

Support students with additional needs in developing essential communication skills with this “Asking for Help” social skills narrative. Created with clear language, visual supports, and structured activities, this resource helps learners understand how and when to ask for help in a calm, appropriate, and effective way. Ideal for SEN settings, it promotes emotional regulation, independence, and functional communication skills in a supportive learning environment.

* Easy-to-read social story (kid-friendly text)

* Visual supports on every page, some detachable

* Printable with some interactive pages

* Great for whole-group lessons, small groups, or one-on-one use

* Behavior sorting game with visual cards!

These added resources helps teachers, therapists, and parents gently guide children through real-life situations where they can make good and bad choices. Great for supporting classroom expectations or helping individual students who need extra practice.

Preschool and Pre-K
Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE)
Social-emotional learning (SEL)
Behavior support and classroom Expectations

Why you’ll Love It:
Clear visuals support comprehension
Repetitive and predictable text builds confidence

  • Easy to print, laminate, or use digitally
  • Portable visuals
  • 3 Abilities

LINKS FOR MORE INTERACTIVE STORIES LIKE THIS

Sharing Social Narrative, Interactive Story & Sharing Social Skills activity

Safe Body Social Story | Interactive No Hitting Social Skills activity

Social Skills Narratives, A Story Bundle for Social Emotional Learning

Effective Wait Time Strategies for Young Learners

Visual Supports for Waiting in Early Childhood

Waiting is one of the hardest skills for young learners to master, especially for nonverbal children in Special Education. When a child cannot understand the spoken word the idea of “wait” can feel confusing, frustrating or even impossible.

This is where the visual supports help turn spoken words into something students can see. For many learners, visuals are easier to process than language alone. They make expectations clearer, reduce anxiety, and help students feel more confident about what comes next.

What Is Wait Time?

One simple way to use visuals that makes a big difference is during wait time.

Wait time is the pause after you ask a question or give a direction. For some students, especially those with autism, processing language takes a little longer. When adults rush in with prompts or repeat directions too quickly, students may lose the chance to respond independently.

How Visual Cue Cards Help

Visual wait time cards give students a clear signal that it’s okay to pause and think. Instead of filling the silence with more words, the visual does the talking.

These cards help students understand:

  • What they should be doing
  • That a response is expected
  • That help will come, just not yet

Waiting becomes predictable instead of stressful.

Easy Visual Wait Time Tools Teachers Love

“Wait” cards use a simple word or symbol to remind students to pause.

Visual timers or countdown cards show how long the wait will last.

Thinking time cards let students know it’s okay to take a moment before answering.

Turn-taking visuals clearly show whose turn it is during games or group work.

Classroom Tips for Success

  • Teach the visual during calm moments
  • Pair it with a brief verbal cue, then stay quiet
  • Avoid repeating directions while the visual is shown
  • Praise the act of waiting, not just the final response

For more resources for behavior management click here!

Winter Adapted Books: Teach Life Skills Effectively

Winter mornings in the classroom always tell a story. Coats on backwards, boots on the wrong feet, and lots of practice figuring out what we wear when it’s cold outside. That’s exactly why I love using winter adapted books to teach clothing life skills in my special education classroom.

This Winter Clothing Adapted Book gives students with autism and special education needs a hands-on way to practice winter clothing vocabulary, sorting, and functional life skills in a predictable, visual format. The simple structure helps students focus, build confidence, and work more independently.

I use this adapted book during morning work, centers, task boxes, and small group instruction. It’s low-prep, easy to reuse, and perfect for reinforcing real-life skills students actually need. The best part is watching students start to recognize which clothes belong in winter, then proudly make those same choices when it’s time to go outside.

If you’re looking for an engaging, meaningful way to teach life skills using adapted books, this winter resource fits seamlessly into daily routines and supports learning that lasts beyond the classroom.