Blog Post Listing

As a former special education teacher, I, know all too well, the time, work, and sometimes, yes, frustration that is involved with lesson planning. With schools across the nation back in session for the academic year, September has always proved to be one of the busiest months of the year. Trying to get students acclimated to classes after the long summer break can be difficult, and educators’ professional development needs often gets moved off the priority list.

When my colleagues and I started to develop the Healthy Relationships Curriculum years ago, I immediately understood the benefits it provides to educators. Not only was it developed by individuals that are passionate about special educational programming, but it was also designed to save educators time, so they can teach their students more efficiently and effectively.

Our team understands that standardized requirements and IEPs can often be in direct conflict with one another. Our Healthy Relationships Curriculum addresses these divergent priorities, giving you the tools you need to prepare your students.

In fact, our Healthy Relationships Curriculum provides many benefits for instructors so they can achieve real results with students. These benefits include:

• Our Healthy Relationships Curriculum fitting seamlessly into lessons/activities you have already developed.
• Our Healthy Relationships Curriculum is designed to meet IEP efficiency standards, so you will not need to worry about your lessons being scrutinized.
• Our Healthy Relationships Curriculum addresses real world life skills to prepare students for adulthood.
• Our Healthy Relationships Curriculum comes ready to use and has built in measurement tools to gauge students learning outcomes.

And just don’t take my word for it!   Our Healthy Relationships Curriculum has helped countless educators navigate the unique challenges that arise in their classrooms. Take for example Alicia, an Autistic Support/Life Skills Teacher at Carlynton School District in Pennsylvania. Alicia told us that she appreciated how the program not only provides “great information” for her students, but it served as a professional development for herself.

The professional development and support that our Healthy Relationships Curriculum provides is one of the key features that make it stand out from other educational programs.  I spent more than 20 years as a special education teacher & now a supervisor and have never come across a program that simultaneously supports educators and students. I would encourage you to look at our sample lessons and request a free demonstration of our Healthy Relationships Curriculum! You can also contact us at any time  by reaching out through our the chat function on the website. We are always happy to take questions from educators in live time.

Author: Jen Falkowski, MEd — Supervisor of Special Education

 

Happy back-to-school month! All throughout this month, schools over the United States will welcome students back to begin another year of learning. Teachers of students with various needs are ready to welcome them back into the classroom to teach them life and relationship skills. Below are a few tips to keep in mind for this school year and how our Healthy Relationships Curriculum can help you accomplish them.

• Establish a robust curriculum: The most essential step for setting students with various needs up for success is using a curriculum built to tackle their requirements. Without a strong curriculum, students might fail to learn the skills they need to succeed in life. Special education teachers designed our Healthy Relationships Curriculum for special education teachers, so you know you’ll share lessons that work with your students.
• Be adaptable: As special educators know, being flexible with your students is important. Adapting to their learning style will help them succeed. That’s why we include multiple ways to help students learn. Our Curriculum features over 180+ videos, visual cue cards, and role-playing/demonstration scenarios.
• Communication with family is critical: Parents/guardians of students want to be involved in lessons and help their children succeed. Our Healthy Relationships Curriculum encourages parental involvement by sharing videos and online, revisable documents directly with families. We encourage our educators to discuss what their children learn in the classroom and how they can help practice these skills at home.
• Do not teach alone: We know planning the perfect lesson can be difficult. That’s why we offer special educators support and professional development in addition to an outstanding curriculum. This means whenever you have a question or need help, we will be able to guide you through the curriculum and help your students succeed.

Being a special education teacher can be as challenging as it is rewarding. However, teaching a program like our Healthy Relationships Curriculum can help make teaching simple and allow your students to achieve better learning outcomes. Trust me, I have spent over 20 years in special education and have never seen a Curriculum as comprehensive as this. It gives you and your students all the tools you need to succeed.

Teachers all around the country are using our Healthy Relationships Curriculum and seeing their students thrive. I encourage you to take a minute and read their feedback. After reading their stories, please request a demonstration of our Healthy Relationships Curriculum so you can start using it with your students!

Author: Jen Falkowski, MEd — Supervisor of Special Education

During the middle of summer, many people feel that educators are relaxing and enjoying their time off. Nothing could be further from the truth!  In fact, the average teacher spends 12 hours a week researching and developing lesson plans. This time could be better spent helping students achieve their goals.

That’s why the best teachers plan as many of their lessons as possible over the summer. As a former special education teacher, I know from experience that many are hard at work planning for the upcoming school year.

Preparing for the new school year can be especially challenging for special education teachers because they must account for and balance the varying needs of their students. Our Healthy Relationships Curriculum can make the planning process easy and provide you with all the materials and resources to feel prepared for the upcoming school year.

The Healthy Relationships Curriculum comes with an abundance of materials and resources. It includes our ready-to-use curriculum manual that features easy-to-use modules to guide you in planning future lessons. Our program also features over 180 role-play & demonstration videos, over 60 scenario cards to help students practice real-life skills, role-playing games, and an interactive guide to help with family involvement.

We also realize that planning everything on your own can be tricky, so we offer guidance and consultations. We want to be your partner and offer support as you work through daily or challenging topics throughout the year.

Since special educators and counselors have thoughtfully designed our program, I am confident that you will find exactly what you and your students need with it. They know what you are looking for in a curriculum and what does not work. In my 20 years working in special education, I have never seen a program that supports both students with their needs, while teaching students social skills through activities.

But don’t just take my word for it. While planning your lessons for next year, I encourage you to look at a sample lesson to see what our program is all about. After that, please request a free demonstration of our Healthy Relationships Curriculum so you can start teaching it!

Author: Jen Falkowski, MEd — Supervisor of Special Education

With summer about to be in full swing, students often daydream about their vacation plans and patiently wait for the last day of school. However, there is no rest for special education teachers! Many spend their summers planning their lesson plans for the upcoming school year. It can be a challenging task for many, but our Healthy Relationships Curriculum makes it easy for students to learn over the summer with video lessons.

We have been told that one of the best parts of our program is the extensive library of videos. Our videos cover topics that are essential to the lifelong success of our students with varying needs. These videos cover topics essential to our three key learning modules: hygiene, human development, and forming relationships. We even have examples on our website for educators to sample.

In fact, we believe in our lesson plans and videos so much that we have expanded the collection which now includes over 180 videos! Many of our new videos are available in English and Spanish.

Our new videos also focus on topics that teach students about social settings, small talk, and making friends. During the summer, students may also have more free time to be on social media. That is why our new videos feature content to teach students what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior on social media in an effort to help keep students safe online.

As a special education teacher for more than 20 years, I know firsthand how unique our program is and how it has helped thousands of students with varying needs. Summer is an exciting, yet busy time, for all of us. As you begin to close out this school year and prepare for the one ahead, I would welcome the opportunity to speak with you directly about your students’ unique needs. Please take a look at our sample lessons and request a free demonstration of our Healthy Relationships Curriculum!

Jen Falkowski, MEd — Supervisor of Special Education

Spring has finally arrived! This time of year brings the beginning of warm, sunny weather and outdoor fun. However, it also means Spring Break is right around the corner. While all students want to enjoy this break to recharge before the last few weeks of school, students with varying needs may need extra help and support to stay engaged and continue learning and building their skills. I’m proud to say that our Healthy Relationships Curriculum makes it easy for these students to enjoy time off from school and continue their learning.

Special education teachers may feel uneasy and worry that their students will not retain vital information when a break from school occurs. As we know, repetition is vital in allowing students to make strides. Our Healthy Relationship Curriculum offers virtual and at-home options to allow students to return from their break without losing the information.

Our school’s special education team designed our Healthy Relationships Curriculum to provide teachers and counselors with all the tools to help their students with various needs. Our lessons can be taught both in-person and virtually and have been designed with built-in online lesson plans. Home reinforcement is also an essential part of the curriculum, and ways to practice the learned skills at home and helps get students’ parents involved in the learning process.

One of the best components of our Healthy Relationships Curriculum is that it comes with over 140 videos that students can watch during the break. Each of these videos is on a different topic and can teach the students anything from hygiene skills to skills on forming relationships, to social media safety and how to make a friend. These videos are designed in a way that both promotes learning critical skills and are fun for the students.

I believe these features of The Healthy Relationships Curriculum make it stand out from other options available. During my 20+ years as a special education teacher, I have not seen a program this well designed to keep students engaged when out of the classroom. If you think this sounds like the right curriculum for your students or just want more information, I encourage you to look at sample lessons and request a free demonstration of our Healthy Relationships Curriculum!

Jen Falkowski, MEd — Supervisor of Special Education

Special education teachers often face unique challenges when trying to find a curriculum to use with their students that have varying needs. Students in special education often lack critical social skills and require programs that will aid them in their development.

I know how overwhelmed special education teachers can feel when it comes to teaching full-time, working with students who have various needs, crafting IEPs, and finding programs that can support their efforts.  I spent over 20 years in the classroom as a special education teacher, and never found one program that was as comprehensive to teach social skills—until I discovered the Healthy Relationships Curriculum.

Unlike other curriculums, our program was designed by special educators for special educators. It provides all the resources and tools that you will need to help teach your students with varying needs. Our program provides lessons on everything from dating, how to maintain personal space, and even hygiene and cleanliness.

One of the best features of the Healthy Relationships Curriculum is that the methods it uses to teach students these skills are fun, interactive, and designed to hold their attention. We have created over 140 videos and dozens of lessons designed to show students how to develop and strengthen their social skills and we also feature role-playing scenarios so students can get that practical, hands-on experience.

It is probably obvious by now, but I’m very passionate about our Healthy Relationships Curriculum and firmly believe it is truly the best resource available for special education teachers. Don’t just take my word for it. Take a look at our sample lessons here and schedule a free demonstration with me to learn more about the Healthy Relationships Curriculum.

Jen Falkowski, MEd

We all want students to succeed in schools and build critical life and social skills that will help them as they become adults.

However, many students in minority communities that have various needs sometimes are not set forth on an educational path that leads them to success. Frequently, these students do not get adequate support services or special education programs they need and are left floundering in school.

Take for example this essay that TIME Magazine ran about Tophs Harris, a young African American child whose parents struggled to navigate his special education needs. We know that not every child or community receives adequate and equal support services and programs when it comes to special education.

With February being Black History Month, now is the time to reflect, honor, and recognize the contributions of Black Americans and understand that there is still so much work to do to ensure that students receive the support services and programs they so rightfully deserve.

That is why I am passionate about the Healthy Relationships Curriculum. Educators, counselors, and school psychologists developed the Healthy Relationships Curriculum, and it is a unique program that teaches students how to navigate everyday life activities.  It is specifically designed for students that have various needs, so they have support in the classroom and at home. It uses positive reinforcement methods to help them achieve their goals.

With over 20 years as a special education teacher, I can say that the resources, tools, and materials, that students receive from this program are unparalleled. Educators receive over 140 unique videos and lesson plans, an online portal to bring the material to life outside the classroom, and so much more!

Finally, your school can use American Rescue Plan funds to help cover the purchase of the Healthy Relationships Curriculum. There is a concerted effort taking place right now by school districts to bridge the gaps in special education programs that exist among minority populations. Every student deserves to receive quality special education programs, and our Healthy Relationships Curriculum may just be the program you are searching for.

I would encourage you to look at our sample lessons, and if you are interested please reach out to me to schedule a  free demonstration.

Jen Falkowski, MEd

With the Omicron variant is on the rise around the country and many school districts shifting to virtual learning, the next few weeks will be extremely difficult for special education teachers and students By now, we all know too well just how challenging it was to pivot last year and require students to learn over Zoom.

Having been in a classroom most of the year, it will be an arduous adjustment for students with varying needs to switch their routine to an online learning style. However, we have been through this before, and I can confidently say our Healthy Relationships Curriculum is ready to help you and your students make a seamless switch to online learning.

We all know that students with learning disabilities, on the Autism spectrum, or who have cognitive challenges will face the most challenges if school districts revert to virtual learning. However, you do not need to worry about these students lacking a quality education during this change. One of the highlights of our program is its adaptability. It can be taught both in-person and online and is tailored to meet the needs of our students.

When educators purchase the program, they will gain access to lessons that can be taught both in-person and online. These lessons build upon each other, and educators will receive:

• Outcome tools that can measure students’ progress and be shared with parents and administrators.
• Over 140 videos and visuals to enhance learning outcomes and demonstrate the behaviors taught in the lessons.
• Roleplaying and demonstrations allow students to act out the lessons in actual scenarios to enrich understanding.
• Supplemental at home skill-building that encourages family and friends to reinforce the lessons

In addition to these resources, educators do not have to feel like they are alone in figuring out how to make these changes.  Our team of former special education teachers and therapists are available and will answer any questions you might have to ensure your students’ success.

Having been a special educator for over 20 years, I can say that the resources you receive in the Healthy Relationships Curriculum are like nothing else out there and will help your students receive the best possible education. Take a look at a sample lesson, and reach out for a free demonstration of how you can implement this program with your students.

Jen Falkowski, M.Ed

If you are teaching adolescents with various needs, then you know many are probably glued to smartphones or devices. Whether it is Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Twitter, or Facebook, social media has become a dominant part of our lives. Students often follow each other on the platforms, sometimes posting funny photos or memes.

However, when students with various needs are using these platforms, they need to be guided through what type of posts and behavior is acceptable. Unfortunately, we live in an era where students and adults often overshare on social media—whether through their words or images.

That is why it is essential for students to understand that they must make it a habit to stay safe online.  We often hear from educators that their students are:

• Being bullied online
• Their pictures or posts are being used against them
• They are interacting with strangers online
• They’ve given out personal/private information

Adolescents with various needs are missing out on critical social skills and life skills, and this impacts their ability to function effectively in society. Without a solid foundation, they can face lifelong struggles when it comes to forming meaningful social relationships. That is why we’ve created the Healthy Relationships Curriculum. It was designed by special education teachers for special education teachers because our team of skilled educators and therapists know the unique challenges that the classroom poses.

Our Healthy Relationships Curriculum features an entire lesson plan devoted to keeping your students safe online. In fact, one of our 140 videos and lesson plans is focused on instructing your students on the specific steps they can take to stay safe. You can watch part of this video lesson plan here.

When you purchase our program, you will also get role-playing and demonstration scenarios, an online portal, visual cue cards, outcome tools, a curriculum manual, and so much more! If you are interested in learning more about our program, I’d encourage you to reach out to us and schedule a free demonstration.

The holiday season brings a renewed busy schedule for both students and educators. I spent more than 20 years as a special education teacher, and while the holiday season is one of my favorite times during the year, it also can be hard to get your students to pay attention.

Students are often distracted by outside activities during the holiday season. From family gatherings to shopping trips, I always witnessed that my students would appear a little more tired and less engaged in the classroom. Students with varying needs require additional support and specialized instruction in order to keep their interest.

I wish I had access to the Healthy Relationships Curriculum when I taught. I did not come across this program until several years after I left the field. But that is why I jump at the chance to tell any special education teacher, counselor, or educator about it.

The Healthy Relationships Curriculum is a unique educational program that was designed by special education teachers FOR special education teachers. It is highly adaptable and teaches students about critical life and social skills activities. It also equips educators with the resources they need to be successful.

The program includes a curriculum manual, over 140 videos, outcome tools, and an online portal where you get live access to our team of former educators and counselors. What will keep your students staying engaged though is the 140 videos that feature role-playing and demonstrations on topics like bullying, dating, and personal hygiene. These are very real issues that adolescents with varying needs are dealing with and want to know about.

If you are looking for a way to keep your students engaged over the holidays, you will want to take a look at one of our sample videos and schedule a free demonstration with us.