Teaching life skills in the classroom

Introducing life skills into the classroom is so beneficial for students of all ages. It is especially beneficial for special education students. As an educator, it is our job to prepare our students for the real world. Life skills can be a difficult task for students with disabilities to grasp. By designing a classroom geared towards teaching these skills, it can be easier than ever for your students to master these skills. 
Designing a life skills classroom can be fun! There are a few "must have" stations you should set up in your classroom. Having an area to teach self care skills is one of the many stations you can create. Make an area to teach your students the skills of dressing and bathing. For dressing, create areas to teach your students the skills of folding,putting away clothes and sorting clothes. If you could get a washer and dryer donated, you could implement teaching the skill of washing and drying your own clothes.

Here is an example of a station designed to teach your students the task of sorting laundry into darks and lights. Make sure both baskets are labeled.

Many life skills classrooms have areas to teach the skills of grocery shopping. This area may include grocery items listed with pricing and then an area for students to pay for the items. Not only are you teaching a skill to your students to make them more independent, you are also helping them with their mathematical skills.

 

Here is an example of a "grocery board". Common grocery items are listed categorically and have the prices listed beside them. Here, they also used fake money to correlate the number cost with how many dollar bills are needed to pay for the item.




Creating a life skills classroom can be fun and so beneficial for your students. What station do you suggest implementing in the life skills classroom?