Beyond Limits Learning Solutions

These are fun! 🤩

Upload a photo and include this prompt: create a caricature of me and my job with everything you know about me. (Tip: add specific details if you want it to include a communication device, a quote, etc.)

AASEA and LiteraSEA on the SEA 🚢

What an incredible week! Started out with some sea sickness for me and ended with a day of learning from some of the most knowledgeable, passionate leaders in this field. In between, there was kayaking, sea turtles, beaches, fun, beautiful sunrises and sunsets, animals made of towels, endless food, fun, laughter, connection, love, and did I mention fun? 🤩

I’m beyond grateful for everyone who worked so hard to put this together. And so excited to connect with all of the amazing people I met this week!

.ruth

We spend an hour this morning providing a roadmap/template for others to build courage to begin or continue their journey towards literacy for all . We used one of my favorite tools, the Lippit-Knoster model, as our guide to ensure all components of the formula for complex change were present. It was most important for us to include the voices of the amazing teachers who have worked so hard over the years to ensure they’re providing their students with high quality literacy instruction. THEY are the inspiration. I feel lucky that I get to shine the light on their strengths and all of the amazing things they do for students with complex learning profiles all day everyday.

If one person goes back and implements something they learned or heard, we’ve potentially changed the world for them and the students they support. ♥️📚

The first days of school are filled with anticipation, excitement, and, at times, challenges that can test even the most seasoned teacher’s energy and resolve. In a self-contained classroom, where student needs are complex and behaviors are unpredictable, it is essential to anchor yourself in the beliefs that guide your work. Mantras are more than words. They are touchstones you can return to when the room feels chaotic, when routines aren’t yet in place, and things are working out as you planned.

Use these mantras as a quiet moment of reflection before your students arrive, during transitions, or as a reset after a difficult situation. They are here to help you show up as your best self, keep your focus on what matters most, and hold on tight to your belief in your students’ limitless potential.

It is going to be a great school year ♥️📚

10-MINUTE ACTIVITIES FOR CLASSROOMS WHERE ALL STUDENTS LEARN AND BELONG

You’re going to want to screenshot this and add it to your plans for the first day/week of school!

Who We Are!

Start today knowing that every interaction you have with your students can shape how they see themselves as learners. Even when it’s a challenge to get them to the table or communication looks different, your belief in them is felt. Let them know they are capable and valued from the very first moments of the day.

Learning and using student names in the first days of school is more than a routine. It is a powerful way to build belonging, connection, and early literacy skills. For students with complex support needs, hearing and seeing their own name consistently helps them recognize that they are a valued member of the classroom community. Pairing their name with visual supports, print tracking, and repeated exposure builds early print awareness, a key component of emergent literacy. For students who are nonspeaking or have limited mobility, offering multiple ways to participate in name activities ensures their voice is included from the start. This early focus communicates to every learner that they matter, they are known, and they have a place here.

Teachers, as you’re setting up your classrooms and planning your schedule, take a moment to pause and honor the wisdom you carry from every challenge, every success, and every connection you have built with your students. You know the power of small victories and the courage it takes to meet each day with patience and hope.

This is your reminder that what YOU bring into the room matters just as much as the plans you make. Show up with curiosity, gratitude, and belief in what is possible, and your students will feel it.

What is one strength or mindset you will bring with you into this year to help your students thrive?

Just wrapped up 8 weeks of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with the Camp SOAR Alumni Book Club! In addition to following the well-designed lesson plans, we brought the unit to life with props:

🐕 Toto in his basket
🐦‍⬛ hay for Scarecrow
♥️ a tin container with a heart for the Tin Man
🦁 lion

The main purpose of our book club is fun and friendship, so we spent a lot of time talking about Dorothy and her friends. I love that we get to spend time together and continue to develop of love of reading or story listening AND build essential literacy skills!

This session, some members demonstrated a BIG increase in their willingness to take risks- they went from being afraid to respond/participate, to answering questions and making comments multiple times per session. Everyone was excited to come each week and really have become a great group of friends 🥰

Next session starts April 6th! We will be doing Social Justice unit anchored by Rolling Warrior. Cannot wait 🥳

Did you know… 💭

There are 4 simple questions to ask yourself to determine whether your student would most likely benefit from comprehensive emergent or conventional literacy instruction.

Does the learner:
❓know most of the letters, most of the time?
❓engage actively during shared reading without extrinsic rewards?
❓have a symbolic means of communication and interaction?
❓understand that writing involves letters and words?

❌ NO to one or more ❓ = comprehensive emergent literacy instruction
from Center for Literacy and Disability Studies 2025

Comment below if you want a copy of this PDF one-pager with a quick description of each of the daily emergent interventions and I’ll send over! ♥️📚

“Effective teachers provide comprehensive literacy instruction to students with significant disabilities and understand that instruction requires a significant time investment. They have high expectations of their students and encourage students to take risks in the classroom.” Erickson & Koppenhaver, 2020

Which of these elements are already present in your classroom? Which is an area you want to improve? Share in the comments so we can celebrate and support each other!

Got some new stickers to share at an upcoming PD 🤩📚♥️

Join me for a webinar next Friday, December 13!! My goal is to share practical, easy to implement hands-on extension activities to increase student engagement in your Readtopia or ReadtopiaGO lessons/units. I presented this and received feedback that it sparked so many ideas that were easy to implement as soon as the educators returned to school.

One attendee was inspired by an example I shared from the Mysteries and Mummies unit that she immediately went out and bought barbies for her students to mummify!

Join me live, or register to receive the recording and take your literacy instruction to the next level by bringing your lessons and units to life!

Head over to the page and click on the link in their bio to register, or find the link in my highlights.

See you there!

Two of my core values are CONNECTION and GRATITUDE.

The connections I have with others are so meaningful to me. No one person can do this work alone. I value learning from and with others, problem solving, collaborating, reflecting, planning… we are so much more powerful when we come together to achieve a shared goal or vision.

I am incredibly grateful for all of the opportunities that I have had in my career that helped me to be a better teacher for my students. I’m grateful that I get to be a part of building capacity in others as a coach. I’m grateful for the leaders in the field who have worked so hard to share their knowledge so MANY more students can benefit from the work they have done and continue to do.

Grateful for the connections