I know at the beginning of the year I need all the help I can get. I don't have all the answers. I don't have the best ideas. I never have and I never will. I absolutely LOVE brainstorming and getting help from other teachers! I mean, I'll take any help I can get to make my year start off smoothly!!! Especially when SO many of you have such AMAZING ideas!! About a month ago, I asked my Facebook readers to give me a few back to school tips and I got some great ideas! These are the kind of ideas that made me go, "DUH!!!! SO simple!! Why didn't I think of that?!?!?" Hopefully … [Read more...] about Back to School Tips – The Readers Edition
behavior management
Uh Oh…Gues What Day It Is?!
You guessed it…. Woo hoo! Half way to a 3-day weekend after a long first week back! Woo hoo! Let’s recap the week thus far, shall we?! Monday was a GREAT first day! I LOVED spending the whole day with all 18 of my little sweeties. Yes…only 18. A blessing indeed. Speaking of blessings, I’m blessed to have my own two start school and LOVE it. Shockingly, the tears on my end were minimal. I only cried when I woke them up to get dressed. They didn’t cry a bit! We started the year with LOTS of rules and procedures. Not so much “you can’t do this…don’t do that…”, BUT we spent lots of … [Read more...] about Uh Oh…Gues What Day It Is?!
You’re Knockin’ My Socks Off!
In any given (school) day, my kids probably hear my say, “You’re knockin’ my socks off!” no less than 25+ times :) I usually say this when somebody has a bright idea that really blows me away, but more often you’re likely to hear me utter this phrase when I see kids that are on task and working responsibly. At the beginning of the year, it can be challenging to get Kindergarteners to realize they can do *hard* things, so lots of praise and positive reinforcement are a must…for me, anyway. To keep my kids on track and encouraged to do their best, I decided I needed a visual to go with my whole, “You’re knockin’ my socks … [Read more...] about You’re Knockin’ My Socks Off!
Positive Reinforcement Freebie
I love positive reinforcement. Sometimes…okay, maybe a lot of times…there are a few little friends who need a little something more than positive reinforcement. You know those babies I’m talkin’ about…the ones who just DO NOT…no matter how positive you are…respond to it. Those are the kids that *might* give me a little bit of heartburn & grey hair ;) However, I still use positive reinforcement as often as I possibly can! One of my favorite things to do is give out certificates & awards. The kids LOVE these! I’m always so shocked how motivated they are by a piece of paper :) Not only do … [Read more...] about Positive Reinforcement Freebie
Seasonal Behavior Management
I saw this darling idea in one of the recent editions of The Mailbox Magazine and I loved it so much that I had to implement it into our classroom!! Draw a pumpkin vine and stems on a sentence strip. When your class goes above and beyond or does an awesome job working quietly, showing quality work, walking through the halls quietly, helping others, etc., use an orange bingo dotter to add a “pumpkin” to the vine. Once the vine is full of pumpkins, treat your class to something special! Our class is working towards a popsicle party!! We just started, but so far they’re doing great! … [Read more...] about Seasonal Behavior Management
Have You Filled A Bucket?
I started bucket filling in my class last year and my kids loved it! It was such a success that I decided to keep at it this year and it goes PERFECTLY with the schoolwide kindness initiative that’s being put into effect this year…Rachel’s Challenge. The first thing we do is read the book Have You Filled A Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud. If you haven’t read this book, it’s a story that encourages positive behavior and it illustrates how rewarding it is to show kindness, appreciation, and love toward others. The story talks about how we each carry around an invisible bucket and when we use kind words and actions, we … [Read more...] about Have You Filled A Bucket?
