Falling In Love...

I know it is early days but I just have to say that I have already fallen a little bit in love with my class.

How can I  not when they come up with strategies like the ones on the chart below?

We are working on learning about self-regulation. In the past I have used the A.L.E.R.T.  program and am continuing to use it this year. I am also planning to study up on the Zones of Regulation which is kind of the updated version of the A.L.E.R.T. program.

The A.L.E.R.T. program likens your body to a car and teaches students to become aware when their "car" (or body) is not working optimally. The Green Zone is the ready for learning zone and is where students need to be to learn to the best of their ability. Their are two other zones (Blue and Red) that students learn about.

At one time or another we find ourselves in all of the zones. The goal is to learn (and apply!) strategies to move from these other zones and back to Green.

One of the things that I like best about this program is it doesn't label feelings as good or bad. Feelings just are.

If a student is feeling very angry (in the Red zone) they use the strategies to calm their bodies and get back to Green. There is no judgement on the students for feeling angry. I love this!

Did you see the strategies they came up with? Alone time. Take a nap. Take deep breaths. Find a friend. Do something else. These came directly from the students. They pretty much taught my whole lesson for me!!!! It was awesome!

Tomorrow we are going to work on the Blue zone. I expect they'll do a great job of telling me what feelings are in the Blue zone since they are experiencing a lot of them this week! Feeling tired. Missing their moms. Feeling distracted. Lacking focus. Of course their teacher is feeling a lot of the same things!!!

Cheers!

Ms. Hughes

Taming The Wild with Blog Hoppin'

 

 

 

So today is Day 4 of Teacher Week over at Blog Hoppin' and the topic today is all about Taming the Wild.

Otherwise known as how a teacher manages to make 24 little squirming bodies sit still, listen and pay attention long enough to teach anything!

There are so many different behaviour management systems out there. Over my career I have probably tried all of them at one time or another.

Points.

Names on the board.

Stickers.

Moving names up or down on a chart.

You name it. I have probably tried it.

What do all of these systems tend to have in common?

Extrinsic motivation (or, as some teachers like to call it, bribery!) Not that there is anything inherently wrong in extrinsic motivation (no matter how many specialists try to convince us that intrinsic is best). Show me one grown up who has not done something to get a reward later or who hasn't told themselves that they deserve a reward for doing something difficult. Worked out to be able to eat that pizza. Had a glass of wine to celebrate the end of a bad day. Bought a present to pick themselves up. You get the idea. We all do it.

Why? Because it works! But I do find that these type of systems tend to have a very short life span. I have seen these types of systems be very successful with certain students (or classes) for short periods of time but never over the long term. AND these types of systems take up A LOT of teacher time to make them work. Maybe they only work in the short term because I get so gosh darn tired of doing the system!

So while I do use these on a short term basis every once in awhile, the traditional behaviour management really isn't my "go to" way of dealing with managing behaviour in the classroom.

So, what do I use most of the time?

Get ready because it is going to blow your mind!

Time, patience and love.

Yep. That's it.

First, I make sure to be aware of  how I am feeling. After 19 years in the classroom I am well aware that I set the tone. If I am stressed out, grumpy, sick, etc. then poor behaviour inevitably follows. I can bet on it. Every. single. time. It is my job to model how I want them to behave. Even when it is really hard to do!!!!

Second, I teach the class calming strategies to get their bodies and minds ready to learn. I bought the book  Conscious Discipline. a number of years ago and have been slowly using more and more of it in my teaching. I got the different calming strategies from it. There is an AWESOME blog called Heather's Heart where the teacher uses tons of Conscious Discipline principles. I want to be Heather when I grow up!

Combined with the Conscious Discipline program, I use  the A.LE.R.T. program to help students learn expectations. I like the simple language and being able to just tell kids that they need to be in Green Zone.

I create an area in my room each year that is the Quiet Zone or Safe Place. Here I keep some cuddle buddies (stuffed animals), books, etc. This year I am adding a wave bottle and some lotion. Not all kids like to use this area. Some just find a quiet spot (like one of our community bean bags) when they need one.

So how does it work?

Well, I spend tons and tons of time explaining, demonstrating and practicing positive behaviour choices in the classroom. Then, after they have all learned the expectations inside and out I start giving them three chances to correct poor behaviour choices (I use a silent signal of raising my fingers). If they get to strike three, they are asked to leave  the group and come back to the group when they are calm and ready to learn. What I am aiming for is self regulation. And most kids don't end up needing to leave the group. They just need a reminder (or two!!) about making better choices.

That's it.

Sound simple? Well, it kind of is.

It is all about the front loading and teaching. The time spent in the beginning of the year teaching the calming strategies and behaviour expectations is worth its weight in gold, and silver, and diamonds, and...!

I find that most students want to behave. They want to learn and make good choices. But sometimes they have a bad day. Sometimes I have a bad day, too. That's life. So, no Time Outs. Just time to calm themselves and get ready for learning. And, yes, I have been known to tell the class I need to get back to Green Zone, walk to the Safe Place, do some deep breathing or another calming strategy and then come back to teach again. I am a firm believer in practicing what I preach!

Now wait! I know what you are going to say next!

What about THOSE kids? You know, the ones who NEVER seem to follow the rules, who seem to be always disruptive and who seem to be in our class for the sole purpose of driving the teacher CRAZY?!?!

I know that we all have them. Every year there are one or two tough cases that seem to require an extraordinary amount of teacher time (and too often that is negative teacher time!)

I have a secret weapon for these tough cases.

Are you ready?

DOUBLE THE LOVE!!! Yep, good old fashioned, love and lots of it!!!!!

I had a student like this last year. There were days when it felt like he was going to drive me crazy!!!!! Some days it was all I could do to maintain my sanity. I had to keep reminding myself that none of his behaviour choices had anything to do with me. They had to do with him. His fears, his needs, his insecurities. (This is NOT easy to do some days!!!!)

And so I gave him love. And lots of it!  One of the tricks I used was to give him a big hug every time I felt like saying his name in anger or frustration. There was one day when I think I hugged him about 40 times in a 5 hour period!!!! By the end of the year, we had built up a bond. He no longer made poor behaviour choices (most of the time) and his learning was coming along (now that his behaviour didn't interfere with it!). On the last day of classes, he gave me a hug that practically cracked a rib! The sweet feeling of success!!!!

So, there you go. My management plan in a very long nutshell!

Ms. Hughes

Getting Back to Green

We have been working on strategies to help us get our bodies back to green (from the A.L.E.R.T program) when we are feeling over excited (red zone) or lethargic (blue zone). So far we have learned 5 strategies. I thought you might want to know a bit more about each one we have learned so far. That way you will know what your child is talking about if they start telling you that they need to do the "star strategy" at school and, who knows?, you may even decide to try these at home!!!

Strategy #1 S.T.A.R Strategy

 

S.T.A.R. stands for Stop, Take a breath And Relax. We have practiced belly breathing where we take a deep breath, feel our bellies rise and then slowly release the breath. We do this 3 times in a row. (I have been known to do this one all by myself when I need a moment to get myself back to green before I lose it!)

Strategy #2 Balloon Strategy

 

For this strategy the students take a deep, deep breath in while going up on tiptoes and raising their arms high to the sky. Then, they release the breath as they bend over at the waist and let all of the air out of their "balloon". We do this 3 times in a row.

Strategy #3 Patting Arms Strategy

For this strategy, you take your right hand and pat your left arm down from the shoulder, to the wrist and back up again. (You don't have to have your arms up in the air like the picture. It was the only one I could find!) Then you switch and use your left hand to pat your right arm down from the shoulder, to the wrist and back up again. Repeat this (you guessed it!) 3 times!!!!

Strategy #4 Move Your Body

 

This strategy is pretty basic. Get up and move! We were using Energy Blasts for this before they took our Smartboard away and are now using a variety of songs by Jack Hartmann. He is lots of fun and the kids seem to enjoy his music. I like how he has so many fun songs that also teach educational material. Win win! Of course, anything works. 10 jumping jacks. 10 bounces. You get the idea!

Strategy #5 Cuddle Buddy

This one is pretty self evident. A student can go and get a cuddle buddy (stuffed animal) from our basket OR bring one from home. Sometimes the tactile feeling of holding the stuffy and feeling its soft fur can make all the difference! The only rule is that it is to bring one comfort and not to be used as a toy or distraction during class time. This strategy works well for some of the students who have trouble focusing during group carpet time.

So, there you go, 5 strategies to try at home to get back to green zone. We are going to be learning more as we go along. I strongly believe in students learning to read how they feel and how to self-regulate themselves into a place where they are ready for learning. We all have the ability to make the best of any given situation. It is all about making choices. I want to give the students as many strategies as possible to help them make the best possible choices. We will be learning more strategies as we go along. I'll keep you updated!!!

Ms. Hughes

The days are long but the weeks are fast....

Teaching has many similarities to parenting in that what works with one child (or class) does not work AT ALL with the next child (or class!)

And...what works with one child (or class) one day is a complete and utter failure the next. So much for Plan A.

Moving on to Plan B, Plan C, Plan D...etc etcetera....

So much of last week (and this one if I am honest) has been about trying plan after plan.

It has quickly become apparent that a good portion of the class are not morning people. They come in and sit down looking like they are thinking about bed and more sleep. Energy is low. Definitely in the blue zone.

The other half of the class, of course, comes in ready to go with energy to spare! Green zone all the way with some heading towards red!

Getting these two groups to work together first thing in the day is a bit of a juggling act right now. 

So, doing spelling first thing is out. Having a morning meeting where we go around and tell our zone in the A.L.E.R.T. colours is in.

Sitting to listen for more than 5 minutes is out. Getting up to do dances and movement on a very frequent basis is in.

Pulling out my Conscious Discipline book is definitely in. I have been using products from CD for awhile. I have a couple of their
stress stars (which the kids fight over. Might have to get more of those really soon!!!!)

stress star
 

I also have the safe place mat in my room. More on that in a future post.



But I have never done more than read the website and try a few ideas. This past summer I ordered the book because one of my favourite bloggers was doing a summer book study. Heather over at Heather's Heart is such an inspiration to me. She is so honest about the daily struggles of teaching young children and has helped me keep my sanity along the way. Plus she is beyond generous with her ideas and printables. In a word she is AWESOME!

So, on Wednesday of last week, I made myself a cup of tea (because, after all, as my husband says "Where there's tea, there's hope") and hunkered down with my book. I re-read chapter 1 which is titled "Composure - Being the Person You Want Others to Become" and deals with the power of perception. The key here being that as a teacher I must be self aware and maintain my self-control. I am responsible for modelling what I expect from the children. It really is true that the teacher sets the tone in the classroom.

And the best way to do that is to practice what I preach. Stop and take deep breaths. Rub the palm of my hands. Get a drink of water. Stretch. (All strategies to get back to green zone) Then repeat as often as necessary when I feel my volcano is about to blow! I have a solid feeling that this is probably going to be my biggest challenge this year. I have to keep calm as my triggers are pushed over and over and over again. So in the words of probably the most pinned phrase of 2012. I am going to...



Wish me luck!

Ms. Hughes
 

Friday Favourites

There are some days when all I can think is, "I don't get paid nearly enough to do this job."

Today was one of them.

Activities that I had planned to take 20 minutes took close to double that because I had to keep stopping (a bad case of chatter boxes in our class today!) to wait for listening. And then wait some more and then some more. And then, well, you get the idea...

We did our spelling review and they all looked at me like they had no idea what words I was saying. And this after working on the words each and every day this week!!!!! At one point, my grumpy, frustrated, very annoyed and on the way to truly cross voice came out and I had to stop, count to ten in my head and then start again.

But, on the bright side, it was a great teaching moment. See? Even teachers go in the red zone sometimes!!!! What great role modeling! See kids? This is a strategy to use when you feel like your head is going to spin around in circles and blow off the top of your neck!!! Try it sometime! It really helps!

So, I think it is good that I am starting Friday Favourites this week because it will force me to stop paying attention to all the things that seemed to go wrong today and focus on the wonderful stuff that happened this week.

So, here goes. My five favourite things that happened in our classroom this week....

1. I got a good laugh when one of the students who had brought in a chocolate cake for his birthday (pre-sliced by his parents. Thank you very much!) told me that I had to try some because "my heart would blow into pieces it was so good!" I don't eat wheat and definitely did not want to deal with the stomach issues that would have resulted if I had eaten a whole piece but I did have a very small nibble and, he was right, it was delish! (And, trust me, I needed the laugh today!)

2. Watching a group of very physical boys being completely absorbed by a game of UNO for almost half an hour. Wow! Is there magic dust in UNO? I want to get me some of that!!!!!!

3. Getting snail mail (I love real mail, don't you? There is just something so exciting about opening up the letter or package that I don't get with email) from Amazon with new books to read to the class.


Great book for descriptive writing lessons



Wonderful book by Angela Johnson for teaching personal narrative writing



Used this book to introduce using a pencil to do all writing (no more writing with crayons!!!!) before I gave each of the students their personal pencil for their pencil cases.

4. The feeling I got when one of the students asked me out on the playground, "Ms. Hughes, when is the rest of our community coming out to play?" My heart did a little flutter at how easily the students are accepting the idea that we are not a stand alone class with one teacher but a community with three teachers and a lot of friends!

5. Getting the go ahead to order the math program our community wants to use this year (more on that coming soon!) Now we just have to order the books. Yeah!!!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ms. Hughes

Routines, routines, routines...

Today I sent home some work done this week in class. At first glance, it all looks pretty easy for grade 1. And, to be honest, it was all fairly simple for the students to complete. Some math...

And a lesson we did on handwashing...

However, completing the tasks was not what most of the lessons were about this week (though I was happy to see that all of the students know their numbers to 10 very well and that they all remembered the steps for handwashing!) The activities actually taught routines about cutting, using glue sticks properly, getting pencil cases, storing personal items in pencil cases, recycling, handing in work, noise level expectations, best effort expectations, following directions etc.

The whole week has pretty much been all about routines, routines, routines. And will continue to be about routines for at least another couple of weeks. Hopefully, by then the routines will be set in stone and I won't need to go over them so much.

I have a love/hate relationship with this time of year. On the love side, there are all the new students, new school supplies (I adore school supplies and practically have a cardiac arrest walking into Staples in August every summer!!!), the classroom is clean and tidy and the year is fresh with promise.

On the hate side, there are the meetings (two just today - one from 8 until after the first bell and the other for my ENTIRE lunch hour. Ugh!), the photocopying, the turning my brain back on to lesson planning after the summer break, the fatigue and, last but definitely not least, the endless repitition of our routines. It is mind numbing. Truly. Mind. Numbing. We do them over and over and over and over and over and over.

Well, you get the idea. Today it took us almost 15 minutes to get back from the library! We had to turn around and go back to try again three times before they met expectations for hallway behaviour. Sigh... And the mind numbing part of it is that we will most likely have to do that all over again tomorrow when we walk down the hall. Just like we will have to do the noise level expectations during seatwork and centres. And the behaviour expectations during carpet time and snack time and..... 

 

Here is an example of an anchor chart we made last week about behaviour expectations during different activities. Using the A.L.E.R.T. system (see the separate page on A.L.E.R.T.) we went over what green zone (ready to learn) looks like, sounds like and feels like for each activity. We read over this chart many, many times each day. Like I said, mind numbing.

However, for all of the tedium in going over these routines, I know from experience how much of a difference it will make for the rest of the year and our learning if the students have routines down pat. I will be able to spend my time teaching (amazing right?) and not spend teaching time putting out behaviour fires every few minutes. So, I keep on counting to ten and starting over and over again. And saying the occasional prayer for patience probably doesn't hurt either!

Ms. Hughes