Creating Classroom Expectations

Last week we read the book David Goes to School by David Shannon.

Have you ever read it? It is the perfect book to open a discussion about classroom rules and expectations.

We brainstormed rules/expectations that we thought were important for our class this year. Then the students had to pick the three expectations that they felt were the most important and write about them.

It is really interesting to see what matters to different kids. For some keeping hands to ourselves was a huge priority and for others it was things like being quiet or safe. 

I got a great freebie on TpT (Teachers Pay Teachers) for making a David. It is by Angie Neal. You can find it by clicking on the caption underneath!

Find it HERE!!!!

We made our David's last Friday. You should have seen the class all diligently working on making their Davids. It was awesome!!! They were so focused, so intent on the activity. I think I see some more cut and past projects in our future!!!!

Anywho, here are what ours ended up looking like...

Aren't they great? What you can't see is the writing that I put with each one. I attached their writing about which expectations are most important to them. 

This coming week we will be tallying which rules got chosen the most and using those as a basis for a class expectations chart we will all sign. This will be posted clearly in the classroom and reviewed daily as part of our Calendar routine. 

I was very pleased with how this lesson turned out. I never like to do the same thing in the same way from year to year and this was a big hit with the class AND turned out some great thinking about how we want our room to look, feel and be. A win-win!

Stay tuned for our expectations chart which should be done and ready to post about by the end of this week.

Cheers!

Olwyn

No time to get bored when you have this board....

I am in love, love, love with this poster! I need one, no two (or maybe three) hanging in different places in our community. 

There is very little I dislike more than a student telling me they are bored. The majority of activities I give students are open ended so that they can challenge themselves. (Think of the doubles exercise where one student chose 20+20=40 even though that was not one of the simple doubles taught) They can always challenge themselves to do more, be more, show more in their work. So, no excuse for being "bored."

And, it is especially annoying when a student tells me there is "nothing to do" or that they are "bored" during centres when they have a gazillion choices to make and (on community centres days) four rooms of activites to choose from! Blocks, lego, marble run, drawing, sewing, k'nex, puzzles, math tubs, reading, writing, arts and crafts...the list goes on. How can anyone be bored amidst all of those choices? 

Some days I think it is not boredom so much as an inability to make choices on their own. So many of our kids spend so much of their time in planned, programmed schedules where they go from this activity to the next without choosing. Give them a choice and they don't know what to do. 

I love that this poster gives a very simple yet effective way to redirect students who use the B word. You can be sure you'll see this in my classroom very soon!

Ms. Hughes

Where Did I Go?

Hello friends!

Sorry for being incommunicado all week. Except for the scheduled Words Worth Remembering on Wednesday I didn't post at all.

Why you ask?

Well, I was just trying to survive the week!

What can I say other than the honeymoon is over? 

It was inevitable and, like most years, hit me upside the head with no warning. 

Things were going along swimmingly with students learning routines, practicing meeting expectations etc. etc. etc.

And then...

Suddenly...

There are students who are constantly interrupting and never seem to stop talking.

There are students doing cartwheels across the classroom (literally!)

There are students rolling around on the floor during story.

There are students hitting and pushing.

And there is a teacher waking up at 4 a.m. worrying about these students. 

A teacher who has, yet again, forgotten to expect this. 

You'd think in my 20th year of teaching I'd remember by now, wouldn't you?

It is that time in September when the newness has worn off. The fear of the new class/grade/teacher has worn off. And the pushing the boundaries of expectations begins.

I spent most of the week wishing it was 3 o'clock already! And coming home to a very nice glass (or two) of my favourite red wine (Shiraz if you are wondering!!!) each night before falling exhausted into bed, only to wake in the middle of the night worrying about what to do to help the little ones who are clearly going to be my button pushers and praying for patience, patience, patience.

I could hear myself saying certain students names over and over in frustration as the week went on. Wanting them to change their behaviour but going about it all wrong. 

There are times when it is hard to see the forest for the trees. September is like that a lot. I am trying to get to know 24 new young souls and figure out what is the best thing for each of them. And, if I'm going to be honest, some of those young souls are easier to reach than others. Sometimes, I try my best and still know it isn't enough. Those are the ones that wake me up at night. 

And, then, as it usually happens, the universe gave me what I needed. I logged on to pinterest and what did I see?

And, I literally sighed and then thanked the universe for the reminder. 

I have spent the weekend getting my head back on straight. Getting myself back into a place of love and out of that place of frustration. Because I know, deep in my heart, I am never given more than I can handle. And that love is where it needs to be. 

Love is more important than learning the alphabet. More important than getting the writing done. More important than math facts, running laps or any of the things we expect of young children in school.

For, without love, there is nothing.

If a child does not feel love, they can not learn to their full potential. They have to know that I love them, believe in them, want what is best for them. And they have to learn to trust me. 

So, I am taking a step back and slowing things back down. The math facts will come. The reading will come. The writing in sentences using punctuation will come. But it won't come in a positive way until we spend the time needed to build our community on a foundation of love.

This week I have one goal and one goal only. To give love at all times. To shower those ones I worry about already with my love and support. To let them know that I love them no matter what choices they make. To just love. 

Cheers!

Ms. Hughes

Is It a Full Moon?

Oh my goodness, can I say chatter boxes?!?!

I don't know if they are talking more than usual and it is driving me crazy or if they are talking the same amount and I just need my patience well refilled. Either way, the last two days have been loooong!

So, since I prefer to be a glass half full kind of person as much as possible, I am going to make myself share three things that went well today.

1. We started our non-fiction writing on whales. This is really a chance for students to show what they have learned studying whales with Mrs.V. while learning about elements in non-fiction writing. So far, I am pleased with what they have retained from her lessons.


2. We started a Valentine's pop art project based on the art of Jim Dine. I have wanted to do this since I first discovered his art and I just know that these projects are going to be AMAZING!!! Want to get it framed and hang it on your living room wall amazing!

The project is based on his pop art hearts.

Four Hearts 1969

heart painting

One of my favourite things about this project is it is impossible to do it wrong. Anything goes! We are using crayons, paint and oil pastels and will end up with something like this:


 Jim Dine inspired hearts from here

3. It was Library day. Which means I had 45 minutes class free to work on setting up the new Deconstruction/Reconstruction centre and re-organize my levelled books. AND...it was quiet for those 45 minutes. Bliss!

Tonight I am going to promise myself I will get a good night's sleep, drink TWO cups of coffee in the morning and take lots of STAR breaths during the day. And, I know, I just know that tomorrow is going to be great!

Ms. Hughes

P.S. Have you been wondering about spelling words this week? Well, I didn't get them handed out so have decided to take the week off! I will give them out on Friday to be reviewed in class on Feb 15.

Never underestimate the power of...

a tally mark!!!!!

Last week, I decided that a little behaviour modification was in order with the whole class. They were loud, chatty, off task, you get the picture. There may have even been some rolling around on the floor at one point. Back to school in January has been a crazy, crazy time.

I will be the first to admit that I am not a huge proponent of rewards based systems. They tend not to work for long and they don't always work with all kids. But, that said, I have seen them be very successful in changing specific behaviours and I know that they have their time and place.

I mean, let's face it, employers use reward based systems when they offer bonuses. Insurance companies do it when they offer money off for good driving records or healthy test results or whatever.
Adults use reward based systems on themselves all the time. How many times have you told yourself that if you work hard you will get yourself ______? (a coffee, workout clothes, a glass of wine, whatever floats your boat!) And, I think that we use these systems the most in January when we are all fired up to make changes in our lives and make resolutions come true!

The trick with any behaviour system is to reward the positive behaviour choices and then, slowly, wean off the need for rewards. The idea is that eventually the behaviours become internalized and the rewards will be less necessary or unnecessary.

Now, with the overall chattiness and inattention that arrived with the new year, I knew that we needed something that would pull us together as a unit. Create reasons to work together. To cheer each other on. To want to be listening, working etc. To be working together and to be invested in having friends do well and make good choices.

So, I created table groups. We have five colours - red, orange, yellow, green and blue. Each table works together to earn Smiley points for working quietly, cleaning their tables, pushing in their chairs, being ready for work, remembering their planners etc. etc. etc.

On the white board I have pieces of construction paper to match their table groups. I try to catch them being good as often as possible. So far, it is working! Last week was the first week that there was actually quiet from pretty much everyone during writing time. It was like a miracle!

I put the tables together based on names that students put down as students they would like to get to know better. They will stay in this table group until the end of the month and then we will mix it up again. That way, everyone has to learn to work with everyone else.

Students who generally make poor behaviour choices are learning valuable life lessons. They are learning that their choices impact others and that by making good choices they can help out their team. The smile on the face of one student when I leaned over and told him that he had earned a point for his WHOLE table by working quietly was wonderful!

Students who generally make good behaviour choices are learning to be more patient with those other, more energetic students. They are learning that they can influence behaviour choices by being good role models. Catch them being good is the motto here!!!!

On Monday of the next week, we look to see which group had the most points. And, last week, we ended up with a tie! Two tables managed to get 20 points. (I must add that one of the added benefits of this system is that the students really, really want to learn to read tally marks so we are quickly improving on counting by 5's, 10's and adding on to 10 to figure out numbers quickly.)

This week it looks like it is going to be pretty darn close again, too! The weekly winners get to pull a ball from the Smiley Bucket.
 

In each ball is a different reward. I didn't want the rewards to all be object related (i.e. I don't want them to just get a toy for doing well) so many of the rewards involve time. Extra choosing time. Lunch with me in the classroom. Quiet Time Centres for 20 minutes. You get the idea.

Other rewards involve getting school type supplies. A new pencil. A fancy eraser. (Oh, my kingdom, for a full pencil hospital! I put out 24 new pencils last week and they are all gone this week. Yep! All. Gone. I swear they eat them when I am not looking!)

And one is for a trip to the Treasure Box (filled with notebooks, necklaces, little finger flashlights, stickers etc.) I made a special trip to Dollarama on the weekend. Love that place! They actually sell some items at dollar store prices that are not typical dollar store quality. Meaning...they aren't all junk!

So, that is how things have been going lately. Each day is a little bit better. The class has shown marked improvement in working as a large group and in smaller groups. I am spending less (wish it was none!) time having to redirect poor behaviour choices. Students are proud of themselves for remembering to clean up their tables, push in their chairs etc. They are being far more helpful with each other. I am hearing a lot less of "I didn't do it!" and "Not me!" and seeing more of students picking up things or helping others to do it.

Between the students all getting more mature and this system, each day is more pleasant than the last. It is one of my favourite times with grade 1's. They are showing much more maturity but are still as curious and filled with imagination as before. I can do more with them in class, get better quality out of them and, really, just enjoy them in a way that isn't always possible in first term. I am falling a little more in love with Division 15 each and every day. It doesn't really get better than that!

Ms. Hughes

Rocking It Old School

I haven't really done a proper update in awhile. Sorry about that. This is going to be a long one so go grab a cup of tea and get ready for a visit.

Go on.

I'll wait.

Got your tea?

Okay then, here goes...the last few weeks have been a whole lot of crazy. They have felt a bit like two steps forward and three steps back.

It has been like September all over again with students exhibiting very annoying challenging behaviours as they test out the new space and try to figure out just what they can and can't do.

Routines that worked just fine in the old school haven't been working AT ALL in the new space.

And the talking. Geez, the talking. What can I say about the talking? Well, if I could find the on/off switch I would be in heaven. They talk when they should be listening and talk when they should be talking. They are a very social group.  It is crazy, crazy, crazy!!!!

This past week I hit the wall with the chitter chatter. I decided to wait them out and see how long it took the whole class to notice that I was standing at the front waiting to start. Wanna guess how long it took?

Come on, make a guess! Thirty seconds? A minute? Two??

Nope, not even close! It took over five minutes for each student to notice that the others were not talking anymore! One by one they s-l-o-w-l-y noticed that the class was getting progressively quieter and stopped talking to look to the front.

And, believe it or not, the last two talking continued their conversation for at least a minute while the other twenty students and I were all silently waiting!!!! They didn't even notice that we were all silent!!!!

So, we no longer have desks in groups. We are rocking it old school and sitting in rows. I can't remember the last time I had a set up like this (or if I ever have!) but I am so, so, so glad that I changed it up. Every year is a different school of fish (or children as the case may be!) and what worked one year, does not necessarily work the next.

This set up is soooooo much better! They are still a chatty bunch but, let's face it, that is unlikely to change unless they all have personality transplants (and that would be very sad indeed as they are a wonderfully fun and creative bunch!)

BUT....

Sitting in rows they are not talking as much! Yay!!!!! And I am able to work with more of them one on one during seat work time. Double Yay!!!! And I am able to separate more students from each other which also cuts down on the chatter. Triple Yay!!!!

I also moved all of our math stations and levelled books into the DaVinci studio. We are using the yellow studio for our Morning Meeting and Choosing Time. I was finding the math tubs were just too big a distraction. (Plus, the Smartboard is on the fritz again so I am rocking it old school with the chart stand as well!!!!)

The group area in the DaVinci looks like this now...

 

See? I am rocking it with the pocket chart, too!!! I am just one rockin' teacher, huh?!?!

The past three days have been so different from the three weeks before them. It feels like we are finally finding our groove. Yay!!!

In other news...we started a study of the Gingerbread Man. So far we have read three versions. We read the classic, The Gingerbread Boy,  by Paul Galdone...

And then we wrote about our favourite part of the story. Here are a few examples of their writing...

 

 

 

Today we re-read The Gingerbread Cowboy by Janet Squires

 

 

and wrote about how the book ends. Then we put our writing into our Gingerbread Man folders. They are so darn cute! Check out a few...

 

 



 They are made to look like they are in a bottle. There is a cute poem about keeping the Gingerbread Man in a jar so he won't run away again. We had so much fun making these on Monday. I love how each Gingerbread Man (or Girl) is as unique as the student who made it.

And we read the Hawaiian version today. It is called The Musubi Man and was first given to me by a student who went on a trip to Hawaii around the same time as we were doing a Gingerbread Man unit. It is such a cute story and has a surprise ending which I love!

This week we also did some sewing. We made decorations and donated them to the craft sale tonight at the school. All the money from the sale of these decorations will go to our sister school. Such a good cause. My fingers are crossed that lots of money got raised!

I saw this ornament at Pier 1...

 

and thought...I can do that!!!! So, off to Michael's I went for supplies. Some felt, a needle and some threads with a jingle bell to be festive and the class made these!

 

They turned out so well. All the kids did such a great job sewing. I am determined to have the sewing centre up and running after the holidays. Know anyone with an old coffee table they don't want anymore? I still want to make one of these:

 

found at this site here



I know that they would love to sew on it and it would be so beneficial for their fine motor skills. Fingers crossed that I find one soon!

So I have now spent much of my evening writing this post and I just looked at the clock and it is past my bedtime! Yes, I know, it is very sad that my bedtime is a couple hours earlier than my teenage daughter's. I wish I could get by on 6-7 hours of sleep but it just isn't possible!

If you have managed to stay for this whole, long winded post, thanks! Hope you enjoyed the update and that your tea didn't get cold!!!

Ms. Hughes

So, I keep having people ask me how it is going in the new school. Well, does this quote give you an idea? (Just kidding!!!)  Although there were a couple moments on that first day....

What can I say? This week has brought lots of changes, new routines in a new space, trying to apply old routines in a new space, dealing with the (ever constant) talking when they need to be listening (same old, same old!!!!), not being able to find things because they are still packed in a box somewhere and not enough sleep!

As to the actual physical space...I love it! It is open and bright. The spaces just call out to be used (although they also call out to be run in which we are working on!) I feel good when I am in them. It feels all shiny and new like a Christmas present the day you first open it.  I am loving having the use of two spaces each morning. And am so looking forward to teaching the other divisions starting next week.

Of course, I still have a lot of boxes to empty and I haven't quite wrapped my head around the schedule (or where everything is stored) but I know it will come in time. After all, it took many, many weeks to pack up. It will take as long (or longer) to unpack!

I just hope we can keep it looking shiny and new for a long time. I have already had to send out a plea for boxes of baby wipes. It is the one thing I can think of that will be safe for the kids to use to clean off their puzzle piece carpet each day. And I am needing a broom desperately. Suddenly we can see all the dirt and muck that the kids were tromping into the old building. Only there it was hidden by the carpet! YUCK! Now, it is just there to see. I am thinking that indoor shoes (slippers with rubber soles or slip on runners with velcro) are going to be the way to go. Clean shoes, clean floors. At least in theory!!!

Today we did read to self for 16 minutes during Daily 5 time. Students were reading in the yellow studio, the DaVinci studio and the Community Commons. It was really cool to see! And they were on task (for the most part) so I managed to test a student yesterday and today! Woohoo! I should have the RAZ kids set up by Halloween. Tomorrow we are going to start doing another area of Daily 5: Word Work. We are starting with work on our spelling words thus far. (Speaking of spelling words...Our review week pretty much bit the dust. Not enough time or energy. We will go to week 7 next week) I saw this great storage system for Word Work on the blog Seusstastic today. I wonder where I can get one? I need it!!!!!

 



I won't lie and say that this move has been all wine and roses (though I will admit that there has been wine involved every evening upon returning home!) but, overall, it has gone more smoothly than it could have. So, thank you to all the families who have helped to make the transition smooth for the children (and teachers!) Keep checking in because there is more to come in the next few days. That day of costumes and candy is fast approaching!!!!

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