A First for Everything : classroom management

Showing posts with label classroom management. Show all posts

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Reindeer Theme Day Activities with Lots of Freebies!

Ahh....December. So we are here again. Let's keep it real here, folks- we are in survival mode until holiday break. I'm hoping I can make your life a bit easier with some ideas, freebies, and tips to help get you through.

I try to stay as on-routine and on-schedule as possible, since any deviation from it just makes the kiddos that much more dysregulated. Each year we have a gingerbread activity theme day as a grade level and I also incorporate a reindeer-themed day.

We also explore various holidays and customs and how various cultures and families celebrate the holidays, but for these 2 days it's all about the cookie and the animal.

Let the reindeer games begin...

Reindeer themed keepsake gifts kids can make for the holidays.

Pinterest is an excellent platform for finding gift ideas for parents, offering a wealth of creative inspiration. With its new search algorithm, users can easily narrow down results, making the process of discovering the perfect gift more efficient. For example, searching for "reindeer themed parent gifts" yields a variety of unique and thoughtful ideas that are sure to delight.

To take this gift-searching process to the next level, consider automating parts of your Pinterest exploration with Latenode. You could set up a workflow that gathers new pins related to specific themes like "reindeer themed parent gifts" and automatically organizes them into collections for easy reference. Additionally, you can connect Data Enrichment and Booqable Integrations to enhance your gift planning—automating inventory tracking or managing client orders if you're running a gift-based business.

These thumbprint reindeer ornaments require very little materials (paint, Sharpie, and a matte ornament and they are simply adorable! You can find them here.

Another variation of a reindeer ornament is this adorableness. You can find it here. A bit less risky, if you are concerned a little hand may push too hard on the glass ornament and break it, causing possibly injury. Entirely possible, in December. I like how you could use a plastic ball ornament for this one. Michael's had some on sale last week for $.97. Needless to say, I didn't make it in time. So....we are risking life and limb with the thumbprint option. That could be a whole separate post, I tell ya!

If crafts are not your thing, this cute hot chocolate in a mason jar idea may fit the bill. This could also be a good idea for your own child's teachers, your mail carrier, hair dresser, sanitation workers, and so on.

You can never go wrong with sending along a picture of the child, especially when they fingerprint the edges of the frame! I mean, how cute is this? A wooden frame, brown ink pad, sequins, a Sharpie marker, and some glue and you have a meaningful gift that can last a lifetime. You can find this here.

This would make a great gift for co-workers. I made my first grade team a mason jar of M&M's last year (and called them "chill pills") and they still talk about how much they enjoy it. They also take about how long it lasted them (almost the whole year). I don't get that at all because that jar wouldn't last me 10 minutes...but...anywhoose.....

Here's the link for reindeer noses because who doesn't need chocolate right now....or anytime for that matter?

And lastly, if you need a cute bag to send the adorable gift they made home in, this is just darling don't you think? You can find it here.

So now that you have your parent gift figured out, we need to get the kiddos engaged with a project.

If you have an interactive whiteboard or SMARTboard, head on over to YouTube and warm up the fireplace.

Now, we're ready to get our craft on....

With a pot from the dollar store, and just a few other supplies you most likely have on hand, your kiddos can make this independently and it's so cute. You can find it here.

Do you remember popsicle sticks and "woodie's" from summer camp? You can make adorable reindeer with them too! You can find this here.

I love doing this with my students and seeing how different they all come out! You can find these here.

Want more? Elyse from Proud to be Primary has even more reindeer activities to choose from! You can find them here!

Marissa, from Inspired Owl's Corner has this great reindeer non-fiction research booklet in her store. It gives students practice with independent research and writing while keeping them engaged. Students can use nonfiction reindeer books, reading passages that you give them, or the internet as resources to find information about reindeer. Simply print back-to-back, fold into a booklet, and staple. Best of all, it's FREE! You can find it here.

Do you do an "Elf on the Shelf" in your home? I don't do an elf in my classroom since I try to be culturally/holiday aware. I do use a reindeer. The reindeer acts in the same method as the elf, except that he is an animal rather than a mystical fairy of sorts. Students learn about reindeer in our class through close reads, videos, class discussions, nonfiction texts and more. The reindeer visits our classroom daily and we write and journal during his stay.

Using a Stuffed Animal Reindeer in the Classroom. Do you need to keep your students motivated and on task during the holiday season? How about using something a little different than the elf? A stuffed animal reindeer in your classroom is sure to keep your students interested, invested and they will learn about reindeers too!

Reindeer Games and all holiday resources are on sale this week in my store. You can find them here.

Wouldn't this make the cutest bulletin board display? I'm thinking that either providing tracers or having the shapes pre-cut in a center, the kiddos could easily arrange the pieces and glue. They could draw their own facial features to individualize. Having a visual example of course, would be helpful. Great way to review shapes too! Here's the link.

This FREE and fun game can be played by rolling dice and covering up the numbers seen. You could use reindeer mini erasers! Find it here.

I love this place value hundreds chart game by Miss Giraffe. This could easily be played as a partner game.

How about some freebies? We all could some of that this time of year, right?

Amy Labrasciano has these adorable Reindeer Toppers that you can use for a fun classroom craft. Your students can top off parent gifts, reindeer food, word work or any fun center. Find it here.

Need some help keeping behavior in check? Marissa, from Inspired Owl's Corner has a great free reindeer themed resource to help with that. Check it out here.

Do you want to keep the academics going but still have some light holiday fun? This reindeer themed close reading resource is leveled and differentiated to fit your needs annnnd it's FREE! Find it here.

Wishing you and yours a very happy holiday season!

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Morning Messages: What in the World Am I Going To Write Now?

Editable Morning Messages for your interactive whiteboard for kindergartners & first graders make for easy, no prep morning skill review! Using the premade messages or edit to make your own for text. Don't worry about what to write again! Skills include: ABC order, sight words, addition, subtraction, 10 more, 10 less, counting on a number line, even/odd numbers, doubles facts, vowel sounds, capitalization, punctuation & so much more! {K, 1st grade, ELA, math, responsive classroom}

It's Tuesday morning I just got back from the copier, dropped a stack of papers on my desk, and I still have another pile to go. I'll have to run that pile through during my prep. I grabbed the purple scented Scentos markers (it's a purple kinda day) and so far I've gotten the date and "Dear Cla" written down on the chart paper that's glaring me down when I hear "Hi Mrs. Pettersen!"

I look up at the clock "How in the world is it 8:25 already?" I swore I was going to write my morning message before I left yesterday afternoon but by the time I left yesterday afternoon I was running out the door- literally at 5:00 because I promised my son I would take him to the skateboard park before it got dark. Fail. It was dark before I even got to my car in the parking lot. Sorry, Tyler. I'll try tomorrow.

Now I have one student telling me he lost a tooth, another one asking me where her homework goes (on day 46 of first grade) and a 5th saying "Hi Mrs. Pettersen" and I'm supposed to standing in the hallway greeting students as they arrive. But nope. I'm on my knees STILL trying to write the AM message. I realize I have NO idea what to write. Partly because I'm getting interrupted every 15 seconds and partly because...well....I have no idea what to write. "Today we have Art" is what I write everyday. Well...unless we have Gym. Then I write that.

I can't even. This is just ridiculous. I need more hours in the day. No I don't. I take that back.

I used to bring the chart paper home and write the morning messages by hand every Sunday night and that worked out well. For about 2 weeks. Then the paper ripped and bent, I got lazy and didn't do it forgot to do it, my kids used half the paper to make "Keep Out" and "You Smell" signs on their bedroom doors, and there was the time the cat threw up on it. True story.

So now... I make my morning messages on my laptop, save them to Google Drive and DONE! I turn on my SMARTboard and that's it. All I do in the morning is turn on my interactive whiteboard and my morning message is ready to go.

Morning Messages for kindergarten and first grade that are fully prepared with great ideas and content for ELA and Math review. Great for the morning meeting and the Responsive Classroom. Fully editable for customization. Turn on the interactive whiteboard and it's done!

I was out once this month but because I had a folder titled "November Morning Messages" on my desktop, on my laptop, my sub just clicked on the folder and she had a morning message already prepared. And the heaven's opened up!

Because it's on the SMARTboard, suddenly my kiddos are soooo invested. They LOVE it! They can't wait to go up to the board to answer the questions and participate.

For example, here they read the sentence and add the correct punctuation.

Since we use Fundations for our Phonics program, we review key skills such as glued or welded sounds like the /all/ sound in ball. I love how they get the practice, not only the skill- but also their handwriting!

All the slides are in PowerPoint and are editable so you type in your own text if you want to customize it to suit your own needs, and your own curriculum. Just make sure you save it so you don't have to do it again. Don't make more work for yourself, right?

I have loved this so much and it has saved me so much time, that I am busy making editable morning messages for every month! If you follow my store on TpT, whenever I upload a new resource it is on sale for 20% for the first 24 hours. I just uploaded December Morning Messages yesterday.

Pin for later

Here's to the little things that make our lives a little bit easier!

Saturday, August 20, 2016

When Students Won't Transition Back With The Class

How to get students to transition back to class after dysregulation

In last week's post , I asked if the emotional needs of your students are taking away from your instructional time. And WOAH! Sooo many of you reached out to me on social media to share your stories.

I shared how I use this guy..

How to a classroom pet to help student self-regulate.

in my classroom as our class pet to help my students self-regulate and relax.

He has become a trusted friend and companion. He is read to, petted, walked and very well-loved. He has built a community of trust, love, and companionship in our classroom family.

Charlie, as we call him, when he's not being held or begging for someone's snack or read to, sleeps in his dog bed in our classroom library. This is also a part of our classroom that a student may use if they need to in order to self-regulate.

Over the years, I have seen an increase in anxiety in my students (both diagnosed and undiagnosed). So much so, that it has taken away valuable instructional time away.

Having a small area of the classroom with a "therapy dog", which to us is what Charlie is,in every sense of the word, has changed my teaching practices and my classroom management forever and I will never, ever turn back.

Click on the pictures to go to the original posts to learn more....

Charlie has with him some calming tools and techniques to help those that need it. Here's an example:

Strategies to help students self regulate in the classroom.

I have been asked some questions about using a classroom pet in the classroom...

"So what happens when a student goes to use the area? Do you limit the time?

Answer: I set a timer for 10 minutes. I use a timer like this

this way the student can see how much time they have left and there are no surprises. You can find this timer on Amazon.

"What happens when they don't want to leave after the timer goes off?"

Answer: This is not really a negotiable for me. One trick that works really well is that even if I have to switch up a lesson I am currently in the middle of to make it a bit more engaging or fun I will do it to make it more appealing to the friend using the take a break area. I give the child the verbal warning if he/she does not heed the timer, then I walk away and return to the class. I am not entirely changing my lesson for this one student, but if I add it a catchy tune, pop in Brainpop Jr. that correlates with the lesson at hand, send the students to to the table to "draw their thinking", etc, send them to their table with a piece of playdough to mold, or sculpt the word we are blending, etc that fits into the lesson. Basically, whatever may be motivational to the student that is not entirely taking my lesson completely off task that would be beneficial to the remainder of the class anyways....I'll do it.

"I can't think on my feet that quick. Any other suggestions?"

Answer: I walk around with an apron that I bought off Amazon. You can find it here and I'm in love with it. I keep pens, pencils, paper clips, sharpies, post its, band aids...you name it in it. I don't have to make 4.5 million trips to my desk. Because I KNOW you know what I mean!

I also keep a good handful of brag tags/badges in here. Let me just tell you...

Do you use you brag tags?

Life changing, people! Life changing! Who would have thought that these little pieces of paper could rock the worlds of these little darlings? BUT....they do!

So if you reach into the trusty apron and you start passing out badges for those that are showing on-task behavior and start issuing out some verbal praise as you do it ... "Oh Sarah, I just love how you are sitting so responsibly at the table." Sitting at the table responsibly is a reasonable goal. Even Johnny who is in the take a break area is capable of sitting at the table responsibly. Notice how I didn't say "Oh Sarah, you have written a wonderful paper here." Perhaps Johnny's behavior was triggered by academic failure. If so, the goal is to get him back to the table, and THEN he can be supported appropriately, but he can't be supported academically when he is in the take a break area. That was a brief calm down time. Now it's time to get to work.

"What if a student needs longer than 10 minutes?"

Answer: This is a great question and it very well could be a need. I think you need to use your discretion on this one. It varies from student to student. I highly recommend 10 minutes being the goal with gradual transition back to the task at hand if the student is having trouble returning. Some ways that you can do that are to encourage the student to participate in what the class is doing but perhaps in their own spot. If you use flexible seating in your classroom, this student may keep themselves fairly segregated as they continue to learn to regulate. If you don't use flexible seating, consider transitioning the student out of the take a break area and into a defined working space that is still separate if needed.

"Are there consequences? This seems like a reward."

Answer: Fair isn't everyone getting the same thing. Fair is everyone getting what they need to be successful. In our classroom, this option is open to everyone. I do ask students to complete some kind of reflection sheet so that there is some self-awareness and learning to be had from the experience.

Can more than one student use the Peaceful Pet Place at a time?

Answer: No. In order for a student to effectively have calm time they need the area to themselves.

Is the area just for when students are NOT doing the right thing?

Answer: Absolutely not! In fact, I can't believe I forgot to mention this....Charlie gets lots of visits from friends who are eager to read to hear, tell him about their weekend, tell him about their lost tooth and more. Many students write him letters. They leave the letters in his mailbox. Yes, Charlie has a mailbox.

"Since the Peaceful Pet Place is in your Library area, what do you do if a student needs to use that area but other students are using it as a library?"

Answer: This is another great question! Luckily, since Charlie is stuffed (sshh, don't tell) he and his dog bed are very light. I can move him and his dog bed and the bin holding his toys and calming supplies very easily to another quiet location in the room. In fact, I have done that as needed. This also lets the student know we will not allow their off task behavior to create a class wide disruption. We are hard at work and busy learning.

When I thought about how much having a dog has changed my life and the life of my 3 special needs boys in my home....

I knew I had to have a dog in my classroom too. Charlie is in every way, a real dog to us. And we treat him that way in Room D156. We love him very much and I suspect...he loves us too....

Life is good.

Pin for Later:

An informative & helpful blog post for kindergarten, first, second, third, fourth grade classroom teachers. When students become dysregulated and need a quiet space in the classroom or need to transtion out of the classroom, how to help students transition back to class peacefully to gain back your instructional time. Having a designated quiet spot in the classroom for students who need to self-regulate is beneficial for classroom management for all students, especially special needs students {K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd grade, SPED, behavior modification}

Sunday, July 24, 2016

How to Teach Students to Self-Regulate their Behavior

How to Teach Student to Self-Regulate their Behavior

Sometimes I don't know which is worse....Monday morning or the fifteen minutes after recess.

"Mrs. Pettersen, Amy said I'm not invited to her birthday party."

"No I didn't!"

"Mrs. Pettersen, Ryan pushed Jonathan off the swings at recess and Sam told Miss Stone he had to miss 5 minutes off of recess and she said you should email his mom."

When I look across the room Ellie looks like she is about to cry again but she hasn't wanted to talk about it and I've tried emailing and calling the school counselor three times.

Does any of this sound familiar? It's a day in the life of an elementary classroom and it's not getting any easier. In the past few years these types of social/emotional issues have not been confined to Monday morning or after recess.

They are taking up more and more of the school day and are happening with both more urgency and more frequency. It's both alarming and heartbreaking.

With the demands of standardized testing, the pressures of the Common Core, the harried life of working families, increased divorce rates, and the list goes on

and on

and on

and on...

it's no wonder that children feel lost in the shuffle and....
more
stressed
out
than
ever.

In the busy, in the chaos, in the pressures of the world as they are now experiencing it ,kids are finding it harder and harder to cope and to keep their feelings and emotions in balance, even though they want to. I truly believe they want to. I don't remember taking Tylenol at 5 years old for a tension headache do you? I don't remember my friends having panic attacks in second, third, or even fourth grade. Now I see it happening in my school and...to my own child. It's happening to my own child and it's breaking my heart.

This blog post is filled with ideas for creating a safe space in your classroom for kindergarten, first, second & third grade students who struggle with anxiety, depression or behavior issues. If the emotional needs of students are affecting your instructional time in the classroom this post can help. Therapy dogs have been proven to help ease anxiety. A stuffed animal dog can do just as much. Read on to learn more {K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, SPED}

I am a dog lover. I truly don't think there is a problem out there that a dog can't help make better with a lick, a cuddle, a wag of the tail, a nudge with their head. My beagle, Bentley truly senses when I feel stressed and anxious and he will snuggle right up next to me in my most anxious moments. Which had me thinking.....I really wish we could use therapy dogs in schools. All schools.

Oh wait.....

Hold the phone....

or rather.... click on over to.....

I know...it's a problem. It's way too convenient. Anyway....$25 and 5 days later, I received my classroom therapy dog. He is our classroom pet. His name is Charlie.

I named him Charlie after Ree Drummond's basset hound named Charlie. I know, I know, he's not technially a basset hound. He's a beagle. Close enough. I own a beagle, so I can say that. Anyway, Ree Drummond wrote a whole series of books about her lazy basset named Charlie and they are just the cutest books ever!

So Charlie became a part of my classroom in 2015 and he has been the single best thing I have ever done for the classroom, my students, and my teaching practices.

Are even your best classroom management strategies no longer working because the social/emotional needs of students is so significant it is robbing you of effectively running your classroom?Students are able to use the Peaceful Pet Place as a way to self-regulate, manage, and maintain their own behavior in the classroom as needed with less classroom disruption, leaving you free to be able to conduct the class as you need to be.

The students read to him, talk to him, cuddle him, they talk him for walks, they write him letters, they talk to him at all school meetings. And truth be told....sometimes on a tough day....I give him a cuddle too. True story.

Over the years he has heard the kids talk about their weekends, their disagreements with peers or siblings, how their parents are getting a divorce and how awful that feels. He has given a struggling reader the confidence to read aloud for the first time. He has helped many a nervous and scared first grader on the first day of first grade. He has sat with a first grader and given them confidence when the work seems too hard.

I could go on and on.

Sometimes pictures speak louder than words...

He's pretty popular..... and he's very much well-loved. Just like a real pet.

The parents of the students have loved the concept so much they started donating supplies for Charlie....

Charlie's favorite spot is in our classroom library. We call this Peaceful Pet Place. Students are able to go to Peaceful Pet Place when they need a hug from Charlie, a quiet place, to take a break or to utilize a calming strategy.

In the past, I had a tool kit of sorts, for a student or students when they become dysregulated and I would break out the squeeze ball or the sensory bottle when it was needed. Over the years, I have seen the need to make these materials accessible to all of my students.

After modeling the care, use, clean-up, and storage for each of the tools in the Peaceful Pet Place the students are able to access the calming strategies as needed.

And you know what I have found? My students have become better students. When they know they have the ability to take a break when the need to, when they feel a part of a classroom where are feel safe, valued, listened to, and cared for….they actually work harder and more efficiently. They are invested and they want to do well.

Here are some of the calming tools I have in Peaceful Pet Place:

Teach kids how to self-regulate their behavior

The sensory bottle is very easy to make. All you need is a Voss water bottle (available at most grocery stores). I used inexpensive V05 shampoo and marbles (since I had them in the house). The Thinking Putty I found at a local gift store and probably paid WAY too much for it. It is available here on Amazon in all kinds of varieties and colors.

Some other things you can include are:

Inexpensive and simple ways to incorporate a peaceful area in your classroom

Coloring books with crayons or colored pencils, an iPod with classical music, squeeze ball, bubbles, a variety of sensory bottles...the possibilities are endless and really depend on your class.

The calming cards and breathing box are great visual tools and strategies to help students pick a strategy that suits them well. I keep these in the Peaceful Pet Place.

Here is a close up of what Peaceful Pet Place looks like:

Create a simple, safe, and peaceful place in your classroom with a classroom "pet".

The activities are meant to be short and calming and non-disruptive. Here's some examples of a few of the calming strategy cards:

Another strategy that I have found effective for students to self-regulate is to write letters or maintain a journal. I have students that have brought in a special decorated notebook/journal from home for this purpose, or they have made one with our school counselor. I have students keep a journal in their cubbies if they need one.

When a conflict arises, especially with another peer and it has been discussed and worked out but the student is having a having a hard time letting it go, sometimes I will suggest “Write it down and then leave it be." This way, students who are particularly expressive or emotional can get their feelings out, write it down, and then.....let it go.(sing it now....)

Teach students how to self-regulate, monitor and check in with their own behavior and feelings.

Teach students how to self-regulate, monitor and check in with their own behavior and feelings.

Students often need help using words to describe their feelings. I love this activity to help them develop and review the language to express themselves.

Teach students how to self-regulate their behavior.

Teaching students the vocabulary to express their emotions is important. It can very enlightening for a 7, 8 or 9 year old child to learn more words beyond "I'm mad" to express frustration.

Equally important, is teaching young child to recognize what defines a good choice or a bad choice and why. Perhaps most important, is for them to understand how it makes them FEEL when they make these choices. It is like their conscience and it will govern how they act or react in your classroom, towards their peers, and with you, as their teacher.

It is also important for students to develop empathy for others. Role playing social/emotional scenarios is enormously helpful, especially for younger students who are so concrete. Morning meeting is the perfect time to role play one or two playground, cafeteria, or hallway scenarios. Choose student volunteers and role play one of the thousands of conflicts you have heard, seen, and witnessed in your teaching experience (you know you have them....).

Here are a few to get you started...

What do you do to help your students who are struggling with stress, sorry, anxiety and emotional discord in your classroom?

Self-Regulation: Using a Class Pet is available here

Next week I will share what I do to get students back on task.

Amy asked me "How do you get students to get back to the task at hand or to not use the Peaceful Pet Place as a method of work avoidance?"

This is a great question and here's the answer....

Pin for later...

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