New Student Excitement!

Well friends, today was a very exciting day in 2nd grade! We welcomed our 2nd new student of the year. I wanted to share some of the ideas we came up with to help make him feel welcome at Cedar Hills!

- Photo Story: A couple weeks prior to his first day, my cooperating teacher and I snapped some shots of the kiddos hard a work as well as some of the classroom. We put these together and created a Photo Story. (If you are unfamiliar with Photo Story YOU NEED TO BE! This is such a great tool that has hundreds of instructional uses!) The text in the photo story said phrases like, "Welcome to your new classroom!" "We can't wait to meet you!" "Classmates hard at work." We added some cheezy, fun music and emailed it off to be viewed. Prior to his first day he already had a chance to see where he was going, see some of his classmates, and know that he was welcomed and we were eager to meet him.

- With both of our new students we "assigned" them a buddy to help them through lunch, recess, specials, etc. EVERY kiddo wants this job!

- I invited to students to come sit on the carpet in a circle. I had them share their thoughts on their first day of school (scared, nervous, excited). I then shared, that in honor of our new friend, we would read a story called My First Day of School. I think another great book would be First Day Jitters. They all love read aloud so much that the new student doesn't feel singled out. They were all excited to listen to the story. :)

- We then went around and shared our name as well as 2 as interesting facts about ourselves. (Had I thought this would be an issue I would have set guidelines and offer suggestions such as favorite food, hobbies, talents, etc.)

Well friends, that's all I have. Learning Fair tomorrow night! Can't wait!
Squeezes and smooches, Miss Lathrop

Blogging FAILURE

I've tried so hard to keep this blog going, but clearly I'm terrible at it. Lesson planning and sleep seem to be my only priorities as of late. Regardless, here's the last couple of months in a nutshell. I'll remember what I can...

Being that it is the last quarter of school, the weather is getting nicer, school is months from being out, full moons, 1st Tuesday of the 4th month in the 2,012th year... whatever it is, the kiddos (at least in my class) are having a hard time maintaining focus. So my cooperating teacher has shared with me some of the incentives she has used in the past to encourage appropriate student behavior.

1. Card turning. We've always had this one, but lately the number of card turners seems to be picking up (5 today alone). Behaviors that normally get 5,764 reminders now only get a couple, and then students are asked to turn their card. First offense, warning. Second offense, turn your card and send a blue note home to be signed by parents. Third offense, turn your card again, send a note home, and 10 minutes in from recess. Fourth offense, meet with the principal. Luckily, the students seem to shape up after the first card turn.
2. We've also always had P.A.T. time, which I think I mentioned in an earlier blog post. This stands for Preferred Activity Time. Students can earn or lose these minutes as a class. The time is then used for Stop Folder time, free time, educational games, read aloud, etc.
3. Virtue Stickers. Again, we've always had this. Students can earn a virtue sticker for following the Blue Valley Virtues. This can be done by being helpful at lunch, being prepared for the next lesson, meeting their goals in Math and Reading... there's a million ways. These virtue stickers can then be added up and used to purchase various items (lunch with the teacher, shoes off in class, extra recess time, candy, small toys, 5 minutes with a friend, etc.)
4. While students were seated in table groups (which has since been changed due to behavior), we offered dye cut flowers to tables who were helpful to each other, all prepared to move on, working quietly, etc. When a table earned 10 flowers each individual at the table would receive 5 virtue stickers. Doesn't seem like much, but it was a HUGE motivator!
5. We also offered computer passes to individual students who were doing what they were supposed to be doing or going above and beyond. These passes were good for 5 minutes on the computer. Kiddos went cRaZy for these!
6. We haven't done this yet, but my cooperating teacher said that in the past she has had students earn "petals" as a class. Once they earned a flower full they received extra recess.
7. This isn't related to behavior but, rather, a clean desk. Random times during the year, the "desk fairy" comes around! She offers candy to little boys and girls with clean desks! The students who don't get visited by the desk fairy are very quick to clean their desks... funny how that works. :)

TONS of great suggestions. (On a side note let me just say, I've learned more in this 4 month experience than I have in 4 years at school. Moving on...) After I was observed by my K-State supervisor, she suggested we move the students desks into rows. I know, I know. This goes against EVERYTHING we have learned in Classroom Management (and every other class for that matter). Let me just say- don't dis it until you try it! Students are in table sections of 3 so they can easy talk to their elbow partner or do some think-pair-share. Each table section is half of a row for a total of 6 in each row... if that makes sense. We call each of the sections "wings" and the whole row a "bird." So cheezy. I do it for the children. :) So far the combination of the incentives and desk arrangement seems to be working. It's so hard to regain that focus after Spring Break! Some more random pieces I've gathered during my time student teaching:

- Each month students get a task list or skills packet. When students finish with work they pull their packet out of the Stop Folder and start working! It eliminates the, "What do I do now?" comment... at least for awhile!

- My cooperating teacher also shared that she keeps anecdotal notes in a document on her computer. She types out each student's name and any crucial events that happen throughout the year. This is a quick, easy way to keep some records.

- Today, while observing my cooperating teacher she was having a hard time getting the kids to where they needed to be and doing what they were supposed to be doing. She said, "I'm going to turn around for 10 seconds. When I turn back around, I want everyone to be doing what they are supposed to be doing." LOVED THIS!

- Also during today's lesson, she picked out a student who was doing exactly what she was supposed to be doing (and always is). She had this student show her worksheet to the class and give her a round of applause. She was beaming with pride! These "high flyer" kiddos get tired of the lectures, reminders, teachers waiting, etc. It's nice to pick them out for their good work when possible. 

Well, a little update on where I'm at. I'm mostly teaching full days, which I LOVE! It's so great to work with a fun and welcoming staff, kiddos who are always excited to see you, a supportive principal, a great facility, I could go on and on. I do all of the mornings including sharing the learning targets, going over morning work and Language Arts. I'm leading 3 leveled reading groups, which has been a great learning experience in itself. I have attempted to teach Math. I'm trying not to share my hatred of Math and bad habits with them. Thankfully my cooperating teacher is happy to intervene when I feel like am sinking. :) I also teach a unit on Economics, which the kids are overly pshyched about (not complaining).

Okay friends, I'm running out of things to say. Imagine that! Time to do some lesson planning!

Squeezes and Smooches, Miss Lathrop