Hey yall!
PTL it's Friday...and I can't say that enough.
I have had an extremely rough day...scratch that...week!
Let's start with my Currently...
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| Font by A Cupcake for the Teacher |
1. Yes...I am ashamed to admit that I watch the Bad Girls Club. Why??? I have no idea...honestly. The girls are horrible and I completely disagree with everything they do on the show. But seriously??? I cannot stop watching!
2. This Sunday is my hubby's big 30th birthday! I think I am more excited than he is :) but that may be because I have some things planned for him that he doesn't know about <3
3. Management strategies-the reason my week has been hell. I am really, really, really struggling with my kiddos this year. I'm just going to be real with you....it's been making things less than fun. My school is about as inner-city as it can get around here, and most of my students come from extreme poverty. I am dealing with issues that I have never had to deal with before, and it has not been easy. I'm not telling you this to make you feel bad for me or my kiddos, but asking for help! What are some strategies that I can try with these kids??? I have tried every thing from my bag of tricks, but am still spending the majority of my day trying to just manage the kids and I feel as though my teaching is taking a hit. HELP!
4. Thanksgiving Break is 15 days away...not that I'm counting or anything. Thanks to a couple of furlough days...grrr...we have the whole week off. I most definitely need the break!
5. Party...hubby's turning 30...can't say much more :)
6. I love Pandora! I always have it open in my room. My favorite station is one simply called Solo Piano. It's anything and everything that I love....just a piano version. It's amazingly calming to both myself and my littles.
Before I head off to finish this BGC reunion, I wanted to show you guys some of the letters the students at our school wrote for the soldiers. I sent out over 250 letters this week! It put a huge smile on my face knowing that 250 soldiers would have a letter to read on Thanksgiving :)
Happy weekend, friends!
Your blog is absolutely adorable. I love the background choice. We wrote letters last year to veterans too. It was such a neat experience. It warmed my heart to know that they would be getting letters from 1st graders. I'm a new follower.
ReplyDeleteஐRikki
The Hive
I love Pandora too! Can't live without it!
ReplyDelete~Lorraine
Fabulous 4th Grade Froggies
I hadn't thought about a Solo Piano station on Pandora - love it!!
ReplyDeleteI am a clip-chart kind of girl. I teach in a suburban area, but very high poverty. I've found that a clip chart system where they can move up and down all day works really well. If you hop over to my blog and click on "clip chart" under labels, you'll see several posts about it.
No matter what you do, good luck. I'm sorry you had a rough week. Know that we've all been there at some point in time. You'll figure out what works best for you and your kids.
:) Abby
Third Grade Bookworm
I am going to check out that Pandora Station asap! Thanks for the suggestion! Good luck with the party!
ReplyDeleteIrene
Learning With Mrs. Leeby
Have a wonderful weekend with your husband and hopefully next week will be better for you!
ReplyDeletePixy Stix and Teacher Tricks
I have taught in schools/classes similar to what you are describing and the only thing that EVER worked for me was being persistent and consistent, then following through. I know that these kiddos probably come from terrible home lives and you don't want to be harsh with them, but when you set up the boundaries and are consistent with consequences and rewards they do start to respond because deep down they realise that you care about them.
ReplyDeleteI have also used a lot of role play, showing the correct way to walk around the school and the incorrect way etc. Really if a child has not been "taught" correct behaviour they will not display correct behaviour. These little darlings also need lots of visual cues, take photos of them doing the right behaviours and display them as posters around the room.
The last thing I will leave you with is most classrooms are made up of 80% students doing the right thing, 15% who could swing either way and 5% hardcore need intervention kind of kids. Focus first on the 15% that could respond to behaviour modification, and hopefully you will snag a couple who are in the 5% as well. Be realistic though there are some kiddos who just do not respond to anything you do and for those littles they need more than what a teacher can give.
I hope I have given you even just one thing to help and remember that everyday that you show up and they show up is a day with potential for good things to happen.
Tania
Mrs Poultney's Ponderings
I wish you well with your class. I am in a similar position, but I'm sure not nearly as difficult as what you are facing. We are using a school wide behavior management system called CHAMPS. The letters stand for expectations (C=conversation level, etc.) and with it there is a celebration ladder. It's like a sideways clip chart but the students only move their clip up. When they get to the end they start back at the beginning and go through again. It doesn't work 100% - there are always those impulsive students who cannot remember to keep hands off, stop calling out, etc. but they do respond to someone else getting a 'reward'. Here are the rewards I use: First section just says my class name, blue ticket (our school gives out blue tickets for good behaviors and then has a blue ticket store), Happy Award, Pencil, Extra Snack, Computer (they get to do starfall.com or sesamestreet.org for morning work), and Reward Box (8 choices of rewards... it's on TpT but in my class the most popular are to bring a stuffed animal to school or be teacher helper for the day). You can do anything on the chart, though. Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteLisa
I can only imagine how drained you must be!! Make it to Thanksgiving break, recharge your batteries, figure out a new strategy. Thinking about you!!!
ReplyDeleteMegan
I Teach. What's Your Super Power?
Thanks for the Solo Piano station suggestion!! I love Easy Listening but sometimes I would like to switch it up. :)
ReplyDeleteI hear you with the management difficulties this year. My population is not like yours at all, but I have a LOT of talkers this year. A lot of times I can't finish one sentence without having to redirect them or ask them to stop talking. It is so frustrating and I also feel that I'm not doing my best as a result!
I recently read this article and I am trying out some of the ideas: http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2011/10/15/how-to-handle-whole-class-misbehavior/
Maybe it will help you!
Marvelous Multiagers!