A Little Classroom Management & Organization

My grade level used to have those cute little behavior ladders that are all over Pinterest.  Last year our principal wanted us to have something that was school wide.  Yes, we could have all used those little ladders all the way from PK to 4th grade, but, the belief was that sometimes one thing doesn’t work for everyone.  So to keep everything “the same” but “different”, we had to come up with a system where PK-K got 7 colors for changes, 1st- six colors, 2nd- five, etc.  The thinking was that the older the student gets, the more they should already know the rules.  So…here is what we use in 2nd grade.  “Wow” of course is going above & beyond.  The students receive positive rewards for staying on green and moving to purple.  We have a school wide ticket system so the students can trade their tickets in for special privileges. (Notice the clips I made—Pinterest.)
                   
Green is “YEA”, yellow-warning, red-10min off recess, blue-call parent.
Those little cards in the holder are “Expectations” (for lack of a better word) cards.  I will choose the expectations before we start each activity.  I added magnets to the back so I obviously won't have them all displayed at once.  They work pretty good.  I also have some for materials they will need—glue, pencil, markers, etc. 

Organization---Here is what I did to SNAZZY up my bins.  This is how I organize my daily lessons.  Each box has just about everything I need for the day.  The other bins hold “JUNK”, which is why I wanted to hide it.  I just cut some of the new border I will be using and taped it on the inside of the drawers.  (LOVE, <3, LOVE Dots on Turquoise).


Hopefully I gave you something you can use. 
Together for Our Kids,
Denise

Time Practice

I was looking at a teacher supply catalog and I saw these clock boards and I thought, “That is just what I was looking for all those months ago when we were learning and reviewing time.”  It was something quick and easy where I could call out a time and the students could quickly show me the time in analog or digital.  I love me some Judy Clocks, but there wasn’t a space for them to write the time digitally.  I also love the scratch paper or dry erase board, but waiting for the sweet children to draw a clock would take FOREVER!
Sorry…back to the point of the post.  I wanted some of these clock boards B-A-D and was all ready to shell out the money when I read that they were $19.99 for 5.  Now, I may have 24 or 25 2nd graders in my class next year (Thank you budget cuts).  I want each of my students to have one, so we can do this '”drill” whole group on the semi-spur of the moment.  So, my total would be $100 plus tax—YIKES!  I said, “ I can make these!”, while I thought, “I can make these?”. 
When I get an idea, I have to do it right then.  So, I whipped these up.  I’m pretty proud of them.  I’m going to laminate the clock faces once I’m able to get back into the school (so it’s free laminating), and then I will attach them to the back-to-back on the tongue depressors so one side is digital, the other is analog.    Lookie there, I’ve got my write-on, wipe-off clock paddles.  Click on the link below if you want a copy of the faces.
              Clock Paddles


Together for Our Kids,
Denise

Highest Form of Flattery…

Coco Chanel said, "Imitation is the highest form of flattery."  That being said…when I saw this on Pinterest I thought it was the cutest idea.  I had all my “cheers” and “breaks” on cards on a ring.  I really like the idea of the anticipation of not knowing what we’re going to get when someone draws a stick. 

I got this idea from Miss Sullard’s Blog, http://keepcalmandteachon.blogspot.com/ .  Hers is much cuter than mine.  I thought I would paint and decorate each tongue depressor, but in retrospect, I could have saved a lot of time and still come out with a super cute collection if I would have bought the sticks already colored.  Oh, well, they will match my theme, at least this year.  Click on the link below to get a copy of some of the extra “Cheers” I added.  I’m not sure where they came from, so I will apologize in advance. 

Thank you Miss Sullard, I hope you are flattered. 

Together for our kids,

Denise

Cheers