Helpful Hints to Save the Day!

Every afternoon we end the day by sharing "Something Good that Happened Today".  Our microphone is used to show the speaker (believe it or not, it is just a fake microphone...a real one would be much more fun!) The students love standing in front of the smart board so that they can be in front of the lights with the microphone speaking.  This keeps everyone calm and quiet right before the dismissal bell.

Germs kind of give me the yucky, icky feeling.  When our bathroom passes started to come back wet, it was a little unnerving for me.  To keep my worries at bay, we have gone to the necklace pass.  That way, students don't have to worry about dropping the passes in the sink (or who knows where else?)  The students simply wear it down to the restroom and back.

My Little Warm Fuzzy Jar  is simply a must in my classroom.  The whole class can earn "Warm Fuzzies" when they display good behavior.  I simply place a warm fuzzy in the jar when everyone is listening on the rug, or standing quietly in a line, etc. When the jar is full, we have a little celebration.  I also hand out warm fuzzies to individual students at times.  For example, if Johnny helps his friend pick up his dropped school box, I will give Johnny a warm fuzzy to keep and take home.  We always talk about how positive behavior makes everyone feel good inside.  Thus, the meaning of the Warm Fuzzy!

And finally, colored cups are an awesome management strategy  to color code our tables.  For years, I taped colored shapes or tags to label each table.  Not anymore......cups are a great visual, they can easily be changed, and cups are cheap!  Cups can be seen from anywhere in the room and no more peeled off tape.  When tables need washed, cups can be removed and returned.  So simple!   Simple equals sanity in my mind.  Have a great week!