http://downunderteacher.blogspot.com

It is a Noise-O-Meter so that you can easily set the expected level of noise for given activities.

Sometimes students have to talk so here is how you can control talking by assigning it. I really like this one it helps a lot.

The famous “Give me Five”. When you say Give me Five students have to follow these 5 rules of course you have to explain the rules first at the beginning of the year.

http://www.newmanagement.com

The Clothespin Clip Chart is a simple behavior management strategy. Every student has a clothespin with his name on it. The clothespins are clipped to a tall chart that is divided into seven sections. From the top down, the sections are labeled: Outstanding, Great Job, Good Day, Ready to Learn, Think About It, Teacher’s Choice (as a consequence), Parent Contact.

At the beginning of the day, all of the clothespins are clipped to the Ready to Learn section. Then, during the day, students move their clothespins up or down the chart based upon their behavior. As I explain the technique during Interactive Discipline seminars, I share some of my own experience using it.

Children love to get involved, they love to be a part of everything. It is a great way to train them to be responsible and independent. To get each one engaged with a small task and to make them feel good about themselves. After all, when they are engaged with something, they get into less trouble. 

Read more: http://socyberty.com/education/effective-pre-k-and-kindergarten-classroom-management/#ixzz1n94WWGRN

Home school Connection

   Many new teachers are out there and I would love to help out. These classroom management charts are just a few of many more ideas and tips. I will try to post a few every now and then. I hope you can benefit from them.

      Throughout my 10 years of teaching experience, I have definitely learned a lot. Each year was different and unique in its way. I met so many students, parents, and co-workers. I moved to new classrooms, schools, and countries.

I’ve been thinking about all that I have learned over the years about classroom management and teaching . Some of it I’ve learned the hard way believe me.

  1- I’ve learned to work as a team! I was having trouble with that issue but with time I learned that through teamwork with colleagues you learn from them and you can share what you have as well.

2- I’ve learned that I should catch student doing good instead when misbehaving. I’ve had a few experiences with this issue and trust me nothing works more than a positive reinforcement.

3- I’ve learned to stay positive! Teachers stress out a lot like when they are overloaded with work, having a bad day, etc… and students do stress out as well. By being positive I was able to control my classroom positively and easily. You may think that kids won’t understand the concept of being positive but believe me they do!

5- I’ve learned to remember tomorrow is another day. Some days when nothing seems to go right, I try to remind myself tomorrow is another day, and I’ll have another chance to do it right.

6- I’ve learned to be prepared and organized. You are their role model! If you’re classroom is disorganized that means it’s all the teacher’s fault. Children will copy you and be responsible.

7- I’ve learned that students learn by doing. As William Arthur Ward says:

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires”.

8- I’ve learned to laugh and smile. Children love to see their teachers in a good mood. IF you are in a good mood then the whole class will be happy and enthusiastic about studying and learning.

9-  Most importantly, I have learned that it is my role as a teacher TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE into the child’s life!

     This week I decided to choose the most creative lunchbox and not the healthiest! This is Elle’s lunchbox and it has many options for snacks as you can see. She got vegetables, nuts, oats and honey bar, apple juice, Chex mix and 2 sandwiches. Elle had a lot of options for snacks and she was really excited to show it to me to post it on the blog.You’re doing great Elle! You’re lunchbox looks great  

Every class is required to choose a significant person or place and present it to grades 1 2 and 3. Last year I chose Oprah Winfrey. This year I chose Steve Irwin “the crocodile hunter”. I chose him because he is so passionate about what he does. He taught the people so many things. You can see for yourself the power point presentation that my students will present this Friday to the other sections. I hope you like it

     Usually, every Thursday we have a computer hour. Sometimes, my students like to visit Encarta encyclopedia and check out pictures and videos. They really like it. However, today I wanted to do something different. I have a few students in my class who need extra help in spelling. One of the methods that would help is the method that I mentioned in my previous post. Today I informed my students that we will practice for our spelling test tomorrow on Microsoft Word. They were so excited and worried at the same time. Some of them have never used Microsoft Word before and don’t know how to use it. Surprisingly, they quickly grasped the concept. They were having fun using the keyboard to spell words.Parents, you can do that too! If you’re child has extra time during the weekend, you can do a simple test for your child in spelling. Children love to touch, hear, and see! If they are not listening to you at home or following rules, always keep them occupied.

Computer screen

There is a site that I really recommend for students to practice their spelling which is: www.spellingcity.com

Hope you found this post beneficial! Have a good night

        Many students have trouble spelling words. Some of them remember how to write a specific word after they have learned it for a few minutes, but if you wait a bit longer and ask about the same word they would  have probably forgotten how to spell the word again. I used to have many students who mastered all subjects but not the spelling test. In my opinion having many spelling mistakes is not a big deal because when the child grows up he will eventually get to know how to spell a word, but since it is part of our curriculum then we have to take it into consideration.

    As I was tutoring a student at home, I used this method to help my student remember the words that are required for him to study. He remembered them and even after a while Everything that is visual and hands on, a student remembers! A student learns by doing! I wrote down all the 26 alphabets on cards. I wrote the letter “a” more than once and the “e” and other letters if needed.

My student above was trying to spell the word “because” after several attempts, he mastered it  

       So if you’re a teacher try this activity with your students. Even if you’re mom and your child is having trouble spelling words now there is a fun way to do it. Trust me it works! My student enjoys shuffling the cards.   To add an extra touch, you can reward the student after he gets a specific words correctly…  a sticker will do.

http://www.michellesrealm.com

Do your mornings start out rushed and frazzled? Does the stress build to the point where you end up yelling at your kids to get them OUT THE DOOR!

A sure-fire way to amp up the stress level is to try to multitask while you are helping your kids get ready for school. So this means that you need to take care of yourself first… BEFORE it is time to help them.

Get them up early enough.

Pick an absolute-out-of-bed time for the kids that gives them enough time for them to get dressed, eat a healthy breakfast, brush teeth, comb hair, cold weather gear, and get to the bus stop at least 5 minutes before the bus is due to arrive.

Pick out clothes the night before.

Pile up the week’s worth of outfits. I do this each Sunday night. Once the kids get up, they know where to find their clothes, and they can get dressed on their own. No asking you what they should wear, no coming downstairs with strange shirt and pant combinations of questionable cleanliness. Easy and done.

Have backpacks (nearly) ready to go.

all backpacks should be packed up and ready to go the night before and set by the front door before bed. there should be one designated area in your home where everything that needs to go to school should reside. Then, in the morning, while you are finishing up making lunches, You can easily gather up the stray homework assignment, library book, etc. and help your children get it all packed up in plenty of time to head out.

Remember, they are still kids, and kids WILL be silly.

It can be so frustrating when you are trying to herd the crew through the morning routine,

And that’s when it is so easy for your exasperation at their silliness to send you over the edge — and for you to start yelling at all of them to "Sit down, hurry up, and EAT YOUR BREAKFAST!!!" And there you are again, yelling in the morning.

It’s far better to remind yourself that there WILL be morning silliness, and build in a little extra time for it than to be fighting a losing battle — against them and the clock!

How are your mornings going this school year?

Article taken from: www.parentingsquad.com

The Eco-Goddess

    Last week, I was watching Anthony Robbins video, a certified life coach. He was helping a woman in the audience who is going through a tough relationship with her husband. He made her connect with her inner self through her heart to feel the love again. So he told her to put her hand on her heart and feel her heart beat. This is called heart meditation. I really liked the idea and thought of trying it out with my students, but of course in a simplified way.

When I tried it the next day, I told my students to put their right hand on their heart and feel their heart beat. I told them to feel it. I also mentioned that when your brain and your heart connect it is an amazing feeling. You’ll forget everything around you. I told them to remember all the people who love them and made them think about who they love. Could be family members, neighbors, classmates, or  maybe their puppy. I could see a smile on their face once they do that.

I just want to remind you that kids stress out too. Maybe the issues that they are stressing out about is not as major as we think it is, but to them it is. TRUST ME! I’ve been dealing with kids for almost 10 years and I know!

   Starting the day with heart meditation for 5 minutes is a great way to start the day!

In the picture above are my students practicing heart meditation.

For adults here are the steps for heart meditation:

This heart chakra meditation is a simple technique to release sadness and fear and to bring compassion and love into your life.

Sit in a comfortable position, either cross-legged on the floor or in a chair. Sit up tall with the spine straight, the shoulders relaxed and the chest open. Inhale the palms together and lightly press the knuckles of the thumbs into the sternum at the level of your heart (you should feel a little notch where the knuckles magically fit). Breathe slowly, smoothly and deeply into the belly and into the chest. Soften your gaze or lightly close the eyes. Let go of any thoughts or distractions and let the mind focus on feeling the breath move in and out of your body. Once the mind feels quiet and still, bring your focus to the light pressure of the thumbs pressing against your chest and feeling the beating of the heart. Keep this focus for one to five minutes.

Next, gently release the hands and rub the palms together, making them very warm and energized. Place the right palm in the center of your chest and the left hand on top of the right. Close the eyes and feel the center of your chest warm and radiant, full of energy. See this energy as an emerald green light, radiating out from the center of your heart into the rest of your body. Feel this energy flowing out into the arms and hands, and flowing back into the heart. Stay with this visualization for one to five minutes.

After you feel completely soaked with heart chakra energy, gently release the palms and turn them outwards with the elbows bent, the shoulders relaxed and the chest open. Feel or visualize the green light love energy flowing out of your palms and into the world. You can direct it towards specific loved ones in your life or to all sentient beings.

To end your meditation, inhale the arms up towards the sky, connecting with the heavens, then exhale and lower the palms lightly to the floor, connecting with the earth. Take a moment or two before moving on with the rest of your day.

 http://www.yogabasics.com/meditation/heartMeditation.html

       As I was monitoring my students doing their math test I couldn’t help but wonder how each student was holding the pencil in a different way. I am not sure if that tells anything about your personality. I used to have a student who holds her pen in an odd way, some tried to make her write different, but she still holds it her way. I say do what is comfortable. She has beautiful handwriting.

However, there is something I would like to share. If your son and daughter started holding the pen in a very odd way and her/his handwriting is very bad, then try to fix it with practice. If that doesn’t help then give up. Don’t force anyone on how to hold a pen correctly.

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As you can see in the photos above every person has their own way of holding a pen and some are left-handed too, but what I’m really concerned about is not the way you hold your pen or pencil, it is the handwriting.  There are many students whom I have taught who had really bad handwriting. So neat handwriting is what we should focus on. My next post will discuss how to have neat handwriting. Stay tuned  

Students learn by doing. A good teacher would already know that. If you want your student to learn fast and grasp the material better you need demonstrate. It is very hard to model cubes because the students at the back row would barely see. So I decided to get the overhead projector and place the cubes on it.  So let’s say I put 4 tens and 2 ones how many more tens and ones do you need to place to get a 100? That’s what the student is demonstrating in the photo. 42 and 58 is 100.

Up Close and Personal.

Children learn and truly understand math and mathematical concepts best when engaged in hands-on activities and games. By manipulating everyday objects, playing games and finding out ways to solve everyday problems, children gain a true understanding of math and mathematical concepts. Only with this understanding does the meaning of abstract numbers become apparent.