The longest..... most necessary.... post ever. CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT!

Classroom management is by far the most difficult thing I had to deal with when I first started teaching last year. I started late in the year, November, after a week of different subs everyday and no lesson plans AND after a week off for Thanksgiving and with 32 first graders o_o not the ideal situation for a first year teacher, but hey! No Excuses! Last year was my trial by fire year, I tried so many different things, tickets-stickers-team points-sitting out for recess- I sat on the floor of my classroom and cried after school, and finally when I had some kind of routine (and with a lot of help from Miss Villalobos - thank you forever!) everything fell into place.

I wake up every day and I am excited to see my kids, they are my pride and joy this year and they never cease to amaze me with how insightful and honest they can be.... Take J for example.... Me "J are you making smart choices?" he replies "No" and we figure it out together every time. He was moved into my class mid year after multiple office visits. Today, I am happy and proud to say that I haven't sent him to the office EVER :)

The biggest lesson I have learned - KEEP IT POSITIVE! Six and Seven year olds do not respond to being yelled at - you will only escalate the situation and end up with that student who refuses to come in from recess and holds the whole class hostage or hides underneath a desk and shuts down.

Also, not rewarding my class with a 'treasure box' or candy or any kind of treat this year has not only saved me money (thank God!) but it has helped my kiddos develop a sense of intrinsic motivation. More on that in a bit....

• I started with the rules of the class - what is great about these is that they pretty much apply to any possible situation and you don't have a list of 10 rules posted somewhere for the kids to forget about.

I googled my life away last year looking for management ideas and I came across WHOLE BRAIN TEACHING, now while it seems that some teachers or parents out there might see it as very robotic - certain aspects of whole brain work VERY well for me, you can call my kids robots ALL DAY if you want, but they are engaged and they are learning.

In any case, the rules of the class are straight out of WHOLE BRAIN. I found this awesome video, from which I borrowed the song, kids won't ever forget the rules if there is a song involved!

I did make one change- from keep your dear teacher happy to keep your dear team mates happy - I am ALL ABOUT creating a team. You can download my Rules of the Class posters HERE!

• Up next, tracking individual student behavior.....

I use a clip system of classroom management, students each have a clip with their name on it. Every day, their clips start at READY TO LEARN, clips can move UP or DOWN through out the course of the school day. I like this system because there is a chance for students to think about the choices they make. 

OUTSTANDING

GREAT JOB

GOOD DAY

READY TO LEARN

THINK ABOUT IT

TEACHER'S CHOICE

Now, one of the MOST important things I have figured out - learn to ignore - I have a few kiddos who like to 'test' their limits, seriously every day, grrr. I have gotten very good at ignoring the little things (I especially ignore crying! Obviously unless someone is seriously hurt, otherwise I don't respond to it, I let the whole class know that they are not babies and that when they are ready to speak to me like big smart kids then I will be happy to hear from them) but I digress, take R for example - if he is just NOT handling himself, I will ask his neighbors to move THEIR clips up, rather than giving him my attention. Keep it positive! Once you ask one kid to move their clip up, every body else straightens up reeeeeaaaal quick, it's almost funny to see.

Fortunately - you will always have those shining stars, those kids that just always make smart choices and wouldn't dream of having their clip anywhere below outstanding - rewarding this consistent behavior is my favorite part of the day. I award SMILEYS for every time a student is on outstanding and is asked to move their clip up again. I even do it outside, at lunch, in the hall etc etc etc. They DON'T forget, they keep very good track of how many smileys they are owed :)

• And finally.... THE CLASSROOM ECONOMY - I am no longer focusing on extrinsic rewards. Students can earn a 'dollar' for every day their clip ends on OUTSTANDING - these dollars are good at our coupon store. Coupons range from recognition rockstar and teacher's helper to no homework passes and pajama days. 

I purchased THESE coupons from the fabulous MelD, I definitely don't use them all and they have taken on a life of their own... I think I'll post all about them soon.

And that is the bulk of it, it works for me, it works for the little ones and we all have happy, productive, days every day :)