Classroom Sneak Peek + FREEBIES

Hello, sweet friends! I feel like I have been missing from the blogging world for a little too long. A few weeks ago my family and I were doing a little vacationing. 

We flew into Seattle and spent a couple days there being tourists and enjoyed the town. Then we took a ferry to the San Juan Islands and spent the week enjoying nature, fishing, and EATING, EATING and EATING some more delicious seafood! I tried to unplug as much as possible. As soon as we got home, it was time to start my classroom prep. So blogging has been put to the back burner until now!

I feel like I could work in my classroom ALL year, without kids, and NEVER be completely ready. I am overly organized and prepared and I still feel this way. Here is a little bit of what I have been doing in my home away from home....

 I love to make my kiddos feel special on their birthday. I created these birthday blooms to do just that. I change what I attach them to every year. I have used crazy straws, mechanical pencils, birthday pencils and more. I keep them in this pot all year. When its the student's birthday, they "pick" there birthday bloom from the pot. You can grab your copy of this FREEBIE by clicking HERE. The file is editable too!

I also have a class birthday board. Once the kids arrive I take a group picture of 

all the kids who have birthdays each month. Then I print and laminate them to have up on our birthday board all year. 

I love our Second Grade Makes Us "App"y welcome door! This is from my talented friend, Molly, at Lucky To Be In First.

I finally found black pocket charts! The heavens must be hearing me sing (cover your ears). Seriously though, I LOVE Them. I put my student "I Can" standards cards in them, so I can easily switch them out AND my administration and students will know EXACTLY what we are focusing on.

 I LOVE, LOVE, L-O-V-E my new behavior chart from Learning in Wonderland. Now, I know, behavior charts seem to be a hot topic lately, but it works for my students and I. I like how students can easily improve on their behavior and move their clips up. It provides accountability. My students fill out a behavior chart at the end of each day with the color they are on. At the end of the week, they take the chart home and have it signed. This provides parents with the information they need and cuts down on "how is my child behaving/doing in class" questions.

 I have very little wall space in my classroom, so I have to be creative and use every surface creatively. My behavior chart is on one side of my file cabinet. I love it because it dresses it up AND I can use magnetic student numbers, instead of clothespins that always seems to break during the year.

I was inspired by Amy Lemons to dress up and label my file cabinets. She has a great freebie you can download. I, however, created my own labels that are similar because I wanted the titles to fit my needs. I don't know why I didn't do it sooner. 

I have prepped my first day of school treat bags. I made these labels last year for all grade levels. You can grab the labels for your classroom by heading over to my Facebook page. Click on the Freebie For Fans tab on the left side of the page.

During special activities our students wear name tags (music, art, theater etc.) until those teachers get to know the kids. I also use them if we are going to a special assembly that is interactive and the presenter would need to call on students. 

These are just a few of the little things that are helping me get the school year off right. I will give you a full room tour next week once school is underway. 

I hope each of you are enjoying what is left of your summer or have kicked off your school year with a BANG!

Monday Made It-Behavior Chart

Yeah, baby! It's time to link up for Monday Made It! I have been working on TONS of items for my classroom this week. The first item I finished this week was my classroom behavior clip chart. I had one last year, but of course I needed to update it with a new and improved version.

 I don't have very much space in my classroom to display things, so I need to get creative. This is on the side of one of my filing cabinets. I use 2 magnetic hooks at the top of the chart to hang it on the side. The clips, on the side of the chart, have my student numbers on them to keep it as anonymous as possible.

Here is what I did to make my chart last the whole year:

First, print and cut out the behavior chart. Click HERE to grab your copy. Then make sure to glue each colored behavior on to plain colored paper. This provides a frame and extra reinforcement. 

Next, glue each section onto poster board or thick chart paper. I left space, at the top of each column, on purpose. You need the space at the top to attach the clips to it. You also need space at the top of the second column, so you can glue it to the first column (did that make sense?) Make sure not to leave any space in between each colored behavior. It should look something like this:

Then, carefully cut each colored column out, so that you have two columns only. Place glue on the white space above the yellow "Think About It" section. Carefully line up the green "Ready to Learn" card directly on top of the glue.

I took my completed behavior chart to Lakeshore to laminate for even more reinforcement. Note: When you cut the chart out from the lamination, it may not seal completely because of the thickness. I took clear packing tape and used it around the edges of the chart for durability. Remember, this chart is going to be used every day in your class. You want it to last! 

I hope these tips and tricks help you make your own behavior chart for your classroom. I would love to hear how you make your charts durable in your class. Make sure to link up with Monday Made It and share your creativity! Have a great week!

Behavior Management Linky

I am a couple days late to this party! However, better late than never. It's just been one of those weeks, I guess. I am linking up with What the Teacher Wants for an incredible linky party on behavior management.

I think behavior management is one of the most important things to establish in the classroom from Day 1. The key to making any system work- CONSISTENCY!  

I have made a HUGE change in my behavior management system this school year. For the past 14 years I have been using the ever so popular color card system. (I can hear all of your groans as you read this) It actually has worked really well for me and most of the teachers at my school. Most of us used it school wide. This year I wanted to make a change and switched to the color coded clip chart. The main reason I made the switch is because I really liked the idea of rewarding positive behavior as well as having consequences for negative behavior. Here is the chart I use:

Every student has a clip with their classroom number on it. This makes it slightly more anonymous than using names. Also, I am hoping the clips will be able to be used for more than one year- fingers crossed. It has been a bit of a change of mind frame for me. I have to remind myself to reward those that are doing well. Sometimes at the end of the day if I see that I haven't had that many students move their clip from green, I will have them move it up before they leave. At the end of each day the students fill out one half of this behavior chart:

They color in the circle with the color their clip is on at the end of the day. At the end of the week, they take their chart home and have their parents' sign the chart. They bring the signed chart back on Monday. When they return the signed chart, they get a ticket.  On Friday, any student that has been in the top three colors all week gets a treat from me. The treats can be small snacks, bookmarks, stickers or even special erasers. I also use tickets throughout the day to motivate my students during class. Tickets can be given out for any number of reasons: quiet in line, smooth transition, answering questions etc. They can save their tickets or enter them in our class rewards jar to be one of the possible luck winners that get to choose a prize from our classroom treasure chest. Some kids save their tickets all year to see how many they can get, while others spend them as soon as they get them. 

What is your behavior management style? Link up and share!

Behavior Management Technology Idea and a Giveaway

I have seen some great technology ideas floating around Pinterest and a few other blogs. I have pinned a few but I have not explored them all yet. My favorite idea so far is an app called Class Dojo. It's a behavior management tool for your classroom. You set up your class online through the website and save it to your home screen on your phone, iTouch and/or computer. You then can add or subtract points for each student based on their behaviors. You could be working with a small group, see a student across the room doing a great job and click their name and award them points without stopping what you are doing! How cool is that? This would also be amazing outside of the classroom. Kids could be earning points (or losing points) based on their behavior on the yard and in the cafeteria. When you come back to the room, just display the site with your projector and your students can see their points! There is even a feature to send behavior reports home to parents! I really would like to try to implement this in my classroom next year.

Dana at Fun in 1st is having an amazing 300 follower giveaway. She is giving away a May Book, gift certificates and TpT items from some awesome bloggers.  Click on the picture to take you to her site so you can enter.

               
Happy Sunday Everyone! Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I'm off to the baseball field with the family!

Classroom Behavior Chart

For the last 12 years of my teaching career, I have used the same behavior chart- a color coded card system. Many of you may have used this system as well. Each student gets 4 color cards (green, yellow, blue and red). Each day all the students would start in green. They would either stay on green or move to the other colors when their behavior was not super stellar. The system works, but it is definitely is not perfect. The thing that I disliked the most about it, was that it was always negative. They were changing their cards for doing something wrong and not being rewarded for doing something right. There were years when I would let the kids change their cards back if their behavior improved but it never really stuck.

So this year I have decided to do something different. I have "graduated" to the behavior clip chart. I am really excited to use this system. I made a chart before the end of this school year (see pic below) but I have already made some adjustments and I am going to make another one. I have time, so why not make it perfect?

I am using the same colors and wording. I have changed the background to chevron instead of polka dots because I am going to be using the chevron pattern as much as possible in my room this year. I also want to mount the signs on sturdier paper before I laminate it, so that it will last the entire school year. 

Each student will have a clip with their name on it and start the day in the green section-READY TO LEARN! Now they have the ability to move up 3 spaces to the top for awesome behavior through out the day and 3 spaces below the green section for not so great behavior. I am only going to allow students to move one section at a time. If they have a great morning and move 2 spaces to GREAT JOB, and then have a rough afternoon, they possibly could end their day 2 spaces down to READY TO LEARN. It seems so much more positive than my old color card system. 

Now they next part of my system is what the parents like the best. Each week on Friday their child comes home with their weekly behavior chart. The students color in a circle with the color their clip is on at the end of the day. This way the parents can review their child's behavior throughout the week and discuss what worked or didn't work for the child during the week. The parent signs the form and the student returns it on Monday. When the student returns the signed form I give them tickets, which is what I use as part of my reward system in my class. This provides student and parent "buy in". 

I also have a student form that gets filled out by the student when I want them to reflect on their behavior in class. The student, parent and teacher need to sign it because we are a team that needs to work together. Sometimes I have students draw a picture instead of writing if I think it is easier for them. 

You can grab the clip chart, directions, and behavior forms at my TpT or TN stores.

What behavior systems do you use in your classroom that you really love?