Cyber Savings!

It's that time of year to celebrate Cyber Monday and all the sales that come with it! 

All of the Primary Chalkboard members are celebrating by throwing a sale in their stores. 

Each of us have 20% off in our stores, PLUS 10% from TPT. This equals up to be 28% off our products. 

Check our stores out here! 

   

     

   

    

   

   

  

   

  

   

   

   

  

    

   

 

 

Winter Restlessness...Classroom Management for the Long, Cold Days

With winter break being a distant thing of the past, we're trying to get in our 2014 groove. Our students are too. It's hard coming off of breaks, but there is definitely something to be said about getting back into the swing of things.

We're not going to let our students freeze up this winter with their behavior. We hold high expectations of our first graders, and each time we do they prove us right! We like that part. :)

Here's a few tried and true classroom management ideas...Polar Vortex style. Well, winter style, but didn't that sound so much cooler? 

When we grew up, we had to walk uphill in the snow both ways being asked to write your name on the classroom board was not a privilege. But, it is in our class! Simply draw a thematic character up on your white board or on a piece of large construction paper or butcher paper. Leave colorful markers nearby. Call students up throughout the day to write their name in the snowman. They love it! We call on them as many times as they are caught. Some end up in the snowman 2-3 times before the day is up.

 

 At the end of the day, we let all the students who were "caught in the snowman" head to our class Sticker Station. It's just a tub that hold stickers. Easy! We throw seasonal stickers in there too each month to keep it fresh and fun! To read more about our Sticker Station Basics click {here}.

 Each of our students keeps a Sticker Board inside of their desks. We made generic ones which you can grab for free {here}.

But, today we've made exclusive Snowy Sticker Boards just for our Primary Chalkboard followers! 

Click {here} to grab your own Snowy Sticker Boards.

 You've probably heard of a class marble jar...We put a spin on an old classic just by changing the color and calling the contents a different name. It's all in the packaging sometimes...Ha! During winter, our students work together to earn class "icicles". Each time they are working together as a team to follow our class goals, they earn an icicle. When they earn 50, they vote on a class celebration. In December, we celebrated with a class Polar Express Hot Cocoa Party...Basically movie and hot cocoa station. But, other months we keep it simple ~ Extra recess, class free time, you get the idea.

 Getting our class to work quietly can be a consistent challenge in our class. But, not with the help of some stuffed friends. Each month, we have a stash of stuffed animals that float around the classroom, on the hunt for the hardest, quietest workers. Once found, they swing by for a visit while the student works. Amazing how quiet they get just when we pick him up! This month, Snowball the Snowman will be making his rounds in hopes of catching them for stickers or icicles.

Thinking outside the box when it comes to classroom management is one of our favorite things about teaching. We are firm believers that if we can't behave, we can't learn. 
In fact, we feel so strongly about students truly engaging in their learning at a young age, that we've just finished up our latest project to help them become great listeners.

 Listen Up! 
Auditory Activities for Little Listeners
Active listening is essential in today's classroom and world. Yet, even as veteran teachers, we're finding it more and more challenging to really get today's fast paced students to listen attentively. Listen Up! is helping our students move towards independent, active listening skills in meaningful and fun ways.
Visit our blog for more details.  

Positive Reinforcement {+2 Freebies} w/Daina

Hey guys!

It's Daina from Sticky Notes & Glitter! 

Super happy to be blogging as a Chalkie today!

My post isn't going to be super long but I do hope it will be useful for you! And yes, there's TWO freebies for you today! They are HOT off the presses! :)

I want to talk about positive reinforcement in the classroom in order to manage your classroom.

I have a tough group this year. I am departmentalized so I teach reading/writing to two classes for a total of 51 students at the moment. It's different and definitely an adjustment! I do enjoy only planning/prepping for two subjects though so it has its perks!

But nonetheless, they are extremely chatty and very quick to argue with one another over the SILLIEST of reasons!

They often leave me looking like this:

We all know it's easier to focus on the negative rather than the positive so I've really been trying to get better at focusing on the things students are doing RIGHT versus the wrong choices they are making.

As a result, I have implemented several things in my classroom this year and I'm trying my best to be consistent and deliberate in following through each and every day with both classes.

The first thing is that I use a classroom BINGO board. It's very simple but the kiddos really get into it! I print the bingo board, laminate it and hang it up in my classroom with a dry erase marker strung up beside it.

When I see a child setting a great example for any reason, I will simply say "So and so, go put your name on the Bingo board." Up they hop and scamper to the board! They are allowed to put their name anywhere on the board. Every Friday, I use bingo cards to draw a letter (B I N G O) and number (1 2 3 4 5) to pick a winner. If I draw B5, the child in the bottom spot of the B column wins! I let them pick lunch with me or treasure box as a reward. Sometimes I pick one winner, sometimes I pick up to three!

Some variations for this can be:

1. If you use numbers for your students, have them put their classroom specific number in a box instead of their whole name. Saves room and time!

2. You can draw however often you want for a winner! Weekly, biweekly, monthly, daily, whatever! It's totally what works best for you!

3. I have teams in my room and if the whole team is doing a great job, I will sometimes tell them to put their group name on the bingo board. Then, if I draw that square, the whole group gets a reward! They love when that happens!

4. If the WHOLE class is on-task and doing great, I put MY name on the bingo board! That means if I draw that square, the whole class gets a reward such as extra recess! :)

Like this idea? Good because you're in luck! Here's a freebie to help you get started in implementing this in your room! Click here to download! I did LOTS of backgrounds so hopefully one will work for your classroom! :) Feel free to pin and share with friends!

The second new thing I have implemented is what I call "Count It Up!"

In my class, I have 6 groups of students. Each group is a TEAM. This idea is all about rewarding the team as a whole. It encourages students to take responsibility for themselves and for their teammates. We talk about how to positively encourage group members and how not to "yell" at them or shush them to try and be ready.

Anytime I see a group that is on-task and working, they get a point/tally. I also award points/tallies to groups for being ready the quickest, being quietest the quickest, getting materials out the quickest, etc. The list goes on and on but you get the idea. At the end of the week, I tell the Team Captains to "Count It Up" and they know to go to the team points board and count up their team points for that week. Team with the most points gets.... you got it, a reward! I give them options and let them choose. Extra recess, treasure box, lunch with me, no homework pass, etc.

The kiddos really like it because it's a healthy competition. Students will usually get their act together quicker because they don't want their table mates upset with them. In the end, it has worked out well for me!

If you like this idea, I have another freebie for you! Again, I included lots of background options! I also have versions for FOUR teams and SIX teams as I realize classes often differ in size! :)

Click here to download! Again, feel free to pin and share!

I sure hope you  have enjoyed my post today! I hope you like these ideas and can use them in your own classroom. If you do, I would love to hear about it! :)

 Thanks for hanging out with me today! Happy Sunday!



Countdown to Turkey Time!

Happy almost Thanksgiving Break! 

Tammy and Christy here from Fluttering Through First Grade, officially counting down to turkey time. 

We're pretty sure you may be counting down too...

Us teachers have a tendency to do that. 

Right?

November is a quick month for us at school {Insert two teachers jumping for joy, maybe, *possibly* even screaming like school girls here}, but just enough time to share some of our favorite activities.

We love to bring the story of Thanksgiving to life with Dr. Jean's Thanksgiving bracelet. You can read about it {here}. We created a class read aloud poster and worksheet to go along with the bracelet. It's free by clicking the image above. Enjoy!

A class that cooks together, stays together. Right? Well, for the school year at least. 

We are one of the *lucky* classes who get to go to school the few days before Thanksgiving.

Are you *lucky* too?

It's the perfect opportunity to sharpen our annual cooking skills by baking with our class.

We pull up our sleeves and bake pumpkin bread turkeys with our favorite little turkeys. 

This will be our 12th year baking for Thanksgiving. It quickly became an experience they remember for years to come. Plus, the pumpkin bread is kind of ridiculously moist and super delicious...just saying.

On the days that drag follow we decorate our turkey pumpkin breads to look like turkeys and take our class through the entire writing process about their baking experience.

We collect one pound coffee cans for this project, but have adapted it so you can use small bread loaf pans as well. We bake in our school oven, but have also asked parents to take them home to bake or have even stuffed our own ovens. 

Click the pic above to see it in our TpT Shop.

Ummm...We know. We love him too.

We make these every year for our parent volunteers. But, shhh...Please don't tell them. We haven't made them quite yet this year. We know, we'd better get cracking crafting!

Are you a crafter? 

Is that a silly question for a teacher?

If you answered, yes and yes,  hop on over to our blog {here}to see how to make him too.

Happy Thanksgiving sweet friends!