I Do Not Have the Words

Last Thursday my students were leaving the classroom to line up in the hallway for bus dismissal.  A boy went behind me and his rolling bookbag swept my feet out from under me. I fell and landed on my wrist and elbow.  I wasn't hurt physically, just sore.  My heart was hurt though because one of my students pointed and laughed at me while I was on the floor.  My teammate took my students out to the bus lot. I went in my classroom and closed the door as tears ran down my face.

I do not have the words to describe how hurt I felt by this boy's laughing and pointing.  I am a 47 year old woman who had her feelings hurt by a 9 year old boy.  I am a professional educator and he is an immature child.  Why did this hurt me so badly? I guess I feel that I have taught him better.  I preach empathy for others. My classroom runs on caring and kindness.  I know that it was probably his initial reaction, but the fact that it was so public just sliced even harder.  

The next morning, the boy who laughed at me walked up with a very serious look on his face. He said, "I am really sorry for laughing at you when you fell yesterday."  He handed me a folded up piece of paper.  I read it and once again he caused tears in my eyes.  

I do not have the words to describe how touched I was by this genuine apology.  I'm not crying...you're crying.

 

Student Ownership

In a previous post, On Purpose, I explained how our classroom works as a community.  This week our Kindness Captain (another blog post) created some new signs and even had the students sign one of them.  Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, but it also lets a teacher know that the students internalized and valued the activity we did in class.  Whenever a student shows you they made something for the classroom, and they want to hang it up in the classroom, let them.  Do not be in control of your classroom decor--it is their classroom, too.

Sticker Madness

Staying current on popular trends with students is important to help develop relationships.  I talk about the latest video games, play the latest music, add You Tube/Snap Chat/Tik Tok to my lessons.  One current trend that brings me back to my own childhood is the sticker collecting.  Students have the opportunity to choose stickers for random reasons in my classroom.  It might be for helping a classmate, using manners, having an organized cubby, or just because I feel like it.  They are NOT linked to behavior.  Throughout the week I make sure every student receives one.

*Warning:  make sure you always look carefully through stickers sets to remove any that are inappropriate for school-age children.

Most students put their stickers on their water bottles, but some stickers have shown up at fun places around the classroom!  I love that the students are comfortable enough in OUR classroom to add their stickers to enhance the environment.  

Don't miss out on the Among Us video game trend right now.  If you know about this game and you can use the vocabulary from it, you can get students excited about anything!  I picked this bag of stickers up at a discount store this weekend and I cannot wait to show my learners.  I know they will be excited.

 

I Am

 

Yoga has taught me many lessons about myself, but most of them begin with "I am."  I am strong. I am loved. I am enough.  When I read this powerful book I knew I wanted to spread the "I am" lesson to my students.  The message of this book is incredible not just for children, but for adults.  If I could recommend a book for every person on Earth to read, this is that book.

  

After I read the book to my learners, they created an I Am display for their cubbies.  They included literal responses: a son, a daughter, a 4th grader, a friend, a sister, a brother, a baseball player, a gamer, a dancer.  They also wrote words to describe themselves: intelligent, funny, athletic, kind, creative, neat, organized, independent, and many other amazing adjectives.

Playdough and Tell

This is my favorite back-to-school getting-to-know-you activity.  It is creative and active.  It is detailed or abstract.  It is a positive experience for the quiet students and the talkative ones.  It is great for 4th graders because it is WHATEVER they want it to be!

Each table received a box of clay sticks (I get whatever Dollar Tree has in stock.  Sometimes they have 4 packs of Playdough, but this year it was 12 stick pack of clay). Students use the clay to create something that shows us about themselves.  It can be a specific item, like a football, or it can be a symbol that represents something, like a heart.  Then they create a display by writing a description on an index card.  They have a choice to write their names on the front or back of the card. I leave these displays out until Curriculum Night so parents can see them.

*I did not create this activity.  I read about it somewhere or saw it at a training, but after 26 years I cannot remember the exact person or I would give him/her credit.  

On Purpose

 

I like my classroom to feel inviting, relaxing, safe, and purposeful. I totally appreciate the time, money, and effort teachers put into a perfectly decorated classroom. I choose each object in my classroom for a purpose. These framed quotes are not hung on the wall for decoration. They were used in class meeting as a discussion point. Afterwards students signed their names on the quote they felt most motivated by. Now we have a record of something we all believe in as a class.