Followers

Wow! I have 30 followers! That's pretty humbling for me. Honestly, I don't write this blog for followers. I started it at a point in the year last year where I needed a boost of positive energy. I had a difficult class last year, and things were constantly changing in our school and district. It was tough...and then I discovered teaching blogs! All those great ideas gave me the enthusiasm and encouragement to keep at it even when the job got me down sometimes. Now, I'm feeling so much better and REALLY looking forward to next year with all of the great resources I've found.

I probably won't have crazy giveaways or launch a TPT store, but I do want to document the things I've tried and my progress as a teacher. At the same time, I do love connecting with other teachers, and sharing ideas. I'm so thankful!

So, on that note, here are a few things I've worked on in the last few months.

I am soooo going to try Whole Brain Teaching...I think my kids need that infusion of energy, and I need a behavior system that isn't based on extrinsic rewards. We already do PBIS, and I felt like I was constantly bribing my students to act appropriately. I really want to get away from that this next school year, and this is where I'm going to start!

Whole Brain Rules Posters

Oh, and the reason the "Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat" poster has two hands on it is this: the kids show me a "one" for bathroom, and a "two" for tissues or garbage can. That way, I know exactly what they want to do, and I just nod yes or no. That also makes it nice for reading groups...I can just seem them and nod, and then they don't keep coming up to the table to interrupt.

These are labels I made for a bulletin board outside my room. It's from another idea I saw on blogland (shoutout if it was yours!), but I changed it to reflect our butterfly theme. Pictures of the board coming soon. Oh, and the font is cuter in real life, I didn't save it as a PDF first :)

Cocoon Labels


I borrowed this idea from Really Good Stuff. Last year I had the WORST tattlers. I tried tattle tickets, and lessons about tattling versus reporting. One student would tattle on EVERYONE, and then stand around and watch me, expecting me to DO SOMETHING right away. Drove me nuts. I have a stuffed bear with a butterfly headband who is going to be my tattle bear :) It's cheesy, but maybe it'll work. Again, cuter font on the real thing :)

Talk to Tattle Bear