Wow! It has been a long time since I have blogged!!!! So I wanted to share a teacher tip of something I tried today in my classroom.
Before I do that I wanted to take a little time to let you know about me! I am Melissa, and I have taught kindergarten for 12 years! For the last 11 years I have been in the same school/same classroom. This past year I took a leap of faith, I prayed, I listened, I packed up, and moved to a new school. I knew that God would place me just where he wanted me - and he did! I love my new school, my new classroom, my new school family, and my new students. I am still working for the same great corporation just a different elementary school. I love everything about kindergarten! I love building relationships, doing classroom transformations, trying new things, being silly, and just loving on my kiddos.
I like to joke that kindergarten is the best grade EVER - so I never leave! If you are a kindergarten teacher you will totally agree - but don't get me wrong...I like to compare the first few weeks of kindergarten to childbirth you always forget how hard it is but in the end it is so worth it! Or if you haven't experienced child birth...it's like getting a brand new puppy, you forget about the accidents, the whining and barking all night, the chewing up your favorite shoes, scratching your favorite coffee table - you just forget how hard it is! If you haven't experienced any of these things just trust me it is hard!
What you think kindergarten is like the first few weeks:
What it is REALLY like!
Okay all joking aside...I am past the first week so I am feeling pretty good!
Behavior Management
Teacher Tip:
So I have implemented my behavior management plan (I use warm fuzzies-thanks @seusstasticteacher for this idea), I have modeled, modeled, modeled procedures, we have discussed rules, I have modeled, modeled, AND modeled procedures and I still have those few kids who just aren't getting it. (Let me say I HAVE AN AMAZING class, there are just a few kiddos who need a little more incentive. Ultimately I want them to not only be successful in my classroom but I want them to feel successful).
So this morning, yes this morning while drinking my coffee, I was looking up ideas to help these few kiddos get on board. I looked on Pinterest, you tube, I googled. I found lots of amazing ideas but mostly whole class ideas. I didn't want whole class ideas I wanted something simple, easy, and manageable that would help my students feel successful. That is when it came to me! (by this time I should have been in the shower...but great ideas don't come on schedule...haha!)
Introducing...(drum roll please)...Behavior Bots!
Looks simple, huh? Well it is! It is super simple and my students loved them! Guess what... they worked like a charm! Just like I was hoping!
So what exactly are Behavior Bots?
Only the easiest behavior management plan EVER...okay maybe not ever but I did think of it this morning, created it, put it together, and implemented it all in the same day. So I would say that is pretty easy.
Basically it is a paper with four gears (more or less depending on the need) and four robots. The robots are attached with velcro. Before each chunk of classroom time, arrival/morning circle, reading, lunch/recess, math, etc. (you get to pick the length of time), the student will start out with all of the robots. If they blurt out, get out of their seat, argue, talk to their friends, distract classmates, have their hands on another student (you pick the targeted behavior that you are trying to eliminate), they loose a robot. They continue to loose robots if they continue with the undesired behavior. If they have at least one robot at the end of the designate chunk of time they get a positive reward. In my class it is a warm fuzzy. If they loose all of the robots we discuss why they lost them and how they can make better choices. After every chunk of time we start fresh will all the robots.
I started with four robots because I felt that was a good starting point for my students. Guess what they were successful! They didn't earn a fuzzy every time but they knew why they struggled and how to do better. (They did get them more than they didn't). It was visual and instant to help them understand desired behaviors. But MOST importantly the FELT success! When my students feel success I feel success. I know tomorrow may not be as easy as today but we are learning, we are kindergarteners, and we are going to feel success!
If you are interested in Behavior Bots you can check them out in my TPT store at this link:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Behavior-Bots-4791368
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Behavior-Bots-4791368
