Spring fever is here ~ ~ ~ some years are better than others. This year I’m not feeling the spring fever too much but the last couple of years I sure did. Here are some ways to cope with those behaviors so close to the end of the year.
A good and faithful tip that I’ve used for years is the Fancy Desk…I’ve noticed some bloggers now call it the VIP desk or VIP materials. Way back I decorated an extra desk in my room and would pick a different child every hour or so to sit there that was on task and focused/listening. It had a soft cushion to sit on, new materials to use and it was decorated very cute of course.
Switch things up a bit with your table points. I’ve seen several clever, smart and different ways to use or do table points. Just last week I came up with a really random idea to use with a sub and it worked beautifully! #gofigure I called it Double Down Friyay! Once the sub arrived for the afternoon all table points earned were doubled for the afternoon. She reported that all the students were behaving to earn those coveted points and if a table was behind it was their chance to catch up before the end of the day.
If you haven’t used the Compliment Chain in the past or in a while it can spark new desired behavior in your classroom. It’s actually a wonderful tool to bring in at this time of year. It has a fun poem to copy and your students can earn links – you decide how long you want the link to be that they earn and once earned they are rewarded with a class party. I usually tell teachers on campus that we are working towards it so they can be looking out to give us compliments at specials or in the hallways.
Quiet Spray ~ ~ ~ an oldie but a goodie! It works with K’s and Firsties. I would just walk around the room and spray it telling them it magically reminds them to be quiet and work. I would laugh quietly to myself when I would hear one of my kiddos say,
” Oh, I knew it would work, I don’t even feel like talking at all! “
One of my favorites ~ ~ ~ The Chair Pocket! Have a roving chair pocket during the day. I find children that are on task, making great choices, not talking, engaged, etc. The child that ends up with it at the end of our day gets a prize. Sometimes I’ve used seasonal chair pockets from the Dollar Tree, sometimes I’ve used theme ones that I bought or have made.
Another one of my favorites from when I taught first grade is the Tattle Turtle. Some years….man! You’ve got tattlers — whew! You know what I’m talking about. That ONE year was the year I wrote this poem and hubby bought me a big stuffed turtle. I would have to hold in my laugh when I saw kids walk up to the turtle and tell it something and walk away with a smile on their face… #whoknew LOL Definitely an oldie but a goodie here as well. This curbs behaviors issues that tie into tattling fo’ sure!
If you love this idea I have the poem in my tattling pack you can grab { here }
I call them Smile Tiles but many of my friends call them Brag Tags. My version is a bit different but the same general idea. Kids love coming home with a little something special in their hand on their head or around their necks. So…I started using Brag Tags in my classroom a couple of years ago. That way a child can go home wearing it around their neck and their parents can quickly see that they : behaved nicely in the library or did a great job in math…
Use Cool Down Cubes if you need to…this is so smart! I love how the Crafty Counselor Chick uses these. If you have 1 or 2 students that are egging others on or needing a break. Have them pull out a cool down cube. You can buy these at the Dollar Tree and write some cool down tips on them with a sharpie.
You can read all about how this super smart blogger uses these
{ here }
I love using my Behavior Bites which I’ve shared before but trust me it can get your whole class to sit a little straighter and behave a little better for you and for others as well. They are now editable so you can have them fit the personal needs of your own classroom. Scroll below the pictures to see where you can find these.
You can grab them { here } This takes you to my product line page at my store…just scroll down and you will find these ~ ~ UPDATE: they are finished – offered for the entire year plus a SEPTEMBER FREEBIE for you to try them out before you buy!
Use a class mascot, stuffed animal or seasonal item – you can either move it around to the desks during the day. The desk/child that has it at lunch and at the end of the day gets a blue ticket or prize OR you can do it by tables and the table can earn extra table points. I LOVE how Rachelle from What the Teacher Wants used the Cat in the Hat in March for this idea. When I had a Busy Bee’s class I used a stuffed bee, I’ve used a stuffed giraffe ( my favorite animal ) etc.
Click { here } to read Rachelle’s post on this clever idea.
Well that wraps it up ~ ~ I hope this gives you some new tricks to try come Monday or anytime in the next few months that you need to spice up your behavior management. Happy Spring my friends! xo,
Really good article. Thank you for this!