Day 3

Friday was so much easier than Thursday! It was the second full day of school, and I could see the kids wanting to be more independent and showing their knowledge of our routines. They are SO good at raising their hands! Granted, it's Kindergarten, so when they do, it's usually something totally unrelated and off topic, but it's been fun to see that in them. And let's be honest, they are pretty adorable.

A few routines that I started right away in the classroom are life savers! The first are hand signals for when they need to use the restroom and get a drink. If you've ever heard Rick Morris speak, he uses hand signals. You know when you're having an awesome lecture discussion, and you call on a student, and you get the "Can I go to the bathroom?" question, throwing off the entire discussion, and causing five other students to realize they have to go to the bathroom too? This way, all you have to do is give a little nod, or say, "Go ahead" or "Wait" and get on with life. SO MUCH EASIER. Rick Morris lectured at my university when I was there in the teaching program, and he has some pretty awesome ideas. This idea, I actually learned from my mom, but it was nice to have it reinforced. He uses a lot more signals, but I find that Restroom and Drink are sufficient for my classroom (although I may add a Tissue one when winter comes around!).

Another idea I've implemented this year that I've seen around on blogs a lot are the visual directions. Last year, I got so tired of constantly repeating myself (what teacher doesn't) or having to try and stop in the middle of a project and get control of the class to give them the next step of directions. Last year, I started using a Whole Brain Teaching type method to give directions, having the kids repeat after me before we started a project. But there was still always the question of what to do when you're done, or which type of supplies to use, being shouted out at me. This summer, when I had some time, I put together cards to do a visual display of directions to solve this problem as much as possible. I've used it several times, and they don't quite have it down yet, but I'm confident it will be a huge help in the classroom! These are the directions after a project we did the other day. It's nice because it solves the problem of what order to do things in, which supplies to use (I'm picky about whether they use a glue bottle or a glue stick!), and what to do when they're done.

Now, I know you can find these sets all over the internet and on Teachers Pay Teachers, but I decided to make my own set based on the needs in my classroom and the routines that I have in place. I printed them out and then glued them on scrapbook paper for some cuteness!

God's blessings and happy teaching!
Mikaela