Terrific Tuesday Linkies with Spiders in My Hair!

I have found quite a few fabulous linkies for Tuesday and am super excited about ALL of them. So without further delay, let's get started!!!

Tasty Treat Tuesday with Mr. Greg @ Smedley's Smorgsboard of Kindergarten

We all love tasty treats, right? Well I have a super easy and super yummy one for you!!!!

Dairy Free Fruit Smoothie

1 cup Coconut Milk (you can use any type of milk you like but I like the sweetness the coconut adds.)
2 cups frozen fruit - any kind, any mix
2 packets of Truvia (or any kind/amount of sweetener you like)
Blend until smooth!!!

What is your favorite treat? Leave a comment and link up with Smedley's Smorgsboard to share!

Book Talk Tuesday with Deanna Jump @ Mrs. Jump's Class

Now on to my FAVORITE topic, BOOKS!!!! have you been following along with Mrs. Jump's class? I just completed an Amazon order for all the fabulous books I have discovered thanks to all of all the fabulous teachers that have linked up!

Lets talk about the Spiders in my hair! I have been trying to narrow down which book to share with you and let me tell you, it is hard. Inspiration struck the other night when I was brushing out my hair. My hair had been in a messy bun on top of my head all and and was full of knots. Those painful stubborn buggers reminded me of my favorite local author, Sheila Booth-Alberstadt, and her lovable character, Maggie McNair!!!!

In  Sheila Booth-Alberstadt's first book, Maggie McNair refuses to brush her hair and so in move the spiders and hilarity ensues!! What is so great about the Maggie books is that they are written based on  Sheila Booth-Alberstadt's own struggles with her little girl not wanting to brush her hair!
This book is amazing and will delight you and your kiddos! 

Above pictures from SBA Books

My kids and I are so lucky that Sheila Booth-Alberstadt is a local author and LOVE when she comes to school to read her books. Not only is she a brilliant author, she is an amazing woman! She started SBA Books for authors to have a publishing platform for books that focus on helping children and teens deal with daily life and more. I strongly recommend that you check her and her books out!

Click books below to get more info from Amazon!

I am still reading my last Jinx Schwartz book but have also started re-reading PBL in the Elementary Grades. If you are interested in implementing project based learning in your class, this book is a must read. I have read it once while going through my county's Digital Leadership Academy but next year our school is starting collaborative planning and we will be teaching project based lessons. This is a big change for us!! (Prayers appreciated, we are a group of 9 strong and amazing teachers!)

(Click book to check it out on Amazon - sorry it is so fuzzy??!!)

Do you have a favorite local author? Are you reading a great book right now? Share in the comments and then head over to Mrs. Jump's Class to learn about more great books and share yours!

July Currently

It is the first of the month and time to link up with Farley at Oh Boy Fourth Grade!

Two for Tuesday with The Teaching Tribune

This is my first Tuesday linking up with The Teaching Tribune for Two for Tuesday. Today I am sharing two of my "FROG-tastic" Teachers Pay Teachers products for 50% off.

First up is my new "Where Are We" cards that I featured on yesterdays post {here}.

Click on the picture to take you to my store!

Next is my updated Frog themed Space Writing Unit. Writing graphic organizers and class rubric based on the book The Common Core Writing Book, K-5. (Five for Friday post {here} about our Space Unit.)

Click on the picture to take you to my store!

Tips to Tame 'Em - A New Tuesday Linky

I just found another great linky for Tuesdays! I mean I have three on Mondays so why not two on Tuesdays! This linky comes from Kelli at Tales of a Teacher.

Kelli wrote:
It's a Back to School Series for the next 9 Tuesdays. 

The purpose: to get you thinking and prepared to start the school year off right- tame the crazy (behaviors that is) for a successful and sane school year! This series of posts will cover tips, strategies, and resources to build a positive learning environment so that your students are ready to learn all that good stuff you've got to teach them!

My first week month I spend teaching routines and expectations! We MODEL MODEL MODEL!! You know the saying "I do, We do, You do"? Well that is what is done for EVERYTHING. I truly believe that my Kinders can do anything I want them to do as long as I teach them how. So for every procedure, routine, expectation "I do, We do, You do, REPEAT". We practice everyday over and over again. It is very taxing but after a few weeks I am done and those sweet little babies are now very independent!

I use Whole Brain Teaching in my classroom. WBT has made teaching procedures a snap!
When teaching a procedure, I have an expectation of "perfection" and I let the kids know what that means. I expect ALL of them to do things correctly the first time. We practice everything starting with me showing them how I expect it to be done, then doing it with them, and then they do it alone a MILLION times. It must be perfect!! If it's not, we do it again. If one person does it incorrectly, I don't call them out or say anything, we just do it again. Throughout out the year I stick to this expectation of "perfection", if it's not "perfect", we do it again. By October, I usually don't have to "do it again"! After we have perfected our procedures, we time ourselves and see if we can get faster!

My "must teach" procedures the first week are lining up, walking in line, and transitioning in the room. To me, if they can do these three things, we are GOOD!

Lining Up:
I always start with the students standing. If they are on the carpet I ask them to stand and freeze. If they are seated at their table, I have them "stand behind their chairs". Any guesses why I use this phrase???? Thats right! It makes them push in their chairs (most of the time)! I teach them that when I tell them to stand they are to also be quiet.
Prompt: Once all students are standing, I clap and say line. The students clap and say ok. They quietly walk and get in line.

Walking in Line:
Expectation - walk quickly and quietly, right behind the person in front of you.
Prompt: I say "Eyes and Toes", they repeat "Eyes and Toes" back to me and turn their entire body to the front so that their eye and toes are to the front.
Prompt: I say, "Ducktails and Bubbles, Hips and Lips"
Ducktails and Bubbles - Hands behind your back, bubble in you mouth.
Hips and Lips - Quiet finger over your lips, other hand on your hips.
Students choose a way to walk. I don't care what they do, I just want them quiet and don't want their hands on the walls, student work, or each other.
When everyone is ready, we walk. If anyone is not walking correctly, you guessed it, we do it again. We turn around go back to our room and start over. This takes just a few days. The first week I leave my room extra early to get places because I know we will have to turn back and start over. Once or twice of being almost to our destination and having to turn around and start over quickly gets my point across. I know this sounds drastic, they are only five. But remember my belief: they can do ANYTHING we teach them and expect them to do. I have to brag - my students are always the quietest in the hall.

Transitions within the Room:
Just like lining up, I have the students stand. Then I clap once and tell them where to go. They clap and say ok and then move.
clap "carpet" - they go and sit on the carpet
clap "chairs" - they go stand behind their chairs (usually to do a Brain Break!)
clap "tables" - they go sit at their table

These three whole group procedures are so important. It cuts out chaos or confusion. I have used the Whole Brain Teaching techniques the past two years and have been so amazed at how fast and how well the students respond.

What methods do you use? Comment and Link up with Kelli to share!

Catching up with Teacher Week '13 Taming The Wild!

 Taming the Wild! Classroom Management

(I just figured out how to make a collage!!)

Left - Super Improvers Chart, Top Right - Five WBT Rules, Bottom Right - Froggy Power Chart 

I am so excited about my classroom management this year! (kind of weird I know!) This year I am using Whole Brain Teaching (WBT) techniques. I began implementing some of the methods last year and saw unbelievable results! This year I am trying to really implement the techniques fully. With Whole Brain Teaching there are five classroom rules 1. Follow Directions Quickly 2. Raise Your hand for Permission to Speak 3. Raise Your Hand for Permission to Leave Your Seat 4. Make Smart Choices 5. Keep Your Dear Teacher Happy. As simple as these rules are, they are also effective. WBT also encompasses the way lessons are taught. There is a lot of movement and talking. We take "Brain Breaks" where we all get up and dance. I had very little behavior problems last year when I used these strategies.  There is also a super improvers chart that I will be using this year. Any time a child shows any type of improvement they earn a sticker on their 10 frame chart. Once they fill the chart, they move up a level on the super improvers wall. I also use the WBT scoreboard. Please check out the WBT website and YouTube channel for more information.

I also have a "Power Chart". Each day every student starts on green/full power. They can move their pins up to super power and maximum froggy power for making good choices. They move their pins down to low power and no power for making bad choices. Pins can move up and down all day long.

Here is some of the information I give to my parents...
Our Classroom Rules

Follow Directions Quickly Follow all directions quickly, the first time they are given. We want to utilize all our time learning. Raise Your Hand to Speak Raise your hand to speak so that everyone has a chance to speak and listen to each other. Raise Your Hand to Leave Your Seat Raise you hand to leave your seat while we are learning. There will be plenty of “planned” and “free” times to move.

Make Smart Choices Do your Best. “It’s ok to not know, it’s not ok to not try.” Be respectful and kind. Be in charge of yourself! Keep Your Dear Teacher Happy The only thing that makes me happy is for every student to learn. If you are hindering learning, I am not happy.

“Power-Up” with Good Behavior Classroom expectations are handled with a “Power-Up” behavior scale. On the first day of school I will have a discussion with our class about how we all make our own choices about behavior.  Some of our choices are good and give us power and some of our choices are poor and can decrease our power. Here is how the system is set up: Each day your child will start on “Full Power” (green).  If your child is making good choices he/she will move up the power scale to “Super Power” (gold). If he/she continues to make good choices he/she will move up to “Maximum Froggy Power” (purple). However, if your child makes poor choices, he/she will move down the scale from “Full Power” to “Low Power” (yellow) and if the poor choices continue he/she will be moved to “No Power” (red). Your child may move up or down the scale depending on the choices he/she makes all day. The goal for your child should be to end at “Full Power” or above each day.

Rewards/Consequences: Maximum FROGGY Power (purple) – EXCELLENT BEHAVIOR! The student will retrieve a treat from the treat bucket. Super Power (gold) – SUPER BEHAVIOR! Full Power (green) – Good Behavior! Low Power (yellow): WARNING! WARNING! – Rule Broken (recharge): The student will loose 5 minutes of recess and conduct sheet will be marked. No Power (red): Empty – Rule Broken (x2) (reflect/recharge): The student will loose all of recess time. This time will be spent reflecting on the poor choice that was made and what the good choice would have been and conduct sheet will be marked. I will track their behavior daily, and then record it on a behavior chart. This chart will be in the FROG folder. Please initial the box for that day so that I know you have seen your child’s chart.

WHOLE BRAIN TEACHING!!!

As the year progresses, you may notice that our classroom doesn’t run like other classrooms. We will be learning through Whole Brain Teaching, a research based system that utilizes all areas of the brain, keeps children engaged throughout their lessons, and helps them retain much more information than the standard lecture-discussion model.

Whole Brain Teaching is a highly interactive form of instruction that delivers information to students in short “chunks.” Kids then teach what they have just learned to their partners, using hand-gestures to help remember specific vocabulary.  While students teach each other, the teacher walks around the room to discover who understands the lesson and who needs more instruction.

Research shows that children retain more information when they have an opportunity to put it into their own words and use gestures to emphasize key instructional units …plus, it’s amazingly fun! For more information about Whole Brain Teaching please contact me, schedule a classroom visit and/or go to www.WholeBrainTeaching.com.

What are some of your methods for Taming the Wild?